Dozens booked for drink driving in NSW

NSW police have charged 32 people with drink driving during the second day of a police operation. Source: AAP

DOZENS of NSW motorists have been charged with driving under the influence on the second day of a police drink-driving operation.

Police say 32 people were caught drink driving on Friday, with one 22-year-old man allegedly blowing 0.171 on the NSW Central Coast.

But the figures are a positive sign for police.

Last year, 115 people were charged with drink driving on the second day of the same operation.

"The figures are down more than 50 per cent on last year, but too many people are still taking the risk and driving while over the limit," Superintendent Stuart Smith said in a statement.

Despite the reduction in drink driving, eight people have died on NSW roads during the first two days of the operation.

Last year, two people were killed during the same time period.

Superintendent Smith said extreme and unpredictable weather conditions may have contributed to the fatalities and is warning all motorists to be alert and careful when driving.

Police breath tested 44,732 people on day two of Operation Drink Drive 1.

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Dozens killed in northern Mali fighting

CHAD suffered the heaviest losses so far in the French-led campaign to drive Islamists from northern Mali after a battle in which it said 13 Chadian soldiers and 65 Islamist rebels were killed.

News of the battle came after two suicide car bombers targeted ethnic Tuareg forces in the northern town of Tessalit, killing three people.

A US official meanwhile confirmed that Washington had deployed several Predator drones to Niger to fly surveillance missions in support of French forces in Mali.

The clash between Chadian forces and the Islamists took place on Friday in the mountainous Ifoghas region of northern Mali, Chad's military command announced.

"The Chadian army destroyed five vehicles and killed 65 jihadists," the military said in a statement. But 13 of its soldiers had been killed and another five wounded.

Earlier this month Chad deployed 1800 soldiers in the northern city of Kidal to secure what had been the rebels' last urban stronghold, putting itself in the frontline in the fight against the Islamists.

A car bomb attack on Thursday there near a military camp for French and Chadian troops had wounded two civilians.

North of Kidal lie the Ifoghas highlands - to where many of the Islamist forces have withdrawn - and the town of Tessalit.

Two vehicles targeting civilians and members of the ethnic Tuareg rebel group, the MNLA, exploded near the town on Friday, killing three and wounding several others, a security source said.

A spokesman for the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Burkina Faso confirmed the report.

A US defence official, meanwhile, confirmed that drones were now flying out of Niamey, Niger, from a base with a 100-strong contingent of air force personnel.

President Barack Obama had announced on Friday that US troops had been sent there to provide intelligence for the French forces and "other partners" in the region.

France sent in troops on January 11 to help the Malian army oust Islamist militants who last year captured the desert north of the country. Since then, thousands of soldiers from African countries have also been deployed and France plans to start withdrawing its troops next month.

The French-led forces met little resistance during the initial offensive that drove the Islamists from the main northern centres of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

Now however, they are facing a guerrilla campaign that includes sudden raids, suicide attacks and land mines.

The Tuareg MNLA blamed Friday's car bomb attacks on the al-Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of Mali's main Islamist groups.

The MUJAO made no comment on the latest attacks, but on Thursday it told AFP it was responsible for the car bomb in Kidal. MUJAO spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui warned of more such attacks.

Sahraoui also said they had sent fighters to another northern town, Gao, 1200km from the capital Bamako and that they were determined to recapture it.

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Hendra virus kills Queensland horse

A horse that died earlier this week in north Queensland has tested positive for the Hendra virus. Source: AAP

FOUR people are being examined for the bat-borne Hendra virus after a horse died from the disease in north Queensland.

A horse that died this week in the Atherton Tablelands, near Cairns, tested positive for the virus, Biosecurity Queensland confirmed on Friday.

Four people who had contact with the animal are being interviewed by health officials to determine whether they need to be tested or treated.

All are thought to have had a low level of exposure.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young says the virus is not transmitted easily as it requires close contact with body fluids of the sick horse.

Biosecurity Queensland is quarantining the property where the horse died and other horses on the property are being tested.

In January a horse died from the virus near Mackay.

Although people can't contract the virus directly from bats they can through horses which pick up the disease by eating feed or water contaminated with flying fox body fluids and excretions.

Four people have been killed by the virus in Australia since 1994.

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NBN switched on in first regional Vic town

THE boss of the national broadband network builder is open to a debate about alternative technologies for the future of Australia's telecommunications systems.

The Labor government has directed NBN Co to build high-speed broadband optic-fibre cable to 93 per cent of homes, schools and business across Australia by June 2021, with the rest to be provided by fixed wireless and satellite services.

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull advocates a greater mix of technologies, with more emphasis on the current fixed copper lines and pay-TV cables to improve broadband services in a shorter timeframe.

NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley, addressing the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia at a luncheon in Canberra on Friday, said the telecoms industry was well placed to provide more information.

The Communications Alliance is considering a study into the potential pros and cons of a range of policy and technology options and the impact on the future of the NBN.

"It is vitally important both the public debate and the policymakers have the advantage of the best information and analysis that can be made available," Mr Quigley said.

"They could bring commercial reality to the theoretical debate of what may or may not be technically possible."

Mr Quigley urged retail and wholesale telco providers and consumer representatives to take part if the study went ahead.

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12 hurt in Sydney school bus accident

Eleven children and an adult were injured in a traffic incident outside a Sydney primary school. Source: AAP

ELEVEN children and an adult have been injured when a school bus nearly crashed into a car outside a western Sydney primary school.

Several ambulances and police were called to Darcy Road Public School in Wentworthville shortly before classes went in on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the NSW Ambulance Service confirmed 11 children and an adult were being treated for minor injuries after a school bus was forced to brake abruptly.

One child has been taken to hospital in a stable condition but has only minor injuries, she said.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said the bus driver "had to take action to avoid a collision with another vehicle" and the incident would be investigated.

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Telstra cuts 648 jobs at Yellow Pages firm

TELSTRA is axing 648 jobs from its ailing Sensis division, which publishes the Yellow Pages, White Pages and Trading Post.

Sensis is shedding almost 20 per cent of its 3500-strong workforce as it struggles to make the transition from print to digital publishing and make a profit in the competitive online advertising market.

It is creating 50 new jobs at a new digital customer management centre, the location of which is yet to be confirmed.

Announcing the job losses, which include 391 backroom roles and dozens of senior and middle-management positions, managing director John Allan admitted Sensis's business model was outdated.

"Our future is online and mobile, where the vast majority of search and directory business takes place," he said in a statement.

Sensis will continue publishing print editions of the Yellow Pages, a concept invented in America in 1883, and whose pre-digital slogan was "let your fingers do the walking".

But for how long remains unclear.

Publishers around the world, including media outlets, are moving to digital-only or digital-first business models, as the uptake of smartphones and tablets continues apace.

Online directories like Yellow Pages and White Pages have faced stiff competition for advertising dollars from internet giants like Google.

Telstra's financial accounts for the six months to December 31, 2012, showed Sensis's earnings fell by 69 per cent from the same period in the previous year.

Telstra's overall six-month results included a record net profit of $1.6 billion.

Most of the job losses are expected to occur in Sydney and Melbourne.

The company has 21 offices across the country, although two-thirds of its staff are in Victoria.

It said some of the axed jobs would be "outsourced", prompting speculation they'll be moved overseas.

The Community and Public Sector Union accused the company of using a "smokescreen" to send work offshore.

"It looks like (a smokescreen) because if they're offshoring jobs rather than just cutting them from the company, then it's about cutting pay and conditions and the work clearly still needs to be done," union deputy national secretary Rupert Evans told reporters in Melbourne.

Members of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) will also be affected.

The union's assistant secretary Ken Hardisty, who received a briefing from Sensis on Thursday morning, agreed jobs may be sent overseas.

Sensis did not immediately clarify if jobs will move offshore.

Workers were alerted to the job cuts via email on Wednesday afternoon and received more details at meetings on Thursday.

Staff were said to be confused and devastated.

The CSPU was holding meetings with Sensis on Thursday afternoon.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was "dreadful news".

"It's always incredibly tough when someone loses a job," she told Adelaide Radio 5AA.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten told reporters he was disappointed to hear of the job cuts.

"You are skilled people. You will find work," he said in Darwin.

"The labour market for skilled workers is still reasonably tight."

Federal opposition MPs, including workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz and communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, declined to comment when contacted by AAP.

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Sydney rail link on time, on budget: govt

The NSW transport minister denied claims the North West Rail Link has blown its budget by $35m. Source: AAP

SYDNEY'S North West Rail Link is on time and on budget says NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian.

The NSW opposition has accused the government of mishandling the project, claiming it's overspent by $35 million before construction even starts.

Cost blow-outs include $31 million to be spent on engineering instead of the expected $19.7 million and $8.8 million to be spent on legal services though the tender was for $735,000, said Labor's transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe.

But Ms Berejiklian denied the allegations during question time.

"I am pleased to say the North West Rail Link is on time and on budget," she said on Wednesday.

"The government has always said the project will cost between $7.5 and $8.5 billion and that remains the case...

"I want to stress that every single dollar spent on the project to date has been completely within the allocated budget."

After accusing the Labor government of achieving nothing in 16 years of government, the minister fired back: "Stop wasting my time, you should be embarrassed".

"They can point their finger at one project they did, which was the Chatswood to Epping rail line, that was half the line at double the cost. That is their record."

The 23-kilometre North West Rail Link will connect Chatswood, on Sydney's north shore, with the Hills district in the city's northwest and will include eight new train stations.

It's expected to support more than 16,200 jobs during construction and inject about $25 billion into the state's economy.

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SA premier welcomes BHP Billiton change

SA's premier says Andrew Mackenzie's appointment as BHP Billiton CEO is good news for the state. Source: AAP

PREMIER Jay Weatherill says the appointment of Andrew Mackenzie as the new head of BHP Billiton is good news for South Australia.

Mr Weatherill says Mr Mackenzie is a "very strong supporter" of the Olympic Dam expansion, which was mothballed by the company last year.

The premier told journalists on Wednesday he is planning more talks with Mr Mackenzie on the future of the project.

Mr Mackenzie will replace BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers, who on Wednesday announced his nearly six years as leader will come to an end on May 10.

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NZ tobacco reform plans delight Plibersek

The Australian government welcomed news that NZ will soon adopt plain packaging for cigarettes. Source: AAP

THE Australian government has welcomed news that New Zealand will soon follow its lead and adopt plain packaging for cigarettes.

The New Zealand government has announced plans to introduce plain packaging laws by the end of the year, with the changes to take place in 2014.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said she was "absolutely delighted" by the move, announced on Tuesday.

Australia is the first country to introduce plain packaging laws for cigarettes, which came into effect on December 1 last year.

"Plain-packaging laws mean tobacco companies cannot use their products as mobile billboards, a successful marketing technique when it comes to recruiting young people as smokers," Ms Plibersek said in a statement.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Australia was proud of its world-first packaging reforms.

"We ... congratulate New Zealand for standing up for the health of its citizens," he said.

The Cancer Council of Australia said the New Zealand government's announcement was a "very encouraging development".

"In the two months since the laws were introduced in Australia, we're seeing signs that plain packaging may exceed our expectations on encouraging established smokers to quit as well," chair of the council's tobacco issues committee, Kylie Lindorff, said in a statement.

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Aussie Jews welcome Zygier probes

Australia's Jewish community welcomed a probe into the mysterious death of suspected spy Ben Zygier. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S Jewish community says it hopes official investigations of the mysterious death of Melbourne man and suspected Israeli spy Ben Zygier will stop the rumours and bring his family some comfort.

Zygier was a dual Australian-Israeli citizen who died in a maximum-security Israeli prison in December 2010.

It is believed he worked for Israeli spy agency Mossad, but it is still unclear why he was arrested and imprisoned.

He was the so-called Prisoner X - one of Israel's most sensitive national security secrets until his identity was revealed last week.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry spoke about the case for the first time on Tuesday.

"We look forward to the official inquiries publishing concrete information about the circumstances surrounding the death of Ben Zygier in the hope that it will put further rumour and speculation to rest and bring some comfort to his still-grieving family and friends," council president Danny Lamm said in a statement.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is reviewing its handling of the case.

The Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Subcommittee for Intelligence and the Israeli state attorney's office have both announced their own probes.

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NZ shares gain as leaders rebound

NEW Zealand shares rose on Monday as Fletcher Building and Telecom bounced back from Friday's selloff when investors sold liquid stocks to participate in an Auckland International Airport share placement.

But NZX and Freightways fell after posting their results.

The NZX 50 Index rose 17.74 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4214.47. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 18 fell and nine were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $97.7 million.

Fletcher, the biggest company on the NZX 50 and typically the most heavily traded, rose 1.5 per cent to $9. It fell by a similar amount on Friday. Telecom rose 1.6 per cent to $2.25.

Auckland Airport fell 0.4 per cent to $2.76, adding to Friday's 5.8 per cent decline after the NZ Superannuation Fund sold 7.6 per cent of the airport company at a discount to its last traded price.

"Fletcher and Telecom got back some of Friday's hit," said David Price, a broker at Forsyth Barr.

Contact Energy, the biggest power company on the bourse, fell about one per cent to $5.08 ahead of the release of its interim results on Tuesday.

NZX, the stock market operator, fell 2.3 per cent to $1.27 after reporting a 32 per cent decline to $9.86 million in full-year profit, missing some estimates, and giving little indication of the outlook for 2013.

Freightways, the courier and data management company, declined 1.1 per cent to $4.45 after posting an 11 per cent gain in first-half profit to a record $21 million and saying the outlook is for a slow pace of growth.

"The whole market is on multiples of over 15 and when you're getting that sort of multiple you want to see reasonably strong growth to push forward," Mr Price said.

"If you don't beat forecasts or deliver a positive outlook then you'll probably see your stock marked back."

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Bushfire threatening Perth homes

LIVES and homes are under threat from a bushfire on the outskirts of Perth.

A watch and act alert has been issued for people in the eastern part of Mt Helena, in the Shire of Mundaring, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says.

"You need to leave or get ready to actively defend," DFES said.

The fire is burning in Leschenaultia Conservation Park, north of Elliott Road, about 3.5km east of Eastern Hills Senior High School.

"There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching the area and conditions are changing," DFES said.

Authorities said the fire, which they described as a suspicious blaze, was moving fast in a westerly direction and had already burnt one hectare.

Department of Environment and Conservation and local brigade firefighters are on the scene.

Aircraft have also been sent to assist ground crews.

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Quake shakes central Italy

A small earthquake has hit the area in Italy which suffered a deadly earthquake in 2009. Source: AAP

A 4.8-MAGNITUDE quake hit central Italy late Saturday, shaking apartment buildings in the centre of Rome and spooking citizens in the region of Abruzzo, struck by a killer quake in 2009.

The quake hit Frosinone, between the capital and the southern city of Naples, at a depth of 10.7 kilometres according to Italy's Geophysics Institute. No injuries or damage to buildings were reported.

The tremors sparked panicked calls in the Abruzzo region to the emergency services. The medieval town of L'Aquila was hit in 2009 by a 6.3-magnitude quake which killed 309 people, and ruined buildings still scar the landscape.

Inhabitants in villages in the national park in Abruzzo raced out of their houses in panic, according to Italian media reports.

Earlier on Saturday, three Italian builders and a technician were found guilty of multiple manslaughter after a dormitory they had restored and safety approved collapsed during the L'Aquila quake, killing eight students.

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Qld housing market improves

THE number of first home buyers in Queensland continues to drop since the removal of the First Home Buyers Grant.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) says the although the real estate market in Queensland exceeded expectations for the second quarter in a row, some first home buyers feel shut out of the market.

The government scrapped the $7,000 grant in October and replaced it with a $15,000 boost for those buying off-the-plan or newly-constructed properties, in a bid to stimulate the construction industry.

Chief Executive Anton Kardash said first home buyers typically buy established homes in established suburbs, instead of newly constructed homes in outer areas or apartments with expensive body corporate fees.

"Unfortunately, the numbers of first home buyers active in the market continues to trend downwards," he said.

"We're not surprised to see the fall off."

The REIQ says the Queensland real estate market improved for the second quarter in a row.

House sales increased by eight per cent, compared to the same period in 2011.

"There is no doubt that the Queensland market is improving due to the low interest rate environment, increasing confidence levels, an element of pent-up demand, as well as a more settled economic outlook here and overseas," Mr Kardash said in a statement.

Tourism centres enjoyed substantial jumps.

The numbers of house sales were up 27 per cent on the Sunshine Coast, 25 per cent in Cairns, and 19 per cent on the Gold Coast compared to the December quarter in 2011.

Across Queensland's major regions, median house prices were mostly stable.

However, Toowoomba's prices increased by 6.2 per cent to $308,000 and Mount Isa recorded an eight per cent rise to $370,000.

The Brisbane median house price increased 0.4 per cent to $510,000.

Mining centres saw drops in house prices, as their markets start to return to normal.

House sale activity dropped 37 per cent in Gladstone and 17 per cent in Mackay.

Their median house price dropped 2.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.

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