Fewer UK patients dying from cancer

Fewer UK patients are dying from cancer despite an increase in the diagnosis rate, a report shows. Source: AAP

FEWER people are dying from cancer in the UK despite an increase in the numbers being diagnosed, figures show.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 431 men in every 100,000 were diagnosed with cancer in the UK between 2008 and 2010 - a rise from 403 between 2001 and 2003.

However, the rate of cancer deaths decreased. Between 2001 and 2003, the mortality rate was 229 per 100,000 males, which decreased to 204 in 2008-10.

A similar pattern was found with women. In 2008-10 the cancer diagnosis rate stood at 375 per 100,000 women, an increase from 342 in 2001-03, while, there were 149 deaths per 100,000 - a fall from 160 in 2001-03.

The ONS data show that the highest death rates were in Scotland - around 15 per cent higher than the UK average for men and women.

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Broadcasting watchdog to quiz 2Day FM

THE broadcasting regulator says it will be talking to the licensee of the radio station which broadcast the prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for acute morning sickness.

The call by Sydney 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles, has been linked to the death of the nurse they first spoke to, Jacintha Saldanha.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Ms Saldanha's death and it's believed she took her life.

The chairman of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Chris Chapman, issued a statement on Saturday saying the authority "does not propose to make any comments at this stage, but will be engaging with the licensee, Today FM Sydney, around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call".

Mr Chapman added: "These events are a tragedy for all involved and I pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased nurse in London."

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

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ACT launch site for NDIS: Gallagher

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says 5000 people with disabilities will benefit as a result of the territory being a launch site of the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).

Ms Gallagher on Friday signed an agreement with Prime Minister Julia Gillard that will see the NDIS launched in Canberra from July 2014.

"The commonwealth has committed $10.6 million for enhanced services and NDIS readiness in the ACT as well as $12 million to be spent in the ACT on sector development," the chief minister said in a statement.

Enhanced disability services will be delivered from July 2013 ahead of the full roll out of the NDIS 12 months later, Ms Gallagher said.

The chief minister and Ms Gillard signed off on the deal following the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra.

Ms Gallagher said the NDIS in the territory would see additional support flow "to up to 5000 Canberrans with a range of disabilities by 2016/17".

"It will make a real and tangible difference to their everyday lives," the Labor leader said.

"The ACT is proud to be one of the five launch sites around the country. With the signing of the bilateral agreement and the introduction of the legislation we are now on our way to implementing the NDIS."

Friday's COAG communique makes clear that NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT all signed bilateral agreements with the commonwealth to "confirm the operational and funding details for the roll-out of the NDIS in each launch site".

"From this time, under the launch arrangements, people with a disability, their families and carers will start to benefit from a fairer, more sustainable and equitable approach to supporting people with disability," the communique states.

"Discussions on further launch sites are continuing."

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States sign on to NDIS launch sites

ALL Australian states and territories have signed a broad agreement on the national disability insurance scheme.

Speaking after the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra on Friday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she also had reached individual agreements with Victoria, NSW, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania on launch sites for the NDIS.

However, Queensland and Western Australia had only signed a broader agreement.

"This agreement means even those places not participating in launch arrangements will learn from the launch arrangements so this will be shared work," Ms Gillard said.

There was also agreement on electricity prices that would save families up to $250 a year, Ms Gillard said.

This will address the gold plating of the system and over-investment in poles and wires, while giving a voice to consumer on the systems design options and choices.

Big users will be able to moderate the power loads they put on the system during peak times and there will be an empowered regulator to deal with the new rules.

"This is a big issue for Australian families and for Australian businesses," Ms Gillard said.

"People have seen a rapid escalation in their power prices and that has put a lot of pressure on peoples' cost of living."

Ms Gillard said schools reform was discussed by state education ministers and more work would follow at the next COAG meeting in 2013.

An agreement was made to release a 10-year roadmap for mental health, an "important area of health care for the community".

The issue of royal succession was also on the agenda, a timely subject given news this week that Catherine Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, is pregnant.

Ms Gillard said the states had agreed to co-operate on arrangements ensuring that men would not be given preference over women in terms of who becomes the future monarch.

Removing an embargo on royal family members marrying a Catholic or converting to that religion was also discussed, she said.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said his state's NDIS launch will be based on a children's model, from birth to age 14.

This will be phased in over three years from 2013, with the South Australian government contributing $20 million.

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says 5000 people with disabilities would benefit from the territory being a launch site of the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).

The leaders also discussed the royal commission into child sexual abuse and its proposed terms of reference.

Ms Gillard said the federal government would bear the cost of the inquiry but the states and territories would offer in-kind support.

"We will continue that work and issue the terms of reference before the year is out," the prime minister said.

"We do want to start what will be an important royal commission for healing for members of our community and an important royal commission to learn lessons for the future."

The premiers and chief ministers were considering issuing letters patent, a legal instrument which would create the maximum legal power and backdrop for the royal commission to undertake its work, the prime minister said.

"What that means is the powers of the federal government can be bolstered by the powers of state governments, the legal powers for the royal commission's work."

State and territory expertise from past inquiries into child sex abuse would be shared with Canberra.

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Mexican court backs same-sex marriage

MEXICO'S Supreme Court has ruled that a law in southern Oaxaca state that bans same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, paving the way for same-sex couples to marry in that state and possibly in the rest of Mexico.

In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the tribunal struck down a Oaxaca state law that declares that "one of the purposes of marriage is the perpetuation of the species".

The court said in its ruling that to condition marriages to the union of one man and one woman "violates the principle of equality".

Currently, same-sex marriage is only legally allowed in Mexico City, where a same-sex marriage law was enacted in 2010.

The court's ruling comes from a lawsuit filed by three gay couples against the state of Oaxaca.

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First Aussie hybrid engine plant opens

AUSTRALIA'S car manufacturing industry has received a shot in the arm with the opening of a multimillion-dollar engine plant in Melbourne's west.

The Toyota petrol-electric hybrid engine plant is the first of its kind built outside of Japan and makes Australia one of only four countries capable of producing the AR-series four cylinder engines.

It is expected to turn out 108,000 engines a year, 15 per cent of which will be hybrid engines.

Speaking at the opening of the plant on Thursday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the new hybrid engine plant was good news for the environment and good news for industry.

"It's a great example of the opportunities for manufacturing that come from Australia's move towards a clean energy future," Ms Gillard said.

"This is a red-letter day for blue-collar workers."

The federal government contributed $63 million to the new plant from its Green Car Innovation fund.

Toyota Australia president Max Yasuda said the opening of the plant was part of the company's overall mission to transform their operations and build a more sustainable business.

"I am a true believer in local car making," Mr Yasuda said.

"Building a new engine plant in Australia is at the head of our manufacturing strategy."

Toyota's senior managing officer Seiichi Sudo warned that even with the new plant, Toyota Australia will face more difficult times.

However, the plant will make the company more sustainable, he said.

Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the plant was a vote of confidence in the Victorian industry.

Ms Gillard said it was a win for Australian jobs.

"We are one of the few countries in the world with the capabilities and skills involved in the manufacture of cars from the design stage right through to the production stage," she said.

Australian manufacturing competed on quality and innovation, as well as on price, the prime minister said.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said Victoria was a global leader of automotive production and exports and the new plant built on that position.

Mr Baillieu said he'd sum up the occasion with the words "Oh, what a feeling".

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War Memorial battle dioramas get revamp

The Australian War Memorial is renovating its prized dioramas ahead of a $27 million redevelopment. Source: AAP

WHEN the Australian War Memorial first displayed its battle dioramas in the 1920s, their realism was overwhelming for one veteran of the fighting at Gallipoli.

Curator Nick Fletcher said the man found the Lone Pine diorama just too much.

"He said 'I have to get out, it's all coming back to me, my mate was killed behind me in the middle of that scene. I can't stay'."

The memorial's dioramas are carefully constructed tableaux of particular battles and they remain extraordinarily popular despite modern interactive computer technology.

Now the dioramas featuring the battles of the Western Front of World War I but not Gallipoli, are being cleaned and conserved as part of a $27 million redevelopment of the memorial's First World War galleries ahead of the Anzac centenary.

War Memorial acting director Nola Anderson says the restored galleries will reopen in 2014.

"Not much has happened to these galleries since 1971, which is when this wing was opened. They will be the last of our galleries redeveloped to modern museum standards," she said on Wednesday.

"We will have more collections, we will have new technology but we will have some of the things that (the) Australian public know and love and that includes the dioramas."

Mr Fletcher, lead curator for the redevelopment, said memorial founder Charles Bean understood the average Australian would never be able to visit the battlefields or the graves of loved ones.

"Therefore, the dioramas provided a way in which people could put themselves in that scene and try and understand what their family had gone through," he said.

Work on the first dioramas started in the 1920s with sculptors visiting the actual battlefields and working from paintings and photographs.

Each is crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire over a timber frame and feature soldier figures cast from pewter and lead. Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.

The dioramas and original backgrounds were painted by prominent artists such as Louis McCubbin.

Conservator Alana Treasure says much of the work involves removing 40 years of accumulated dust and grime using a brush and vacuum cleaner, while lying on scaffolding over the diorama surface.

"We are not going to overpaint anything, unless there's a loss and you are looking at just plaster."

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Forest deal pressure mounts on Tas MLCs

THE blowtorch is being applied to Tasmania's upper house members as they prepare to vote on the state's historic forest peace deal.

Major employer Ta Ann has flown in its group managing director from Malaysia, while federal environment minister Tony Burke has been in Hobart, both warning members of the legislative council (MLCs) the industry faces a bleak future without the agreement.

Environmental groups and the timber industry defied 30 years of animosity to reach an 11th-hour deal to protect 500,000 hectares of forest last month.

Legislation giving effect to the agreement has passed the lower house but faces a stern test in the 15-member legislative council when it is debated next week.

Thirteen of the members are independent and several have expressed concerns, but they have been left in no doubt about what voting down the deal could mean.

Timber processor Ta Ann group managing director KH Wong has confirmed his company, which employs 100 Tasmanians, would close its two mills and quit the state.

Mr Wong has also upped the stakes by saying the company would open a new $10 million plywood plant if the deal goes through.

He says the support of mainstream green groups The Wilderness Society, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Environment Tasmania is needed for markets to be satisfied the state's timber products are produced sustainably.

"To keep our mills going we must have the market," Mr Wong told reporters on Wednesday.

"If we lost the market we cannot move forward.

"I hope all these members understand the importance of this IGA (intergovernmental agreement) and they will support the industry."

An unlikely alliance of Ta Ann and the environmental groups - one that has already caused a split in the green movement - was due to meet MLCs on Wednesday afternoon.

Successful passage of the legislation will also unlock the remaining $100 million of federal funding promised to restructure the sector.

Minister Burke has conceded more money will be needed but is yet to say how much the government will commit.

He said MLCs would be taking a risk if they voted down the bill.

"There is no plan B," Mr Burke said.

"If the Tasmanian parliament decides to run the risk that this agreement is not required then that's a decision for the Tasmanian parliament to make."

He said a delay would mean the Commonwealth reviewing its involvement in the process.

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Summernats could set burnout world record

PEOPLE who love to hate Canberra's annual Summernats car festival will have one more reason to consider leaving town for the 2013 event - organisers are hoping to set a world record for the biggest mass burnout.

Seventy street machines will line up side-by-side on the first Friday in January to simultaneously smoke some rubber.

"It's the brainchild of our general manager ... if anyone wants to know who to complain to," event co-owner Andy Lopez told reporters on Tuesday.

"It will be unlike anything that has ever been seen or heard before."

The only similar existing world record is for mass doughnuts.

The 26th Summernats will run from January 3 to 6 at Canberra's Exhibition Park.

Just over 90,000 revheads attended the four-day event in 2012. It was arrest-free, proving organisers had successfully made Summernats more family friendly after bad crowd behaviour in 2008 threatened its viability.

Mr Lopez on Tuesday said the world needed a mass burnout record.

"So we are going to deliver," he said when launching the 2013 event with ACT Tourism Minister Andrew Barr.

"We went to Guinness and said how about 30 (cars), and they said, 'It's actually meant to be really hard to set a world record. How about 50?'

"And we said okay we'll do 70."

To set the burnout record all 70 cars will have to burn rubber for at least 10 seconds simultaneously.

The car festival will kick off on the Thursday with the so-called Citycruise down Canberra's main street, Northbourne Avenue.

The 2012 event was the first time in 18 years that machines at the country's biggest car festival were let loose on public roads.

Summernats' original Saturday afternoon "Supercruise" was scrapped after a number of events in the early 1990s ended in street riots.

But the ACT government has embraced the event since Mr Lopez took over three years ago. Mr Barr has declared it "reformed".

In October the government signed a deal that will see the event remain in Canberra until at least 2019.

On Tuesday the tourism minister said Summernats brought in millions of dollars to the ACT "at a time of year when traditionally we don't have strong tourism".

"We want to continue to see the event grow both in terms of its economic contribution to Canberra and also the number of people who come to the city," Mr Barr told reporters.

Mr Lopez in January savaged the "snobs and bigots" who criticised Summernats for being too noisy and anti-social.

Asked if the event was "sexist" because patrons have, infamously, yelled "show us your tits" at women, he insisted such behaviour wasn't as prevalent as it once was.

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Mars rover detects hint of life in soil

The Mars rover has detected organic compounds that could suggest there was once life on the planet. Source: AAP

THE Mars rover Curiosity has offered a tantalising taste of evidence that there was once life on the Red Planet.

NASA's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments have been sending back information as it hunts for compounds such as methane, as well as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, that are the building blocks of life.

Researchers were excited to detect simple organic compounds in the soil scooped up from a crusted dune.

But they cautioned that the traces of carbon could have come from meteorites or even particles the instruments picked up before launch from Earth.

They hope to find more evidence of organic compounds as Curiosity makes its way across the barren, windblown sands of Rocknest towards Mount Sharp, searching for a good place to start digging deeper.

"It's not unexpected that this sand pile would not be rich in organics. It's been exposed to the harsh Martian environment," said Paul Mahaffy, NASA's principal investigator for Curiosity's sample analysis.

"It's going to be an exciting hunt to find early environments that might be protected from this harsh surface environment."

The instruments captured stunning pictures of the sand scooped up from the drift - which one researcher described as coarser than flour but finer than sugar.

Curiosity was also able to analyse crystals and other materials found in the sand. By heating the samples, they were able to detect a significant amount of water in the sand, along with some carbon dioxide, oxygen, and sulfur dioxide.

"The Curiosity rover is kind of like a CSI laboratory on wheels," Michael Meyer, the lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, told a news conference.

"These results are an unprecedented look at the chemical diversity of the area that is representative of the rest of the planet."

Scientists do not expect Curiosity to find aliens or living creatures but they hope to use it to analyse soil and rocks for signs the building blocks of life are present and may have supported life in the past.

The $US2.5 billion ($A2.41 billion) Curiosity rover - which landed in Gale Crater on August 6 - also aims to study the Martian environment to prepare for a possible human mission there in the coming years.

US President Barack Obama has vowed to send humans to the planet by 2030.

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Sundance deal looks shaky amid delays

SHARES in Sundance Resources remain in a trading halt, as a potential takeover deal with suitor Hanlong Mining appears to be falling apart.

Sundance released a statement on Monday saying Hanlong wanted to delay the deal because it could not secure credit approval by the China Development Bank by December 13 as part of a revised scheme implementation agreement.

Last month Sundance reported that Hanlong had secured $US438 million ($A425.39 million) from a Chinese bank to fund its acquisition of Sundance Resources.

"Sundance has not agreed to amend the scheme timetable," the company said in a statement on Monday.

"Sundance will consider its position when it has adequate information and will further update the market when it is in a position to do so."

Sundance is now seeking further particulars from Hanlong around the "term sheet delivery and scheme timetable consequences".

The company said the trading halt would be lifted on Wednesday.

Sundance is developing the $4.7 billion Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon in west Africa but it is dependent on a larger partner, such as Hanlong, providing funding.

Analysts have questioned the viability of the project, given recent iron ore price volatility and its location.

The trading halt and statement come just days after Sundance signed an agreement that it said paved the way for development of the Mbalam iron ore project.

The company on Friday said the Mbalam deal would lead to issuing of a mining permit and commencement of construction and brought the company a step closer to a scheme implementation agreement with Hanlong.

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Make GST change a priority: Baird

NSW has welcomed a federal government commitment to review the GST threshold on overseas purchases. Source: AAP

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has urged Canberra to lower the $1000 threshold on overseas online purchases "as a matter of priority", saying the provision is costing the states hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

The federal government on Monday acknowledged the $1000 threshold at which GST is collected on goods and services purchased from abroad is high by international standards, but rejected calls for an immediate reduction.

Instead, and in line with the task-force that analysed the so-called "low value parcel processing", Labor will begin preparing business cases and possible implementation plans for reform, with a final response to be released in 2013.

Mr Baird welcomed Canberra's commitment to reviewing the low-value import threshold, but urged the federal government not to be complacent about the pace of reform.

Online growing was a growing part of the retail market, and the tax system needed to be brought into the "modern age to capture that", and provide local businesses with a level playing field.

"We have always said there is still some work to do in terms of how this can be administered in the most efficient and cost-effective way," Mr Baird said in a statement.

"However, this is not an issue that we can afford to be complacent about and we urge the Commonwealth to pursue as a matter of priority.

"Not only does the current threshold mean that states forgo over $600 million of GST revenue per year on transactions in goods and over $1 billion per year on transactions in services, but it also provides a tax advantage for foreign retailers."

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Sundance deal looks shaky amid delays

SHARES in Sundance Resources remain in a trading halt, as a potential takeover deal with suitor Hanlong Mining appears to be falling apart.

Sundance released a statement on Monday saying Hanlong wanted to delay the deal because it could not secure credit approval by the China Development Bank by December 13 as part of a revised scheme implementation agreement.

Last month Sundance reported that Hanlong had secured $US438 million ($A425.39 million) from a Chinese bank to fund its acquisition of Sundance Resources.

"Sundance has not agreed to amend the scheme timetable," the company said in a statement on Monday.

"Sundance will consider its position when it has adequate information and will further update the market when it is in a position to do so."

Sundance is now seeking further particulars from Hanlong around the "term sheet delivery and scheme timetable consequences".

The company said the trading halt would be lifted on Wednesday.

Sundance is developing the $4.7 billion Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon in west Africa but it is dependent on a larger partner, such as Hanlong, providing funding.

Analysts have questioned the viability of the project, given recent iron ore price volatility and its location.

The trading halt and statement come just days after Sundance signed an agreement that it said paved the way for development of the Mbalam iron ore project.

The company on Friday said the Mbalam deal would lead to issuing of a mining permit and commencement of construction and brought the company a step closer to a scheme implementation agreement with Hanlong.

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Make GST change a priority: Baird

NSW has welcomed a federal government commitment to review the GST threshold on overseas purchases. Source: AAP

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has urged Canberra to lower the $1000 threshold on overseas online purchases "as a matter of priority", saying the provision is costing the states hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

The federal government on Monday acknowledged the $1000 threshold at which GST is collected on goods and services purchased from abroad is high by international standards, but rejected calls for an immediate reduction.

Instead, and in line with the task-force that analysed the so-called "low value parcel processing", Labor will begin preparing business cases and possible implementation plans for reform, with a final response to be released in 2013.

Mr Baird welcomed Canberra's commitment to reviewing the low-value import threshold, but urged the federal government not to be complacent about the pace of reform.

Online growing was a growing part of the retail market, and the tax system needed to be brought into the "modern age to capture that", and provide local businesses with a level playing field.

"We have always said there is still some work to do in terms of how this can be administered in the most efficient and cost-effective way," Mr Baird said in a statement.

"However, this is not an issue that we can afford to be complacent about and we urge the Commonwealth to pursue as a matter of priority.

"Not only does the current threshold mean that states forgo over $600 million of GST revenue per year on transactions in goods and over $1 billion per year on transactions in services, but it also provides a tax advantage for foreign retailers."

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Qld party death prompts Facebook warning

A BIRTHDAY celebration that spiralled out of control near Brisbane has left a teenager dead and a man facing a possible murder charge, prompting police to warn about the dangers of promoting parties on social media.

Police say between 100 to 150 people were at the party at Station Road, Woodridge when a brawl erupted and spilled on to the street.

A 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in a hit-and-run during the fracas and later died in hospital.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and callous disregard, but is yet to be charged.

His car has been seized and is undergoing forensic testing.

Acting Superintendent Darren Harland says the party was gatecrashed after it was advertised on Facebook.

"(There is) the potential for uninvited people to arrive at your party and if you advertise on social media, this can be one of the consequences," Supt Harland told reporters in Logan on Sunday.

Detective Inspector Christopher Jorry said the victim's family were in shock, but may release a statement later on Sunday.

"We're providing them with the support they need and deserve, but they are a large family, they come from a close-knit family community and they're offering support to each other," he said.

Nearby resident Asmatullah Nasrullahi said he heard people swearing and yelling on the street before seeing a car speed away.

"I was a bit scared because I was at home by myself," he told AAP.

"I could just tell by the noise outside that something was going to happen."

Mr Nasrullahi said he was not surprised the incident occurred in his street.

"This is a low income area and the kids who live here don't have any chance for a good life," he said.

Insp Jorry rejected witness accounts the brawl was either gang or racially motivated.

"There's nothing to suggest that from our investigations at all," he said.

Police on Sunday were doorknocking residents in the street as they continued their investigations.

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Explosions, gunfire rock Afghan airport

A SERIES of explosions followed by gunfire have rocked the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad as its airport came under an attack claimed by the Taliban, witnesses and officials say.

The Taliban told AFP that they had launched an assault including a suicide bombing on the airport complex, which contains a major NATO base.

Militants entered the airport on Sunday, they said. An Afghan government official confirmed that clashes had taken place within the airport complex.

A guard said that after the initial huge explosion the airport had come under fire from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

The hardline Taliban Islamists have waged an 11-year insurgency against the Afghan government, which is backed by 100,000 NATO troops, since being overthrown in a US-led invasion for harbouring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force confirmed that there had been "multiple explosions in the vicinity of Jalalabad airport", but had no further details.

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