Pistorius to be indicted for murder

Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius will be indicted for premeditated murder next week. Source: AAP

OSCAR Pistorius will be indicted for premeditated murder on Monday and the double-amputee Olympian will go on trial in early 2014, about a year after shooting dead his girlfriend, prosecutors say.

In a sombre twist, Pistorius will be indicted on the day the woman he killed, Reeva Steenkamp, would have celebrated her 30th birthday.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Medupe Simasiku told The Associated Press on Friday that the exact date for the trial had not yet been set and would likely be decided on Monday, Pistorius' next scheduled appearance in court.

The indictment papers will be served at Pretoria Magistrate's Court and the prosecution will retain a main charge of premeditated murder, Simasiku said. Pistorius faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted on that charge.

Pistorius was initially charged with premeditated murder for Steenkamp's death for bail purposes while police investigated the circumstances of the Valentine's Day shooting. Police said this week they had completed their six-month investigation and are convinced Pistorius "had a charge to answer to," leading to the indictment.

Additional charges are "possible," said Simasiku. He declined to comment on South African media reports on Friday that charges relating to Pistorius allegedly discharging a firearm recklessly in two other incidents would be added to the indictment.

Prosecutors said in a statement that it would be "inappropriate" to comment about "the charges" before they were made public on Monday. The language of the statement, using the plural charges, suggested that more could be added.

Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Steenkamp by mistake in the early hours of February 14 because he thought she was a nighttime intruder in his bathroom in his villa in a gated community in the South African capital, Pretoria.

Anneliese Burgess, Pistorius' spokeswoman, said the athlete's defence team also wouldn't be commenting on the charge or charges but they expect to see a copy of the indictment and related papers before Monday's court proceedings so they can prepare.

Those papers are also expected to include a witness list and detail some of the evidence police have gathered in the six months since Pistorius fired four bullets from his licensed 9mm gun through a locked toilet cubicle door in his bathroom, hitting his girlfriend three times and killing her.

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Rudd contradicted on PNG plan: Abbott

PAPUA New Guinea's flat contradiction of key details in Kevin Rudd's tough new asylum seeker policy shows the Australian prime minister can't be trusted, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has told Fairfax Media he has not agreed to settle all asylum seekers who are found to be refugees after processing on Manus Island.

And he says Australia will need to take back a share of them.

"There is no agreement that all genuine refugees will be settled in PNG," he said.

Mr Abbott said Mr O'Neill had "flatly contradicted" Mr Rudd's claim about their deal on asylum seekers and that the Australian prime minister would say anything to get a headline.

"You just can't trust this prime minister."

Mr O'Neill said PNG would work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to engage with other countries willing to take part in resettling those refugees.

"That includes Australia, New Zealand and all the other countries who are signatories to the UN conventions on refugees," he told Fairfax Media.

Mr O'Neill said he believed Australia had an annual quota to settle about 20,000 refugees.

"Under that process, they will get some and New Zealand has indicated they would take some."

Mr Rudd has insisted there is "one simple principle" in his new regime - that all asylum seekers arriving by boat would be diverted to PNG and settled there if found to be genuine refugees.

Mr O'Neill derided federal opposition claims that refugees would seek to use PNG as a pathway to Australia.

"It is certainly an overreaction,' he said.

Mr O'Neill's comments show Labor's PNG arrangement is "unravelling", opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says.

"What we've seen is comical Kevin desperately denying what is increasingly obvious to everyone - that not only is this PNG arrangement unravelling but also his own campaign is unravelling," Mr Morrison said in Melbourne.

He called on Mr Rudd to "be honest" about the true nature of the deal with PNG.

"The prime minister needs to be honest and upfront with people, particularly Australians, about what the arrangement actually does," he said.

"The Papua New Guinea prime minister has made it very clear in this latest interview that the arrangement that Kevin Rudd claims to exist does not exist in those terms."

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NSW govt advisor busy protecting Diaz

THE federal Liberal candidate for the marginal Sydney seat of Greenway, who shot to infamy in a trainwreck television interview, doesn't want for good media advice.

During a boisterous NSW budget estimates hearing on Friday, the state opposition jokingly accused Mark Tobin, a media adviser to the premier, of moonlighting as a heavy for Jaymes Diaz.

The young candidate made global headlines after an interview in which he spent six excruciating minutes trying to explain the coalition's policy on asylum seekers and the carbon tax.

The best a visibly dazed Mr Diaz could manage was a promise to "stop the boats".

The video quickly went viral but federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott stood by his man.

In a lighthearted exchange at NSW Parliament on Friday, Premier Barry O'Farrell agreed Mr Tobin had taken annual leave to help out on the federal campaign trail.

"Did you see him on TV in dark shades and a hoodie, frogmarching Diaz away from the cameras? Did you see that?" Labor MP Luke Foley asked.

"He looked like a nightclub bouncer, he grabbed a handful of his shirt and led this bloke away from the camera, it was extraordinary."

Mr Foley said Mr Tobin was "a very important man in the running of this state".

"He's got better things to do working with you, rather than putting this nincompoop Diaz into a safe house, under lock and key for the next four weeks," he bellowed.

Mr O'Farrell said a recently trimmed-down Mr Tobin was setting a good example for the state.

"Mark Tobin is demonstrating the benefits of health and fitness, Mark Tobin is going to ensure that taxpayers have to pay less money for the health system. The sooner you join him, the better!" he said.

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Vic hepatitis doctor loses appeal bid

A VICTORIAN doctor who infected 55 of his female patients with hepatitis C has lost his bid to appeal against his sentence.

Lawyers for James Latham Peters argued his 14-year jail term fell outside the acceptable range and was disproportionate to his crimes.

The 63-year-old former anaesthetist was given a non-parole period of 10 years by the Victorian Supreme Court in March after pleading guilty to 55 counts of negligently causing serious injury.

The Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday rejected his bid to appeal against the sentence.

Court of Appeal president Justice Chris Maxwell said the sentence was unimpeachable.

"In my opinion it is not reasonably arguable that the sentence was disproportionate," he said.

Peters infected 55 women with hepatitis C in 2008 and 2009, when he was working at a Croydon abortion clinic while addicted to the drug he was administering.

In a bid to hide his drug use from colleagues, he would inject himself with the opiate Fentanyl before using the same needle to administer the rest of the dosage to the patient.

Justice Maxwell said Peters' level of moral culpability was very high, and his crimes had involved grave breaches of trust.

"On each of the 55 occasions there was a breach of the duty of care," he said.

Peters' lawyer John Dickinson SC had argued that the sentence fell outside the acceptable range.

"The sentence has got out of line with the appropriate sentence for the criminality involved," he said.

Mr Dickinson said Peters would have immediately stopped injecting women with used needles if he knew that women had become infected.

"He did not know that his gross negligence was causing an injury," he said.

"He never knew he was committing a crime until that cluster (of hepatitis cases) was identified."

But Justice Maxwell said it was irrelevant when Peters had found out about his victims becoming infected.

During the hearing, Justice Maxwell said the continued nature of Peters' behaviour was an aggravating factor.

"It was repeated conduct which was part of a practice," he said.

Peters' victims are now suing him, the director of the abortion clinic and the Victorian Medical Board.

The women now face an increased risk of suffering cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

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SA police search for missing camel

A LIFE-SIZE fibreglass camel with a missing ear has been stolen from a South Australian property.

The thieves faced a massive challenge in moving the replica, which is 183cm tall, filled with 200kg of sand and has a broken rear left leg.

The camel went missing from the front of the McClaren Vale property overnight on August 2 to 3, police said on Thursday.

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Coles lifts Wesfarmers profit to $2.26b

WESFARMERS is optimistic about the year ahead after supermarket giant Coles helped it grow annual profit by six per cent to $2.26 billion.

The company will also deliver $579 million to its shareholders via a 50 cent dividend, which will be paid in addition to its final dividend for the 2012/13 financial year of $1.03.

Coles and hardware chain Bunnings were the strongest contributors to Wesfarmers' profit, but Target suffered a heavy fall in earnings, as did the company's coal mining operations.

Overall profit growth was weaker than analysts had expected, and Wesfarmers shares were down 55 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $41.3 at 1437 AEST.

The company predicts growth in its retail businesses in the 2013/14 financial year, despite highlighting "challenging conditions" for the Australian economy and households.

"We expect continuing growth from the group's retail portfolio," managing director Richard Goyder said.

"Coles, Kmart and Officeworks have plans to build on the strong foundations established during their respective turnarounds, and the outlook for Bunnings is positive.

As Target executes its transformation we expect earnings to progressively recover, but this improvement will take time."

Earnings from Coles of $1.5 billion were up 13.1 per cent from the previous year, due to stronger sales activity.

Bunnings earnings rose 7.5 per cent to $904 million.

Target suffered a 44 per cent fall in earnings to $136 million due to lower prices, excess stock and increased costs.

IG market analyst Evan Lucas said Target's performance was a major concern for Wesfarmers.

"We did see a profit downgrade to the division in the middle of the year and a new management team installed,"

"How effective they will be remains to be seen as global apparel players such as Zara, Top Shop and H&M bite into the brand."

Wesfarmers' coal division is also a concern due to falling commodity prices, and questions about a possible sell-off may soon be raised, Mr Lucas said.

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Cathay Pacific swings to HK$24

HONG Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has swung to a first-half net profit of HK$24 million ($A3.42 million), but is warning of continued high fuel prices and a challenging business environment.

The profit for the six months ending June 30 comes after the blue-chip Asian airline suffered a huge first-half net loss of HK$935 million a year earlier, representing a 103 per cent upswing for the blue-chip Asian airline.

Revenue fell 0.6 per cent to HK$48.58 billion.

Company chairman Christopher Pratt says fuel costs decreased 8.5 per cent compared to the same period last year but remain expensive, accounting for 39 per cent of total operating costs.

"We continued to operate in a challenging business environment in the first

half of 2013, though there was improvement in our passenger business," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Passenger numbers increased 1.3 per cent to 14.50 million.

"The persistently high price of jet fuel continued to affect our business adversely," he added.

Cathay said it had helped combat high fuel prices by withdrawing older planes and operating more long-haul services using fuel-efficient Boeing

777-300ER aircraft.

The profits fell short of analysts expectations of HK$721 million according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"While we continued to operate in a difficult environment in the first six months of 2013, it was pleasing to see some improvement in our business," said Pratt, describing the business outlook for the rest of the year as "unclear".

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Abbott under fire for gay marriage comment

FEDERAL Labor has blasted Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for describing the push to legalise same-sex marriage as the "fashion of the moment".

Mr Abbott on Wednesday told John Laws on his 2SM radio program that he was not "someone who wants to see radical change based on the fashion on the moment", on the issue of gay marriage.

The opposition leader later clarified his comment, saying gay marriage was not the "only important issue" facing Australia.

"I certainly think it's a very significant issue," he told reporters in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

He would be focused on "bread and butter issues" such as jobs and the economy, if he became prime minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the comments gave a glimpse into Mr Abbott's character.

"To define sexual orientation as fashion of the moment will be deeply offensive to many Australians, particularly families as well as individuals who happen to be gay or lesbian," he told ABC television.

The opposition leader was "out of touch" with modern Australian values, he said.

"People's sexual orientation is just the way that they are," Mr Albanese said.

"They're just other human beings who happen to be in love or in relationships with people of the same gender."

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Rescuers race to help typhoon hit towns

PHILIPPINE rescuers are clearing landslide-choked roads in an effort to reach isolated villages devastated by deadly Typhoon Utor, which has left tens of thousands of people homeless and killed two.

Eleven others are missing after Utor, the strongest storm this year, swept across the north of the country on Monday.

"Trees have fallen down, roofs have been torn off houses, electric poles and electric towers have collapsed," said National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokesman Reynaldo Balido, describing chaos from coastal towns to mountain villages hundreds of kilometres apart.

One of the top priorities for rescuers are three towns in Aurora province on the east coast of the main island of Luzon that were in Utor's direct path when it made landfall before dawn on Monday.

The towns, home to about 45,000 people, are still completely cut off, according to Aurora disaster chief Elson Egargue.

Rescuers deployed earthmoving equipment on Tuesday to clear the national highway leading to the three towns, which was blocked in several areas by landslides, floods and fallen tree trunks, Egargue said.

When Utor hit land, its wind gusts were reaching 200km/h an hour, making it the strongest storm this year, according to the weather bureau.

Utor has flattened at least 1,577 houses and more than 30,000 people are in temporary shelters on Tuesday, according to the disaster council.

However, this tally does not include many people in the three devastated towns in Aurora province, as authorities had not been able to assess the damage there.

The two confirmed fatalities were a man who drowned and another who was buried by a landslide.

Utor is now in the South China Sea tracking towards southern China, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

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Jihadists claim rocket attack on Israel

A GROUP of jihadist fighters say they have fired a Grad rocket on the Israeli Red Sea town of Eilat in retaliation for an alleged Israeli air raid.

The Mujahideen Shura Council said in a statement published on a jihadist forum its fighters fired the rocket at 1am (0900 AEST) on Tuesday.

The statement did not say whether the rocket attack caused any damage or injuries.

The rocket, fired from the Sinai, was "a quick response to the last crime by the Jews after one of their drones bombed the Sinai peninsula killing four mujahideen" on Friday.

Another jihadist group, Egypt's Ansar Beit al-Maqdis which has claimed allegiance to al-Qaeda and repeated attacks on Israeli targets, has blamed the Jewish state for the Friday strike.

The group accused the Egyptian army of co-ordinating the attack with Israel, and threatened more strikes against the Jewish state.

"How can the Egyptian army allow the Zionist unmanned planes to cross into Egyptian territory," the statement asked.

Egypt's military has denied the claim.

"There is no truth whatsoever to any Israeli strikes inside Egyptian territory and the claim that there is Egyptian and Israeli co-ordination on the matter is utterly baseless," military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Aly said in a statement on Friday.

Officials told AFP the strike came from the Egyptian military, as part of their campaign to curtail a surge in violence and rein in militant activity in the lawless Sinai.

The state owned Al-Ahram newspaper and the official news agency MENA reported on Saturday that Egyptian military aircraft conducted the strike, quoting anonymous security officials.

Witnesses said Egyptian military helicopters hovered above the site after the blasts.

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Economy is the key poll concern: survey

VOTERS are taking a keener interest in the economy and are less concerned about the carbon tax and the environment, a new survey shows.

The Australian National University on Monday released the findings of its latest ANUpoll into voter attitudes.

The poll showed concern about the economy and job security has doubled since 2010, while those citing the environment and global warming as an issue had halved.

The second most important issue was immigration and asylum seekers. This was nominated as either the top or the second top issue by 28 per cent of the 1200 randomly surveyed people.

Six per cent of respondents cited the environment or global warming as an issue, down from about 12 per cent in 2010.

Only 0.1 per cent of people mentioned the carbon tax.

"The poll results suggest that the management of the economy will be centre stage in the federal election campaign," said ANU academic Professor Ian McAllister.

Prof McAllister said the declining importance of environmental issues would have an impact on the vote for the Australian Greens at the September 7 election.

The poll also asked questions about compulsory voting, the frequency of elections and funding of political parties.

More than two-thirds of people said voting should remain compulsory, while almost 11 per cent said they would not vote if it was optional.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said three-year terms were about right. Twenty per cent said every four years would be better.

The national survey was conducted by telephone between July 9 and 23 involving 1200 randomly selected voters and had a 2.5 per cent margin of error.

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Gay marriage conscience vote 'democratic'

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott should allow coalition MPs to exercise their democratic right in a vote on same sex marriage, an activist says.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) spokeswoman Shelley Argent says legalising gay marriage should be Mr Abbott's priority.

"It is time my son and Tony Abbott's sister were shown the respect they deserve and have their relationships properly recognised," Ms Argent told AAP.

"Marriage equality will cost the country nothing.

"If he (Mr Abbott) was going to be a half-decent leader he would be saying right now that he will allow a conscience vote.

"MPs should be given their democratic right to vote on it."

Ms Argent was confident gay marriage would legalised under a conscience vote.

"I think it would pass - it is surprising how many coalition MPs are in favour," she said.

In Sunday night's leaders' debate, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged to introduce gay marriage legislation within 100 days if returned to government.

But Mr Abbott said there were other, more important, issues to focus on.

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Facebook pages demanded in employment row

A woman sacked by Air NZ has been forced to hand over copies of her Facebook pages. Source: AAP

AIR New Zealand has forced a sacked flight attendant to hand over copies of her Facebook pages and bank accounts to show what she was doing when she claimed sick leave.

Gina Kensington was dismissed after she took sick leave in March to look after her sister.

She took her case to the Employment Relations Authority, where Air NZ asked to see her Facebook pages and bank accounts for the two days concerned.

Ms Kensington argued she shouldn't have to hand over the details as Air NZ didn't have them when it sacked her and there was an expectation of privacy about personal and financial information.

However, the ERA agreed she should supply copies, saying the details could be relevant.

Ms Kensington was forced to hand over the information but the court has not yet made a decision on whether she was fairly sacked.

The Facebook and bank account demand is a step further than that of the case of Gisborne man Bruce Taiapa.

Mr Taiapa was sacked by his employer when he took sick leave for a week but was seen in a photo on Facebook at a school canoeing carnival in Rotorua.

The ERA ruled the sacking was justified because the employer had a reasonable suspicion he wasn't ill.

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Riot at Greek migrant detention camp

Detainees have hurled stones at officers at the Amygdaleza detention camp outside Athens. Source: AAP

POLICE have been dispatched to put down a riot at Greece's main migrant detention camp with detainees hurling stones at officers and setting fire to living quarters.

Local television footage on Saturday showed fires blazing at the Amygdaleza detention camp outside Athens, where about 1200 mainly Asian migrants are kept.

"We have 10 officers injured by stones and other objects thrown at them," a police spokesman told AFP.

"The detainees set fire to mattresses and their living quarters but riot police have been sent and the situation is calming down," he said.

Amygdaleza is one of several detention camps set up since last year to assist in the repatriation of thousands of undocumented migrants.

The police spokesman said rioting began when the detainees were told their maximum stay in the camp would be extended to 18 months from a year previously.

Rights groups charge that the migrants have been subjected to abuse in the camps and are denied proper healthcare.

Last week, leftist group KEERFA said Muslim detainees had been beaten by guards during prayers.

In July, the same group reported the death of an Afghan detainee from a pulmonary infection which his guards had allegedly ignored for months.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn or impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

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