Obama vows to fix healthcare website

The White House says the bug plagued website for Obamacare scheme will be fixed by end of November. Source: AAP

US President Barack Obama has acknowledged problems with the rollout of a key health website, adding he had people "working overtime" to fix the glitches.

Obama has faced a flood of criticism over this month's sputtering debut of healthcare.gov, through which millions of Americans are expected to buy insurance.

Customers have had trouble signing on, getting accurate cost estimates, and completing enrolment.

"As you may have heard, the site isn't working the way it's supposed to yet," Obama said in his weekly broadcast address on Saturday.

"That's frustrating for all of us who have worked so hard to make sure everyone who needs it gets health care."

Obama said the site had been visited more than 20 million times, and nearly 700,000 people have applied for coverage - proof, he said, of the high demand for "quality, affordable health care choices".

"And that's why, in the coming weeks, we are going to get it working as smoothly as it's supposed to. We've got people working overtime, 24/7, to boost capacity and address these problems, every single day."

Obama's Republican opponents, who have long opposed his health insurance reform, seized on the website's failed launch as a chance to slam the administration.

At a House hearing Thursday, Republicans took turns bashing the administration and demanding accountability for the flawed website debut.

It was "interesting to see Republicans in Congress expressing so much concern that people are having trouble buying health insurance through the new website", said Obama on Saturday.

"Especially considering they've spent the last few years so obsessed with denying those same people access to health insurance that they just shut down the government and threatened default over it."

Obama said he would work with opponents to improve the law - formally known as the Affordable Care Act - but that "it's well past the time for folks to stop rooting for its failure."

Some people "have poked fun at me this week for sounding like an insurance salesman", Obama said. "And that's okay. I'd still be out there championing this law even if the website were perfect."

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US citizen drowns off Tasmania

A UNITED States citizen has drowned while diving off Tasmania.

The woman was diving off the Tinderbox Marine Reserve south of Hobart when she was reported missing at about 1.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Her diving companions located her a short time later lying in 12m of water.

Attempts to resuscitate her by her diving companions, police and paramedics were unsuccessful.

She was pronounced dead on arrival at Royal Hobart Hospital.

The diver was a 48-year-old United States citizen who was visiting Tasmania.

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'Bushfire-burnout' warning as crisis eases

Governor-General Quentin Bryce thanked firefighters, after touring the charred lower Blue Mountains. Source: AAP

LEADERS have praised the legions of firefighters and residents who stared down NSW's 10-day bushfire crisis that is only now easing.

But amid the camaraderie and consolation there were concerns about bushfire burnout setting in - a full month out from summer.

"It's just terrifying that we're sitting here in spring and we've had all these hot fires," Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill told AAP on Friday.

"There's still a lot of unburned bush and we've got the height of summer to come."

His community has been hardest hit by the bushfire crisis that began last week.

More than 200 local families have lost their homes and all three of the blazes burning at a watch and act level on Friday were in the mountains west of Sydney.

At Springwood in the mountains, what had been the most destructive fire in the state was being controlled after burning more than 3,300 hectares and.

Fires at Mount York and the State Mine Fire in Lithgow, started by an army explosives exercise, were also being brought under control.

Firefighters were patrolling and mopping up at Gateshead in the Lake Macquarie area where a fire had threatened homes at Dudley and Redhead, the RFS said.

More than 800 firefighters remained on the state's firegrounds on Friday and just over 50 fires continued to burn, but many interstate and metropolitan firefighters have begun the long drive home.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce toured the charred lower Blue Mountains suburbs of Winmalee and Springwood.

"Thank you for what you've done," she said, speaking not only to locals but to the 2000-odd firefighters from across the country who joined in the effort to save lives and homes in NSW.

Tributes flowed on Friday for pilot David Black, who died when his aircraft crashed while fighting a fire at Wirritin in Budawang National Park, west of Ulladulla.

His was the second life lost in the fires. A 63-year-old man died defending his Central Coast home last Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said there was a sense of hiatus at the Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters, but dangerous fire weather could hit within days and dozens of fires continued to burn across the state.

"The fact is it's going to take weeks, not days, to get containment on all these fires," he told AAP.

"People do get fatigued - particularly when it's warning after warning going out to the same communities."

No one should be under any illusion that the dire scenarios predicted for Wednesday - like the fear that major fires could merge to form a super fire spanning the Blue Mountains - were over-hyped, he said.

Firefighters had worked "way beyond" the hours they would ordinarily be allowed to put in, forgoing sleep to run risky back-burning operations around the mountains in a bid to avoid catastrophe.

"I genuinely did fear that we were going to lose people in that fire," Mr Rogers said.

"The community tends to view the fact that we didn't have mayhem and destruction by saying, 'Oh, well it didn't happen'.

"Well it didn't happen because a lot of people worked hard to stop it happening."

The federal government has extended its Disaster Recovery Payments of $1000 per adult and $400 per child to bushfire-affected residents in the Wollondilly area, southwest of Sydney.

The region was on emergency alert over the weekend as the Hall Road fire raged, but the blaze has since been contained.

Two homes were lost in the fire.

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Car image released in Qld gunman hunt

POLICE are searching for a small aqua hatchback in their hunt for tattooed gunman who opened fire at a Sunshine Coast motel.

They have released a picture of an older model Ford Festiva with Queensland number plates and are asking anyone who has seen it to call Crime Stoppers.

The gunman remains on the run after reportedly threatening a 29-year-old woman with a firearm at the Buderim property on Thursday afternoon.

Police say when she ran out the back door of the room, he fired a shot through the front wall.

The gunman is described as Caucasian, in his early 20s, slim and about 180cm tall with short hair.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and dark coloured shorts, and has a tattoo across his back.

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NSW bushfire crisis refuses to let up

The RFS Commissioner became emotional as he spoke of the firefighter pilot who was killed in NSW. Source: AAP

A FIREFIGHTING pilot has become the second fatality of the NSW bushfire crisis as the biggest blaze in the state edged closer to homes.

The 43-year-old pilot was killed when his fixed wing waterbomber crashed in rugged country on the south coast on Thursday morning as he fought a blaze near Ulladulla.

Fires prevented rescue crews retrieving his body from the difficult terrain.

A day after lauding the great work of firefighters who averted the greatest threat of the week-long crisis on Wednesday, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons became emotional as he spoke of tragedy.

"We've suffered a huge tragedy on one of our firegrounds today," said Mr Fitzsimmons, who lost his own father fighting a fire 13 years ago.

"It's a tragedy for the fire fighting community but first and foremost it's a tragedy for this man's family.

"He's a husband with young children and we're all acutely aware that there's a family suffering today because their dad didn't come home."

Mr Fitzsimmons said the father of three, who was a contractor for the RFS, was doing extraordinary work and "making a real difference to his community."

"It's a sober reminder just how dangerous fire fighting can be."

Some 60 bushfires continued to burn across NSW and tiny bush communities on the fringes of the Blue Mountains spent much of the day on emergency notice as the massive State Mine Fire flared up.

The State Mine Fire has burned through nearly 50,000 hectares since it was sparked during an army explosives training operation near Lithgow last week.

Waterbombing operations in the area have helped crews gain the upper hand and the fire was downgraded back to watch and act early on Thursday evening.

Mr Fitzsimmons said the tiny communities of Mount Irvine and Mount Wilson had been forced to shelter in place because fire had blocked major access roads, while residents from Berambing and Mount Tomah were able to flee east towards Bilpin.

The Department of Defence apologised on Thursday for starting the State Mine Fire, which has already destroyed three homes.

Acting Chief of Defence, Air Marshall Mark Binskin, said a small fire that started during a routine training exercise at Marrangaroo on October 16 was responsible for the blaze.

"I do apologise, because it has been identified that this fire was the start of this mine fire," he told reporters at RFS headquarters in Sydney on Thursday.

Defence has launched its own investigation into the incident.

Defence personnel acted quickly after an explosion sparked a small blaze but were hampered by the live ordnance around them.

"This was not deliberately starting a fire, this was an accident as part of a training activity on a day there wasn't a fire ban," Air Marshall Binskin told reporters.

He said Defence was "not shying from our responsibilities" but stopped short of offering compensation to those affected by the bushfire.

An RFS spokesman has warned there will be little respite for communities who have been on edge for over a week and for the 1400 firefighters still on the job.

He told reporters late on Thursday that high fire danger weather was likely to linger for at least the next three or four days.

He conceded any residents who are asked to leave their homes yet again may become "frustrated" but he's urged people in bushfire areas to continue to heed official warnings, saying the danger remains real.

Governor General Quentin Bryce will tour bushfire hit parts of the mountains on Friday.

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Don't play politics with RBA, Wong says

THE opposition has accused Treasurer Joe Hockey of playing politics with the Reserve Bank of Australia, while a former RBA board member says the treasurer's predecessor, Wayne Swan, is guilty of economic vandalism.

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Mackenzie backs BHP's green credentials

BHP Billiton boss Andrew Mackenzie has defended the resource giant's environmental credentials in the face of criticism from a former chairman of the Australian Coal Association.

Ian Dunlop, now an environmental campaigner, is standing for election to the company's board claiming BHP doesn't understand the threat posed by dangerous climate change.

"Climate change is relevant to us all," Mr Mackenzie said on Thursday at the company's AGM in London.

"As a significant user of energy, we are working to drive down our greenhouse gas intensity and we are seeing results.

"Our current emissions are below our 2006 baseline despite the substantial growth of our business since then."

Mr Mackenzie, addressing his first AGM as chief executive after replacing Marius Kloppers earlier this year, insisted "we are environmentally responsible".

BHP is Melbourne-based, but is listed in both Australia and London. The Australian AGM will be held in November in Perth.

The company is urging shareholder's to vote against Mr Dunlop's bid.

Chairman Jac Nasser on Thursday told the AGM that BHP looked out at least five years when planning for board succession.

"We are confident that our board renewal process ensures that we have the right blend of skills, experience and perspectives critical to the effective oversight of BHP Billiton on behalf of shareholders," Mr Nasser said.

BHP's net profit plunged by 30 per cent in the 2012/13 financial year to $US10.9 billion ($A12.03 billion).

Weaker commodity prices were the main cause and the company is slashing costs and capital expenditure in response.

However, Mr Nasser said in London that BHP continues to expected the Chinese economy to grow at more than seven per cent next year.

"China, and other emerging economies, will be the major drivers of economic growth in the long term which could deliver up to a 75 per cent increase in demand for some commodities over the next 15 years."

The chairman said the company was "confident" of continued recovery in the United States while conditions in Europe "remain challenging".

Mr Mackenzie said while the 2012/13 financial year was challenging "we are already seeing signs of recovery in the global economy".

"Our focus on productivity is extracting more value from existing operations," the chief executive said.

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Extreme fire threat averted in NSW

A fire at Springwood was elevated to the highest emergency level after being fanned by strong winds. Source: AAP

THE worst of the unparalleled fire risk faced by NSW has been averted as it emerged an army explosives exercise started the state's biggest blaze which has threatened thousands of homes and lives for a week.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) said an investigation had found the Department of Defence training exercise on army land at Marrangaroo on October 16 caused the massive State Mine blaze near Lithgow which has burnt out more than 46,000 hectares of bushland and sparked fears of turning into a "mega-fire".

"The investigation has concluded the fire started as a result of exploding ordinances on the range on (last) Wednesday," a RFS spokesman said.

But the department would not comment on the RFS findings, only repeating it was still conducting its own investigation.

Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill was "not happy at all" about the source of the fire which has destroyed three homes.

"I would have hoped on a day like that which was a dry day, a hot day, with the winds - the Australian military would have known it wasn't a good time to be igniting," he said.

"The fire has caused great concern to my community, it's done damage to my community and it just shouldn't have happened."

After the anticipated dire conditions of high winds and temperatures in the mid 30s arrived in the Blue Mountains and the Hunter region on Wednesday, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said high risk strategies from firefighters had paid off.

"We have seen today, and indeed building throughout the week, one of the most significant threats to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities that is unparalleled," he said.

But, late on Wednesday afternoon, he followed that with words the hundreds of Blue Mountains residents who had left their homes had been hoping to hear.

"It would be safe to head back home tonight because the risk has been averted," he said.

Three fires - Springwood, Gateshead and Minmi - were on emergency alert during the day but all had been downgraded to watch and act by mid evening.

As of 6pm on Wednesday, there were still 73 fires burning in NSW and 29 uncontained blazes, but no further loss to property.

Mr Fitzsimmons said the Gateshead fire was burning right through the middle of the two towns it had initially threatened - Redhead and Dudley.

As conditions eased on Wednesday afternoon, the major blaze at Minmi that closed the M1 near Newcastle and caused the evacuation of two schools was downgraded to watch and act.

The Springwood blaze in the Blue Mountains, which last week destroyed nearly 200 homes, had showered more homes with embers as strong winds sprang up earlier on Wednesday.

Mr Fitzsimmons said he was surprised backburning in the Blue Mountains had held out in the extreme fire conditions.

Authorities are preparing for a south westerly change on Thursday that will bring lower temperatures but could still pose a risk to some communities.

"It has the very real potential to present new challenges and particularly in the northern end of the Winmalee Springwood fire where you could see ... that fire could pose threats tomorrow to communities in the Yarramundi Valley area and communities up through Grose Valley and communities to the north east," Mr Fitzsimmons said.

He warned there was still a lot of difficult and dangerous firefighting ahead, possibly for weeks.

Premier Barry O'Farrell lauded the "magnificent planning and preparation" of the emergency services which helped avert the worst.

While the risk was averted, fire activity throughout the day instilled fear in many communities.

Minmi Hotel kitchen manager and chef Sharon Wilson was holed up inside the hotel waiting for instructions from firefighters during the day.

"We've been spraying the pub down and the grass around it," she told AAP.

"There's a lot of embers and ash flying over us."

Two schools were also evacuated in the Minmi area.

Springwood resident Rae Tebbutt said the atmosphere in the normally carefree community was tense.

"Everyone is terrified. I've got three friends who have lost everything," she told AAP.

After all schools in the Blue Mountains were closed on Wednesday, only a select few will be closed on Thursday.

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Melbourne raincoat robber on the run

Melbourne police are searching a man who robbed a convenience store in St Albans wearing a raincoat. Source: AAP

VICTORIAN police are searching for a robber in a yellow raincoat who was last seen with a knife tied around his neck, fleeing on a bicycle.

He robbed a convenience store in St Albans in Melbourne's west about 2.15am (AEDT) on October 9 after demanding cash from the attendant.

He then fled on a push bike and was last seen riding south along Station Road in Deer Park.

The man was wearing a knife tied around his neck on a lanyard and carrying a black and red tool box.

He was also wearing a yellow rain coat, black trousers, work boots and black sunglasses.

He is described as aged between 30-40 and about 170cm to 175cm tall.

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China faces human rights scrutiny in UN

FACED with a United Nations review of its human rights, China has acknowledged it still faces shortcomings but insists it has reduced poverty, deepened judicial reforms and protections of ethnic minorities.

China put its pride and promise to better itself on display on Tuesday at the UN's Human Rights Council, which reviews each nation's record once every four years.

But at the same time human rights groups and activists called attention to what they described as serious abuses and violations of international protections such as crackdowns on human rights defenders and ethnic Tibetan and Uighur populations.

A special envoy for China's foreign ministry, Wu Hailong, launched the three-hour session in the 47-nation Council with a speech that the nation has made many improvements but acknowledged the difficulties of a big, fast-growing country with more than 1.3 billion people and 56 ethnic groups.

Other nations called for better treatment of women, disabled people, and ethnic minorities and for a wide range of judicial improvements, such as an easing in death penalty cases and detentions of human rights defenders.

China said that since the last such review in 2009, when it accepted 42 recommendations by other countries, the country had reduced poverty, deepened reforms of the judicial systems and protections for ethnic minority groups, along with helping to spread "the right to development" among other developing countries.

"We are soberly aware that China still faces many difficulties and challenges in promoting and protecting human rights," Wu told the Geneva-based Council.

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WA mosquito warning over Ross River virus

PEOPLE in Western Australia's South West region are being warned to avoid mosquito bites after this season's first detection of Ross River virus in the insects.

People in Western Australia's South West region are being warned to avoid mosquito bites. Source: AAP

PEOPLE in Western Australia's South West region are being warned to avoid mosquito bites after this season's first detection of Ross River virus in the insects.

The Health Department says its mosquito and virus surveillance program has detected the virus at coastal mosquito breeding sites in the region.

Symptoms include painful or swollen joints, sore muscles, skin rashes, fever, fatigue and headaches.

The department says symptoms can last for weeks or months, and the only way to properly diagnose the virus is by having a specific blood test.

Michael Lindsay, the managing scientist of environmental health hazards at the Health Department, says there is no cure for Ross River virus so it is important that people take care to prevent bites.

"Above average rainfall this spring has enabled breeding of mosquitoes in large numbers in many coastal and inland areas of the South West and Wheatbelt", he said.

Dr Lindsay says activity could spread to other regions where mosquito populations had already established after recent rain.

He says local government mosquito management programs had been under way since August in some areas and would continue in regions at risk of the virus, but could not be solely relied upon.

The warning comes as experts from around Australia gather in Mandurah, south of Perth, this week for a mosquito management course.

The course will provide participants with knowledge and skills required to develop and implement mosquito management programs in their own areas.

Topics covered include mosquito biology, mosquito-borne diseases and methods of controlling mosquitoes.

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Firies get 24 hour reprieve before D-Day

Firefighters are warning of a return to high temperatures and dry winds across NSW on Monday. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS battling on scorched firegrounds across NSW will have 24 hours of kinder weather before severe conditions return to test the state on Wednesday.

Sixty-two fires were burning across the state on Monday with 17 uncontained and emergency warnings for residents of the Blue Mountains townships of Bilpin, Berambing and Springwood.

Rural Fire Service (RFS) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the prospect of three fires in the Blue Mountains linking up to form a mega blaze may have been successfully thwarted by extensive backburning on Monday.

The Rural Fire Service is also hoping to capitalise on lower temperatures on Tuesday and a drop in the north easterly winds.

But Wednesday was shaping as "D-Day", the RFS said.

"The weather situation continues to firm up as being problematic over the next 48 hours with a continuance of similar conditions to today, albeit a marginal reduction of temperatures for tomorrow, before we see wind strengths dominate much of the fire affected areas," Mr Fitzsimmons said.

"But also more broadly right up through the Hunter and the Central Ranges Metropolitan and Illawarra regions, we can expect to see most of those areas with widespread severe fire danger ratings."

Mr Fitzsimmons said there was the potential for extreme fire danger in the greater Sydney area.

And, while the Springwood backburning may have averted a mega fire, there were still concerns the Mount Victoria and State Mine blazes will merge on the western edge of the mountains to form a massive fire.

"Earlier projections were that it had every potential of all three fires joining together," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

"We can't rule it out but hopefully at this stage, with everything that's been going on in the last 24 hours or so, we've lessened the likelihood of that occurring."

Spotfires had hampered back burning efforts in the State Mine fire late on Monday, while lightning strikes across the state without any rainfall will also cause problems overnight, Mr Fitzsimmons said.

NSW remains in a state of emergency and premier Barry O'Farrell defended the powers emergency authorities have been handed to order evacuations.

"We do know in these situations at times there are people who resist the request of emergency authorities to leave, that not only puts their lives at risk but also puts at risk the lives of emergency personnel," he told ABC TV. "You do need to have these (powers), as draconian as they appear, to ensure that people obey the law at these times."

An emergency alert issued for Wilton in the NSW Southern Highlands from a fire at Balmoral was downgraded to watch and act on Monday night after residents were threatened by ember showers and spot fires.

Emergency alerts remained in place for the tiny village of Berambing on Monday night, with embers from the nearby State Mine Fire on Bells Line of Road blowing towards the community.

Residents in nearby Bilpin have also been told to shelter with increasing spot fire activity in the area.

Meanwhile five children, including an 11-year-old boy, have been arrested accused of lighting the blazes that ripped through parts of NSW last week.

Police arrested a 15-year-old and the 11-year-old for their alleged roles in a bushfire that burnt through 5000 hectares in the Hunter Valley, forced the Newcastle Airport to close and destroyed a number of sheds.

A 14-year-old was also arrested for allegedly lighting a fire at Rutherford on Sunday and two girls, 12 and 14, are accused of sparking a blaze at Bonnyrigg last Friday.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said it was disturbing young people had been arrested.

"We have been sending messages and the message I continue to send to parents is this: look after your children, understand where they are if you can, know who they are with, know what they are doing," he told reporters.

More than 200 homes have been lost in the bushfires, with the insurance bill hitting $94 million with 855 claims.

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Malala inspires school curriculum

A university the US is creating multimedia tools to accompany a book released by Malala Yousafzai. Source: AAP

THE 16-year-old Pakistani teen targeted for a Taliban assassination because she championed education for girls has inspired the development of a US school curriculum encouraging advocacy.

George Washington University announced on Monday that faculty members are creating multimedia curriculum tools to accompany a book recently released by Malala Yousafzai.

Several faculty members will pilot the curriculum early next year for both college and high school instruction.

Free of charge, it will focus on themes such as the importance of a woman's voice and political extremism, the university said.

The tools won't just look at the teen's story, but also how the same issues get reflected elsewhere, such as when girls face child marriage and pressures to leave school, said Mary Ellsberg, the director of the university's Global Women's Institute.

"It's going to be really interactive and really encourage students to do ... activities outside of school, it will encourage them to get engaged in the communities and as well to help the Malala Fund directly," Ellsberg said.

The university's Global Women's Institute is partnered with the Malala Fund, a nonprofit that seeks to ensure girls around the world have access to education.

In 2012 a Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking Malala and other children home from school in Pakistan's volatile northern Swat Valley and shot Malala in the head and neck. Another girl on the bus was also wounded.

Malala now resides in Britain, where she was flown for medical care.

Her memoir is "I am Malala."

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Indian death toll from toxic liquor 42

Another 10 people have died after drinking toxic bootleg liquor in northern India. Source: AAP

ANOTHER 10 people have died in hospitals after drinking toxic bootleg liquor in northern India, raising the death toll to 42 in the past three days.

District Magistrate Neena Sharma says another 40 people are being treated in hospitals in Uttar Pradesh state.

Police arrested 32 people for illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to the villagers, who were celebrating the Hindu "Dussehra" festival in Azamgarh district last week, Sharma said on Sunday.

The region is 300 kilometres southeast of Lucknow, the state capital.

Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licenced liquor.

Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency.

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Khloe Kardashian to return to Australia

Khloe Kardashian will reportedly travel to Australia next month to promote the family's new line. Source: AAP

KHLOE Kardashian must be having mixed feelings about returning to Australia in November.

Last time she visited, in 2011, she and her older sister Kim flew into a media storm. They arrived in Australia in the wake of Kim's announcement that she was divorcing her husband Kris Humphries, a mere 72 days after their much-hyped wedding.

Now News Corp Australia is reporting Khloe will return to Australia in November to promote the Kardashian family's fashion empire.

Khloe, 29, has been the subject of recent headlines about the state of her own marriage, to basketballer Lamar Odom.

The trip follows the launch of the Kardashian Kollection's ready-to-wear Spring/Summer line at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Sydney in August.

Khloe and Kim, who rose to fame with the TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, visited Australia in 2011 to promote their handbag line.

Hundreds of fans, journalists and photographers followed the stars on their two-day visit. The sisters cut short the trip and cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Khloe's November visit is likely to be more subdued.

It's unlikely Odom will join his wife in Australia.

The couple are reportedly estranged amid rumours the basketball player is battling addiction to cocaine.

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