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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Companies given time to respond to ICAC

The ICAC has recommended two NSW mining licences that were corruptly approved should be cancelled. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has given the holders of corruptly-approved mining licences linked to former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid and other Labor figures one month to convince the government not to cancel them.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday released a report urging the mining licences for Doyles Creek, Mount Penny and Glendon Brook be cancelled.

The ICAC report comes just months after it handed down corruption findings against Mr Obeid, mining minister Ian Macdonald and former union official John Maitland.

The Doyles Creek licence was awarded by Mr Macdonald to Mr Maitland and a consortium of investors in 2008, allowing the former union heavyweight to turn his initial $165,000 investment into $15 million.

Mr Macdonald was found to have rigged a 2008 tender process by granting the Mount Penny tenement which covered land owned by the Obeid family who earned $30 million out of the deal, with the prospect of making an extra $70 million.

The ICAC found the approvals for the mines were so tainted by corruption the licences should be expunged or cancelled and any pending applications refused.

Legislation cancelling the mines could be accompanied by the power to compensate affected innocent parties, while the government should also consider confiscating money made from the corruptly-obtained licences, the ICAC said.

But Mr O'Farrell said he would give leaseholders NuCoal and Cascade Coal until January 15 next year to make their case as to why the recommendations shouldn't be implemented before taking action.

"The NSW government will then make a decision based on public interest," he said.

Although he would not comment on whether the government would consider seizing assets or profits, Mr O'Farrell said he wanted to "see an end to this sorry saga of Labor corruption".

But Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said that giving the companies a chance to keep their licences was a "pathetic response, when strong and decisive action is necessary".

NuCoal Resources Ltd acquired the Doyles Creek licence in 2010 and will make an announcement to the market before the start of trading on Friday.

Chairman Gordon Galt said NuCoal was "extremely disappointed" with the ICAC recommendation.

Cascade Coal, which now holds the Mount Penny licence and the licence at Glendon Brook near Singleton, said ICAC's recommendations were unfair to both the company and its shareholders.

"Cascade Coal and its shareholders will be making its case to the government as well as considering all options available to vigorously protect its legal and commercial interests," it said in a statement.

Mr Macdonald also lashed out at the recommendations, saying the ICAC reports had been "extremely destructive for the NSW economy".

"This has created a level of uncertainty, negatively impacting upon the vital jobs and investment," he said in a statement.

He accused the ICAC of handing down findings based on hearsay, conjecture and speculation and said the process denied him basic natural justice and had defamed him.

Opposition Leader John Robertson welcomed the recommendations, saying he would support measures brought forward by the government in response to the report.

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Court to rule on bail for alleged bikies

FIVE alleged outlaw motorcycle gang associates jailed for meeting in a Sunshine Coast hinterland pub should learn on Thursday whether they will spend Christmas behind bars.

The alleged Rebels associates applied for bail in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, the same day that Justice Martin Daubney granted bail to a confessed bikie charged over a Gold Coast brawl after a Supreme Court hearing in Brisbane.

Father-of-four Luke John Saggus, 32, was charged at the weekend with riot over the Broadbeach fight which sparked a state-wide crackdown against criminal bikie gangs.

Justice Martin Daubney said his links to the Bandidos don't warrant ongoing detention for a minor offence.

The alleged Rebels associates were arrested last week and charged under new laws with being participants in a criminal organisation and being knowingly present in public places with two or more people who are participants.

Steven Smith, Scott Conley, Joshua Carew, Dan Whale and Paul Lansdowne face a minimum of six months' jail if found guilty.

CCTV footage from the Sunshine Coast hinterland hotel where the alleged meeting took place last month was played in the court.

Prosecutor Sarah Farnden said the hotel was a well-known Rebels haunt, according to police.

The court heard Lansdowne, Carew and Smith were on bail on drug trafficking charges, while Carew was also serving a suspended sentence for couriering cocaine.

Lawyers for the five argued their clients were not flight risks and the circumstances of the alleged offence were not serious.

"There's nothing but a few people at a hotel," James Godbolt, for Lansdowne, said.

Lawyer David Stevenson, for Smith, Conley and Whale, added that Conley and Whale were the sole breadwinners of young families and Christmas was around the corner.

He also cited a recent Supreme Court judgment that found solitary confinement, which is now mandatory for bikies in Queensland prisons, carried a high risk of psychological harm.

Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody said he would hand down his decisions in all five cases on Thursday morning.

At the Supreme Court, Justice Daubney dismissed prosecution arguments that Saggus presented a flight risk after his family, who were in court, offered up a $100,000 surety.

Justice Daubney also ruled Saggus's admitted Bandidos membership was not reason enough to keep him locked up ahead of his next scheduled court appearance in January.

Outside the court, Saggus' lawyer Tim Meehan said his client would contest the charge and was "very relieved" about the bail decision.

"The charge that has been preferred against my client by the police and the specific allegations are, in the grand scheme of things, not particularly serious," he told reporters.

"The only reason he had to show cause in order to be granted bail was because he was a member of the Bandidos."

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Carbon tax repeal to hit budget

Getting rid of the carbon tax will cost the federal budget $7.4 billion over the next four years. Source: AAP

GETTING rid of the carbon tax will cost the federal budget $7.4 billion over the next four years.

But Treasurer Joe Hockey says the government remains committed to getting rid of the tax because it is a burden on business and driving up families' power bills.

The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook released by Mr Hockey on Tuesday put a $13.7 billion pricetag on the coalition's long-held position on getting rid of the carbon pricing scheme and its related measures.

But in net terms the cost to the budget will be $7.4 billion, after the business compensation, land initiatives, energy efficiency programs and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation are cut.

The government has committed to funding one round of income tax cuts and pension and benefit rises that were put in place as compensation for the carbon tax.

The repeal legislation is being blocked by Labor and the Australian Greens in the Senate, with the opposition arguing the government should instead move to an emissions trading scheme from July 2014.

Greens leader Christine Milne said the document showed the folly of abolishing a tax on polluters.

"Why would you stop the big companies paying that and instead switch the onus to the taxpayer?" she said.

Mr Hockey said getting rid of both the carbon and mining taxes would boost business investment, particularly in the resources sector.

Such investment was needed to boost economic growth, generate jobs, pay off debt and bring the budget back to surplus.

Spending on climate programs will drop from $5.5 billion in 2013/14 to $1.4 billion in 2014/15, when the government plans to roll out its Direct Action plan.

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Abusive brother at top Sydney school

A MARIST brother who ended up working at one of Sydney's most prestigious Catholic schools had possibly been abusing children since the 1950s, an inquiry has been told.

Brother Raymond Foster was teaching at St Joseph's College, a secondary boarding school in Hunters Hill, in August 1994 even though there had been complaints about him starting in 1991.

The complaints between 1991 and 1994 included an allegation Br Foster had molested a boy when he was at St Augustine's College, Cairns, in the 1950s.

Brother Alexis Turton, who was provincial of the Marist Brothers Sydney region until the mid-1990s, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he had not taken action against Br Foster until Queensland police began an investigation in 1994 after a man accused the brother of molesting him when he was 13.

The man, identified as DG, attended a north Queensland Marist school in the 1970s.

Br Foster killed himself on the day in 1999 he was to be extradited from NSW to Queensland, leaving a note admitting guilt and asking forgiveness of DG, who learnt of the note through the commission.

Br Turton said on Tuesday he had talked to Br Foster about complaints but did not stand him down.

"I assumed I would have an assurance from him that what was referred to 40 years ago was not an issue now," he told the inquiry.

He said at the time the Marist Brothers had little understanding of abuse and its consequences.

Pressed by commission chair Justice Peter McClellan that it was a criminal problem, Br Turton said, "that took us some time to appreciate".

He was then asked if he was saying that those in responsible positions in the Marist Brothers did not understand that sexual assault or sexual offences were against the law.

"I think in some cases it was a question of severity and whether it was the difference between inappropriate and sexual," Br Turton said.

The commission heard there were 234 Marist brothers in Australia, compared with 1046 in 1948 and 444 in 1965.

Br Turton dealt with 128 abuse allegations from 2002 to 2012, when he was the professional standards director for the Marist Brothers.

Justice McClellan put it to him that given the number of brothers and number of complaints, the order had a significant problem.

Br Turton agreed that complaints he dealt with were probably just a portion made since 1948.

Of the complaints referred to him, 80 went through the Catholic Church's Towards Healing process, intended to emphasise pastoral care and operate on principles of justice and compassion.

The commission heard that in dealing with DG, the Marist Brothers left the matter mostly with lawyers.

It was also told a public apology DG had requested was never made.

Br Turton and a previous witness, Brother Michael Hill, who was provincial in 2000, denied the apology was held back to protect the reputation of the order.

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Indigenous services watchdog axed

PM Tony Abbott has axed a watchdog that monitors service delivery in remote indigenous communities. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government has axed a watchdog that monitors service delivery in remote indigenous communities.

The coordinator-general for remote indigenous services, Brian Gleeson, will finish up when his contract expires on January 31.

The midyear economic and fiscal outlook reveals the government will save $7.1 million over three years by scrapping his office.

Mr Gleeson has been monitoring a national agreement, which expires in June, on remote service delivery between the Commonwealth and states and efforts to close the gap on indigenous disadvantage.

He reports every six months, fronts Senate estimates hearings and has conducted 149 visits to 29 remote indigenous communities.

A bureaucrat from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will take on the scrutiny role for the last six months of the national agreement.

Mr Gleeson, who learned of the decision on Tuesday, said he would have liked to continue in the role, and that its independence had proved effective.

"I've built a personal trust and relationships with all the communities. They ring me up when they have an issue," Mr Gleeson said.

"Having a person in a bureaucracy doing the role may not have the same traction."

He was confident there was enough state, territory and the federal government support to come up with successor arrangements once the national agreement expired.

Indigenous legal aid funding is facing a $9 million budget cut.

Amnesty International condemned the decision, pointing to an increase in indigenous incarceration rates.

Meanwhile, the federal government is allocating $28.4 million over two years towards a remote school attendance strategy in 40 remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, WA, SA, Queensland and NSW.

It reportedly involves sending truancy officers to children's homes to take them to school, and could be in operation from the first term of 2014.

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Woman charged over Vic man's disappearance

POLICE have charged a woman in relation to the alleged kidnapping and suspected murder of a Melbourne man.

Wayne Amey, 54, was last seen leaving a Toorak restaurant on December 10.

Police searched for his remains in bushland near Inglewood in northern Victoria on Tuesday.

Homicide Squad detectives charged Robyn Lindholm, Mr Amey's former partner, with being an accessory to murder and she faced an out of sessions court hearing on Tuesday evening.

She has been remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

A 54-year-old man continues to assist police with their inquiries.

A third person, John Anthony Ryan, 36, is now wanted for questioning over the suspected murder.

Detective Inspector John Potter says Mr Ryan is possibly armed and dangerous and anyone who sees him should call triple-zero.

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Govt ignored terrorist law improvements

An official says the former federal government ignored advice on how to improve anti-terrorism laws. Source: AAP

THE former federal government routinely ignored advice on how to improve anti-terrorism laws, a senior official says.

Bret Walker, the independent national security legislation monitor, has produced three reports over three years on Australia's counter-terrorism laws, the last covering the year to June 30, 2013.

In this latest report, tabled in federal parliament on Monday, he says his recommendations have met with no government or official response.

"When there is no apparent response to recommendations that would increase powers and authority to counter terrorism, some scepticism may start to take root about the political imperative to have the most effective and appropriate counter-terrorism laws," Mr Walker wrote in the report.

One of his recommendations, made in December 2012, was for the government to look at the British system of imposing control orders on convicted terrorists after their release from prison if they are considered to be of continuing danger.

Twelve months ago when the recommendation was made there were 10 convicted terrorists already released back into the community and 13 in jail who were likely to be released within five years.

Mr Walker says he received no response to his recommendation.

He also put forward the idea of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation officers being able to get questioning warrants by simply satisfying the attorney-general and the issuing authority that it was "reasonable in all the circumstances".

This would avoid having to use what Mr Walker described as the "excessive last resort test".

A further ignored recommendation would ensure terrorism could not be alleged against serving Australian soldiers.

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Empty VIP flights cost over $1 million

The cost of flying for travellers within the USA is about to get higher thanks to the budget deal. Source: AAP

TAXPAYERS shelled out more than $1.1 million over six months for near-empty air force planes to pick up politicians and other dignitaries or to return from having dropped them off.

More than $200,000 was spent for a passenger-less KC-30A transport plane to fly to and from China in April, a Defence report shows.

The aircraft was used to fly then-prime minister Julia Gillard, ministers Bob Carr, Craig Emerson and Bill Shorten, staffers, bureaucrats, business delegates and journalists around in China - but it did not transport them to the country from Australia or fly them back.

Ms Gillard took a different RAAF plane to and from China for the trade and business trip.

Journalists on the trip used commercial flights to get to Hainan province, where Ms Gillard started her tour.

The air force's VIP fleet was also sent to Perth each parliamentary sitting week to bring Western Australian politicians to Canberra.

Coalition, Labor and Greens politicians all took advantage of the flights.

Those 10 missions cost taxpayers almost $275,000 - including $151,680 for each of the Canberra-to-Perth legs when there were no passengers.

RAAF planes were also used to fly politicians home from Canberra after the budget week in May and the final sitting before the election in June.

These trips cost a total of $75,210.

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David Campbell to swing on NYE in Perth

Entertainer David Campbell will perform swing favourites at Crown Perth on New Year's Eve. Source: AAP

CROONER, cabaret star, television host, actor, musical theatre performer - David Campbell has it covered.

The entertainer will perform on New Year's Eve in Perth, singing classic swing hits including Mack the Knife and Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

The host of television program Mornings, Campbell has not done a swing show in more than a year.

"It's something that is close to my heart and I wanted to dip my toe back into it," he told AAP.

Campbell often performs for New Year's Eve but has not worked the event in Perth since 1999.

The singer plans to record an album next year and says he will try some of the songs on New Year's Eve.

"The album is not a new year's resolution, but it's a new year's intention," he said.

Campbell also said he was interested in touring with his father, Cold Chisel rocker Jimmy Barnes, and his sister Mahalia, who found fame through The Voice.

"I think Cold Chisel is going to push us out next year," he said.

"So maybe in 2015-16 ... if we don't get distracted."

Next year is shaping up to be a big one for Campbell, who is part of a group setting up a cabaret and musical theatre venue in Sydney.

Their first show will be performed in February and Campbell said he hoped later productions could tour.

He said he was pleased to see musicals achieving success in films, such as Les Miserables and Mamma Mia.

He said there were also many successful revivals on stage, such as Grease and the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"It's a very, very healthy base, where it's all coming from at the moment, and I think it's only going to grow," he said.

* David Campbell will perform at Crown Perth on New Year's Eve. Tickets are still available.

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ADC ends peach dumping probe

AUSTRALIA'S anti-dumping body is being asked to explain why it decided not to impose tariffs when it found South Africans were dumping preserved peaches.

The Australian Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) has refused to allow anti-dumping duties to be applied to preserved peaches despite an application by SPCA, which claimed dumping of the fruit by South African importers Langeberg & Ashton Foods Pty Ltd (L&AF) and Rhodes Food Group Pty Ltd.

The anti-dumping commissioner has found the amount offloaded on Australia was not large and the value of the goods was negligible, it said on Monday.

Federal Member for Murray Sharman Stone said New Zealand had come to the opposite conclusion when considering the same goods.

"It is also hard to comprehend that the ADC itself recognised that the peaches were being dumped, but decided that it isn't having an effect on our local markets," Dr Stone said in a statement.

"And also two countries with almost identical dumping cases, with the same product, with the same South African companies, can have two completely different outcomes."

Dr Stone plans to ask the ADC to explain its findings.

Dumping occurs when goods are exported to Australia at a price below the price charged in the home market or below its cost of production.

Remedial action may be taken where dumping causes material injury to an Australian industry.

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Eight more dead in Bangladesh riots

10 people have been killed in Bangladesh's violence over the execution of an Islamist party leader. Source: AAP

EIGHT more deaths were reported in Bangladesh in intensified riots and protests sparked by the execution of a top Islamist leader, as the prime minister warned of a crackdown on the violence.

Police said Islamist supporters torched houses and fought running street battles with officers in towns and cities during a third day of unrest over the execution of Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes.

Two people were killed on Sunday in the northern town of Patgram and another six elsewhere overnight, police said, as Islamist supporters enforced a nationwide strike over the execution of Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

"Police fired shotgun pellets to disperse the Jamaat protesters who torched at least 20 houses belonging to ruling party supporters," government administrator Habibur Rahman told AFP of the violence in Patgram.

Molla's hanging on Thursday night triggered fresh unrest in the impoverished country, already reeling from political violence in the build-up to a deeply divisive national election scheduled for January 5.

Twenty people are now known to have died and dozens more have been injured in the clashes since Thursday between outraged Jamaat activists and police and between the activists and supporters of the ruling Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of strong action against the rioters, saying "we have shown enough patience. We will not tolerate anymore."

"People of the country know how to reply to these atrocities (the latest violence), we (government) also know how to respond to, control you (the rioters)," she told a rally late on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Molla, 65, became the first person to be executed for his role in that war. Jamaat called the hanging a "political murder" and said it would avenge it.

Molla had been found guilty in February by a much-criticised domestic tribunal of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia that fought against the country's independence and killed some of Bangladesh's top professors, doctors, writers and journalists.

He was convicted of rape, murder and mass murder, including the killing of more than 350 unarmed civilians. Prosecutors called him the "Butcher of Mirpur", a Dhaka suburb where he committed most of the atrocities.

Of the six killed overnight, police said three died in the southern town of Companyganj, two in the northern town of Ramganj and one in the coastal town of Laxmipur.

At Companyganj, an opposition bastion, police fired rifles to disperse at least 8,000 rampaging Jamaat supporters who torched four government offices and attacked officers with crude bombs and guns, a senior police officer said.

In Ramganj, activists of Jamaat and its main ally, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, attacked a convoy of ruling party lawmakers, leaving two people dead, sub-inspector Ershadul Alam told AFP.

Molla was one of five Islamists and other politicians sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, which the opposition says is aimed at eradicating its leaders.

The sentences have triggered riots and plunged the country into its worst violence since independence.

Some 250 people have now been killed in street protests since January, when the first verdicts were handed down.

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Red-suited revellers hit NY bars

The costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon has seen thousands of Santa's partying in bars. Source: AAP

SANTA Claus came to town despite snow and widespread criticism of the costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon.

New York City's SantaCon started on Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revellers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.

This year's SantaCon takes place in New York amid criticism that the event has become too rowdy. SantaCon participants were told to make charitable donations and encouraged to bring small gifts to bestow on one another and passers-by.

Organisers say similar events were set for more than 100 other cities worldwide on Saturday, including San Francisco; Portland, Oregon, Newport Beach, California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Aussie held over alleged arson in Thailand

A 47-YEAR-OLD Australian man has been arrested by Thai police and faces charges of assault and arson after clashing with the manager of a motorbike rental company in southern Thailand.

Kent Wesley Farrar, from Victoria, was detained on Friday after becoming allegedly angered by the bike's excessive use of fuel after renting the bike for a week on the resort island of Koh Chang, and demanded a refund.

But the manager, Narong Borploy, 55, said Farrar turned down the offer of another bike and started fighting after being refused the repayment.

Farrar, who sustained head injuries in the clash, then allegedly grabbed a fuel canister and poured petrol over three rental bikes and set them ablaze.

Thai police said Farrar then grabbed a knife and began threatening passers-by before being subdued at the scene.

Farrar faces charges of arson and assault and a damage bill of 100,000 baht (A$3500).

Thai Police investigator on the case, Police Captain Banjerd Krachangsaeng, was unavailable for comment when contacted by AAP.

Farrar's arrest comes in the lead up to the peak holiday season in Thailand and an influx of Australians over the Christmas period. Up to one million Australians visit Thailand each year.

Australian travellers are regularly warned over renting motorbikes in Thailand, often associated with scams by operators to extract additional fees for unspecified damages allegedly caused during the rental period.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the department was aware of Farrar's arrest and consular staff were seeking to meet with him and provide assistance.

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Police assaulted at NSW soccer game

A POLICEMAN had to use "defensive strikes" to force a man to release his grip on his groin during a brawl at a Newcastle A-League soccer match.

Another police officer was punched in the head by another man in the melee, which saw a spectator punched in the face three times on Saturday night.

Police from the Public Order and Riot Squad and local officers were patrolling the match between the Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers at the Hunter Stadium when a fight broke out and objects were thrown at 9.40pm.

They say the crowd turned hostile towards them when they intervened.

During a scuffle, a 21-year-old man allegedly grabbed the policeman's groin and refused to let go.

The man, police say, had been hindering police when he was pushed out of the way and fell on the ground.

He was arrested and charged with assault police.

He will appear in Newcastle Local Court on January 16.

At the same match police spoke to three spectators who were allegedly causing trouble.

One man refused to follow a police direction to return his seat.

Police allege he punched another spectator in the face three times before turning on the officers who tried to arrest him.

The 41-year-old is accused of punching one officer in the side of the head.

He was charged with assault police and behave in an offensive manner.

He will also appear in Newcastle Local Court on Monday.

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