US, Russia throw weight behind Syria talks

The US and Russia have thrown their full weight behind Syrian peace talks set for January 22. Source: AAP

THE US and Russia have thrown their full weight behind long-delayed Syria peace talks that the UN says finally would be held on January 22, though it is not yet clear whether key sponsors of the warring sides would attend.

"We haven't established a list yet," UN and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Monday.

That left open the participation of Saudi Arabia, seen as a major sponsor the majority Sunni Muslim rebels, and Iran, steadfast backer of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad which is dominated by Alawites derived from Islam's Shi'ite sect.

"These two countries will certainly be among the possible participants," Brahimi said after closed-door talks in Geneva with US and Russian officials.

The talks will bring together the Syrian government and the opposition at the negotiating table for the first time since the rebellion against Assad erupted in March 2011.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced the date for the long-delayed conference on Syria dubbed Geneva II at the UN headquarters in New York.

"At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield," Ban told reporters.

"The fighting has raged on far too long - with more than 100,000 dead, almost nine million driven from their homes, countless missing and detained, and terrible violations of human rights," Ban said, calling the war the "biggest threat to international peace".

The US, which has long urged Assad to step down, called the upcoming talks the "best opportunity" to form a new transitional government to lead Syria out of war.

"In order to end the bloodshed and give the Syrian people a chance to meet their long-deferred aspirations, Syria needs new leadership," US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

He said he recognised "that the obstacles on the road to a political solution are many, and we will enter the Geneva conference on Syria with our eyes wide open".

Russia, which broadly supports the survival of Assad's regime, also underlined the importance of the talks.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 35-minute audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican during which both men discussed the urgent need "to promote concrete initiatives for a peaceful solution to the conflict, favouring negotiation", the Holy See said.

They agreed any solution should involve "the various ethnic and religious groups, recognising their essential role in society", it said in a statement.

Kerry has been working with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to organise the peace talks with the UN since May.

White House deputy spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters travelling with President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One that "we'll necessarily need to end (Geneva) with Assad leaving power".

Brahimi, meanwhile, said the country's warring sides should not wait until January 22 to rein in fighting.

"We very strongly appeal to the Syrian government and the opposition to not to wait for the conference," he said, urging the sides to "diminish the violence (and) release prisoners and detainees of all sorts".

He admitted though, "being realistic", that "a lot of the things that need to happen will happen after the conference starts".

Brahimi said the conference would start "without any preconditions".

The opposition Syrian National Coalition has agreed to attend, but its authority is not recognised by Islamist rebel groups that are proving the most effective on the battlefield.

Brahimi said the opposition coalition had a "very important role to play" and had to be "as representative as possible" for the talks to work.

"We are in touch both with the government and the opposition. We are asking them to name their delegations as early as possible, hopefully before the end of the year," said the Algerian mediator, who previously was UN envoy for Afghanistan and Iraq.

"This conference is really for the Syrians to come to Geneva and talk to one another and hopefully start a credible, workable effective peace process for their country."

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Mining boom waste will haunt PM: Windsor

Former MP Tony Windsor (pic) says mismanagement of the mining boom will return to haunt Tony Abbott. Source: AAP

RETIRED MP Tony Windsor says Howard-era mismanagement of the mining boom will return to haunt Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The former key federal independent has backed a union report's calls for a sovereign wealth fund to help share the benefits of the resources industry among more Australians.

Mr Windsor launched the report, commissioned by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, at an event in Sydney on Tuesday.

The report found that although the resources boom had helped shelter Australia from the worst of the global financial crisis, governments had "squandered" a chance to efficiently share its profits.

It argued Norway had done a better job of maximising the permanent gains from oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

The report called for Australia to follow the Norwegian model and establish an Australia Development Fund to use some of the proceeds of resources development for long-term projects.

Mr Windsor said it was a sensible approach.

"During the Howard years we really didn't take advantage of the boom, we created a lot of middle-class welfare," Mr Howard said.

"I think a lot of people are aware now that you can't just go through boom cycles, issue currency to the community, and then when the bust comes - and Abbott's going to face this exact problem ... it's very difficult to take it back.

"The concept of a fund is that it does take advantage of the good times and smooth out the ripples."

The report found that the thriving resources sector had boosted jobs but the fly-in fly-out (FIFO) nature of much of the employment did not help mining towns.

It did however increase cost-of-living pressures for the towns' permanent communities.

And the share of income going to employee compensation has declined over the past 20 years, the report found, from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.

CFMEU president Tony Maher said the profits from Australia's mining boom had largely been exported.

"Too much has gone into the pockets of shareholders and management, overwhelmingly based overseas, and too little to the Australian community that owns the resources," he said.

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More beach monitoring after shark attack

Surveillance will continue in WA's south west during school levers week after a fatal shark attack. Source: AAP

A LARGE patrol vessel from Perth and aerial surveillance will continue in Western Australia's south west while school leavers are in the area after a fatal shark attack.

Police will be in control of a school leavers party at Meelup beach on Wednesday night but the Department of Fisheries will work with them to monitor the water.

Fisheries Shark Response Unit spokesman Tony Cappelluti said while people needed to be cautious, there was no suggestion that the event should be cancelled.

Chris Boyd, 35, was surfing at the popular surf break Umbies off Gracetown when a shark, believed to be a great white, bounced off another surfer's board and attacked him on Saturday morning.

Beaches were closed and authorities searched unsuccessfully for the shark, which was deemed an imminent risk, but the search was called off on Monday night and the beaches were re-opened.

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New "selfie stick" named after Zuckerburg

An Australian retailer is helping out the selfie taker, with a new tool called the "selfie stick". Source: AAP

IT is the ultimate statement of 21st century self expression - with the selfie so ubiquitous it's even recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary.

Now Australian retailer Kogan is giving the selfie taker a helping hand, with a new tool named after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg.

The $19 "Selfie Stick" is an extendable pole with an attachment for phone or camera, a foam handle to stop dropped phones, and even a mirror to check the hair and make-up before taking the shot.

And in a cheeky move, Kogan boss Ruslan Kogan sent one of the stick's to the man it was named after, in a bid to get him to post a first-ever selfie on the social media platform he created.

"I've done a bit of Facebook stalking, and was horrified to see that you haven't posted a Facebook selfie yourself," Mr Kogan wrote in an open letter.

"We know that selfies would not exist if it weren't for your entrepreneurial achievements. So, we thought wed name the product after you."

Mr Kogan said if Mr Zuckerburg declined his offer, then he had a plan B.

"If Zuckerberg refuses to do it, Kogan will change the official name of the product to the Kardashian selfie stick," Mr Kogan said.

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