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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