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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tunisia ruling Islamists call for rally

MEMBERS of Tunisia's main ruling Islamist party are calling for a rally in the capital on Saturday, a day after police clashed with protesters at the funeral of murdered opposition figure Chokri Belaid.

The Ennahda party demonstration was to take place in the centre of Tunis on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where the latest violence has taken place, the party said in a statement.

The protest would "defend the legitimacy of the national constituent assembly," where the Ennahda-dominated coalition holds a majority, and would "fight against (the political) violence" it said the opposition is using.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Friday for the funeral procession of Belaid, who was killed by a lone gunman on Wednesday, and clashes with police led to 132 arrests, said the interior ministry.

The opposition blames Ennahda for the murder of the outspoken government critic, but the ruling party vehemently denies any involvement.

The unrest comes amid tension and division within Ennahda itself, after the recent sacking of the party's leader and as Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali attempts to form a new government of technocrats, which hardliners oppose.

18.16 | 0 komentar | Read More