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.

What's happened in your area? Leave a comment below or send your pictures to 0428 258 117

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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Gunmen attack Greece prison

AT least 11 inmates escaped from a Greek prison after gunmen brazenly attacked the site with grenades and automatic weapons, kicking off a nightlong standoff between police and prisoners. Two guards were injured, one of them seriously.

A senior police official told the Associated Press on Saturday that 11 inmates were missing after the gun battle and standoff, which ended at dawn when police special forces entered the prison. He spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement was still pending.

The incident occurred near the town of Trikala, in central Greece, some 320 kilometres northwest of Athens. As many as six gunmen attacked the prison after driving up to the site in a van and pickup truck, according to officials.

Prison authorities were investigating reports that weapons had also been fired from inside the facility. At least five grenades exploded, while army experts were expected at the prison to dispose of two unexploded grenades.

The attack started at around 8:30 pm local time on Friday, when a police patrol jeep was fired upon.

"It was like a war was going on. There was so much gunfire," said Trikala city councilor Costas Tassios, who lives in the village of Krinitsa, near the prison.

A bullet fired at the village damaged a coffee shop window in an incident also being investigated by police.

The escaped prisoners used ropes to climb down from a guard tower that had been attacked. Police set up roadblocks near the prison and searched vacant homes and farm buildings, as well as using two helicopters, in the manhunt. Officers from evidence units were also scouring the jail perimetre after dawn.

Police said the escaped inmates were mostly Albanian but gave no other details. An inmate from Argentina was arrested but the circumstances of his apprehension were not immediately clear.

The attack was the latest dramatic incident at Greek prisons, which are suffering from serious overcrowding and staff shortages as the country struggles through financial crisis and a recession that started in late 2008.

Last month, guards foiled a breakout attempt by four inmates who tried to escape by helicopter from Trikala prison, including notorious Greek inmate Panagiotis Vlastos, who is serving life for murder and racketeering. Gunmen in the helicopter had fired on guards in the Feb. 24 incident and lowered a rope in to the courtyard, but the chopper was forced to land after being hit by returned gunfire.

In a separate incident on March 17, a convicted contract killer, Albanian inmate Alket Rizaj, took several prison guards hostage in an attempt to escape from another prison in central Greece. The attempt was unsuccessful and the hostages were released unharmed following a 24-hour standoff.

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