Good Friday processions in Jerusalem

The crucifixion of Jesus is being remembered in prayers and processions throughout Jerusalem. Source: AAP

CHRISTIANS in the Holy Land are commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Good Friday prayers and processions through Jerusalem's Old City.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims filled the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City on Friday along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the "Way of Suffering."

They are carrying wooden crosses and following the 14 stations ending at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Tradition says the church was built on the site where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The Easter holiday and Jewish Passover coincide this year.

According to the Gospels, Jesus ate his last supper - a Passover meal - hours before he was betrayed. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

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Easter road toll stands at four lives lost

AUSTRALIA'S Easter road toll now stands at four after a tragic opening to the holiday long weekend in both Western Australia and Tasmania.

Young men aged 17 to 20 account for three of the deaths, all in WA, and the fourth fatal crash involved a Chinese woman who was on holiday in Tasmania.

All of the fatal crashes occurred on Thursday and authorities have not reported a road death on Good Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, a 17-year-old boy died after being thrown from a car which rolled several times on the Gnaraloo-Quobba Road near the WA town of Carnarvon.

Police said the East Carnarvon boy was a passenger in a Nissan Patrol when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

People who had been following the vehicle stopped and performed CPR on the boy until ambulance crews arrived. He was taken to Carnarvon Regional Hospital but was unable to be revived.

The 17-year-old male driver was treated for cuts and bruises.

Hours later, a 20-year-old man was killed when a Ford Falcon ute he was driving hit a tree on the Collie-Williams Road near Collie at about 3pm (WST).

His passenger, a 22-year-old man from Bunbury, was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital after a passing motorist pulled him from the burning wreckage.

On Thursday evening and again in WA, a 19-year-old Bruce Rock man died after his car hit a large tree on Narembeen Rd near Bruce Rock east of Perth.

In Tasmania, the 32-year-old Chinese woman was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by her 30-year-old husband, also a Chinese national.

Their Volkswagen hatchback was involved in a head-on collision with a Hyundai delivery van on the Bass Highway, west of Port Latta, on Thursday afternoon.

The couple were taken to the North West Regional Hospital, where the woman died. The man has undergone multiple surgeries and is in a serious condition.

A 31-year-old Burnie man who was driving the van suffered minor injuries but has been released.

(EDS: The Easter road toll figures are for the period 0001 April 17 to 2359 April 21)

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Call for sanctions against N. Korea

THE United Nations Security Council should slap targeted sanctions on North Korean officials responsible for grave human rights abuses, the head of a special UN inquiry says.

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Numbers man Baird vows to transform NSW

MIKE Baird has vowed to restore trust in the government and transform NSW after his sudden rise to premier replacing Barry O'Farrell.

The former banker, who had served as treasurer in the O'Farrell government, was elected Liberal leader unopposed on Thursday.

The top job was vacated following Mr O'Farrell's resignation for giving misleading evidence to the corruption watchdog about a $3000 bottle of wine.

The party room elected Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian as deputy Liberal leader after ministers Pru Goward and Anthony Roberts pulled out of the running.

In his first media conference as incoming premier, Mr Baird said the community was "incredibly disappointed and shocked" by the events over the past 48 hours.

The committed Christian said he would be announcing a set of integrity measures in the coming days and weeks to restore trust.

"What is absolutely challenging for any government is when you lose the trust of the community," he told reporters, flanked by his wife and three children.

"My job, Gladys's job, the government's job, is to restore it," Mr Baird said.

He paid tribute to Mr O'Farrell, saying he was a man of integrity.

"We have made a great foundation," he said.

"But I don't want to just stabilise NSW - I want to transform it."

Mr Baird, who is a surf buddy with Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sydney's northern beaches, said he looked forward to working with the federal leader.

"I have to say it's a pleasure to work alongside a prime minister such as Tony Abbott," Mr Baird said.

Mr Abbott said the new premier would make a fine leader.

"I have known Mike for many years and I know he will discharge his responsibilities with integrity and honour," the PM said.

Mr Baird, the son of former federal MP Bruce Baird, decided to run for premier following a family meeting on Wednesday night.

"We were all apprehensive about what it would mean and that it would be a tough few years ahead but we still said he should do it because we thought he would do a great job," Bruce Baird told Sky News.

But NSW opposition leader John Robertson said Mr Baird was an ideologue.

He said he must answer questions about the appointment of Nick Di Girolamo, who is at the centre of a corruption inquiry, to the board of State Water Corporation in mid-2012.

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Aust journalist faces 7 years in Thai jail

AN Australian journalist and a Thai reporter have faced court in Phuket on charges of defaming Thailand's navy in an online news report which alleged security forces were involved in people smuggling.

Alan Morison, 66, formerly of Melbourne, and local reporter Chutima Sidasathien, face prison terms of up to seven years as well as fines of 100,000 baht (A$3,300) if found guilty of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Prior to the hearing, Morison told AAP both he and his female colleague would refuse to pay bail as a matter of protest, even if it meant being jailed during the trial.

"We've said in principle that we won't pay bail as a matter of protest against the law, but it appears as though (their lawyers) are less happy with us going to jail so the bail is likely to be paid by others whether we want it to be paid or not," he said.

Morison is editor of the online English language news service Phuketwan which last July published a story which carried excerpts from a Reuters report alleging the Thai military was involved in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority to Malaysia.

Outbreaks of ethnic conflict in Myanmar in recent years have led to thousands of Rohingya, who are largely denied citizenship in Myanmar, to flee the country.

But the boats often drift into Thai waters. The Reuters report alleged Thai naval forces and police cooperate with human traffickers to send Rohingya to primitive camps until families can pay a ransom.

Morison says the charges, filed by the navy, are a "set up" and part of efforts to shut down his website which has long reported on the trafficking of Rohingya.

Human rights organisations and the media have called for the charges to be dropped.

A spokesman from US-based Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, called the trial "unjustified".

The navy "should have debated these journalists publicly if they had concerns with the story rather than insisting on their prosecution under the draconian Computer Crimes Act and criminal libel statutes," Mr Adams said.

The Bangkok-based Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand said it shared the view of the UN Human Rights Commissioner "that such a prosecution serves only to stifle media freedom on an issue of profound importance to the rights of a persecuted people".

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Oil slick not linked to MH370: authorities

AN oil slick in the southern Indian Ocean is not linked to a missing Malaysian Airlines jet, Australia's search agency says.

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Greens call for Vic clean energy fund

THE Greens want the Victorian government to establish a state-based clean energy fund to make solar panels more affordable.

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne call for the creation of a Victorian Solar Fund to help homes and businesses deal with the upfront costs of solar panels.

Senator Milne said the fund would make money for the state and reduce power bills.

"Australia is a leader in solar science but is underinvested in solar power, depriving us of jobs that the community is calling out for," she said on Sunday.

"We can create the financial incentives to put solar panels on roofs, for no money down, delivering immediate savings on electricity bills."

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Ita heading south as category one

Cyclone Ita will menace the Queensland coast for at least another day bringing torrential rain. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND - cyclone one day, sunshine the next.

Premier Campbell Newman is pleading with southerners not to cancel their Easter breaks, as the far north dries out and cleans up after Cyclone Ita.

"The sun, by the way, is shining again," he said.

"You're bound to have a great time."

On Sunday, the premier choppered into Hope Vale and Cooktown, which bore the brunt of Ita when it crossed the coast as a category four storm on Friday night.

He predicted it would take about eight to 12 weeks to "really crack the back of the recovery task".

"It's good that there is no loss of life but I can't stress enough (that) people have got to sit tight."

About 50 buildings were damaged in Cooktown and another five written off.

The town's water supply was critically low and it's hoped power can be restored to the water treatment plant by Sunday night.

In Hope Vale, the banana farm which sustains the local economy was razed.

While the sun was shining in the towns on Sunday as well as in Cairns, the danger is not over yet.

Cyclone Ita is expected to remain its category one status until late on Monday as it weaves on and off the coast south to central Queensland.

Up to 15,000 homes are without power and regional towns are flooding.

On Sunday evening, the popular tourist destinations of Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays were being lashed by 90km/h winds, and up to 400mm of rain could soak some areas.

Just north, Bowen copped 200mm in a short period of time, overloading the storm water system.

While there has been no reports of property damage as of yet, Mr Newman says the situation is worsening.

"There is an issue where the Don River is rising very fast and expected to peak at 9pm, and that may well cause flooding problems again," Mr Newman said.

On Monday morning, the premier will travel to Ingham where sugar cane crops have been flattened. The town is cut in two by a swollen creek and the Bruce Highway remain closed to its south.

Mayor Rodger Bow warned locals there was raw sewerage in the water and people risked disease if they ventured out.

"We had severe rain, about 300mm, and I don't know what kilometre an hour winds, but we have trees blown down," Cr Bow said.

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