EU states want business tax equality

THE finance ministers of Britain, France and Germany have launched a drive to force big business to pay its fair share of tax and halt the schemes of top firms to keep payments to a minimum.

Britain's George Osborne, France's Pierre Moscovici and Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was time for internationally co-ordinated action to clamp down on the practice of shifting profits from the company's home country to pay less tax under another jurisdiction.

The drive - which is backed by a study by the Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) on the consequences of the so-called profit shifting - comes as cash-strapped governments try to use every means to inject new funds into their budgets.

"We are talking about something that is fundamentally legal. We need to modify the law," said OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. "Avoiding double taxation has become a way of having double non-taxation.

"No single country can go by itself," he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Moscow, insisting that the drive was not aimed at "bashing" individual corporate giants.

Schaeuble said it was "unfair that multinational companies should be able to use globalisation as a tool" not to pay their fair share of taxes while Moscovici described the issue as a "matter of fairness for our citizens".

Osborne said current global tax rules had been developed almost 100 years ago - along principles set out by the League of Nations in the 1920s - and few changes had been made since.

"This means that the tax system does not reflect how international companies do business.

"We want businesses to pay the taxes that we set in our countries. And this cannot be achieved by one country alone. No one country can create an international tax system by itself."

The ministers emphasised that their proposal was supported by the Russian presidency of the G20.

Online retailer Amazon, internet giant Google as well as coffee shop chain Starbucks have been under the spotlight for their tax strategies in Britain and other EU countries in recent months.

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Vatican's chief exorcist thanks the Pope

THE Vatican's chief exorcist has thanked Pope Benedict XVI for opening the way to exorcisms, not only for those possessed by the devil but also those tormented by him.

"Benedict held an audience with exorcists from all over the world and welcomed us with words of great, great encouragement," Gabriel Amorth, devil fighter for the diocese of Rome for 27 years, said late on Friday in an interview with Italian religious channel TV2000.

"He has continued to encourage us. The Pope has done a lot to revise procedures... and given us powerful prayers that serve to exorcise," said Amorth.

The praise came after the 85-year-old pontiff said he was resigning on February 28 due to old age. Benedict's papacy has been hit hard by sex abuse scandals and divisions within the church - both of which Amorth has previously blamed as the work of the devil.

As cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he helped reform the catechism of the Catholic Church to "widen the front in the fight against Satan... not just in cases of the diabolic possession of people but in all cases of disturbances caused by the devil and that's 90 percent of the cases," Amorth said.

He said cases of full possession by the devil were rare, but he has seen victims "walk on walls, slither across the floor like a snake".

Disturbances caused by the devil, however, "have become extremely common".

"People go to wizards, to fortune-tellers, to those who call themselves exorcists... it's become a problem, because when someone wants an exorcist, there aren't very many and they are ill prepared," he said.

The Association of Exorcists also has its work cut out because "the act of exorcism had been suspended for centuries, and while there is a huge request for exorcists, there are priests and bishops who do not believe in it".

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WA facing day of fire danger

LARGE sections of Western Australia are facing a day of serious fire danger on Sunday.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has declared a severe fire danger rating for the Gascoyne, Goldfields, Great Southern, Central West, Central Wheatbelt and the Goldfields Midlands regions.

The DFES expects hot, dry and windy conditions which could lead to a bush or grass fire taking hold and spreading quickly.

A catastrophic fire rating is in place for the Eucla.

A total fire ban is in place for the Goldfields Midlands, with offenders facing a fine of up to $25,000 or a 12-month jail term.

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Crippled ship pulls into US port

The crippled cruise ship making its way to the US has suffered a setback after a tow line snapped. Source: AAP

THE last passengers have left a stricken cruise ship in the United States, some kissing the ground, and many angry.

"All guests have now disembarked the Carnival Triumph," the operator Carnival Cruise Line tweeted on Thursday night.

Cheering passengers hung over rails or waited in lines to exit while others, unkempt and some wearing bathrobes, rushed down the single enclosed gangway of the 14-storey ship as they began disembarking at the US port of Mobile, Alabama.

Customs staff had earlier boarded the ship to speed up the process and the cruise line arranged around 100 buses to ferry passengers to Texas or New Orleans for an overnight stay.

No injuries were reported, but one guest with a medical condition was taken off the ship with the help of the Coast Guard.

After a fire on Sunday off the coast of Mexico caused the ship to lose power and left all on board in squalid conditions, the ship was towed towards port at the speed of a recreational jogger.

A tow line attached to one of four tugboats pulling the vessel broke, further hampering the operation.

The 3143 guests and around 1000 crew had been forced to relieve themselves in plastic bags and flee to the open deck to escape overflowing toilets and overheated rooms, CNN reported.

While they praised the crew for working long shifts to ensure guests were as comfortable as possible, many passengers voiced anger over the ordeal, the New York Daily News reported.

"Let us off! Let us off!" some chanted during a disembarking process that lasted several hours.

Passengers also poured scorn on Carnival chief executive Gerry Cahill, who had boarded the vessel to apologise.

"It was absolutely filthy," passenger Robin Burgess said.

"I'm feeling awesome just to see land," added Brittany Ferguson, 24.

Some rolled out banners with messages such as "Sweet Home Alabama" which others had sung on the slow approach into dock.

"Help, we need beer!", another sign said, as others had earlier created human SOS signs also spelling "H-E-L-P."

Passengers related stories of sewage pouring down walls, pungent smells and camping out on deck to avoid the odour.

The planned four-day cruise embarked from Galveston, Texas, on February 7.

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Mideast funeral picture wins top award

SWEDISH photographer Paul Hansen has won the 2012 World Press Photo award for a picture of two Palestinian children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their funeral.

The picture, published in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, shows a group of men marching the dead bodies through a narrow street in Gaza City.

The victims, a brother and sister, are wrapped in white cloth with only their faces showing.

"The strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children," said jury member Mayu Mohanna of Peru. "It's a picture I will not forget."

World Press Photo, one of photojournalism's most prestigious contests, issued awards in nine categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities.

Hansen's November 20 shot won top prize in both the spot news single photograph category and the overall competition.

The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. In all, 103,481 images were submitted by 5666 photographers from 124 countries.

Hansen will receive a 10,000 euro ($A12,998.83) prize.

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Hundreds pay tribute to Shandee

Shandee Blackburn's boyfriend Arron Macklin visits the site where his girlfriend died last week. PIC: Liam Kidston Source: The Courier-Mail

Boddington Street, Mackay, where Shandee was found. PIC: Liam Kidston Source: The Courier-Mail

HUNDREDS of people have braved the rain in Mackay tonight to pay tribute to Shandee Blackburn.

The Mackay 23-year-old was was murdered on her walk home from work last week.

Family and friends dressed in fluoro clothes and wore "Justice for Shandee" wristbands before leaving for the walk from Harrup Park Country Club.

Clasping hands and holding back tears, they walked along the same route the 23-year-old took after finishing work last Friday about midnight.

Her boyfriend of three months Arron Macklin visited the scene of her death this afternoon, wearing one of the wristbands.

"It's for awareness," he said.

Earlier, The Courier-Mail reported that Arron Macklin should have been with the girl of his dreams on Valentine's Day - giving her the photograph of the two of them he'd had framed.

But Shandee Blackburn is dead - stabbed to death in a vicious attack as she walked home from work.

Her distraught boyfriend visited the scene of her death yesterday to play their song and leave behind a present.

He wept as he leant against his car, clutching a Valentine's Day balloon and a single rose wrapped in their photograph.

"Tomorrow would have been three months that we were together," he said.

"She just had a beautiful smile, she had beautiful looks," he said.

"I just loved her cuddles. We'd only just started . . . everything was sky-rocketing. It was going so well."

Arron said he had told Shandee, 23, he had framed a photograph of the two of them which he planned to give her on Valentine's Day.

"It was funny, because she said 'I was going to do the same for you'," he said.

The couple met at work, but it wasn't until they were talking at a party that he confessed he liked her.

Arron said the first movie they went to see together was the final instalment in the Twilight series.

He said he remembered wanting to hold her hand for the first time during a scene where characters Edward and Bella hold hands.

Later, Shandee decided that the song playing during that scene, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, would be "their song".

Yesterday, Arron played that song for the girl he lost as he left her Valentine's Day present behind.

"She was just a beautiful person," he said.

Police will tonight hold a re-enactment, retracing Shandee's path home seven days after she met her attacker outside a block of units in Boddington St.

Detective Acting Inspector Paul Elliot said the police re-enactment would begin at 11pm and run until 1am, based around what they knew of her movements.

Shandee left work at the Harrup Park Country Club around midnight Friday and walked along Juliet St before turning into Boddington St.

Police say she was alone when she was attacked, just moments after she turned into Boddington St. She was less than a block from home.

Shandee's family will also hold a walk in her memory at 7pm, leaving from Harrup Park and tracing her movements to Boddington St before returning to Harrup Park.

Shandee's sister Shannah said the support from the community had been overwhelming.

"Anyone that wants to come along and feels like they want to be a part of that for Shandee, she loved fluoro," she said.

"So if people want to wear anything fluoro, or bring some fluoro bands or anything like that, we'd really appreciate it.

"We've had some amazingly beautiful words said, not only about Shandee, but people showing their support.

"We have been getting hand written notes that people have been leaving for us and I'd just really like to say thank you.

"It does help and it touches us that so many people care and want to help."Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.

 additional reporting Thomas Chamberlin

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Streets cordoned off in WA siege

POLICE are negotiating with a man holed up in his house in Perth's northern suburbs.

Firefighters were called to the home on Mayflower Crescent, Craigie, mid-afternoon on Thursday because of a fire in the backyard.

The man became aggressive towards the firefighters and the Tactical Response Unit was brought in.

Several streets have been cordoned off.

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President's son quits Indonesia parliament

THE son of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has resigned from parliament following criticism over his absence at a recent plenary session of the House.

Edhie Baskoro announced his resignation on Thursday, two days after being caught on camera signing an attendance form, then skipping the plenary session of the 550-seat House.

The 32-year-old politician argued he missed the session because he was busy preparing for a meeting of the leadership of his father's ruling Democratic Party.

He also is secretary-general of the party, which has been plagued by a recent series of graft scandals.

In a move to save the party, President Yudhoyono last week relieved chairman Anas Urbaningrum of his duties to allow him to focus on legal issues following corruption allegations.

Edhie Baskoro graduated from Perth's Curtin University of Technology in 2005.

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'Axe the Tampon Tax' issue rises again

FEDERAL politicians are again under pressure to scrap the GST on tampons, with thousands of people signing an online petition calling for the 10 per cent levy to be dropped.

Perth student Sophie Liley launched the petition on change.org on Tuesday and within 36 hours had gained 15,000 signatures of support from men and women.

Labor had campaigned to have GST on tampons scrapped in 2000.

In September 2001 the Senate passed a bill exempting the products, breast pumps, funeral services, and caravan park and boarding house rents from GST - but the changes were vetoed in the House of Representatives.

The latest "Axe the Tampon Tax" petition says most women will end up being taxed $1000 over their lifetime for sanitary products and calls on Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to make scrapping GST on tampons a key 2013 election pledge.

"It's completely outrageous that women are forced to pay the GST on tampons because they're labelled as 'luxury' items - particularly when condoms, lubricants, incontinence pads and sunscreen are GST free," Ms Liley said.

"A government that charges women the GST as a direct consequence of their basic biology is a country that is fundamentally sexist.

"It sends the message that in this day and age, despite having our first female prime minister, we are okay with continued sexism in this country."

The issue has also gained support on social media sites, with plenty of people posting Twitter messages linked to the petition, with the hashtag #bloodyoutrage.

The issue also arose in 2009 after supermarket chain Coles reduced the price of female hygiene products by 10 per cent to offset the GST.

Coles said at the time it was removing the equivalent cost of the tax because tampons should be treated the same as basic food, education and medical services.

But the government refused to budge, with the then assistant treasurer Nick Sherry commenting: "The government has made a commitment to maintain the existing GST arrangements."

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NATO raid kills civilians: Afghan official

A NATO airstrike has killed eight civilians, four children and four women, as well as a number of insurgents in an eastern province near the Pakistani border, an Afghan official says.

The governor of Kunar province said the airstrike occurred during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district on Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi said a number of insurgents were killed in the strike, but he couldn't give a specific number.

The international military alliance in Kabul said it was looking into the reports.

"We are definitely aware of the allegations of these civilian casualties," said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), as the alliance is known.

"We take these allegations very seriously and we are in the process of determining the circumstances surrounding this incident."

The killing of civilians at the hands of US and other foreign forces has been one of the most contentious issues in the 11-year war.

The UN body monitoring the rights of children said last week that attacks by US military forces in Afghanistan, including airstrikes, have reportedly killed hundreds of children over the last four years.

The Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child said the casualties were "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."

ISAF, which is composed mainly of US forces, dismissed that claim, saying that it takes special care to avoid civilian casualties.

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Two homes destroyed in WA bushfire

TWO homes have been destroyed in Western Australia's South West as a string of bushfires sparked by lightning strikes sweep through the region.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said just before 6pm (WST) that a homestead in Southampton, to the northwest of Bridgetown, had burnt down.

A home some 900 metres away had also been destroyed.

About 130 firefighters are battling the blazes, which span the South West and Lower South West.

An emergency warning has been put in place, meaning residents have to act now to survive.

The department says 1685 hectares have been burnt so far, and the fire is moving in an easterly direction.

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Pope greets pilgrims after resignation

The Vatican has begun a momentous transition process following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Source: AAP

LOOKING tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI has told thousands of faithful he is stepping down for "the good of the church".

In his first public appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement of his resignation, the 85-year-old Benedict basked in more than a minute-long standing ovation when he entered the packed audience hall for his traditional Wednesday general audience.

He was interrupted by applause by the thousands of people, many of whom had tears in their eyes.

A huge banner reading "Grazie Santita" (Thank you Your Holiness) was strung up at the back of the hall.

Benedict appeared wan and spoke very softly, but his eyes twinkled with joy at the flock's warm and heartfelt welcome.

He repeated in Italian what he had told his cardinals on Monday in Latin: that he simply didn't have the strength to continue.

"As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005," he said, to applause.

"I did this in full liberty for the good of the church."

He asked the faithful "to continue to pray for the pope and the church."

Benedict is the first Pope to resign in nearly 600 years, and the decision has placed the Vatican in uncharted waters: No one knows what he'll be called or what he'll wear after February 28.

The Vatican, however, has made it clear that Benedict will play no role in the election of his successor, and once retired, he will be fully retired.

He plans to live a life of prayer in a converted monastery on the far northern edge of the Vatican gardens.

As a result, Benedict's final public appearances are expected to draw great crowds, as they may well represent some of the last public speeches for a man who has spent his life - as a priest, a cardinal and a pope - teaching and preaching.

And they will also represent a way for the faithful to say farewell under happier circumstances than when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, died in 2005.

"We were just coming for vacation, and now we are getting all of this!" marvelled Terry Rodger, a tourist from New Orleans as he headed to the audience.

"I am very excited. I'm surprised."

The audience was the start of a busy day for Benedict.

He will also preside over Ash Wednesday services later in the day to mark the official start of the Catholic Church's solemn Lenten season.

The service is usually held in a church on Rome's Aventine hill, but was moved at the last minute to St Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican said the shift was made to accommodate the crowds, though it will also spare the Pope the usual procession to the church.

The Vatican insisted no serious medical ailment was behind Benedict's decision to retire, though it admitted for the first time on Tuesday that Benedict has had a pacemaker for years and recently had it replaced.

The move sets the stage for a conclave by mid-March to elect a new Pope. Benedict's final general audience will be held February 27.

"It is the perfect occasion to give a cordial and affectionate goodbye to this Pope who has given us a great example of courage, humility, inner honesty, and a great love for the church," said Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican's communications office.

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UK inflation holds steady at 2.7 per cent

BRITAIN'S inflation rate remained unchanged in January, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was unchanged at 2.7 per cent but economists predict energy price hikes and rising food prices could push the rate above three per cent by the summer.

The Bank of England (BoE) warned last week that inflation might remain above its two per cent target for the next two years.

The BoE will publish its latest quarterly economic forecasts on Wednesday.

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Train hits truck in Japan, 16 injured

A PASSENGER train has hit a truck at a level crossing in Japan with footage and reports from the scene showing it had mounted a station platform.

A picture published by the Yomiuri Shimbun showed a carriage half-on a platform in Hyogo prefecture. A spokesman for the local police confirmed Tuesday's accident and said the injury toll of 16 may rise.

"A train and a trailer collided at a crossing near Arai station on the Sanyo line in Takasago city at around 3.50pm (1750 AEDT)," a spokesman said.

"Sixteen people including the drivers of the truck and the train were injured. There is a possibility that the number of injured will increase. We don't know if any of them was seriously hurt."

The Yomiuri said the driver of the train was badly injured in the accident in which the first and second carriages of the six-car train jumped the tracks, moving around 200m before coming to a halt at the end of a station platform.

The accident occurred some 800m from the municipal office.

"According to people in the neighbourhood, the trailer stalled at the crossing and the express train crashed into it," the paper said.

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Iran calls for end to all nuclear arms

SANCTIONS-HIT Iran has called for the destruction of all atomic weapons in the world after North Korea announced that it had staged its most powerful nuclear test yet.

"We need to come to the point where no country has any nuclear weapons and at the same time all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arms need to be destroyed," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday when asked for a response to Pyongyang's claim to have detonated a "miniaturised" device.

"At the same all countries should have the right to make use of nuclear activities for peaceful purposes," Mehmanparast said at his weekly press briefing.

Iran has been slapped with numerous international sanctions due to its controversial nuclear program, which the West insists masks a drive for atomic weapons despite repeated denials by Tehran.

"For such a world to exist those who are the front runners in producing the nuclear ... who are proud of their nuclear stockpiles ... who upgrade them and allocate budgets to maintain them, need to be the first people to disarm so that no country would pursue these weapons," Mehmanparast said.

The test by the pariah nation has been met with the world condemnation.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he is "gravely concerned about the negative impact of this deeply destabilising act" as the UN Security Council prepared to hold an emergency session at 9am in New York (0100 AEDT on Wednesday) .

Tehran was among the few nations who congratulated North Korea on successfully launching a scientific satellite in orbit last December, but denied having a role in preparing the launch.

Iranian officials denied a South Korean newspaper report and a Western diplomatic source claim that a number of Iranian missile experts were in North Korea offering technical assistance for the launch.

Leaked US diplomatic cables in 2010 showed that US officials believe Iran has acquired ballistic missile parts from North Korea.

Pyongyang and Tehran are both under UN security council sanctions for their ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

A 2011 UN sanctions report said Tehran and Pyongyang were suspected of sharing ballistic missile technology.

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Federal money now for Qld flood victims

QUEENSLAND farmers and business owners hit by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald can start applying for money to rebuild.

Federal government clean-up and recovery grants of up to $25,000 are now available to people in Queensland's hardest hit areas.

The grants are designed to help cover clean-up costs, replace damaged equipment and stock, and ensure business aren't disrupted longer than necessary.

There are 53 local government areas in Queensland eligible for various types of disaster assistance under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

More information about eligibility can be found at www.disasterassist.gov.au and www.qraa.qld.gov.au

It is hoped the money will ensure business aren't disrupted longer than necessary.

The assistance doesn't compensate for income losses and is not intended to replace insurance.

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Ten killed in Russian coal mine blast

TEN miners were killed and seven missing when a methane explosion tore through a coal mine in the remote Russian Far North town of Vorkuta within the Arctic Circle, the emergencies ministry said, the latest disaster to hit the country's mining industry.

A total of 259 miners were working underground when the explosion occurred at the Vorkutinskaya mine in the Komi region controlled by Russian steel-making giant Severstal.

Most of them have been evacuated but when the rescue workers arrived at the scene they found 10 bodies, the ministry said.

"The fate of seven people remains unclear," it said in a statement, adding that more than 280 rescue workers were working on salvage operations at the scene.

Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov would personally go to the mine to oversee the rescue operation, said ministry spokeswoman Elena Smirnykh.

The families of the dead miners would receive two million rubles ($A64,280) each, she told AFP.

Some of the rescued workers were injured, said Smirnykh, adding that a plane was dispatched from Moscow to the mine to help hospitalise the miners.

The emergencies ministry had earlier said around two dozen miners were working in the shaft where the explosion believed to have been caused by methane ripped through the mine.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked his deputy Arkady Dvorkovich with the responsibility to provide assistance to families of the dead miners.

"An accident took place in Komi," a grim-faced Medvedev said in televised remarks. "Put together the complete information and report on what is happening."

The mine in the northern city of Vorkuta is operated by Vorkutaugol, part of the coal mining division of the Russian steel-making giant Severstal whose mills it provides with hard coking coal concentrate.

It has been working since 1973 with an output of 1.8 million tonnes of coal a year and its reserves of coal are estimated at 40 million tonnes.

Vorkutaugol spokesman Yevgeny Sukharev said the company paid "unprecedented attention" to safety standards. "Everyone is in shock," he told AFP.

According to the company's website, in 2011 the Vorkutinskaya mine won a corporate award for "worthy working conditions - the basis for respect in the work force".

Known for its extremely inhospitable climate, Vorkuta was home to one of the most infamous Stalin-era prison camps, the Vorkuta Gulag.

Deadly blasts which usually caused by a build-up in methane gas remain a frequent occurrence in the coal mining industry in Russia despite recent drives to improve safety.

In 2010, more than 60 people were killed in twin methane blasts at Russia's biggest underground coal mine, the Raspadskaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Siberia.

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Hostility over climate change cools off

VENOMOUS attacks against the scientific community have markedly decreased since the introduction of Labor's carbon pricing scheme, one of Australia's leading climate change experts says.

Professor Will Steffen, science adviser to the Department of Climate Change, also told senators on Monday that extreme weather events this summer weren't normal but "a climate on steroids".

Labor senator Doug Cameron told Professor Steffen he'd detected a drop in the public "venom" against climate change in the past few months, and asked if scientists had noticed the trend as well.

"Your perception is correct on that, senator," Professor Steffen told a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra.

"Certainly in my own case, the attacks have gone down quite considerably.

"I think that's generally true across the scientific community."

Professor Steffen said it was at its worst in public meetings as he toured the nation explaining the carbon pricing but since then scientists had noted a "marked decrease in attacks and angst" over climate change.

He warned that the extreme weather that rocked Australia recently was "simply unprecedented" and wasn't just natural patterns of drought and hot weather, but like an athlete on steroids.

"It's the same athlete, and they're doing the same sport, but suddenly their performance gets better," he told senators.

More extreme weather would occur in the future, and more intensely, he added.

The head of the Bureau of Meteorology Rob Vertessy echoed these warnings, saying average temperatures could be six degrees hotter by the end of the century if action isn't taken.

"Australia is definitely heating up, as is the rest of the world," Dr Rob Vertessy said.

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Curry plays cricket like John Howard

AUSSIE actor Stephen Curry says when it comes to cricket, he's like former prime minister John Howard.

At the cricket-themed premiere of the Save Your Legs! in Sydney on Sunday night, Curry said he would have a bit of a game on the green carpet if he wasn't so hopeless.

"I'm no good with the bat, so I don't really want to show off my skills here," Curry, who's best known for his roles in The Castle and The Cup, said.

"(I'm) more of a cricket tragic in the way that John Howard, our former Prime Minister was a cricket tragic - loved the game, armchair expert, couldn't play to save himself.

"And I'm a redhead in this so I'm very similar to Julia Gillard."

Directed by Boyd Hicklin, in Save Your Legs! Curry plays Teddy, the president of D-grade cricket team the Abbotsford Anglers, who find themselves on a cricket tour of India.

Wearing his blue and yellow Anglers jacket, Curry said in light of the recent cheating scandals in Aussie sports he came to the Sydney premiere prepared.

"Look, tonight I am full of peptides," he said.

"I had them injected into my stomach and I was forced to sign a waiver, so I feel like it's basically going to make my green carpet performance as good as it possibly could be, and I'll probably recover very nicely in the morning."

Based on a true story, Save Your Legs! was written by and stars Brendan Cowell, who is a self confessed "cricket nut", having played since he was five and been a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) since he was 14.

Walking the green carpet with Curry and co-star Damon Gameau, he joked that he was OK missing Australia's match against the West Indies for the premiere, because "this is where the real fixture is".

"The Abbotsford Anglers, they're the team everyone's talking about, so we're here and this film's been to London, it's been to Mumbai, so now we're at our home ground at the SCG, ready to play some strokes," he said.

For Cowell and Curry, an Aussie cricket movie has been a long time coming.

Cowell joked that with the success of 1984 Australian miniseries Bodyline, "I think people have been waiting for a great cricket movie, so it's timely".

Curry thinks it's interesting Aussies haven't tried to propel cricket onto the big screen before.

"It's fascinating that in this rich history of filmmaking in this country and our great affiliation with cricket that there actually hasn't been a feature film about cricket," Curry said.

"So I think it's about time and hopefully we've done it justice."

* Save Your Legs! releases in Australian cinemas on February 28.

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Hunt for fugitive LA cop continues

THE hunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings is continuing for a fourth day in snow-covered mountains.

Meanwhile, officials will re-examine the allegations in 2007 by Christopher Dorner, 33, that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues, Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck announced on Saturday.

"I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do," the chief said in a statement.

Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that left three people dead.

They say Dorner had vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career.

The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.

A captain, named as a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook, told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.

"From what I've seen of (Dorner's) actions, he feels he can make allegations for injustice and justify killing people and that's not reasonable," said Captain Phil Tingirides, who chaired a board that stripped Dorner of his badge.

"The end never justifies the means."

On Saturday, a smaller search party took advantage of a break in stormy weather to look for Dorner in the San Bernardino mountains, about 130 kilometres northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where his burned-out pickup truck was discovered Thursday.

A law enforcement officer told The Associated Press that authorities found weapons in the truck.

Also, newly-released surveillance video showed Dorner tossing several items into a dumpster behind an auto parts store in National City on Monday.

The store's manager told FOX5 in San Diego an employee found a magazine full of bullets, a military belt and a military helmet.

On Friday night, authorities searched a Buena Park storage unit and collected evidence as part of their investigation but did not provide further details.

Earlier on Friday, another warrant was served at a La Palma house belonging to Dorner's mother. Officers collected 10 bags of evidence, including five electronic items.

In his online manifesto, Dorner vowed to use "every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I've been given" to bring "warfare" to the LAPD and its families.

Dorner served in the US navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal.

He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. Dorner took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

The flight training he received in the navy prompted the transportation security administration to issue an alert, warning the general aviation community to be on the lookout for Dorner.

February 1 was Dorner's last day with the navy and also the day CNN's Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note that read, in part, "I never lied."

A coin riddled with bullet holes that former Chief William Bratton gave out as a souvenir was also in the package.

Police said it was a sign of planning by Dorner before the killing began.

On February 3, police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage at their condominium in Irvine. The woman was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his sacking.

Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he believed the retired captain had represented the interests of the department over his.

Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an LAPD officer in Corona and then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers early Thursday, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

The crime spree spanned across a wide area of Southern California, prompting several police agencies, including the FBI, to form a task force.

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Man drowns snorkelling in Coast creek

A MAN has drowned while snorkelling in Tallebudgera Creek.

The Brisbane man, believed to be in his early 40s, was with his family, who became concerned when he had not been seen for two hours.

Lifeguards were alerted the man was missing, just as a group of paddle boarders pulled his body from the water.

Emergency services rushed to the scene about 4.30pm but were unable to revive the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police believe he may have been snorkelling around rocks when he was caught in a rip but have been unable to confirm the exact nature of his death.

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