African leaders gather for Mali summit

WEST African leaders will attend a special Mali summit in Ivory Coast to discuss how to increase their role as the French-led military intervention to oust Islamic extremists from power enters its second week.

Neighbouring countries are expected to contribute about 3000 troops to the operation in Mali, aimed at preventing militants from advancing further south toward the capital, Bamako.

While initial contributions from Togo and Nigeria have arrived, concerns about the mission have delayed other countries from sending their promised troops so far.

Charles Koffi Diby, Ivory Coast's foreign affairs minister, said Mali's neighbours must "face up to the weight of our responsibilities in conducting and co-ordinating military operations in Mali."

At Saturday's meeting, the big issue will be sorting out a central command for the African force, a French official said.

Nigerian General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir is expected to be named the force commander.

As the military intervention entered its second week, Malian forces had reclaimed the key town of Konna whose capture prompted the French action, according to French and Malian military officials.

However, phone lines to the town were still down making it difficult to independently corroborate the claim.

France said it was keeping up the pressure around another key town, Diabaly, which was taken by the Islamists on Monday.

French forces have moved around Diabaly to cut off supplies to the Islamist extremists, said a French official.

Mali once enjoyed a reputation as one of West Africa's most stable democracies with the majority of its 15.8 million people practising a moderate form of Islam.

That changed last March, following a coup in the capital which created the disarray that allowed Islamist extremists to take over the main cities in the distant north.

The UN refugee agency said on Friday the fighting in Mali could force as many as 700,000 people to flee their homes in the coming months.

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Ang Lee may direct Cleopatra

OSCAR-WINNING director Ang Lee appears likely to accept an offer to direct historical epic Cleopatra starring Angelina Jolie, after the Hollywood actress wrote to him asking him to come on board.

Lee, whose 3D adventure Life of Pi has earned 11 Oscar nominations, said he would read the script before making a decision but the project was "very attractive".

"Sony has asked me to shoot the movie and Angelina Jolie wrote to me to express her wishes to collaborate. We admire each other... the project looks very attractive," the Taiwanese-American told reporters in Taipei.

"It's a big-budget movie so I am carefully evaluating it ... this is a rare opportunity and I will probably take it."

Lee returned to his birthplace over the weekend to celebrate after Life of Pi earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director.

The movie, based on the novel by Yann Martel about an Indian boy cast adrift with a Bengal tiger, has become Lee's highest-grossing film ever with more than $US450 million ($A429 million) in global box office sales, according to 20th Century Fox.

About 70 per cent of the movie was shot in Taiwan, including at a now-abandoned airport in the centre of the country where Lee's team built a specially-designed wave-generating tank.

Asked if he plans to cast his son Mason Lee, who starred in The Hangover Part II, in his future projects, Lee joked that he would rather not "torture" his kin.

"He likes acting and I give him my blessings... I am tough on actors but it's difficult to be tough on your own son and it'd be an unnecessary torture for us. I'd rather torture other people's kids."

The filmmaker, who is based in New York, was hailed as the "glory of Taiwan" after becoming the first Asian to win a best director Oscar for his gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain in 2006.

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Mercury treaty adopted in Geneva

DELEGATIONS from some 140 countries have agreed to adopt a ground-breaking treaty limiting the use of health-hazardous mercury, the Swiss foreign ministry says.

The world's first legally binding treaty on mercury, reached after a week of thorny talks, will aim to reduce global emission levels of the toxic heavy metal also known as quicksilver, which poses risks to human health and the environment.

Switzerland, which along with Norway initiated the process a decade ago, hailed the consensus on the issue.

"The new treaty aims to reduce the production and the use of mercury, especially in the production of products and in industrial processes," the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Countries will be asked to sign the treaty next October in Minamata, Japan, in honour of the town's inhabitants who for decades have suffered the consequences of serious mercury contamination, the statement said.

"The adoption of the mercury treaty shows the vitality of international environmental politics and the will of states to together find solutions to world problems," head of the Swiss delegation to the talks, Franz Perrez, said in the statement.

Mercury is found in products ranging from electrical switches to thermometers to light-bulbs, to amalgam dental fillings and even facial creams, and large amounts of the heavy metal are released from small-scale gold mining, coal-burning power plants, metal smelters and cement production.

Serious mercury poisoning affects the body's immune system and can lead to problems including psychological disorders, loss of teeth and problems with the digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory tracts.

It also affects development of the brain and nervous system and poses the greatest risk to foetuses and infants.

Ahead of the Geneva conference, the UN's environmental programme provided the first global assessment of releases of mercury into rivers and lakes.

"In the past 100 years, man-made emissions have caused the amount of mercury in the top 100 metres of the world's oceans to double. Concentrations in deeper waters have increased by up to 25 per cent," the agency said, adding that much human exposure to mercury is through the consumption of contaminated fish.

UNEP also highlighted rising levels of mercury in the Arctic, where 200 tonnes of the substance are deposited every year.

The UN agency's study also found that developing countries were especially vulnerable to direct mercury contamination owing mainly to the widespread use of the element in small-scale gold mining and to the burning of coal for electricity generation.

Such exposure "poses a direct threat to the health of some 10-15 million people who are directly involved in small scale gold mining, mainly in Africa, Asia and South America," UNEP said.

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Two homes destroyed in Bega fires

A BUSHFIRE in the NSW Bega Valley that razed two properties continues to pose a threat to more properties, the RFS says.

The fire, west of Merimbula, crossed the Princes Highway on Friday afternoon and was threatening properties between Wolumla and Millingandi, an RFS spokeswoman said.

"There is still a threat to those properties," she told AAP at 9pm (AEDT) on Friday.

Two properties and the two sheds were lost in the blaze, which has burnt 150 hectares.

About 100 firefighters will work through the night, but three assisting aircraft were stood down as darkness fell.

Residents were being advised to head north to Bega or south to Merimbula if they wished to leave the area.

No mandatory evacuation order has been put in place.

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Ex-federal MP Peter Shack convicted

A FORMER federal MP Peter Shack has been convicted of stealing $100,000 from a family trust.

The Liberal member for the West Australian seat of Tangney from 1977 to 1993, had claimed during his trial that his mother-in-law agreed to lend him the money in 2004 for an investment.

He claimed his mother-in-law wanted to keep the loan a secret from her children to avoid jealousy.

However, on Friday, a jury in the Perth District Court found Shack guilty after deliberating for several hours.

He will be sentenced in April.

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Rescuers make contact with solo yachtsman

A SEARCH and rescue aircraft has made contact with a solo round-the-world yachtsman who is floating in a life raft in remote waters after abandoning his vessel southwest of Tasmania.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says the man was located in his life raft in remote waters on Friday night, about 946km from Hobart.

The sailor, believed to have been at sea for several months, had abandoned his yacht after it lost its mast and suffered hull damage in rough conditions.

A second life raft containing communications equipment has been dropped to him, an AMSA spokeswoman said.

She said contact had been made with the Frenchman but officers were not able to get much information because he spoke very little English.

A second search and rescue plane, with French-speaking Victoria Police officers onboard, was on its way to the scene to monitor the man overnight and try to make contact with any nearby vessels that could rescue him, she said.

Shipping in the area has been alerted and the Orion cruise liner is making its way to assist the man but is still two days away, the spokeswoman said.

"It is incredibly remote waters, a very, very remote area," she said.

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Sydney traffic eases after peak hour chaos

TRAFFIC congestion has eased in Sydney CBD after commuters were hit with lengthy delays following an accident on the Harbour Bridge.

Three cars collided around 3pm (AEDT) on Thursday near the north pylon of the bridge, causing one of the cars to crash into the pylon.

A 40-year-old woman, two men aged 30 and 50 and a five-month-old baby were trapped in their cars for some time before they were taken to hospital in a stable condition.

The crash sparked traffic chaos in the CBD, with just one northbound lane and two southbound lanes open while emergency services worked to free the victims.

Even after the lanes reopened, the gridlock continued well into peak hour, with huge traffic queues on the southbound lanes stretching back as far as Artarmon at 6.30pm (AEDT).

Traffic in much of the CBD also came to a standstill, with buses leaving Circular Quay running 20 minutes behind schedule.

The NSW Transport Management Centre urged commuters to take trains or ferries wherever possible, with bus tickets valid on those modes of transport until 7pm.

By 7.30pm traffic was once again flowing on the bridge although some buses crossing were still slightly delayed.

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McMahon 'victim of a homicide': WA coroner

THE West Australian coroner has found that a 20-year-old woman missing for more than 12 years was a victim of a homicide, but has refused to rule on whether a suspect in the case was involved in the crime.

Sarah Anne McMahon disappeared on November 8, 2000 after telling a colleague she was meeting a friend at 5.30pm and then failing to pick up her sister at 8.30pm that evening.

Donald Victor Morey, 57, has long been considered a suspect in her disappearance and was the last person to speak to Ms McMahon before she disappeared.

After the initial police investigation drew a blank, a further investigation was launched after Morey was convicted of the attempted murder of a Perth prostitute in 2004 and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

He had also been a person of interest in the death of another prostitute the previous year.

However, police were again unable to substantiate enough evidence against Morey, who has consistently denied any involvement in Ms McMahon's disappearance.

A cold case review of both investigations was launched last year and Morey said he was still in contact with Ms McMahon, who he claimed was living in Canada with her two children.

Coroner Alastair Hope said on Thursday that because Ms McMahon had not contacted her loved ones in more than 12 years, he was confident she was dead.

"The circumstances in which Ms McMahon disappeared are sinister and I have confidently been able to exclude the possibility that she died by way of natural causes, accident or suicide," he said.

"In my view, the evidence points overwhelmingly to the proposition that she died by way of unlawful homicide."

Mr Hope said there was no evidence that Ms McMahon left the country and there were no records held in Medicare, Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or her bank that would suggest that she was alive in Australia after that time.

A key piece of evidence examined at the inquest was a statement from Natasha Tracy-Ann Kendrick, dated November 11, 2011.

In her statement, Ms Kendrick said she walked into Morey's room and saw a bloodied naked girl on the bed with an "old fashioned rope" around her neck.

Ms Kendrick claimed that she later saw Morey carrying "something wrapped in a quilt over his left shoulder" and said she knew it was McMahon's body.

However, Mr Hope noted that police were unable to find evidence to corroborate her account.

He said there was also evidence capable of supporting a conclusion that Morey lied to police about his movements on November 8, 2000 and falsified documents to support those lies.

"It is always possible that some further evidence may come to light which could result in criminal charges being laid at some later date," he said.

"In that context, I do not propose to make any finding in relation to Mr Morey's involvement."

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Syrian assault 'kills women, children'

A SYRIAN army assault killed more than 100 civilians, including women and children, on farmland on the outskirts of the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

It said the attack took place on Tuesday.

"The Syrian regime carried out a new massacre on Tuesday claiming 106 victims, including women and children," in an assault lasting 24 hours around Homs, said the watchdog.

The killings took place in farmlands in an area between a military academy, an army checkpoint and an industrial district north of Homs, the Britain-based Observatory said.

The Observatory said the area had become a refuge for around 1000 people who fled fighting in the city of Homs, where regime forces and rebels have been battling for dominance for months.

It quoted witnesses as saying that among those killed were families who died in fires that raged through their homes and others - including three children from a group of 14 family members - killed in cold blood.

At least 32 other members of one clan were shot dead, the Observatory said, adding however that it was not immediately able to establish their identities.

Meanwhile the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper reported that troops had gained ground against "gunmen" around Homs, referring to rebels fighting the regime. The claim was denied by militants on the ground.

Homs, dubbed "the capital of the revolution" by the rebels, is the largest and most strategic city in Syria, lying on key trade routes near the borders with Lebanon and Iraq, and with its southwestern areas not far from Damascus.

The Observatory urged the UN to send a fact-finding team to probe the latest killings.

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Muslim world body urges Mali ceasefire

THE Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), of which Mali is a member, has called for a ceasefire in the African country where French troops have intervened to battle Islamists.

OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement on Tuesday the military offensive was "premature" and called for "an immediate ceasefire in Mali and for all parties to go back to the negotiations which were led by Burkina Faso" in December.

Ihsanoglu, who "expressed his deep concern over the military escalation" also called for "maximum self-restraint from all parties at this critical time in order to reach a peaceful solution to this conflict".

France launched air strikes on Friday to back the Malian army in an operation against Islamist rebels, and has also sent troops into the West African nation.

It has secured fresh UN backing for its military action and reinforced its ground forces with an armoured column after driving Islamists from their northern bases with air strikes.

A meeting of the 15-nation UN Security Council on Mali expressed unanimous "understanding and support" for the military intervention, France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said late on Monday.

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Government grants to help Tas fire victims

AS Tasmania's bushfire victims try to piece their lives together after the devastating fires, the federal and state governments announced grants to help with the massive clean-up and rebuilding.

Up to $25,000 will be available to eligible small businesses, not-for-profit organisations and primary producers in the Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan/Spring Bay local government areas in an effort to get businesses back on their feet as quickly as possible,

Tasmanian Bushfires Recovery Taskforce co-ordinator Michael Stevens says there is a wide range of assistance payments and programs available.

"We believe some people may be unclear about their eligibility for grants and other forms of assistance so we're urging them to visit the websites and talk to the Bushfire Recovery Unit and other departments about what is available," Mr Stevens said.

The grants include temporary living assistance of up to $8875 over a maximum period of six months to assist with living expenses and an essential household goods grants of up to $5600 per household (plus $500 per additional household member up to a maximum of $8875) for costs not covered by insurance.

Mr Stevens said the state government is bearing the cost of the clean-up of homes and other structures destroyed by bushfires.

People should register and request a consent form to participate in the clean-up.

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Taiwan sees baby boom in year of dragon

THE number of births in Taiwan reached a 10-year high in 2012, buoyed by the Chinese zodiac's year of the dragon that is considered an auspicious year to have a child.

A total 234,599 babies were born, raising the fertility rate to 1.27 births per woman, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Chinese tradition holds that those born in the year of the dragon, the symbol of China's past emperors, are likely to be successful and wealthy.

Taiwan has experienced a decline in birth rates and a rapidly ageing population over the last two decades. Factors including a greater number of career-oriented women and rising cost of living have contributed to the drop.

The island territory is beginning to see the impact of low birth rates, with declining enrollment in universities and government warnings that the pension system could go bankrupt by 2027.

The government has tried several policies to boost marriage and fertility rates including organised matchmaking tours, subsidies for child care and fertility treatments, and cash bonuses per birth.

The fertility rate hit a record low of 0.89 in 2010, when Taiwan ranked lowest in the world. The 2012 rate was still far below the 2.1 replacement rate that demographers have set for stable populations in industrialised countries.

Government planners forecast a slight decrease in the birth rate in 2013, the year of the snake. Snakes are not so bad, because many Chinese believe they resemble "little dragons".

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News Corp takes majority in German pay TV

BERLIN Jan 14 AP - A wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has taken a majority stake in German pay-TV Sky Deutschland.

The Munich-based channel said in a statement on Monday News Adelaide has increased its holding in Sky Deutschland to 54.5 per cent for 347.4 million euros ($A443.76 million).

Sky Deutschland says News Corp has also agreed to guarantee a 300 million euro bank loan and the channel's licence fee payments to the German Football League for the Bundesliga seasons through 2016/2017.

Some 3,363,000 customers paid for Sky Deutschland's subscription service last year.

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Vic faces severe fire danger on Thursday

AUTHORITIES are urging Victorians to recheck their bushfire plans ahead of a scorcher forecast for Thursday.

Severe fire danger conditions, the third highest rating, are predicted in the state's central region, including Melbourne and Geelong, north central and south west districts.

Melbourne is expected to reach 39 degrees.

"We're certainly bracing for a potentially bad day on Thursday," a CFA spokesman told AAP on Monday.

Acting Victorian chief health officer Michael Ackland issued a heat health alert for Thursday, reminding people at risk - including those aged over 65, pregnant women or people with existing illnesses - to take precautions.

He urged those people to keep cool, drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun.

It was also important for people to check on their elderly neighbours or relatives, he said.

In the state's southwest, firefighters are continuing to work on containment lines at the Kentbruck blaze, which has burnt 11,964 hectares of national park, forest plantation and agricultural land.

The CFA is urging nearby communities to continue monitoring conditions.

In the state's east, there is an underground peat fire at Cabbage Tree-Conran Road near the Princes Highway in Cabbage Tree Creek.

A large grassfire that started at Little River, southwest of Melbourne, at 3.30pm (AEDT) was brought under control by 7.20pm thanks to the work of 40 CFA crews and four aircraft.

The fire had burned out 350 hectares of paddock before firefighters got on top of it.

The blaze had been creating spot fires about two to three kilometres ahead of it.

So far, the fires have not claimed any lives in the state but Victorian firefighter Peter Cramer, 61, died on Sunday in Taranna, east of Hobart.

He was one of more than 70 Victorian emergency services workers sent to Tasmania on Thursday to help fight the state's devastating fires.

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Helicopter pilot survives crash

A HELICOPTER pilot has survived a crash in central Queensland this afternoon.

The pilot was travelling over the Yo Yo Park station near Allandale Warrah Road when he crashed into a dam just after 5pm.

The man, believed to be 25-years-old, managed to escape with burns to his body and face.

He was taken to Augathella Hospital by road where he is expected to be flown to a Brisbane hospital.

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Man killed in fiery Bruce Hwy crash

A MAN has been killed in a fiery crash between a truck and car north of Gympie tonight.

The vehicles collided on the Bruce Highway at Glenwood about 6.30pm, with the truck carrying fertiliser bursting into flames.

The male driver of the car died on the scene.

The 45-year-old male truck driver managed to escape the blaze but suffered burns to 15 per cent of his body, including to his face, leg and hands.

He was flown by the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter to the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

The fire spread to nearby grassland.

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Man charged over 7kg of cocaine

A CANADIAN man will face a Sydney court after customs seized a package containing just under seven kilograms of cocaine worth more than $2 million.

The package, sent as an air cargo consignment from Canada, was intercepted on December 30 following a joint agency investigation involving NSW and federal police and the NSW Crime Commission.

Customs officers found 6.95kg of cocaine, with an estimated potential street value of $2.4 million, hidden in the package.

Following investigations, a 55-year-old Canadian man was arrested on Sunday and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled substance.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He was refused bail to face Central Local Court on Monday.

NSW Police Organised Crime Targeting Squad Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Jon Beard, said a strong partnership between the agencies had again prevented a significant shipment of drugs making it onto the streets of NSW.

"The NSW Police Force will continue to work in close collaboration with its partners to detect criminals involved in the importation and supply of illicit drugs in our community," he said.

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French air strikes in Mali enter third day

Mali's army has taken back a key town from Islamist rebels aided by French air power. Source: AAP

FRENCH Mirage fighter jets have pounded Mali for a third straight day and a top Islamist leader has been reported killed as troops head to the west African country.

"There were (air strikes) last night, there are now and there will be today and tomorrow," Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in televised remarks on Sunday.

"Our intervention is ongoing and we will continue in order to make (Islamist fighters) retreat and allow Malian and African forces to go forward and re-establish the territorial integrity of the country."

The first troops promised by African nations were expected in Mali on Sunday to join the campaign.

Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal on Saturday each pledged 500 troops for an African-led intervention force.

Also on Sunday a security source said a lieutenant of Ansar Dine chief Iyad Ag Ghaly was killed in fighting to recapture the central town of Konna from the rebels.

"The Islamist fighters suffered a real setback with the death of Abdel 'Kojak' Krim," the source said.

On Saturday French troops arrived in the capital Bamako, flying in from bases in Ivory Coast and Chad, a Malian officer told AFP.

Colonel Paul Geze, the French mission's commander, told Mali's ORTM television he hoped their mission would succeed "as quickly as possible, in the best conditions possible".

ORTM said the French contingent would be at full strength by Monday. It has been deployed in the capital to protect the 6000-strong expatriate community.

Both France and Mali on Saturday hailed the success of their joint operation to push back an advance by the Islamists who control the north of the country.

Since taking power in the north last year, the Islamists have destroyed centuries-old Muslim mausoleums they see as heretical and imposed an extreme form of Islamic law including floggings, amputations and sometimes executions.

"Our foes have suffered heavy losses," French President Francois Hollande said, stressing that the French intervention had "only one goal, which is the fight against terrorism".

A statement issued late on Saturday from Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore said 11 of their soldiers had died and about 60 had been wounded in the fighting.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French Mirage fighters had carried out a second day of air strikes Saturday to stop columns of Islamist fighters from driving south.

A French pilot carrying out air raids had been killed, he added. But the Islamists reportedly suffered heavy losses.

A Malian officer in the central town of Mopti, near the front line, said dozens, possibly as many as a hundred Islamists had been killed in Konna, which was recaptured on Friday.

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