Boston suspect's widow hires lawyer

The row over where to bury a suspected Boston bomber has escalated as more cities reject the idea. Source: AAP

AS the quest to find a resting place for the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev drags on, his widow continues to face questions from federal authorities and has hired a criminal lawyer with experience defending terrorism cases.

Katherine Russell has added New York lawyer Joshua Dratel to her legal team, her lawyer Amato DeLuca said.

Dratel has represented a number of terrorism suspects in federal courts and military commissions, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee David Hicks, who attended an al-Qaeda-linked training camp in Afghanistan.

Dratel's "unique, specialised experience" will help ensure that Russell "can assist in the ongoing investigation in the most constructive way possible," DeLuca said in a written statement.

He said Russell, who has not been charged with any crime, will continue to meet with investigators as "part of a series of meetings over many hours where she has answered questions".

An FBI spokeswoman wouldn't comment when asked whether Russell is co-operating. DeLuca has said Russell had no reason to suspect her husband and his brother in the deadly April 15 bombing.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, ethnic Chechen brothers from southern Russia living in Massachusetts, are accused of planting two shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon finish line, killing three people and injuring about 260.

Dzhokhar, who was captured hiding in a tarp-covered boat outside a house in a Boston suburb, was charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. Their mother says charges against them are lies.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a getaway attempt after a gun battle with police and no burial place has been found for him yet.

His body was released by the state medical examiner on May 1 and has been in limbo since.

In Washington, the first in a series of hearings was planned on Thursday to review government's initial response to the bombing, what information authorities received about the brothers before the bombings and whether they handled it correctly.

The hearing on Capitol Hill comes less than three weeks after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's arrest.

The FBI and CIA separately received vague warnings from Russia's government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his mother were religious militants.

Russell, Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wife, had wanted his body turned over to his side of the family, which claimed it.

Nineteen days after his death, cemeteries still refused to take his remains and government officials deflected questions about where he could be buried.

On Wednesday, police in Worcester, west of Boston, pleaded for a resolution, saying they were spending tens of thousands of dollars to protect the funeral home where his body is being kept amid protests.

"We are not barbarians," Police Chief Gary Gemme said.

"We bury the dead."

Peter Stefan, whose funeral home accepted Tsarnaev's body last week, said on Tuesday that none of the 120 offers of graves from the US and Canada has worked out because officials in those cities and towns don't want the body.

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East West Link is a con: Vic opposition

The Victorian treasurer says the government won't fund the entire cost of the East West Link road. Source: AAP

VICTORIANS won't be able to use the East West Link tunnel to drive to work for decades, the opposition says.

The state government has pledged almost $300 million for the $6-8 billion East West Link and says the federal government could jeopardise the project if it refuses to contribute $1.5 billion to the toll road.

In his budget reply speech, shadow treasurer Tim Pallas said the government's 2013/14 budget was based on funding of less than four per cent for a toll road.

"Let me tell you something: you don't drive to work on a procurement plan," Mr Pallas told parliament on Thursday.

"And that's all this is - that's the big con in this heartless budget."

Mr Pallas ridiculed the government's plan for the road saying at this rate Victorians won't be able to use the link until 2067.

"That's five years after the Jetsons perfected flying cars," he said.

Mr Pallas said Labor believed in a reliable health system and a strong education system.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien continued to spruik the budget on Thursday, saying the state won't fund the entire cost of the road link because it cannot afford to lose its AAA credit rating.

He said if the state lost its AAA rating, it would increase the cost of borrowing money for other projects and would mean less money is available for yearly spending.

"If it's the old argument of, you've got AAA rating so why don't you borrow your head off, well the fact is if you borrow your head off you won't keep your AAA rating," he told ABC radio.

"And we need to keep that AAA rating because otherwise the interest costs we will be paying on our borrowings will be much higher."

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Abbott commits to NSW tunnel

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has committed to funding a NSW tunnel from the F3 to the M2 motorway. Source: AAP

INFRASTRUCTURE looks set to become a key issue in the lead-up to the September poll after both sides of federal politics made solid commitments to fund a vital tunnel link for Sydney.

The NSW government is close to striking a deal with federal Labor on funding for the eight-kilometre project linking NSW's F3 and M2 motorways.

Under the plan, both levels of government would invest up to $400 million, with construction to start as early as next year.

The rest of the $3 billion needed would be provided by a private company that would recoup funds through a toll.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said it was the "missing link" in the city's road network.

"There's no doubt that this is an important road for Sydney and it's important that infrastructure development be progressed in terms of dealing with traffic congestion in Sydney."

Mr Albanese is set to meet with Mr Gay this week, who said discussions had so far been "friendly and we're close but we're not there yet".

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said it was important not to overcommit the state, while Premier Barry O'Farrell refused to be drawn on whether Transurban wanted to increase the toll on the M7 to pay for the new road.

"I've always believed that those people who enjoy the benefit of a toll road are the people who should pay the toll," he said.

Federal central coast MP Craig Thomson earlier told AAP that cash for the tunnel would be included in next Tuesday's budget.

"It's something commuters on the central coast have been looking forward to for some time," said the Labor-turned-independent member for Dobell.

Mr Abbott weighed into the matter, saying his government was committed to the four-year project, which involves a tunnel from the F3 near Hornsby under Pennant Hills Road to the M2.

"We will get this link built," he said.

"(It) will mean shorter travel times, reduced congestion and safer roads.

"It also means reduced freight costs for all trucks that use this important national road corridor."

Mr Abbott said he would release the full details of the funding commitment prior to the next election.

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia chief executive Brendan Lyon said it welcomed a consensus in Canberra that would put real funding on the table.

"The matching commitments also point to infrastructure being a key federal election issue, with voters increasingly frustrated by congestion and other symptoms of the nation's infrastructure ills," he said.

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Sony posts first annual profit in years

STRUGGLING Japanese electronics giant Sony says it has booked its first annual net profit in five years, offering a glimmer of hope for the former market leader.

But Sony's jump back into the black was largely due to fluctuations in the value of the yen and gains from a string of asset sales - including unloading its Manhattan office building for more than $A988.19 million - while its television and electronics business continues to struggle.

After Sony published its latest earnings on Thursday, the firm's chief financial officer Masaru Kato said years of losses had left management with one mission: "We were determined to report a profit no matter what."

Earlier this month, the firm said dozens of senior executives including chief executive Kazuo Hirai, who was appointed last year, would forego their annual bonuses to atone for a slump in Sony's electronics unit.

The decision came after the maker of PlayStation game consoles and Bravia televisions launched a massive corporate overhaul to stem losses. Thousands of jobs were cut and assets were sold.

"Sony has taken some drastic streamlining measures under new management," said Nomura Securities analyst Shiro Mikoshiba.

"Now the focus is on whether it can generate more profits."

Japan's electronics sector has suffered myriad problems including slowing demand in key export markets, fierce competition from lower-cost overseas rivals, a strong yen, and strategic mistakes that left its finances in ruins.

But a tumble in the yen in recent months - losing about a fifth of its value against the dollar since November - has helped Japan's exporters, making their products more competitive overseas and boosting the value of repatriated foreign income, inflating their bottom line.

Sony said the weaker yen boosted results in its film division, as demand for its digital cameras, video cameras and televisions remained weak, although Sony's CFO said he expected the TV business to turn a profit in the current fiscal year.

Japanese firms - including Sony rivals Sharp and Panasonic which report their full-year results over the next week - have struggled in the low-margin TV business where foreign rivals have proved tough competition.

On Thursday, Sony said it earned Y43.03 billion ($A429.21 million) for the fiscal year to March, reversing a 456.66 billion yen loss a year earlier.

Sales in the period were 6.8 trillion yen, up 4.7 per cent on-year, Sony said, adding that it expected to post a net profit of 50 billion yen in the current fiscal year to March 2014 on sales of 7.5 trillion yen.

Sony's expected revenue in the current fiscal year was "primarily due to the depreciation of the yen and an increase in sales in the electronics businesses," it said.

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