Measles linked to Sydney dance event

Dancers who attended a recent Sydney competition have been told to look out for measles symptoms. Source: AAP

DANCERS who participated in a Sydney competition recently have been warned to be on the lookout for measles symptoms.

NSW Health issued a health alert after being made aware of three measles cases in people who probably contracted the infection at the World Supremacy Battleground hip hop competition.

The competition was held at Sydney Olympic Park on December 7 and 8.

The first case came to NSW Health's attention on December 27, with a competitor from Adelaide coming down with measles.

On Monday night, further cases were reported by a New Zealand patient and a Sydney resident.

NSW Health communicable diseases director Dr Vicky Sheppeard advised anyone who attended the dance event to be alert for measles symptoms.

"Measles is highly infectious and is spread through coughing and sneezing," Dr Sheppeard said in a statement.

"Symptoms can include fever, tiredness, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes which usually last for several days before a red, blotchy rash appears."

The time from exposure to the onset of symptoms can be up to 18 days.

NSW Health believes that there may be other cases in the community now or secondary cases could be developing.

Anyone with measles symptoms is advised to contact their local public health unit or phone ahead to a GP to ensure that the waiting area is not shared with others.

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Qld police use Eve for G20 practice

Police in Brisbane will use the New Year's Eve celebration to prepare for November's G20 summit. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND police say they will use New Year's Eve to prepare for when Brisbane hosts the G20 in 2014.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating says up to 2700 officers will be on duty statewide on Tuesday night.

He says more than 200,000 people are expected to welcome in 2014 in the centre of Brisbane alone, plus tens of thousands more in other cities and towns.

Around 80,000 of those are expected in the South Bank cultural quarter, which will host the world leaders' summit in November.

"We can build on the experiences we have had for many years with these types of events in the city," Mr Keating told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's a good lesson for any event in the future in the South Bank area and that includes the G20."

Mr Keating said the large police contingent will be keeping a close eye on everything from anti-social behaviour to drink driving.

Alcohol bans are in place in areas including the South Bank.

Up to 600 officers will be on duty in Brisbane and a similar number on the Gold Coast.

"I've never met anybody who enjoyed waking up in the watchhouse on New Year's Day - it's not a really nice way to start your new year," Mr Keating said.

"For that matter you don't want to end up in a hospital waiting room or an emergency centre."

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US town evacuated after train derails

A small town in the US is being evacuated after a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. Source: AAP

AUTHORITIES have urged residents to evacuate a town in North Dakota after a 1.6-kilometre train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded.

The Cass County sheriff's office said on Monday night it was "strongly recommending" that the 2,400 residents of Casselton and anyone living 8km to the south and east evacuate.

The sheriff's office said the National Weather Service was forecasting a shift in the weather that would push down a plume of smoke from the train wreck, which could increase the risk to health.

The BNSF Railway train left the tracks about 2:30pm on Monday, and as many as 10 cars caught fire. No one was hurt.

Authorities said a second train carrying grain had been involved in the incident. BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said the train carrying grain derailed first, then knocked several cars of the oil train off adjoining tracks.

Ryan Toop, who lives near the accident scene, said he heard explosions and drove as close as about two city blocks to the fire.

"I rolled down the window, and you could literally keep your hands warm," Toop said.

Another witness, Hannah Linnard, 13, said: "I looked out the window and all of a sudden the train car tipped over and the whole thing was engulfed in flames and it just exploded.

"The oil car tipped over on to the grain car."

The railway tracks pass through the middle of Casselton, and Cass County Sheriff's Sergeant Tara Morris said it was "a blessing it didn't happen within the city".

The train had more than 100 cars, and about 80 of them have been moved away from the site.

Morris said it could take up to 12 hours before authorities could get close to the fire.

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Wet 'n' Wild postpones Sydney NYE event

Sydney's Wet 'n' Wild has postponed a New Year's Eve party just hours before it was due to start. Source: AAP

ABOUT 10,000 people are believed to be missing out on a New Year's Eve party in Sydney as it has been postponed just hours before it was due to start.

Tickets for the event at the newly-opened Wet 'n' Wild theme park cost between $110 and $200 and it will now take place on Australia Day.

NSW Fair Trading says it expects the event promoter to provide a refund to people who cannot attend the postponed event in January.

According to a statement on the Wet 'n' Wild website, One Cube Entertainment, a promotions company organising the event, made the decision to postpone the NYE Festival due to a major technical production issue.

"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and are currently working on something even better for Australia Day," a One Cube Entertainment spokesperson said in the statement.

An artist manager told AAP One Cube Entertainment had attributed the cancellation to Wet 'n' Wild expressing occupational health and safety concerns.

The manager, who spoke on the basis of anonymity, said contractually his artist was still entitled to a full fee.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said under Australian consumer law, a remedy was available if a consumer did not get the service they paid a supplier for.

"You can seek to have refund provided," he told AAP.

Mr Stowe said some ticket holders could not or did not want to attend the postponed event on Australia Day.

"We are expecting the promoters will provide refunds to the consumers who cannot attend," he said."

People who paid for tickets on credit cards will be able to apply for a charge back from their credit institution, Mr Stowe added.

A father called Mick told Macquarie Radio his daughters had been trying to contact Wet 'n' Wild since finding out about the event postponement on Facebook.

"We have been trying to contact Wet 'n' Wild this morning and get a number for this promoter because obviously the kids want a refund but no luck so far," he said.

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Vic child killed after tree branch fall

A CHILD has died and a woman was seriously injured after a tree branch fell on them at a park in Bendigo.

Police said the pair were at Rosalind Park when a large branch has fallen from a tree about 5.20pm (AEDT) and killed the young girl.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was taken to Bendigo Hospital in a serious condition with head injuries, a fractured leg and possible spinal injuries.

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Kids to benefit from big federal programs

Kids with bad teeth are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of two major federal programs. Source: AAP

KIDS with bad teeth are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of two major federal government programs focused on children starting in the new year.

A new schools funding system begins in 2014 and will pump hundreds of millions into schools and their more than three million students around the country.

The federal government has pledged an extra $2.8 billion in total over the next four years, although the individual state's allocations are still to be finalised.

From January 1, a $4.1 billion dental benefits scheme aims to improve the oral health of children aged two to 18 years and adults on low incomes. The scheme is to run for six years.

Parents will be able to access Medicare payments capped at $1000 over two years for a wider range of specific services, from basic dental check-ups and cleaning through to emergency care.

Previously, eligible persons could only get money back from the government to help pay for a single dental check-up each year.

The new package will cover 3.4 million children and one million adults.

Federal parliamentarians will face a new crackdown on expenses rorting when a new system comes into force after a number were this year forced to pay back travel expenses.

From January 1, MPs and senators required to repay claims found to be ineligible will be hit with a "significant financial penalty" worth 25 per cent of their claim.

Repeat offenders and their offices will receive mandatory training on expenses rules.

In the workplace, victims of office bullying will be able to take their cases to the Fair Work Commission, which can hold mediations and has new powers to make orders to prevent bullying.

But it won't have the power to order compensation.

Some 2000 of Tasmania's unemployed are set to benefit from the federal coalition government's Apple Isle jobs program, after it was brought forward by six months to Wednesday.

Businesses in Tasmania, which suffers from high unemployment and little economic growth, will be in line for one-off payments of $3250 if they hire a job seeker for at least six months full-time work.

As well, there's also potential for lower grocery prices from January 1, after retailing giants Coles and Woolworths agreed to stop funding fuel discounts through their supermarkets divisions.

Future fuel discounts will be covered by their fuel retailing businesses, after an agreement was reached this year with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

There would have been more federal changes from January 1, but these have been held up in the Senate where the legislation is still being examined.

These include plans to halt tax benefits for families whose teenaged children have finished school, tighten pension eligibility criteria for Australians living overseas and replace student tertiary "start-up" scholarships with loans.

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Motorcyclist critical after head-on smash

A MOTORCYCLIST is fighting for his life in hospital after he collided head-on with a cattle truck near Wagga Wagga.

Police said the collision occurred on the Sturt Highway about 8.5 kilometres west of Wagga, about 10.40am (AEDT) Monday.

The rider, a 66-year-old man, was taken to Wagga Base Hospital with life threatening injuries.

The 28-year-old driver of the semi-trailer was taken to the same hospital for blood and urine testing.

The highway was closed for over six hours, but has now reopened.

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Holiday toll rises to 21

A HORROR NSW car crash that claimed the life of a young girl and injured five others is one of three fatal smashes that has lifted the Christmas holiday road death toll to 21.

The young girl died at the scene of the single-vehicle crash that occurred about 50 kilometres south of Cessnock on George Downes Drive, Bucketty, shortly before 1pm (AEDT) Monday.

Police said a woman in her 30s, believed to be the driver, and another young girl suffering a serious head injury were airlifted to hospital.

Three other people were treated at the scene for abrasions and minor injuries then airlifted to Westmead Hospital by a second rescue helicopter, NSW Ambulance said.

The young girl's death takes the NSW road toll to seven.

In the second fatal crash on Monday, a Melbourne motorcyclist died after he collided with a car in the city's west.

The Maribyrnong man, aged in his 30s, collided with a Ford Falcon as the sedan turned into Bunbury Street at Footscray late on Saturday night.

He died at the scene.

The Ford driver, a 36-year-old Wyndham Vale man, is assisting police with their inquiries.

The motorcyclist is the third person to die on Victorian roads during the holiday period.

In Perth, a 51-year-old woman who was hit by a car on Christmas Eve died in hospital this evening.

Astrid Hall was struck on Roe Highway in Beckenham, in Perth's south-east, on December 24 and died at Royal Perth Hospital on Sunday as a result of her injuries, police said.

Three people have now died on WA roads over the holiday period.

The national road toll period runs from midnight December 23, 2013 until midnight January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Spike in mosquito-borne virus in WA

The number of West Australians diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya has surged. Source: AAP

THE number of West Australians diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya has surged, with most contracting it in Bali.

The latest notifiable disease report from WA Health shows there were 54 cases in the year to December 16, up from three at the same time last year.

Australian Medical Association vice-president Michael Gannon said the increase was significant.

"I think it just reflects the sheer number of Australians travelling to Bali for holiday," he told Fairfax.

"And when you travel to the tropics, you get exposed to infections that you won't get exposed to at home, so it's important that you take different precautions."

Chikungunya symptoms are flu-like, including fever, chills and muscular aches.

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Times Square preps for New Year's Eve bash

NEW York City's Times Square is getting ready for New Year's Eve.

The square will host millions on Tuesday night counting down the last few moments of 2013.

Starting on Saturday, six Citibikes from the city's bike share program were being installed in Times Square and connected to 12-volt deep cycle batteries.

New Yorkers and tourists will generate power by pedalling. That will help illuminate the famed ball that will descend New Year's Eve.

Each bike will generate an average of 75 watts an hour. It takes 50,000 watts to power the ball, which is lit by 30,000 LEDs.

Additionally, a giant paper shredder and a dumpster were installed in Times Square on Saturday to allow visitors to destroy bad memories of 2013.

The annual event is dubbed Good Riddance Day.

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Cyclone closer to WA's north coast

A category two cyclone off the Western Australian Kimberley coast is expected to intensify. Source: AAP

A CATEGORY two cyclone off Western Australia's Kimberley coast is expected to intensify as it heads towards the Pilbara.

Tropical Cyclone Christine was 280 kilometres off Broome at 2pm (WST) on Sunday and was moving towards the Pilbara coast about 10 kilometres an hour, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The bureau said the cyclone was "expected to intensify further as it moves towards the Pilbara coast".

It is forecasting the cyclone to bring heavy rainfall and gales of up to 100km/h south of Cape Leveque on Sunday.

Gales are expected to extend further west along the Pilbara coast to Whim Creek late on Sunday or Monday morning as the cyclone approaches.

On Monday, the cyclone is forecast to bring "very destructive" gales and heavy rainfall to Mardie and possibly as far west as Exmouth, with winds possibly reaching 165km/h.

Coastal communities between Pardoo and Mardie have been warned of the potential for a dangerous storm tide late on Monday or early on Tuesday.

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Holiday road toll rises to 18

Three more people have been killed on Australian roads, lifting the holiday road toll to 18. Source: AAP

THE Christmas holiday road death toll has risen to 18, with the latest victims including a cyclist who collided with a ute and a woman whose car smashed into a tree.

The cyclist, 21, died in Tasmania after he collided with the ute on the West Tamar Highway in Launceston on Sunday morning.

The death of the Trevallyn man is the second road fatality in Tasmania during the holiday period.

In NSW, a 69-year-old man was killed after losing control of his motorbike when he hit a gravel embankment at Khancoban, near the border of NSW and Victoria, on Sunday morning.

The man, who was riding near his son on another motorbike, died at the scene, with the death taking NSW's road toll to six.

A 31-year-old woman died in a car crash southeast of Perth on Saturday night.

She was a front passenger in a white Holden Commodore sedan that was travelling from Narrogin to Williams about 6.45pm (WST) when it left the road and hit a large tree at Minigin.

The woman and the 30-year-old male driver were trapped in the car and had to be freed by emergency workers, but she died at the scene.

The driver was critically injured and airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital.

Two people have died on WA roads this holiday period.

The national road toll period runs from midnight on December 23, 2013, until midnight on January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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US driver survives plunge off cliff

A driver who survived a 90-metre plunge told rescuers he intentionally drove off the ocean cliff. Source: AAP

A DRIVER who plunged 90 metres off a Southern California ocean cliff was rescued after firefighters waded into the surf to free him from the car.

KNBC-TV says the 19-year-old man, who was in hospital in a critical condition, told paramedics that he intentionally drove off the cliff.

Authorities were called to the scene at about 2am local time on Friday.

They found the car being slammed by waves.

Firefighters, lifeguards and local police helped in the rescue. The driver was finally pulled free and flown to hospital.

The crash site is on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, about 32 kilometres south of downtown Los Angeles.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25)

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SA bushfire under control

A serious bushfire south of Adelaide has been contained the Country Fire Service says. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS have protected a South Australian country town from an out-of-control bushfire, with two fire crew volunteers injured while quelling the blaze.

An emergency alert was issued at 3pm (AEDT) on Saturday about a serious bushfire burning towards the town of Mallala, north of Adelaide.

About 200 Country Fire Service (CFS) personnel battled the blaze at Lower Light with 35 appliances and the help of water bombers.

A CFS spokeswoman said firefighters contained the blaze after it had travelled seven kilometres in three hours.

"The fire was fast-moving and came close to a farming community and within three to four kilometres of the Mallala township," she said.

"But fortunately CFS firefighters managed to protect the township."

A male CFS firefighter was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening chest injuries.

A female CFS firefighter was treated at the fire for smoke inhalation.

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Port Hedland evacuates due to cyclone

A cyclone warning has been issued for coastal areas along Western Australia's northern coast. Source: AAP

SHIPS are being moved from a major port in Western Australia ahead of a developing tropical cyclone expected to hit on Saturday night.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says a tropical low north of WA is expected to develop into a tropical cyclone by Saturday night as it moves southwest.

The low is 340 kilometres north-northwest of Broome, moving at nine kilometres an hour.

The Port Hedland Port Authority began the evacuation of 29 vessels in the inner and outer anchorage areas on Saturday morning.

Another 12 ships in the inner harbour also began evacuating on Saturday.

The port authority said in a statement it anticipated the last vessel would leave the shipping channel by 3am on Sunday.

Gale-force winds and widespread rainfall are expected to hit the Port Hedland area on Sunday.

Winds with gusts of up to 100km/h are forecast to develop through Saturday night on the west Kimberley coast between Cape Leveque and Broome.

BOM advises gales and heavy rainfall may extend to Exmouth and adjacent inland areas on Sunday night and Monday.

If the tropical low system develops as BOM expects, a severe tropical cyclone will likely hit the Pilbara on Monday or Tuesday.

A cyclone warning is in place for coastal areas from Cape Leveque to Whim Creek.

The State Emergency Service is urging residents in or near coastal communities between Dampier Peninsula and Onslow in the Kimberley and Pilbara to prepare emergency kits.

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China one-child policy change approved

Chinese state media says the National People's Congress has approved to change its one-child policy. Source: AAP

CHINA'S top legislature has sanctioned the ruling Communist Party's decision to allow couples to have a second child if one parent is an only child.

It's the first major easing in three decades of the restrictive national birth planning policy.

Implemented around 1980, China's birth policy has limited most couples to only one child, but has allowed a second child if neither parent has siblings or if the first born to a rural couple is a girl.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the standing committee of the National People's Congress approved a resolution on Saturday to formalise the party decision.

It says the national lawmaking body has delegated the power to provincial people's congresses and their standing committees to implement the new policy.

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Boats are stopping: Morrison

The Australian government says no asylum seekers arrived in Australia by boat in the past week. Source: AAP

THE Australian government says no asylum seekers arrived in Australia by boat in the past week, as it declares its tough border protection policy is working.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said 355 asylum seekers on seven boats had been intercepted by Australian authorities since the start of December.

None arrived in the week leading up to Friday, despite unusually favourable weather during the December monsoon season.

"This represents a 70 per cent decline on last December, when there were 1149 (arrivals) on 20 boats - so far this is the lowest number of arrivals in December for five years," Mr Morrison said in a statement.

"The boats have not yet stopped but they are stopping."

Mr Morrison said that in the 100 days since the September 18 start of Operation Sovereign Borders, there had been an average of 145 asylum seeker boat arrivals on three boats a fortnight.

That compares with about 920 people on more than a dozen boats a fortnight between the introduction of the previous government's regional resettlement arrangement with Papua New Guinea and the establishment of Operation Sovereign Borders.

Critics say the policy is inhumane, while the UN Human Rights Commission pointed to deficiencies in the running of the asylum-seeker processing camps on Nauru and in PNG - including unhygienic conditions and limited processing of asylum claims.

Last week Mr Morrison said he had been aware since early December of a 92-page letter from 15 doctors formally employed at detention facilities that highlighted a low standard of medical care at the Australian-run detention centre on Christmas Island.

Mr Morrison said Australia would continue to send asylum seekers to Christmas Island, while medical service provider International Health and Medical Services and his department would investigate the claims made in the letter.

On Monday Mr Morrison said a family of asylum seekers, including an intellectually disabled woman, would be reunited in community detention so she could be properly cared for by her relatives.

"Today's decision is based on meeting the immediate health and welfare needs of the intellectually disabled woman," he said in a statement at the time.

On Friday he said there would be improvements to Australia's offshore processing facilities.

"Particularly to ensure appropriate accommodation and health facilities for families on Nauru, where new funding has been put in place," he said.

Comment is being sought from Labor and the Greens.

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Summer music fests get under way

The heat is on and so is the annual line-up of summer festivals getting under way across Australia. Source: AAP

YOU might sizzle in the hot sun and be swamped in a crowd crush but your ears will thank you.

The heat is on and so are the annual Australian summer music festivals, promising sweet music from some of the world's biggest names.

One of the blockbuster events, the Big Day Out, will kick off from January 19 on the Gold Coast for those who fancy hot, long Aussie days with a sprinkling of good rocking.

Headline acts this year include rockers Pearl Jam and smooth-talking rapper Snoop Dogg, AKA Snoop Lion.

The festival then makes its way to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

Another iconic event, Falls Festival, kicks off on Saturday in Lorne, Victoria, on Sunday in Marion Bay, Tasmania, and on Tuesday in Byron Bay, NSW.

American alternative rock band the Violent Femmes will be joined by singer, songwriter and Beyonce's cool little sister Solange, Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and local outfit the Cat Empire, who will all grace the stage.

For those who crave something more mellow, Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival began on Friday and runs until New Year's Day.

Now in its 28th year, the event bills itself as one of the world's largest folk festivals and more than 500 acts will perform.

Folk fans can ring in the new year with a line-up that includes UK singer-songwriter Beth Orton and Melbourne songstress Clare Bowditch.

Three-piece band the Basics, featuring Wally De Backer, who most probably know better as Gotye, will also perform.

For those seeking something with more grunt, Soundwave heads to town soon.

The festival begins in Brisbane on February 22 before touring to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth with heavier acts including Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Megadeth, Placebo and Korn.

For those a little bit more country, the famous Tamworth Country Music Festival gets under way on January 17.

Meanwhile, blues fans can get their fix at the Thredbo Blues Festival, now in its 20th year, which kicks off the same day featuring Wendy Matthews, Jeff Lang and Rick Price.

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Worst holiday traffic yet hits NSW

Thousands of NSW motorists are stuck in the worst traffic of the Christmas holidays so far. Source: AAP

THOUSANDS of NSW motorists are stuck in the worst traffic of the Christmas holidays so far, with a 14-kilometre jam on one road.

The usual suspects, including the Pacific Highway on the North Coast and the Princes Highway at Kiama, received the heaviest traffic on Friday afternoon.

Southbound motorists can expect to add 75 minutes to their journey at Kiama, while northbound drivers on the Pacific Highway between Sancrox to Kundabung will add an hour to their trip.

At about 4pm (AEDT), traffic was queued for 14km on the northbound M1 Pacific Motorway and New England Highway at Hexham.

At Ewingsdale, near Byron Bay, southbound Pacific Highway the traffic jam was 8km long.

A NSW Transport Management Centre spokeswoman said that people were still expected to head away for their holidays over the coming days.

"This is the heaviest we have see for these holiday certainly," she told AAP.

"If you are going north you can use a different road, the New England Highway, other than that you can delay your trip or just sit in traffic to be honest."

On Friday afternoon, traffic had eased at Berry, Milton and Batemans Bay on the South Coast and Woodburn on the North Coast.

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Gold Coast adventurer reaches South Pole

A Gold Coast adventurer taking a pink "boob-sled" across the Antarctic has reached the South Pole. Source: AAP

A GOLD Coast adventurer taking a pink "boob-sled" across Antarctica has made it to the South Pole.

Dr Geoff Wilson reached the milestone on Friday, leaving him with 1100km to go in his quest to become the first Aussie - and third person - to cross the southern continent solo.

But he reckons the worst of the journey is over.

"Now I've got the shorter run to the coast, which is the traditional entry route for most polar travellers," he told ABC Radio on Friday.

"The positive is that it's down hill and it will get warmer and warmer as I get closer to the coast."

Dr Wilson has endured sub-zero temperatures and strong icy winds throughout his trek.

Earlier this month he even ventured into the elements naked, dancing around a tent to celebrate beating the Australian record for the longest trek across the icy continent.

However, his main goal is to take the "boob-sled" 3300km from one side of Antarctica to the other - and raise $1 million for breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation.

"I've been pulling the boob-sled for 2280km to here, so it's double the current record for Australian solo polar travel already and there's still 1100km to go," he told ABC Radio.

"It will be the first Australian crossing of the Antarctic continent and there's only two other guys who have ever done it solo unassisted - they're both Norwegian legends.

"We may, as long as I keep making good decisions, give the record a shake which has been held since 1997 by a very tough Norwegian called Borge Ousland."

Dr Wilson began the trek on November 4 and expects the journey to take him up to 80 days.

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WA paraglider trapped on cliff

EMERGENCY volunteers are working to rescue a man trapped on a cliff face in WA.

Police say the 26-year-old was paragliding in Sandpatch, near Albany in the state's south, when something went wrong.

Rescue Service firefighters and State Emergency Service volunteers from Albany are at the scene and a rescue helicopter is on its way.

A spokesman for the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said crews were working to raise the man up the cliff face.

A police media spokeswoman said the man's injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

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Toddler saved after falling into pool

A family member's quick actions have saved a toddler who fell into a pool on the NSW Central Coast. Source: AAP

A QUICK-THINKING family member used CPR to save a toddler who fell into a pool on the NSW Central Coast.

The two-year-old girl was pulled unconscious from the backyard pool on Thursday afternoon, but she was breathing by the time paramedics arrived and she regained consciousness.

CareFlight director Ian Badham praised the quick action of the family member.

The girl was airlifted with her mother to The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

"Because she had been underwater for a while, she was taken to the hospital to be checked out and kept under observation," Mr Badham said.

She remains in a stable condition.

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Nine road deaths dampen festive season

Nine people have died on Australian roads this festive season, including a teen who fell off a ute. Source: AAP

NINE people have died on Australian roads this festive season, including two friends killed in a single-vehicle incident in NSW on Boxing Day.

A man, 31, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene of the crash on the NSW Central Coast. A second man, 22, was trapped in the wreckage and died before he could be released.

The crash, which occurred just before 5am (AEDT), left three other men aged 29, 22 and 27 in hospital.

Police said they hoped to speak to the injured men, all from Sydney suburb Auburn.

In Canberra, a motorcyclist died after losing control of his bike late on the evening of Christmas Day.

The 22-year-old hit a traffic island in the inner-north suburb of Lyneham about 11pm on Wednesday.

He died in Canberra Hospital.

In Perth, a 17-year-old boy died after falling off the back of a utility on Christmas evening.

Police say the boy suffered severe head injuries when he fell from the tray of the Nissan ute.

A 24-year-old man in the Northern Territory was killed after losing control of his motorcycle on a dirt road near the Todd River in Alice Springs on Christmas Day.

Two Victorian women killed in a head-on collision two days before Christmas were the first fatalities for the 2013 Christmas period.

A 69-year-old Queensland man died on Christmas Eve when his car hit a tree near Bundaberg.

On Monday night police found a man dead in a sedan spilt in two following a high-speed crash into a tree north of Moree in NSW.

The deaths take the national toll to nine, compared with 16 recorded by Boxing Day in 2012.

The national road toll period runs from midnight on December 23, 2013, until midnight on January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Tourists die in poorly ventilated hotel

TWO Italian tourists have been found dead in their poorly ventilated hotel room in Nepal's capital, Katmandu.

The man and woman were found after the hotel's owners alerted police they were not responding to calls, police official Umesh Raj Joshi said on Thursday.

Police broke the windows, which were taped shut, and found the bodies on the bed.

Joshi said they appeared to be regular visitors to Nepal.

Gas and kerosene heaters are common in Nepal during the winter because of a shortage of electricity.

They are dangerous if used in closed rooms.

Two Chinese tourists died from gas poisoning from a heater in a mountain resort room near Katmandu earlier in December.

About 500,000 tourists visit Nepal a year.

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Thousands turn out for community lunches

THOUSANDS of Sydney-siders who would otherwise be alone for Christmas will spend the festive season celebrating with their communities.

More than 600 people - including a few famous faces - turned out for the Wayside Chapel Christmas lunch in King's Cross.

Blaxland resident Stephen South has attended the lunch and church service for four years.

"I don't have any family and this is my family," Mr South told AAP.

"On a day like today, if you don't have family it's really hard."

The Wayside Chapel's 200 volunteers provided 80 turkeys, 40 hams, 700 mince pies and 140 bags of potatoes for the day.

Actress Claudia Karvan made her third visit to the street party this year, and actor David Wenham attended.

"I can't stay away - it just puts a smile on my face that stays there for the whole day," Karvan said.

"It totally encapsulates the spirit of Christmas, I think.

"The open-heartedness, the generosity of the day, the inclusiveness - everyone from all different walks of the community, whether you're sleeping rough or wealthy and isolated, it doesn't matter, you can come down here."

Between Christmas singing, Wayside chief executive Pastor Graham Long said the day was about people not being alone.

"Don't be alone and miserable," he said.

"Come and be miserable with us."

In Ashfield, more than 3000 people were expected at the Exodus Foundation's free Christmas lunch on Liverpool Road.

Volunteers prepared 65 hams, 50 turkeys, 400 kilograms of potatoes, 200 kilograms of green veggies, 400 kilograms of pumpkins, 1300 litres of gravy, 2500 mini puddings and 330 litres of custard.

"You can imagine, we've been preparing for this for months," Reverend Bill Crews said.

Santa Claus will give presents to needy children and adults.

"All these presents have been donated, which is another example of how generous Sydney-siders are," Rev Crews said.

At Redfern's Australian Technology Park, the Salvation Army hoped to feed 1200 of Sydney's less fortunate and disadvantaged.

"Every year we're humbled by the generosity of the over 150 volunteers who give up part of their Christmas Day to bring joy, hope and happiness to those who would otherwise go without," Salvation Army spokeswoman Robyn Evans said.

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Locals help out after Grinch steals gifts

Generous people have been dropping off gifts for two Victorian families whose gifts were stolen. Source: AAP

GENEROUS people have been playing Santa and dropping off gifts for two Victorian families whose gifts were stolen from under their Christmas trees.

Police at Wodonga near the Victoria-NSW border are calling the thefts "an unthinkable act of heartlessness".

But they say they have been overwhelmed by the number of donated presents that have been arriving at the police station throughout Christmas Day.

The Salvation Army also gave presents to the children at one of the homes.

"The occupants of the houses were asleep and realised all their gifts were missing when they went to open them this morning," a police spokeswoman said.

The two homes are on different streets, Wilca Way and Hartwig Road, on the southern end of the town.

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'Santa Claus' shot in US with pellet gun

A US man is recovering after being shot in the back with a pellet gun while wearing a Santa suit. Source: AAP

POLICE say a man dressed as Santa Claus delivering toys in southeast Washington, DC was popped in the back with a pellet gun as he walked down the street.

Video posted on the WJLA-TV website shows the man waving and walking down the street and exclaiming, "This is awesome."

He starts to say "Merry Christmas" when suddenly he turns around, shouts in pain and says he's been shot in the back with a pellet gun.

The man is recovering in hospital.

In the video he says he is glad no one else was hurt.

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Abduction alert cancelled for QLD boys

POLICE have cancelled an abduction alert issued after two young boys were taken from a home near Brisbane.

Police said the boys, aged 3 and 4, were taken by a 30-year-old man on Christmas Eve.

However, on Wednesday night police cancelled the child abduction alert after receiving information from the public.

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Man stabbed, woman left unconscious

A man has been found stabbed and a woman found unconscious, in Sydney suburb of Guildford. Source: AAP

A MAN has been found with stab wounds to his neck and a woman has been found unconscious in Sydney's west.

Police were called to a house on Woodville Road, Guildford, just after midday on Tuesday after reports of a man and woman fighting in the yard of the premises.

The man was found with stab wounds to his neck while a woman, aged in her mid-20s, was found unconscious.

The man's age is not known.

Both were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance Paramedics and taken to Westmead Hospital.

Their condition is not yet known, police say.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, while a crime scene has been established on Woodville Road with two southbound lanes closed.

They will be examined by specialist forensic officers.

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A very merry Christmas for Aussie shops

THE Christmas clock is ticking, and the tills have been ringing.

Last-minute shoppers have helped push Australian retailers towards what's tipped to be their biggest Christmas since the global financial crisis hit.

Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond says the overall spend in the four-week run-up to Christmas this year is expected to hit $29.6 billion.

"We think Australian retailers will probably have the best Christmas they've had for four or five years," she told AAP on Tuesday.

She said the last-minute rush had favoured the big retailers.

"A lot of the specialty stores have done much better this Christmas but there's no doubt in the last couple of weeks it's the department stores that are the big winners because it's the place you can go and tick every box all in the one spot," Ms Osmond said.

Residents in smaller states - the Northern Territory, the ACT, Tasmania - had generally gotten their Christmas shopping out of the way early, while their counterparts in NSW and Victoria were more likely to have left it till the last minute.

Kevin Finch was looking harried in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday evening, ticking off the people he was still buying for.

"My mother, my father, some family friends, and my grandma," he told AAP.

"Stupidly, I thought today would be a bit quieter."

He said he wouldn't be venturing out for the Boxing Day sales on Thursday, but keen bargain-hunters can get in earlier than that.

In a break with tradition, department store David Jones has already launched its post-Christmas sale online, while the Myer online sale will kick off at 9am (AEDT) on Wednesday.

ANRA's Margy Osmond is expecting a 5.6 per cent boost on post-Christmas sales figures from a year ago, with an expected $1.9 billion spend on Boxing Day alone.

Retailers predict stores around the country will take in more than $15 billion over the next three weeks, with the bulk of that likely to be spent on Boxing Day.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman told AAP he expects "a huge number of people" to head for malls around the country when the bricks-and-mortar sales start on Thursday.

But Mr Zimmerman didn't think the lure of early sales online would take away from the familiar frenzy seen in department stores on the day.

"There's a real atmosphere around Boxing Day sales, it's full of people, it's full of excitement and noise and generally speaking there's entertainment around," he said.

"You may well find that people will be encouraged to come out, they'll think it might not be quite so busy as it's been in the past because of the online sales, but I suspect it will be just as busy."

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Indon official in trouble over plane rage

AN Indonesian official has allegedly ordered his staff to prevent a plane landing because an airline refused to free up a seat for him.

Marianus Sae, the head of Ngada district in East Nusa Tenggara province, is being sought for questioning in relation to the incident, police said Tuesday.

When Sae was told there were no seats left on the Saturday morning flight from the provincial capital Kupang to his district's Turelelo Soa airport, he phoned his security officials there and ordered them to put their cars on the runway, the Kompas.com news website reported.

Unable to land, the flight operated by state-run domestic operator Merpati Nusantara was forced to return to Kupang, local news reports said.

"We have questioned several people involved and are awaiting the permission of the governor to question the district chief," provincial police chief Ketut Yoga Ana said.

The alleged action "clearly violated the law" and was punishable by up to three years in prison, he said.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said Sae had endangered the lives of the people on board.

Sae said he "begged them for a seat because I had an important meeting with district council but the flight was fully booked. I explained to them I was the district chief but they ignored me," he was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.

The airline said it had rebuked its employees for refusing to issue a ticket for the district chief.

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Police officer punched, spat on

Three men have been arrested after a police officer was punched and spat on in Sydney. Source: AAP

A POLICE officer has been punched and spat on and three men arrested following a fight in Sydney's southeast.

A scuffle started outside a bar on Botany road in Botany on Monday night when police tried to remove a patron from the bar.

Police allege a 22-year-old man punched an acting sergeant in the head and spat on him before running from the pub.

He was caught a short time later.

Police arrested another two men, aged 36 and 40.

They were all taken to Redfern Police Station where the 22-year-old was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to police.

He was refused bail and will appear in Central Local Court today.

The two other men were both charged with assaulting police and were granted bail to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on January 13.

The acting sergeant suffered a cut to his head and was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment.

Two other officers involved were not hurt.

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Wellbeing higher for widows than couples

When it comes to marital status, widowed people have the highest levels of wellbeing, a survey says. Source: AAP

WIDOWED people are reporting higher levels of wellbeing than married couples, while women aged 18 to 29 are the unhappiest age group, a survey shows.

National wellbeing deteriorated to 63.5 points in the last three months of the year, down from 64.4 points in the previous quarter, according to the National Australia Bank Wellbeing Index.

When it comes to marital status, widows and widowers had the highest levels of wellbeing while singles had the lowest, the survey of 2,100 Australians showed.

"In particular, mental wellbeing, feeling part of the community and physical health are significantly stronger contributors to the wellbeing of widows when compared to married couples," NAB economists said.

Those with no children reported higher levels of wellbeing than those with children, while the highest earners - those on $100,000-plus - were happier than those on lower incomes.

Overall, wellbeing was highest in South Australia and the Northern Territory and lowest in Tasmania, due to a sharp increase in anxiety over the quarter.

Those in regional cities reported the highest levels of wellbeing, compared with people in capital cities and rural areas.

When it comes to age, women aged 18 to 29 reported the lowest levels of wellbeing while women aged 50-plus reported the highest levels.

"The most important influences on positive wellbeing include personal relationships, your home and personal safety," NAB economists said.

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NAB enters undertaking with ASIC

THE National Australia Bank has entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission following an inquiry into an October 2012 share price spike on the Australian stock exchange.

The undertaking relates specifically to NAB's responsibility for potential market misconduct undertaken by the trading personnel of a contractor, which led to the spike, ASIC said on Monday.

"NAB has agreed to adopt specific monitoring and control systems for its direct market access trading and ASIC will supervise the certification of those systems for the next three years," the watchdog said in a statement.

It said the NAB would also make a voluntary contribution of $2 million to fund independent financial literacy projects in Australia.

ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said the undertaking was a timely, effective way to ensure there was genuine change to monitoring and control systems following the October 18, 2012 spike.

"It is imperative that entities have adequate monitoring and control systems in place to ensure this type of activity does not occur."

She said ASIC's investigation of the contractor and its trading personnel continued.

The third party equity index arbitrage business contracted to trade on NAB's behalf has not been named for legal reasons.

By 18 October 2012, following their decision to take an existing arbitrage position to expiry (which involved closing out a negative shares position), the Contractors Trading Personnel arranged to buy 197 of the shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX200) from one of NABs brokers, Goldman Sachs Australia, at the prices at which those shares matched in the ASX opening auction that morning.

ASIC said the NAB acknowledged concerns its contracted traders may have breached the Corporations Act in the way they placed sell orders in larger volumes than they intended to trade in an opening auction in order to later trade shares at advantageous prices for the bank.

In a statement the NAB said it had worked closely with ASIC throughout its investigation and the bank took its regulatory compliance obligations very seriously.

"NAB does not condone or accept any activity that undermines or has the potential to undermine market integrity."

The bank said the equity index arbitrage business formed only a very small part of its overall trading activity and "NAB terminated the operations of this third party business in late 2012".

"The issues that have been identified do not raise concerns as to NAB's broader trading activity or control environment," the bank said.

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Thai protesters step up campaign

THAI opposition protesters on Monday stepped up their campaign to disrupt upcoming elections, trying to block candidate registrations as part of efforts to banish Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her family from politics.

The main opposition Democrat Party, which has not won an elected majority in parliament in about two decades, has vowed to boycott the February 2 polls called by Yingluck after weeks of street rallies by her opponents.

It is the latest chapter in a years-old political crisis which broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite against mostly rural and poor supporters of Yingluck and her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a divisive former prime minister who was ousted in a coup in 2006.

Hundreds of demonstrators on Monday surrounded a stadium in Bangkok where representatives of political parties were trying to register to run in the polls ahead of the December 27 deadline.

Nine parties, including Yingluck's Puea Thai, managed to enter although officials were unable to fully complete their registration, according to the country's Election Commission.

About two dozen parties filed complaints with the police because they were prevented from entering.

But it appeared to be only a temporary setback with the election authorities expressing confidence that the parties would be able to register in time.

"For those parties that cannot enter the stadium we will contact them and made appointments for them to submit documents," Election Commissioner Dhirawat Dhirarojvit told AFP.

Puea Thai party said that Yingluck was on top of the party's list of candidates - a position that would usually make her Puea Thai's pick for prime minister if it wins the polls.

Her candidacy is certain to anger the demonstrators, who want to rid Thai politics of the influence of her brother Thaksin - a billionaire tycoon turned prime minister whom protesters accuse of controlling the government from his home in Dubai.

At least 150,000 people joined the latest anti-Thaksin mass protest in the capital on Sunday, according to an estimate from National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut. Organisers said the turnout was much higher.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has vowed to "shut the country down" to prevent people voting.

The demonstrators' self-proclaimed People's Democratic Reform Committee is calling for an unelected "people's council" to be installed to oversee sweeping but loosely-defined reforms before new elections in about a year to 18 months.

They have vowed to rid Thailand of the "Thaksin regime" and oppose the election, saying it will only bring another government allied to the former premier, who fled the country in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction he contends is politically motivated.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election since 2001 and Thailand has seen several bouts of political turmoil since he was deposed, with rival protests sometimes resulting in bloody unrest.

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Book for Cleveland kidnap hero

Charles Ramsey has told WEWS news what was going through his head when Amanda Berry ran into his arms. Courtesy of WEWS

The man who helped rescue three women held captive in a Cleveland house has landed a book deal. Source: AAP

THE man who famously put aside his Big Mac to help rescue three women held captive in a Cleveland house over a decade has signed a contract to publish his memoirs.

Charles Ramsey signed the deal with the Cleveland publisher David Gray & Co on Thursday.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight and Berry's six-year-old daughter escaped to freedom May 6.

Collaborating as Ramsey's co-author will be freelance writer Randy Nyerges.

The former US Senate staff speechwriter co-wrote Day of the Dawg with former Cleveland Browns defensive back Hanford Dixon.

"What you saw on TV doesn't even begin to tell the story," Ramsey said in the company's announcement of the signing.

Ramsey and Nyerges started work on the book early this month, David Gray said. Ramsey, who had been working as a dishwasher, is devoting full time to the project.

"Charles says outrageous things, but what a story he has," Nyerges said. "America doesn't know yet how truly brilliant this guy is."

The book, which does not yet have a title, will be published next spring.

"He's completely unfiltered," Gray said, according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. "I think that's part of his appeal. He says what he thinks. I am really intrigued by him - as a person, with the story he had to tell, and with his ability to tell it."

Last May Ramsey, 44, heard screaming from Ariel Castro's Seymour Avenue house next door. Ramsey ran over, helped a woman who said she was Amanda Berry escape through the front door, and called 911.

He was hailed as a hero, and his animated TV interviews, offering blunt opinions on race, class and life in the inner city, made him a sensation.

Seeing a white girl in that situation was "a dead giveaway" that she was either homeless or had other problems, he said.

"When a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms, something was wrong," he said.

Viking announced last week that it has acquired a planned book by Berry and DeJesus. The book is currently untitled and is scheduled to come out in 2015.

Knight is working on her own memoir, which Weinstein Books plans to publish next spring.

Castro was arrested and eventually sentenced to life in prison. He was found hanged in his cell in September.

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Man critical after CBD assault

Two men are in a critical condition, following a night of alcohol-fuelled violence in Brisbane

Police would like to speak to this man in relation to a serious assault in Brisbane's CBD early Sunday morning. Source: Supplied

Police would like to speak to this man in relation to a serious assault in Brisbane's CBD early Sunday morning. Source: Supplied

A MAN has come forward over a bashing in Brisbane CBD overnight, which left another man with critical injuries.

A man voluntarily attended Petrie police station a short time ago and is currently speaking with detectives.

The other man is still in hospital in a critical condition with life threatening injuries.

EARLIER, police relased CCTV images of a man as part of ongoing investigations into the serious assault of a man in Brisbane's CBD.

Police are searching for a man who intervened in a couple's fight, seriously injuring a 38-year-old man in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The couple were arguing on the footpath of Queen Street near the intersection with Wharf Street around 4am when an unidentified man stepped in, seriously injuring the 38-year-old.

Brisbane region detective inspector Ian Park said the partner of the injured Arana Hills man was by his bedside in hospital.

"She's very upset obviously by what's happened," he said.

He said the man today remained in Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition with serious injuries after being resuscitated at the scene.

Insp Park said alcohol may have been a factor.

"I guess it's a fair assumption that at 4 o'clock there is going to be alcohol involved, so we would appeal to people to just be careful with alcohol and look after themselves and each other and not to drink to excessive levels, which is always a deadly cocktail."

There were reports that people performed CPR on the man before paramedics arrived.

Alessandro Vosolo, who is staying on the 44th floor of the building, said the fight sounded violent and lasted less than four minutes.

"Fighting, screaming, arguing like guys getting thrown around, that sort of thing," he said.

One witness said he was on the 20th floor of the hotel and heard the fight.

"A dude got beat up... We heard it but then police rocked up."

Police insp Park said a number of witnesses had already been interviewed but appealed for more people to step forward, particularly the man, understood to be Caucasian and in his 30s, who was involved in the fight.

The injured man was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition.

"Initial information suggests that a man and a woman were seen arguing on the footpath of Queen Street near the intersection with Wharf Street when another man intervened just before 4am," police said in a statement.

Police said the two men were then involved in a fight in which a 38-year-old Arana Hills man sustained a serious head injury.

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Detective inspector Ian Park said police were also investigating the assault of a man who got into a fight with a hotel staff member at the Orient about 4.30am.

A 37-year-old man fell down the stairs and suffered serious head injuries when his head hit the concrete pavement.

"I believe the may have been a disagreement between this person and a staff member but as to what actually took place is subject to investigation," Insp Park said.

The man was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he is in a serious condition.

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In a third incident, a man was allegedly glassed in the face at the Family Nightclub on McLachlan St in the Fortitude Valley about 3am Sunday.

Police said a 19-year-old was struck in the face with a glass, receiving cuts to his cheek area. Police said the man did not have life-threatening injuries.

A spokesman said security staff and patrons stopped the alleged attacker and held him until police arrived.

A 20-year-old Calamvale man has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm. He is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday morning.

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'Pink batts' inquiry set to begin

A royal commission into the Rudd government's home insulation scheme will begin tomorrow. Source: AAP

A ROYAL Commission of Inquiry into deaths and injuries linked to the Rudd government's home insulation scheme will begin on Monday in Brisbane.

Four young men died while working on the roll-out of the so-called "pink batts" scheme set up in 2009.

Three of the men were Queenslanders Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and the fourth New South Welshman Marcus Wilson.

Their families believe the $2.8 billion program - implemented by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd to inject money into the economy during the global financial crisis - was rushed and lacked adequate safety standards.

The inquiry will also investigate the affect the program had on the reputation and profits of long-standing home insulation businesses.

Heading the Royal Commission is barrister and commercial dispute resolution practitioner Ian Hanger, QC.

Mr Hange has until June 30 next year to provide a report of his findings and recommendations.

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Spacesuit flaw postpones ISS repairs

NASA has delayed until Christmas Eve the next outing to repair the International Space Station. Source: AAP

A NEW flaw has emerged with a US-made spacesuit, forcing NASA to delay until Christmas Eve the next outing to repair the International Space Station.

The problem came up in a system that handles water condensation in veteran astronaut Rick Mastracchio's spacesuit after he re-entered the space station airlock following a spacewalk that lasted more than five hours, NASA said.

It was not believed to be the same type of issue that caused a dangerous water leak in the helmet of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano in July.

An investigation into that situation is ongoing.

Faced with unexpected repairs due to an equipment cooling breakdown at the orbiting lab on December 11, NASA arranged makeshift snorkels inside the 35-year-old spacesuits and absorbent pads in the helmets for these spacewalks in case such a leak happened again.

"During repressuristion of the station's airlock following the spacewalk, a spacesuit configuration issue put the suit Mastracchio was wearing in question for the next excursion - specifically whether water entered into the suit's sublimator inside the airlock," the space agency said in a statement.

"This issue is not related to the spacesuit water leak that was seen during a July spacewalk."

Now, astronauts are resizing a spare spacesuit aboard the ISS for Mastracchio, 53, to wear on the next spacewalk to complete the pump replacement.

The outing was planned for Monday, but will now take place Tuesday, beginning at 7:10am (2310 AEDT).

NASA released the news late on Saturday, after the spacewalk by the two American astronauts ended with the successful disconnection and removal of the old pump.

NASA mission control in Houston checked in with them frequently to see if they were experiencing any wetness in their helmets, and each time the spacewalkers reported no problems.

Space agency officials told reporters this week that Hopkins, 44, would be wearing the suit Parmitano had worn when he experienced the leak that nearly drowned him, noting its water pump system had been replaced.

The spacewalks were called for after a faulty valve forced a partial shutdown in the system that regulates equipment temperature at the space station.

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Six horses slaughtered in SA stable

Six miniature show horses have been hacked to death at a stable south of Adelaide. Source: AAP

A $100,000 reward is being offered to catch the "extremely sick" person who slaughtered six miniature show horses in a South Australian stable.

Police describe the animal killings at Clayton Bay, about 70km south of Adelaide, as "bizarre and cruel", with no leads on a suspect.

Three miniature horses in the same stable were not harmed but six others were found dead with their throats cut.

The owner's son, Daniel Spong, told ABC Radio it may have been a targeted attack but he doesn't know why.

"It just would take an extremely sick individual, I think, to carry this out," he said.

"We just can't believe it.

"These horses each have their own characters and personalities, and each of the staff and family have their own personal relationships with the animals." He said the distraught owners were offering a $100,000 reward.

A police spokesman said the horses are believed to have been killed some time between Friday night and Saturday morning.

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Gay couples wed in Utah after ruling

A US judge has struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban in a decision that marks a drastic shift towards gay marriage in a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it.

Friday's decision set off an immediate frenzy as the clerk in the state's most populous county began issuing marriage licences to dozens of gay couples while state officials took steps to appeal the ruling and halt the process.

Cheers erupted as the mayor of Salt Lake City led one of the state's first gay wedding ceremonies in an office building about three miles from the headquarters of the Mormon church.

Deputy Salt Lake County Clerk Dahnelle Burton-Lee said the district attorney authorised her office to begin issuing licences to same-sex couples but she couldn't immediately say how many had been issued.

Just hours earlier, US District Judge Robert Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying the constitutional amendment Utah voters approved in 2004 violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Shelby said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any way.

"In the absence of such evidence, the State's unsupported fears and speculations are insufficient to justify the State's refusal to dignify the family relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens," Shelby wrote.

The decision drew a swift and angry reaction from Utah leaders, including Republican Governor Gary Herbert.

"I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting attorney general to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah," Herbert said.

Late on Friday, the state filed both a notice of appeal of the ruling and a request for an emergency stay that would stop marriage licences from being issued to same-sex couples. It's unknown when the judge will make a decision on whether to grant the stay.

If the ruling stands, Utah would become the 18th state to allow gay marriages, said Jon Davidson, director of Lambda Legal, which pursues litigation on LGBT issues nationwide. That's up from six before the US Supreme Court last year struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The District of Columbia also allows same-sex marriage.

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Attacks in Iraq kill 4 police, 2 pilgrims

OFFICIALS say attacks in western Iraq and south of Baghdad have killed six people - four policemen and two Shi'ite pilgrims.

Police officials say gunmen in a speeding car opened fire at a police checkpoint in the western city of Fallujah on Saturday morning, killing four policemen.

And in the town of Latifiyah, 30km south of Baghdad, a mortar shell hit a group of Shi'ite pilgrims heading to the holy sites in the city of Karbala.

The pilgrims were commemorating Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein, a revered Shi'ite figure.

Medical officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media.

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Gunman had botched vasectomy: Neighbours

AUTHORITIES in the US are trying to determine whether a Northern California man's anger over complications he suffered from a 2010 surgery prompted him to go on a shooting rampage at a Nevada urologist's office, killing one doctor and critically wounding another before committing suicide.

Reno Police Lieutenant William Rulla said on Friday detectives were working to obtain Alan Oliver Frazier's medical records to learn more about his physical and mental health.

Frazier, 51, made it clear in a suicide note that he had planned the attack and that his "focus was on the physicians at the specific office," Rulla said. Police recovered the note at Frazier's home.

Investigators have declined to specify the kind of surgery he had or say whether the doctors he targeted had anything to do with it.

But a couple who lived across the street from Frazier at Lake Almanor, about 130 miles north of Reno, said the operation he had had was a vasectomy. They also said Frazier frequently posted complaints in an online chat group about the pain he suffered from what he claimed was a botched surgery.

An international expert in men's reproductive health care said that while it's uncommon, some men experience pain more than two years after a vasectomy.

Neighbour Mario Tognotti told The Associated Press on Friday that Frazier told him and his wife that he sought help from doctors for his pain and had approached a lawyer about the situation. Tognotti declined to comment further.

His wife, Jari Tognotti, told the Reno Gazette-Journal in an email Thursday that Frazier encouraged friends to learn more about the kind of painful allergic reactions that men like him sometimes suffered as a result of vasectomies. She said it involved "immune-type reactions while their bodies are trying to absorb the sperm."

Dr Paul Turek, president of the Society of Male Reproduction and Urology, said that while vasectomies remain among the safest forms of permanent contraception, there are potential short- and long-term side effects. He declined to comment on Frazier's case, but noted about 60 to 70 per cent of men who undergo vasectomies develop an allergy to their sperm in the form of "antisperm antibodies."

Turek also said it's rare but possible to experience pain more than two years after a vasectomy.

"Developing over time can be a low-grade discomfort in the scrotum that's basically relieved by reversals because it's due to congestion that causes back pressure," Turek said.

Any sperm allergy appears to be localised to the immune systems on reproductive tracts, he said, and antisperm antibodies have not been shown conclusively to have any significant effect on other organs.

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Khodorkovsky starts life as a free man

Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky has arrived in Germany after being freed from a Russian prison. Source: AAP

RUSSIA'S most famous prisoner, Kremlin critic and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has begun life as a free man in Germany after his surprise pardon by President Vladimir Putin.

Khodorkovsky has been reunited with his son in Berlin, a spokeswoman for the former tycoon said on Saturday.

"The eldest son of Mikhail Borisovich, Pavel, has already seen his dad," a spokeswoman for Khodorkovsky, Olga Pispanen, said on Russian radio Echo of Moscow.

"They are now together in Berlin."

Khodorkovsky's parents, Marina and Boris, were also preparing to fly out to Germany to "finally see and hug him," the spokeswoman added.

Released on Friday after 10 years behind bars, Khodorkovsky is "feeling well" and will give a news conference on Sunday, she said, with the date and place to be confirmed later.

Khodorkovsky's 79-year-old mother, who has cancer, said she was taking sedatives to help her cope with the strong emotions sparked by his release.

"We survived grief but it is also apparently hard to survive joy," Marina Khodorkovskaya said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television on Saturday.

Putin stunned Russia on Thursday by revealing that Khodorkovsky had turned to him for pardon on humanitarian grounds, citing his mother's health.

In a head-spinning succession of events, less than 24 hours later Khodorkovsky was granted pardon, walked out of prison and flew to Germany in a secret operation worked out behind the scenes with Berlin.

Prison officials said Khodorkovsky had requested to fly to Germany, where his mother has undergone treatment before.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Khodorkovsky was not forced into exile and was free to return to Russia.

Former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who helped negotiate his release, arranged the flight for him on a private jet and picked him up at the airport in Berlin.

From the airport, Khodorkovsky was reportedly taken to Berlin's luxury Adlon Hotel near the Brandenburg Gate from which Genscher was seen leaving on Friday evening.

About 20 cameramen and photographers as well as two TV vans were waiting for a possible glimpse of the former tycoon outside the landmark hotel in sub-zero temperatures on Saturday morning, according to reports.

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Woman killed in three car Vic crash

A THREE-CAR smash in southern Victoria has killed a woman and injured a man.

Three cars collided and a motorcyclist skidded off the road on Phillip Island Road at San Remo on Friday afternoon.

Police say a woman aged in her 50s died, while a man in his 60s was airlifted to The Alfred hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, a cyclist has died at the same hospital following an alleged hit-and-run collision a kilometre from his Melbourne home last month.

Brighton East man Julian Paul, 53, was cycling home on November 26 when he was hit from behind by a car, leaving him with severe spine and brain injuries.

He died in The Alfred on Wednesday night, police said on Friday.

A 31-year-old Moorabbin woman was charged a few days after the incident with failing to stop after an accident and failing to render assistance.

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NSW police officer nabbed drink-driving

A NSW police officer has been charged with high-range drink-driving.

The male officer, attached to Sydney's Central Metropolitan Region Command, was issued with a court attendance notice on Thursday for driving with a high-range PCA.

The man is due to appear in Orange Local Court on January 23.

A police spokesman said no further details would be released due to a policy change in the way such matters were reported to the media.

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Milky Way to be mapped in 3D

The European Space Agency has launched a project set to provide the mapping of the Milky Way. Source: AAP

THE European Space Agency has launched a project set to provide the first realistic three-dimensional mapping of the Milky Way.

As part of the mission, a highly precise telescope dubbed Gaia will orbit the sun at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres beyond the Earth's orbit.

The rocket was launched on Thursday on a Russian Soyuz rocket, taking off from a space station in French Guiana.

The aim of the five-year mission is to map more than a billion stars, thereby creating a three-dimensional map of their positions and movement in space.

Scientists hope the information obtained will help them to better understand the structure and evolution of our galaxy, thereby shedding light on how it came into being.

New data on the movement of stars is also meant to allow scientists to predict incidents like the meteorite that exploded over Russia in February.

The comprehensive map, expected to collate data filling the equivalent of 20,000 DVDs, is set to be completed in 2020.

The first useable scientific data from the telescope is expected in January.

An earlier attempt by the agency to map the Milky Way took place from 1989 to 1993.

Experts say the mapping technology used for Gaia is 50 times more precise than that of its predecessor.

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Investigators probe UK theatre collapse

At least 88 people were injured when the ceiling collapsed during a show at London's Apollo Theatre. Source: AAP

INVESTIGATORS are seeking to establish why the ceiling of a packed London theatre collapsed, injuring 76 people and coating terrified audience members with rubble.

A sell-out crowd of around 720 people was in the Apollo Theatre in Soho on Thursday night when ornate masonry and rigging fell about five storeys on to their heads.

Witnesses said they heard creaking noises in the 112-year-old theatre, but thought it was part of the show they were watching, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Then debris and dust filled the air, sending coughing, terrified theatregoers - many of them families enjoying a pre-Christmas treat - fleeing for the exits.

Rescuers commandeered three iconic red London double-decker buses to transport the injured, while the city's normally tourist-thronged "Theatreland" was brought to a stunned halt.

Ambulance staff treated 76 patients, taking 58 to hospital, where seven were described as having serious but not life-threatening injuries.

A surveyor examined the theatre overnight and said the roof was secure, but investigations are now being carried out by the local authority to establish what happened.

The abnormally heavy rain that fell in the hour before the ceiling collapsed shortly after 8.00pm (0700 AEDT Friday) is likely to be one line of inquiry.

"We will not know the cause of the incident until all investigations have been completed but checks are ongoing," said councillor Nickie Aiken of Westminster Council.

"This appears to be an isolated incident, but we will continue to work with theatres throughout the day to ensure that all safety precautions are in place."

All historic theatres are required to undergo rigorous safety checks on their roofs every three years, she added.

Witnesses told of terror inside the Edwardian-era theatre, which has three tiers of balconies, the uppermost of which is said to be the steepest in London.

"A section of the theatre's ceiling collapsed on to the audience who were watching the show. The ceiling took parts of the balconies down with it," senior firefighter Nick Harding told reporters.

"In my time as a fire officer I've never seen an incident like this."

Desmond Thomas, 18, part of a school party watching the show, said they heard noises before the accident.

"Maybe 10 minutes into the performance we heard a tap-tap noise, we thought it was rain," he told AFP.

"There was a crack and then it suddenly seemed to get bigger and suddenly it collapsed. The next thing we knew the whole theatre filled with dust and smoke."

Simon Usborne, a journalist for The Independent newspaper who was watching the show, said there was "chaos".

"Loud bangs, cracks. Thought was part of show then whole interior of theatre filled with curtain of dark grey dust and debris, falling on heads of anyone not sheltered," he tweeted afterwards.

"People emerging soon after bloodied - children crying - family show - people dumbfounded."

No Australians were reported to be injured in the collapse. "Consular staff are in contact with UK authorities, but have not been advised of any Australians affected at this stage," a spokeswoman for the high commission in London said in a statement.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was being kept updated on the incident and was "grateful for the fast work of the emergency services in helping the injured".

Some of the injured were treated in triage centres set up in the lobbies of the nearby Gielgud and Queen's theatres.

"In the finest traditions of Theatreland, they very quickly rallied around," said fire brigade spokesman Graham Ellis.

He said that "heavy ornate plaster" had fallen from the roof on to theatregoers in the circle, dress circle and stalls.

Audience member James Kearney, who was given a ticket to the show as a present, told AFP there were "people with blood on their heads in shock" behind them.

Kearney's companion Dee Stephenson said there was so much dust afterwards they had to feel their way out.

"Everybody was in a trance-like state. A lot of people were in absolute shock," Stephenson told AFP. "We were extremely fortunate."

Based on an award-winning novel by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time has been running in London since August 2012.

Haddon said on Twitter that the incident was "horrifying" and that he was "hugely relieved that no one died".

The owner of the Apollo, Nimax Theatres, said the ceiling collapse was a "shocking and upsetting incident".

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Steps star Watkins wins apology over photo

POP star Ian Watkins has received a public apology at the London High Court over the mistaken use of his photograph on a celebrity news website reporting the guilty pleas of Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins to serious sexual offences.

A judge in London heard that the musician and actor, also known as Ian "H" Watkins or "H" from the band Steps, had already been "receiving abuse as a result of people confusing the two Ian Watkins" before the error over the photograph was made.

He received an apology today from E! Entertainment Television, a US company which operates a television channel E! and website E! Online, covering celebrity news.

His solicitor John Reid told the judge that the defendant, E! Entertainment Television, "reported the guilty plea of Ian Watkins of the Lostprophets in an article on E! Online", adding: "However, the defendant mistakenly included a photograph of the claimant, Ian 'H' Watkins of Steps, instead of Ian Watkins of the Lostprophets."

"The error quickly came to the attention of the defendant, which promptly replaced the photograph with the correct one," he said.

Mr Reid told the judge that the defendant also promptly added an editor's note to the article, stating: "This story was originally published with an image of Ian "H" Watkins of the band Steps rather than Ian Watkins of the Lostprophets. E! Online deeply regrets this error."

He said the defendant "also promptly emailed and telephoned the claimant's management to apologise to the claimant".

The judge heard that as well as having the same name as the Lostprophets singer, both men are of similar age and originally come from Wales.

Solicitor Timothy Pinto told the judge that, on behalf of the defendant, he confirmed everything said by Mr Reid "and apologises for the distress and damage caused by the publication of the photograph".

On Wednesday, former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was jailed for 35 years at Cardiff Crown Court for a string of child sex offences.

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Xenophon wants new data-interception laws

FEDERAL independent Nick Xenophon wants changes to Australian telecommunications interception laws following calls for a narrowing of National Security Agency (NSA) powers.

A review board, set up by President Barack Obama in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaking of NSA secrets, has recommended a wide-ranging overhaul of its practices while preserving "robust" intelligence capabilities.

The panel issued 46 recommendations, including an end to retention of telephone "metadata" by the spy agency.

Senator Xenophon said the report was a "wake up call" and he would introduce legislation to curtail telecommunications interception powers in Australia.

The South Australian, who has previously called for a review of Australia's data surveillance practices, said if it was good enough for the US "then it's time we did the same thing".

"In the US legislation, there are safeguards for non-US citizens to avail themselves of the same procedures and judicial review as US citizens," he told AAP on Thursday.

"If the legislation doesn't pass it will be indeed ironic that Australian citizens will have more protection under US law than under their own laws."

Australia's domestic spy agencies have been under scrutiny after Snowdon leaks revealed the Defence Signals Directorate had tapped the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

"All I'm asking for the prime minister and opposition to do is to support what our closest ally is doing," Senator Xenophon said.

Attorney-General George Brandis said he would not comment on the recommendations on the NSA's powers.

"We work with the intelligence agencies of our closest partners given the common threats we face, including terrorism," Senator Brandis said in a statement.

"We are committed to maintaining these relationships and protecting Australia's security interests and the safety of Australians at home and abroad.

"The Australian Government is committed to maintaining an appropriate balance between national security and privacy considerations."

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Strip club spruiker hit with drug charges

TWO women and a strip club spruiker have been charged with supplying drugs in Sydney's Kings Cross.

Following an investigation into the supply of prohibited drugs in strip clubs and licensed premises on the late night strip, detectives arrested a 31-year-old woman at her home in Glebe at around lunchtime on Wednesday.

Then, on Thursday morning, police arrested a 40-year-old woman.

Police allege the two women were supplying cocaine from strip clubs in the Potts Point area.

The pair have been charged with supplying prohibited drugs and have been granted bail to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court in January.

A a 20-year-old man was also arrested at Kings Cross Police Station on Thursday and charged with three counts of supplying a prohibited drug.

Police allege the man, who works as a spruiker for a strip club, was supplying cocaine outside the venue.

He was also given bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court in January.

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NSA spying needed to fight terror: Putin

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin says the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance is necessary to fight terrorism, but added that the government must "limit the appetite" of the agency with a clear set of ground rules.

Putin's comment on Thursday was surprising support for President Barack Obama's administration, which has faced massive criticism over the sweeping US electronic espionage program.

He was speaking at his tightly choreographed annual press conference, a televised affair that goes on for many hours and attracts hundreds of journalists, some of whom were holding signs - or in one case an Olympic mascot teddy bear - in an effort to get called on for a question in front of a nationwide audience.

The Kremlin sees the event as key in burnishing Putin's father-of-the nation image.

Putin, a 16-year KGB veteran and the former chief of Russia's main espionage agency, said that while the NSA program "isn't a cause for joy, it's not a cause for repentance either" because it is needed to fight terrorism.

He argued that it's necessary to monitor large numbers of people to expose terrorist contacts. But "on political level, it's necessary to limit the appetite of special services with certain rules", he said.

Putin added that the efficiency of the effort - and its damage to privacy - is limited by the sheer inability to process such a huge amount of data.

Asked about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, whom Russia has granted asylum, Putin insisted that Moscow isn't controlling him.

He argued that any revelations published by Snowden must have come from materials he provided before landing in Russia, and reaffirmed that Moscow made providing refuge to Snowden conditional on his halting what he called ant-American activities.

Putin said he hasn't met with Snowden. He insisted that Russian security agencies haven't worked with him and have not asked him any questions related to NSA activities against Russia.

Putin dismissed a report claiming that Moscow stationed its state-of-the art Iskander missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave region that borders NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania, but added that he continues to consider such a move as a possible way of countering the US-led missile defence system in Europe.

Both Poland and Lithuania have expressed concern about such a possibility, and Washington warned Moscow against making destabilising moves. Putin said Russia has long considered it, but added that "we haven't made the decision yet" on deploying them.

Turning to Ukraine, Putin insisted that Russia's $US15 billion ($A16.99 billion) bailout of the economically struggling country was driven by a desire to help a partner in dire straits and wasn't linked to its talks with the European Union.

Ukraine has been an important customer for Russian gas and a key partner in industrial co-operation since Soviet times, he said.

The Kremlin's move comes as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych faces massive street protests over his decision to spike a pact with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

Asked about the possibility of similar protests hitting Moscow one day, Putin said such demonstrations must be held in strict conformity with the law to prevent the nation from sliding into chaos.

Putin confirmed that the amnesty bill passed by the Kremlin-controlled parliament on Wednesday will apply to the two members of the Pussy Riot punk band and the 30-people crew of a Greenpeace ship facing hooliganism charges for their protest at a Russian oil rig in the Arctic.

Asked whether he felt sorry for the two women, Putin stood by his strong criticism of their irreverent protest at Moscow's main cathedral, describing it as a publicity stunt that "crossed all barriers".

He also questioned the Greenpeace protesters' intentions to protect the Arctic and alleged that they were trying to hurt Russia's economic interests. He added that he did not mind that charges against the Greenpeace team were dropped under Wednesday's amnesty bill, but that he hoped that "this will not happen again".

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Abuse victim's anger at church mediation

THE Catholic Church's response to sex abuse was "Towards Hurting" rather than "Towards Healing" one of the victims has told an inquiry.

The man said he had no faith left after being abused by three Marist Brothers at school and then participating in the church's mediation process Towards Healing, which he called a "sham."

He felt this way when he learned that the order of brothers withheld the fact that an independent mediator in his case actually worked for the Catholic Church.

The 49-year-old identified as DK, who was abused while a boarder at St Augustine's Marist College in Cairns from 1976-81, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of his desire to forgive, and to educate his children in the Catholic system.

But this had changed because of the process to which he was subjected.

In 1999, DK reported the abuse, which included one brother fondling him when he was 11, another watching him while he showered and a third, Brother Ross Murrin, whom he considered a friend, molesting him twice. Murrin is in jail for unrelated abuse offences.

He was offered a Towards Healing process arranged by Brother Alexis Turton, the Marist Brothers' professional standards director in 2010, with an "independent mediator", Michael Salmon.

DK found out later from a TV program that Mr Salmon was the director of the NSW Professional Standards Office (PSO).

He said this "made me really, really angry because I felt I was lied to".

Under the protocols of Towards Healing, which was set up by the Catholic Church in the early 1990s to deal pastorally with abuse victims, it is recommended that a PSO director not be a mediator.

The March 2010 mediation, which started on an angry note as DK confronted two brothers he believed knew of the abuse, ended amicably, with all parties agreeing to a settlement of $88,000. This was negotiated away from the mediation.

In a statement which he read, DK said the mediation made him feel "really dirty and filthy".

"From 1976 to 1981, I was sexually abused; there was horrendous physical abuse and there was control and emotional abuse by angry, cruel men, who ruled my life and had more control over me than my parents," he said.

He added that he had put his trust back in them for Towards Healing and, by three o'clock that afternoon: "I just felt that the same angry, cruel men had done the same thing to me 25 years later. It's the same abuse.

"I don't call it Towards Healing, I call it 'Towards Hurting'."

Under questioning by Angus Stewart, counsel assisting the commission, Br Turton admitted he had not formally handed the complaint to Mr Salmon, who as director of the Catholic Church's PSO, should have managed it, not mediated it.

Br Turton said he prepared a draft email to DK on February 22 explaining Mr Salmon's position in the church but he never sent it because DK happened to ring and he told him.

DK said that he was now experiencing healing because, although the documents before the commission were searing and painful to read, he was finally getting the truth.

The hearing continues on Thursday.

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Sattler suing Perth station for $500,000

Shock-jock Howard Sattler (R) is suing his former employer 6PR, claiming he was unlawfully sacked. Source: AAP

VETERAN shock-jock Howard Sattler is suing his former radio employer for more than $500,000, claiming he was unlawfully sacked for asking former Prime Minister Julia Gillard if her partner Tim Mathieson was gay.

Mr Sattler caused a national outrage this year with an interview in which he posed the question to Ms Gillard.

Ms Gillard responded that the notion was absurd.

"You hear it! He must be gay. He's a hairdresser," Mr Sattler continued, sparking a vitriolic backlash and his termination from Fairfax Radio's 6PR station in Perth the next day.

Mr Sattler, who is suffering from a form of Parkinson's, has lodged a writ with WA's Supreme Court claiming he was unlawfully dismissed, and the manner of his sacking has made it impossible for him to find work.

Through his lawyer Bruce Havilah, Mr Sattler has claimed more than $500,000, calculated on six months remaining on his contract and a promise of another three-year deal to come.

The writ reveals Mr Sattler earned $190,000 in the first year of his contract and $195,000 in the second year, plus $100 for each live and recorded commercial read on air.

"I am confident that the circumstances will clearly show my claim is justified," Mr Sattler said.

"I will continue my fight for justice with the same tenacity I have fought for others."

The claim will contend that Ms Gillard's office had accepted in writing that the interview would be candid and that it would touch on controversial topics such as same-sex marriage and religion.

"He asked her to respond specifically to a myth about her de facto partner where he voiced that myth," Mr Havilagh said.

"He denies that the contract was breached ... or if it was breached, it was capable of rectification by an an on-air apology."

Mr Sattler said he was only able to launch the legal action through the generosity of others and also had to cut back on medical treatment because of his strained financial position.

But he only regretted asking the question because it led to his sacking.

"It never occurred to me at the time that this would lead to me being sacked," Mr Sattler said.

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