Two A380s to fly over Sydney Harbour

TWO Airbus A380s will fly in formation over Sydney Harbour on Sunday to mark the start of a partnership between airline carriers Qantas and Emirates.

A Qantas A380 and Emirates A380 will start flying north of Longreef, turn around into Sydney Harbour and pass over the Sydney Opera House before flying in tandem over the bridge at 1500 feet around 10.30am (AEDT) on Sunday, Qantas said in a statement.

The airline said it's believed to be the first time two commercial airline A380s have flown in formation.

"Qantas and Emirates have worked extremely close together to make this possible," Qantas chief pilot Philip Green said.

"Pilots from both airlines have conducted dozens of special simulator training sessions since January this year".

The flyover marks the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's approval of a Qantas and Emirates partnership earlier this week, which allowed both airlines to combine operations for an initial period of five years.

Under the alliance, Qantas will use Dubai, rather than Singapore, as the carrier's stopover point for its flights to London.

The flyover manoeuvre on Sunday has been approved by safety regulators in both Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Teen to face court over fatal Easter crash

A 17-YEAR-OLD South Australian girl will face court over causing death by dangerous driving after a fatal crash that killed another teenager.

Police say a 17-year-old boy died after a car carrying five passengers crashed just before midnight on Friday near Balaklava, north of Adelaide.

The girl, from Balaklava, will appear in Youth Court over causing death by dangerous driving and driving unlicensed.

The other passengers in the car, all teenage girls aged between 14 and 17 years, received non-life threatening injuries.

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US hands over troubled area to Afghans

US special operations forces handed over their base in a strategic region of eastern Afghanistan to local Afghan commandos on Saturday, a senior US commander said.

The withdrawal from Nirkh district meets a demand by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that US forces leave the area after allegations that the Americans' Afghan counterparts committed human rights abuses there.

"We're coming out of Nirkh," said Maj. Gen. Tony Thomas, the top US special operations commander in Afghanistan.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Wardak province outside Kabul in which Nirkh is located, confirmed that US special operations forces withdrew and were replaced by a joint Afghan security forces team.

The transfer of authority ends a controversial chapter in which Karzai accused US troops and an interpreter working with them of torture, kidnapping and summary execution of militant suspects in Nirkh - charges US officials including top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Joseph Dunford firmly denied.

The incident shows the larger struggle of Karzai's government to assert its authority over security matters, even as its green security forces try to assume control of much of the country from coalition forces on a rushed timeline, ahead of the scheduled withdrawal of most of coalition forces by December 2014.

Karzai had originally demanded the US special operations forces pull out from the entire province, a gateway and staging area for Taliban and other militants for attacks on the capital Kabul.

But he scaled down his demands to just the single district after negotiations with Dunford and other US officials.

"President Karzai was specific, it's only for Nirkh, that was a provocative point," Thomas said.

"American special operations forces are integral in the defence of Wardak from now until the foreseeable future."

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China disregarding neighbours, says study

THE rising might of China is causing it to act with increasing disregard towards its neighbours, a Japanese government-funded study said on Friday.

"China, against the backdrop of its rising national power and improvement in its military power, is increasingly taking actions that can cause frictions with neighbouring countries without fear," said the East Asian Strategic Review.

The study, published on Friday by the National Institute for Defence Studies, is an annual venture commissioned by Japan's Defence Ministry, and influences national defence policy.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman refuted the claim and said Japan should come clean about its own defence policy.

"We develop our national defence power in accordance with our domestic conditions. That is reasonable and will not pose any threat to any other country," the spokesman, Hong Lei, told a regular press conference in Beijing.

Beijing and Tokyo have been at diplomatic daggers drawn since September when Japan nationalised some islands it controls in the East China Sea.

The Senkakus, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyus, are uninhabited but resource-rich and strategically-important islands that have been the scene of confrontations between government ships from both sides over several months.

However, the report noted, China's preparedness for pushing its territorial claims was on the rise well before Tokyo angered it with the island nationalisation.

In January last year Beijing classed the archipelago as a "core interest", ranking it alongside Tibet and Taiwan as an issue over which it would never give ground, the study said.

It is not only China's relationship with Japan that is becoming complicated, the report said, with Beijing's ostensible strategic partner Russia also becoming wary of its neighbour's rising power.

Despite Xi Jinping choosing to take his first foreign trip as China's president to Russia for a summit with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, the "Russo-Chinese strategic partnership is more complex than it appears", the study said.

"An equal relationship can hardly be maintained with China's GDP at more than four times Russia's," it added, saying that the imbalance was leading Moscow to shore up previously fragile relations with Japan.

"At recent bilateral summit meetings and foreign ministerial conferences between Russia and Japan, Moscow has persistently requested that Tokyo cooperate in security matters, particularly maritime security," the study said.

"Recognition that China's maritime activities on the high seas will expand in a northerly direction in the near future is a factor motivating Russia to seek cooperation with Japan and the United States."

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Christians mark Jesus' crucifixion

HUNDREDS of Christians streamed through the cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City on Friday, hoisting wooden crosses and chanting prayers to mark the crucifixion of Jesus.

Throngs of pilgrims walked a traditional Good Friday procession that retraces Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the "Way of Suffering." They followed his 14 stations, saying a prayer at each and ending at the ancient Holy Sepulcher church.

Along the route, Franciscan friars in brown robes chanted prayers in Latin and explained the different stations to crowds through a megaphone. One man dressed as Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was flanked by men posing as Roman soldiers and had fake blood dripping down his chest as he lugged a giant cross down the street.

Good Friday events kicked off with a mass earlier in the morning at the cavernous Holy Sepulcher, which was built on the place where tradition holds Jesus was crucified, briefly entombed and resurrected. Clergy dressed in colourful robes entered through the church's large wooden doors as worshippers prayed in the church courtyard.

Later Friday, a mass was due in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, built atop the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations that observe the new, Gregorian calendar, mark Easter week this week. Orthodox Christians, who follow the old, Julian calendar, will mark Good Friday in May.

Less than 2 per cent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories is Christian, mostly split between Catholicism and Orthodox streams of Christianity. Christians in the West Bank wanting to attend services in Jerusalem must obtain permission from Israeli authorities.

Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects some 150,000 visitors in Israel during Easter week and the Jewish festival of Passover, which coincide this year.

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China orders stepped-up scrutiny on Apple

State media report that Apple will face "strengthened supervision" from China's consumer watchdogs. Source: AAP

APPLE is to face "strengthened supervision" from China's consumer watchdogs, state media reported Friday, as the US computer giant is hit by a barrage of negative publicity and court cases in the country.

China is Apple's second-biggest market, and its iPhones and other products -- many of them made in the country -- are highly popular, although it faces fierce competition from South Korea's Samsung.

State media have carried a series of attacks against Apple, with the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, running critical items for five consecutive days over alleged double standards in customer service and returns policies.

Apple has denied those accusations in statements to Chinese media but the condemnations have continued unabated, with the newspaper urging consumers to "strike away Apple's unparalleled arrogance" in one of its commentaries.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has asked trading standards bodies across the country to step up "contract supervision" on electronics manufacturers "such as Apple", the People's Daily said Friday.

"Local governments are required to... investigate and punish illegal activities in accordance with the law," it quoted the SAIC as saying in an official note.

An SAIC spokesman who declined to be named confirmed the existence of the document to AFP but declined to disclose details.

The People's Daily articles follow reports on state broadcaster CCTV, but users of China's Twitter-like weibos have been split, with some backing Apple and saying state-owned Chinese firms deserved more criticism for poor service.

Speculation has mounted that it is an organised campaign, and columnist and microblogger Lian Peng said he bought a new iPad Friday "on purpose" and will "seriously consider buying an iPhone 5".

"I don't fancy electronic items. But I feel embarrassed if I don't purchase after seeing the bombardment of advertising jointly staged by CCTV and the People's Daily," he wrote.

Kai-Fu Lee compared current events to 2009, when he was the head of Google China and the US search engine firm suffered state media potshots followed by official penalties.

Google effectively shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010 after months of tensions with the government over censorship, and now sends mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong.

But any underlying motive behind the attacks against Apple remains unclear.

China and the US are embroiled in a series of rows over technology and cybersecurity.

No-one from Apple's China office was available for comment on Friday.

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Emerging countries still lead way: OECD

EDS: Not for use before 2100 AEDT Thursday, March 28

By Colin Brinsden, AAP Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, March 28 AAP - When Julia Gillard makes her second trip to China as prime minister next week, she'll be visiting one of the mainstays of global economic growth.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) interim global economic outlook says Australia's number one trading partner will to continue to grow at an annualised rate well above eight per cent in the first half of 2013.

OECD deputy secretary-general and chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan says growth among the emerging economies remains much faster than in advanced countries.

"Given the substantial share of the world economy now accounted for by emerging economies, they will again drive growth at the global level this year," he said in the report released on Friday.

However, activity is picking up in many major economies.

The United States is expected to return to moderate growth in the first half of 2013, while Japan, Australia's second key trading partner, is expected to accelerate from low levels boosted by new policy measures.

"In Europe, a meaningful recovery is likely to take somewhat longer," Mr Padoan said.

He said within the euro area, there was a renewed divergence between growth in Germany, which is likely to pick up strongly over the first half of 2013, and other countries, which will remain slow or negative.

The overall improvement in economic activity has been a key factor behind the marked strengthening of financial markets in recent months.

"However, real activity has yet to reflect fully the improvement in financial market sentiment, especially in the euro area," Mr Padoan warns.

"This highlights the risk of asset prices getting out of line with fundamentals, especially as regards corporate securities."

The Paris-based institution expects the Group of Seven countries (US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Canada) to be growing at an annualised rate of 1.8 per cent by mid-2013 after contracting by 0.5 per cent as of the final three months of 2012.

There were no new forecasts for Australia.

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Airport screeners drop Easter stoppages

Industrial action at Melbourne Airport over Easter is not expected to delay flights, Qantas says. Source: AAP

MELBOURNE Airport security screeners have abandoned planned industrial action over the Easter weekend after they and their employer were asked to consider further talks.

The screeners, who are employed by contractor MSS Security, had announced they would hold rolling 30-minute work stoppages from Good Friday in the Qantas domestic terminal.

But late on Thursday, United Voice, the union representing the screeners, said the planned industrial action had been shelved after the Fair Work Commission asked it to consider further talks with MSS Security.

In a statement the union said it would follow the Fair Work Commission's recommendations and continue talks.

The prospect of industrial action has been postponed until after Easter.

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Queues form as Cyprus reopens banks

CYPRUS banks have reopened under armed guard after a nearly two-week lockdown but customers faced harsh curbs to stop them draining the island's coffers after its eurozone bailout.

Queues of dozens of people formed on Thursday before the doors swung open at 2100 (AEDT) for the first time since March 16, and there were tensions as a few branches opened late, with customers banging on the doors.

World markets were jittery over the crisis, which has seen capital controls imposed for the first time by a eurozone economy in order to prevent financial meltdown after the 10 billion euros ($A12.33 billion) EU-IMF rescue package.

"It will be a very bad day - there will be swearing and a lot of anger," Philippos Philippou, an unemployed electrician told AFP outside Laiki bank in Nicosia's Makarios Street where about 12 people were lined up.

Banks were handing out lists of the controls including a daily withdrawal limit of 300 euros, imposed to prevent a run on the banks that could wreak havoc on the east Mediterranean island's already fragile economy.

Five shipping containers reportedly filled with billions of euros were delivered to the central bank late Wednesday, an AFP photographer said. A helicopter and police cars accompanied the cash convoy.

The Cyprus stock exchange remained closed.

Most banks in Nicosia had between one and three guards posted at their entrances early Thursday, some of them carrying weapons - an alien sight in the generally peaceful tourist island.

There were queues of up to 25 people at other banks.

Cypriot authorities appealed on television late Wednesday for people to give priority to the elderly as many do not have credit cards and have to withdraw their money over the counter.

Roula Spyrou, 50, a jewellery shop owner, said she would not bother going.

"There's going to be queues so I'm not going to spend so many hours there to get 300 euros," she said.

The restrictions - which last for a week before they are reviewed - also ban the cashing of cheques and ordered those travelling abroad not to take more than 1000 euros out of the country.

Under a deal agreed in Brussels on Monday, Cyprus must raise 5.8 billion euros to qualify for the full 10-billion-euro loan from the "troika" of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Depositors with more than 100,000 euros in the top two banks - Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Laiki - face losing a large chunk of their money.

Banking employees union ETYK said staff were ready to go back to work but urged the public not to blame them for the tight controls. Unlike in other European countries Cypriot tellers are not housed behind glass barriers.

Monday's deal kept the Mediterranean island from crashing out of the euro - but it has provoked fury at home.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said that Cyprus "will see worse days in 2013 ... the economy will go into deeper recession."

On Wednesday, around 1500 anti-austerity protesters marched on the presidential palace.

Bank workers could be among the worst hit by the bailout as it demands major reforms to its banking system, which is heavily dependent on Russian money.

The bailout involves restructuring the Bank of Cyprus and eventually winding down Laiki, whose "good" assets will be absorbed by the bigger bank. BoC's chief executive was sacked on Wednesday.

Cyprus is the first eurozone country to impose capital controls after bailouts - unlike Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, which have also received multi-billion-dollar rescue packages.

As well as raising concerns that other countries could face similarly harsh bailouts in future, the move has raised fears that it could effectively create "two euros" as euros trapped in Cyprus are effectively worth less.

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East Timor Operation Astute formally ends

The Australian Defence Force has formally concluded its operation to restore order in East Timor. Source: AAP

THE Australian Defence Force (ADF) has formally concluded its operation to restore order in East Timor, with the remaining personnel returning home.

Operation Astute was launched in May 2006 in response to a request from the East Timor government following violence fanned by an army mutiny.

Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the last ADF personnel deployed on Astute returned to Australia on Wednesday, following the ceasing of operations in November last year.

Lt Gen Power praised the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force for its success in restoring public order to the fledgling nation.

"The ADF is proud to have assisted the Timorese people in the quest for self determination and governance," he said in a statement.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the formal end to the operation marked a "significant milestone" for the ADF.

"I extend my thanks to all ADF personnel who have served under Operation Astute for the contribution they have made in assisting Timor-Leste to establish a peaceful and independent nation," he said in a statement.

"In recent years, Timor-Leste has seen its economy grow and institutions strengthen.

"The 2012 national elections clearly demonstrated the ability of Timor-Leste security forces, both military and police, to manage domestic security."

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Hands off our finance sector: Luxembourg

Officials in Cyprus warned that "superhuman" efforts are needed to reopen its banks by Thursday. Source: AAP

LUXEMBOURG has railed against what it fears is a new eurozone position that oversized finance sectors must be scaled back in line with national economic output following the Cyprus banking debacle.

Former Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker's government is "concerned about recent statements and declarations that were made since the crisis in Cyprus sharpened", a news release said.

Specifically, it rejects "general assessments of the size of the financial sector in relation to a country's GDP (gross domestic product) and the alleged risks this poses for economic and fiscal sustainability".

The government said the Luxembourg finance sector acts as "an important gateway for the euro area by attracting investments and thus contributing to the general competitiveness of all member states".

Juncker's successor as eurozone head, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, has said that the Cypriot financial sector was too big compared with the country's overall gross domestic product, a problem that has forced Cyprus to break up one Cypriot bank and downsize another in exchange for an international bailout worth 10 billion euros ($A12.35 billion).

While few eurozone economies depend on the banking sector as heavily as Cyprus does, Berenberg Bank economists noted on Monday that bank assets in three other eurozone countries were bigger as a percentage of gross domestic product than in Cyprus, where they amounted to more than 700 per cent of GDP in 2011.

In Luxembourg, the percentage was an astounding 2500 per cent, the economists said, while in Ireland they were more than 800 per cent and in Malta close to 800 per cent.

The eurozone average was given as a much more modest 360 per cent.

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Bank of Cyprus head sacked

THE chief executive of the Bank of Cyprus, the island's biggest lender, has been sacked by the central bank governor as part of an international bailout deal, state media says.

Yiannis Kypri was fired on the instructions of the so-called troika of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported.

It said his departure was ordered as part of the restructuring of the Bank of Cyprus under the bailout deal, which involves the bank absorbing the remains of Laiki, the second biggest bank in Cyprus that has been wound down.

Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades, who sacked Kypri, said on Tuesday that under the deal large depositors in the Bank of Cyprus would become shareholders, which would in turn mean the election of a new leadership.

The sacking of the chief executive comes a day after Kypri addressed hundreds of Bank of Cyprus employees at its headquarters. They were angered by the appointment of an administrator for the lender.

The board of the Bank of Cyprus, meanwhile, rejected the resignation of chairman Andreas Artemis and four other board members on Tuesday.

The 10-billion-euro ($A12.45 billion)) deal sealed with the troika in Brussels on Monday calls for the reform of Cyprus's prized but bloated banking sector and deals a major hit to big depositors.

All Cypriot lenders have been closed since March 16, but CNA said capital controls to prevent a run on banks and allow them to reopen on Thursday as scheduled were expected to be announced later on Wednesday.

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Coalition climate policy yet to be costed

Tony Abbott has hinted the coalition's climate change policy cost will be similar to a 2010 figure. Source: AAP

THE federal opposition has yet to put a budget figure on the cost of its "direct action" plan to tackle climate change but has hinted it will be similar to its 2010 election pledge.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has vowed to rescind the carbon tax and replace it with a system of incentives to help consumers and businesses achieve a five per cent national cut in carbon emissions by 2020.

The Liberals' policy direction statement, A Strong Australia, says the emissions reduction fund would spend, on average, $1 billion a year.

Asked on Tuesday about the final cost of the coalition's 2013 election policy on climate change, Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney, "Our policy will cost what we commit to it in the policy that we will announce before the election."

"We will spend no more and no less on reducing emissions than we allocate," Mr Abbott said.

"And the amount we allocated in the last election was $3.2 billion over four years."

He said the climate change policy would be administered by the environment department.

A spokesman for Climate Change Minister Greg Combet told AAP on Tuesday the coalition was unable to cost its policy because it would do nothing to tackle climate change or help industry reduce pollution.

"Yet it would hit ordinary people hard by scrapping the Gillard government's tax cuts and increases in family tax benefits and pensions," he said.

"Labor's clean energy policies are already reducing carbon pollution and helping households and businesses."

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Qld premier pushed to refer MP to watchdog

Premier Campbell Newman (pic) is under pressure to refer Scott Driscoll to the corruption watchdog. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman is under pressure to refer his suspended MP Scott Driscoll to the corruption watchdog.

The rookie MP has faced months of allegations of improper business dealings and another has been added to the list.

The Courier-Mail reports Mr Driscoll wrote to Woolworths in November on behalf of the Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (QRTSA) he previously headed, but denies controlling since becoming an MP.

The paper says Mr Driscoll offered to reconsider the lobby group's opposition to extended trading hours, if the grocery giant stumped up some cash.

Woolworths confirmed to AAP it had received Mr Driscoll's offer, but rejected it.

QRTSA denied claims Mr Driscoll negotiated with Woolworths on their behalf.

Mr Driscoll only introduced the lobby group as a voluntary patron, but didn't enter into any negotiations, the QRTSA said in a statement.

The QRTSA said it also "strongly refutes" other allegations raised on Tuesday.

Mr Newman, who had Mr Driscoll suspended from the LNP on Monday, said the fresh allegations caught him unawares.

"Every single allegation that has been made (so far) has been referred to the relevant investigative arms of government," Mr Newman said.

But Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said all new allegations should be referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

"Any evidence, any document must be immediately forwarded to the CMC," she said.

"This is the job for the premier to stand up and do, not be an ostrich and bury his head in the sand."

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N Korea threatens to strike US mainland

North Korea has put its rocket units on combat ready status, with prepared orders to strike the US. Source: AAP

NORTH Korea has put its artillery and "strategic" rocket units on combat ready status, with orders to prepare for strikes against the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam, state media is reporting.

A statement from the Korean People's Army supreme command on Tuesday ordered "all artillery troops including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units to be placed under class-A combat readiness".

The units should be prepared to attack "all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam", as well as South Korea, said the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

Despite its successful long-range rocket launch in December, most experts believe North Korea is years from developing a genuine inter-continental ballistic missile that could strike the continental United States.

Hawaii and Guam would also be outside the range of its medium-range missiles, which would be capable, however, of striking US military bases in South Korea and Japan.

The supreme command announcement came days after the South Korean and US militaries signed a new pact, providing for a joint military response to even low-level provocative action by North Korea.

While existing agreements provide for US engagement in the event of a full-scale conflict, the new protocol addresses the response to a limited provocation such as an isolated incident of cross-border shelling.

It guarantees US support for any South Korean retaliation and allows Seoul to request any additional US military force it deems necessary.

North Korea shelled a South Korean border island in November 2010, killing four people.

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Zimbabwe High Court frees prominent lawyer

THE High Court in Zimbabwe has freed on bail Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent human rights lawyer who was arrested last week while representing the prime minister's staffers.

Mtetwa was granted bail after an earlier bail attempt was thrown out by a lower court. She faces charges of obstructing the course of justice.

"The appellant should not have been denied bail. She is a practitioner of many years of experience," judge Joseph Musakwa told a packed courtroom which included Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga.

Mtetwa was detained on March 17 during a raid on Morgan Tsvangirai's communications office as she tried to help Thabani Mpofu, director for research in the prime minister's office, and three other colleagues.

Prosecutors said Mtetwa hindered police investigations during the raid, which blemished a referendum on a new constitution held a day earlier.

They also alleged three computers went missing during the raid.

The four aides to Tsvangirai have been charged with breaching the state secrecy code and impersonating the police.

Two other staffers taken into questioning on Thursday were released at the weekend without charge.

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Cyprus deal prevents eurozone exit: govt

A preliminary agreement has been reached paving the way for Cyprus to receive a $A12.49b bailout. Source: AAP

THE Cyprus bailout deal concluded in Brussels has ended uncertainty and prevented a "disorderly default" that could have seen Cyprus exit the eurozone, a Cypriot government spokesman says.

"Finally, Cyprus has ended a period of uncertainty and insecurity for the economy. A disorderly default was avoided, which would have meant leaving the euro zone, with devastating consequences," spokesman Christos Stylianides said in a statement.

"A disorderly default was avoided, which would have meant leaving the eurozone, with devastating consequences."

Early on Monday, the eurozone struck a deal with Cyprus to resurrect a bailout for its government, but only after a radical downsizing of the island's financial sector.

Under the terms of the agreement the island's second largest lender Laiki (Popular Bank) will be wound up while the Bank of Cyprus, the island's No.1 lender, will have to endure a major "haircut" on all deposits of more than 100,000 euros ($A124,900).

"The important thing is that we have reached an agreement that allows us to kick-start the economy and lay the groundwork for a new beginning," Stylianides said.

"Without doubt that there are painful aspects that will place a burden on all of us."

Diko MP and chair of parliamentary finance committee, Nicolas Papadopoulos, too spoke of the pain the deal will deliver to Cypriots.

"Without a shadow of a doubt the eurogroup deal and bailout agreement with the troika is a very painful one," he said.

Former Cyprus central bank governor Afxentis Afxentiou told state radio:

"Cyprus has suffered a big hit and our standard of living will spiral downward, although the economy maybe able to recover in 2-3 years our standard of living will take at least 10 years to return."

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, meanwhile, sent a tweet in which he expressed gratitude to Cypriots.

"Thank you for your messages of support. They gave me strength during last night's struggle to secure the best possible outcome for #Cyprus," said the tweet.

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Melbourne thieves get away with guns

MASKED men have stolen a number of firearms after breaking into a storage unit in Melbourne's southeast.

Police say the thieves broken into the Huntingdale facility in the early hours of last Thursday using bolt cutters to cut the padlocks on several safes where the guns were stored.

It's believed the robbery was targeted.

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Musharraf returns to Pakistan from exile

Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf says he wants to "free" his homeland from terrorism. Source: AAP

PAKISTAN'S former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has returned home after more than four years in exile, defying a Taliban death threat to contest historic general elections.

Hundreds of well-wishers gathered at Karachi airport on Sunday, beating drums, dancing, waving green flags with pictures of Musharraf and Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and showering rose petals in anticipation of his arrival.

The 69-year-old ex-dictator says he is prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, in what will be the first democratic transition of power in the history of a nuclear-armed country dominated by periods of military rule.

But Musharraf is not thought likely to win more than a couple of seats for his All Pakistan Muslim League party and he remains a highly controversial figure.

He seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief in 1999 and left the country after resigning in 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf was forced to scrap plans to hold a public rally at Jinnah's tomb in Karachi over security concerns, after the Taliban threatened to dispatch a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate him.

He was whisked away by airport security after his scheduled Emirates flight landed from Dubai, but was expected to address the crowd at around 5:00 pm (2300 AEDT) .

His official Facebook and Twitter accounts provided an upbeat commentary on his return, complete with photographs. An AFP reporter said supporters on the flight shouted "long live Musharraf", annoying some of the regular passengers.

Musharraf, who has been granted protective bail to lift the threat of immediate arrest on his return to Pakistan, told reporters before leaving Dubai that he was "not feeling nervous" but admitted to some concerns.

"I am feeling concerned about the unknown... there are a lot of unknown factors of terrorism and extremism, unknown factors of legal issue, unknown factors of how much I will be able to perform (in the elections)," he said.

In one of the legal cases that has long ensnared Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated when he was running the country in December 2007, three months after she returned to Pakistan from her own self-imposed exile.

Karachi, a city of 18 million, is already in the throes of record political and ethnic violence. On March 3, a huge car bomb killed 50 people in a mainly Shi'ite Muslim area of the city, the worst single attack in the city for years.

At the airport, local police official A.D. Chaudhry said 1,000 well-wishers had turned out although an AFP reporter said the number appeared about half that.

Supporters chanted "Long Live Musharraf" and his catchphrase, "Pakistan First". Young boys wore "Pakistan First" T-shirts emblazoned with his picture.

Security was tight with police, paramilitary and traffic police deployed in large numbers at the airport, where there was also a sizeable media contingent.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber killed 17 Pakistani soldiers by ramming a water tanker packed with explosives into a checkpoint in the tribal district of North Waziristan on the northwestern Afghan border.

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Runner in critical condition after storm

A car yard at Greenslopes was damaged by a storm tonight. Source: The Courier-Mail

A MAN is in a critical condition after being hit by a falling branch as the weather turned wild during a fun-run in Brisbane tonight.

The man was competing in the Twilight Run at the University of Queensland at St Lucia when he was struck with what emergency services are describing as a "large tree branch."

Three crews were called to Sir Fred Schonell Drive at 6.19pm where ambulance officers found the man unconscious at the scene.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, suffered serious head injuries and was rushed to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition.

The half-marathon was reportedly stopped as the weather worsened.

A stormfront, as pictured from Admiralty Towers, moves through Brisbane's CBD this afternoon. PIC: Ruth Bonnett

Storms, which have now moved north,  hammered Brisbane and the Gold Coast this afternoon after moving in from the west.

The Bureau said 45mm of rain was recorded in 30 minutes at Carole Park and 40mm in the same time period at Brassal, west of Brisbane.

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Earlier, the Bureau warned that thunderstorms were detected on weather radar near Ipswich, Beenleigh and Logan City.

Storm clouds menace the northern end of the Gold Coast this afternoon. PIC: David Clark

These thunderstorms are moving towards the northeast. Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Brisbane CBD, Cleveland and Albany Creek by 6:30pm and Strathpine, Redcliffe and Beachmere by 7pm.

Nearly 30,000 homes and businesses are without power in southeast Queensland because of storm activity.

Over 400 properties on the Gold Coast have lost power because of fallen power lines and widespread power problems in Logan are currently being investigated.

Jimboomba, Greenbank and Logan Village are amongst the hardest hit suburbs in the Logan City Council region, with over 22,000 properties having reported power outages.

A stormfront moves through Brisbane's CBD this afternoon.

An Energex spokeswoman said "it was hard to say" when restorations will be made.

"It depends on the complexity of the problem, which crews will assess," she said.

"In the meantime, please report any power outages to Energex on 13 19 62 and be careful around fallen power lines."

Other severe thunderstorms were located near the area northwest of Esk and the area west of Toogoolawah. They are forecast to affect Toogoolawah by 6:30 pm and the area west of Kilcoy, Mount Kilcoy and Linville by 7:00 pm.

A reader taken from Highfields, near Toowoomba, this afternoon.

Destructive winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding are likely.

A 90 km/h wind gust was recorded at Beaudesert at 5:08pm.

The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology warned of damaging wind, heavy rainfall and large hail for people in Logan, Ipswich, the Scenic Rim and parts of Brisbane.

The Gold Coast, Lockyer Valley, Southern Downs, Somerset, Toowoomba, Redlands and Stradbroke Island were also include in the severe thunderstorm warning.

The Bureau advised that severe thunderstorms were detected near Boonah, Beaudesert, southwest of Esk and northeast of Warwick.

They are forecast to affect Esk and Logan Village by 5.55pm and Ipswich, Beenleigh and Logan City by 6.25pm.

Earlier it was reported, storms near Rathdowney, Helidon, Murphy's Creek and Killarney are moving east to northeast.

They are forecast to hit Oakington, Laravale and Kooralbyn by 5.05pm and Warwick, Beaudesert and Gatton by 5:35pm.

Earlier it was reported that a band of severe thunderstorms was moving towards the Gold Coast, with heavy rain and damaging winds forecast. Power outages have been since been reported.

At 3.30pm, a band of severe thunderstorms were near Numinbah Valley, south of Canungra and south of the NSW border and moving north, northeast.

They were forecast to hit Little Nerang Dam, Mudgeeraba and Canungra by 4pm and Nerang, Southport and Mt Tamborine by 4.30pm.

Earlier, it was reported storms were moving east-northeast and expected to hit Pikedale and the Border Ranges National Park by 2.35pm and the McPherson Range, Springbrook and Rathdowney by 3.05pm.

The Weather Bureau expects damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding.

A general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for parts of the Maranoa and Warrego, Darling Downs and Granite Belt and southeast coast until Tuesday evening.

The monsoon trough is redeveloping in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arafura Sea, resulting in an increase in shower and storm activity.

A weak low may form in the Arafura Sea early in the week but, at this stage, the bureau does not expect it to develop into a cyclone.

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Leighton shareholder denies interference

LEIGHTON Holdings' major shareholder has denied it had anything to do with the shake-up of the construction giant's board.

Leighton chairman Stephen Johns and non-executive directors Wayne Osborn and Ian Macfarlane, a former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, have tendered their resignations following what the company said was a breakdown in relations with German construction company Hochtief, which owns a 40 per cent stake in Leighton.

But in a letter to the Leighton board before a board meeting later on Sunday, Hochtief has denied it influenced the resignations.

"We are disappointed by the resignation as we do not consider that Hochtief has done anything to undermine the independence of the Leighton Board or threatened any such action," the company said.

Hochtief, which is majority owned by Spanish Group ACS, has two representatives on what was the company's 10-person board.

Mr Johns said in his letter of resignation that one of the Hochtief representatives on the board and the German construction giant's chief executive, Marcelino Fernandez Verdes, had interfered in the appointment of a new director.

But Hochtief said Mr Fernandez Verdes was merely exercising his right to participate in the selection and appointment process.

"Mr Fernandez Verdes suggested that the board would benefit from the addition of a new director with a different set of skills to that offered by the proposed candidate," he said.

Hochtief also said the reasons behind its lack of support for Mr John's re-election were explained to other directors.

"Neither of these matters relate to any attempt by Hochtief to undermine the independence of the board," the company said.

Hochtief has reaffirmed its commitment to the independence agreement with Leighton and said it was "greatly concerned " with a proposal from the independent directors to replace the governance protocols.

"This was contained in their letter to the Mr Fernandez Verdes and, if implemented, would have effect of excluding Hochtief from any material role in the nomination of any future independent director," the statement said.

A board meeting is scheduled for 6pm AEDT when an interim chairman is expected to be appointed.

After a board meeting on Sunday night, a company spokesman said the new Chairman was Bob Humphris. He has been a director of the construction giant since September 2004.

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