Vic sports car theft suspect hurt in fall

A MAN suspected of stealing a $300,000 sports car from a Melbourne car wash is nursing broken bones after falling five storeys from a balcony while attempting to flee police.

The man had scaled the balcony of a 13th floor inner-Melbourne apartment after detectives arrived on Saturday morning to quiz him about the theft of a silver Maserati.

He fell from the balcony and landed on some roofing on the 8th floor, suffering suspected broken bones, police said.

Paramedics took the 41-year-old Melton man to hospital, where he remained under police guard on Saturday afternoon.

He'll be interviewed at a later time over his suspected role in the car theft at a South Melbourne car wash on March 18, police said.

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Man dies at inner Sydney worksite

WORKCOVER is investigating a young man's death at a building site in inner Sydney.

Emergency services were called to the site in Australia Street, Camperdown, just before midday (AEST) on Saturday.

They had received reports a workman had suffered head and chest injuries after being hit by a number of metal beams.

The man died at the scene.

Police have been told he was 22.

WorkCover is investigating and police from Newtown Local Area Command will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Twitter buys Aussie tech start-up

TWITTER has bought Australian tech start-up We Are Hunted, fuelling speculation the social media giant is about to make its first major foray into the music industry.

Backed by Aussie entrepreneur Graeme Wood, We Are Hunted was developed in Brisbane and launched in 2009 as a tool allowing users to discover, play and share new music online.

A statement posted on its website on Friday confirmed it had been acquired by Twitter, though the terms of the deal were kept secret.

"While we are shutting down wearehunted.com, we will continue to create services that will delight you, as part of the Twitter team," the company said in a statement.

"There's no question that Twitter and music go well together.

"Artists turn to Twitter first to connect with fans, and people share and discover new songs and albums every day. We can't wait to share what we've been working on at Twitter."

We Are Hunted was founded in 2007 by Stephen Phillips, Richard Slatter and Michael Doherty and recently relocated to San Francisco.

None of the trio immediately expanded on what the deal would mean for Twitter.

But it has increased rumours of a new Twitter app, potentially allowing users to discover popular new artists, listen to or even buy music.

US radio identity and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest recently revealed he'd been using a yet-to-be-released Twitter music app.

"Playing with @twitter's new music app (yes it's real!)...there's a serious dance party happening at idol right now," he tweeted.

"Shows what artists are trending, also has up-and-coming artists."

Seacrest's comments were retweeted by Twitter, all but confirming their veracity.

It comes as the major social networks all look to expand their services, offering users a wider, richer experience than merely connecting with friends.

Twitter has bought a number of other tech start-ups over the past year, including the video tool Vine, which allows users to shoot and post short clips.

Facebook has also been expanding its range of applications, including the photo site Instagram and the new Graph Search which allows users to search the Facebook site more thoroughly.

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NSW ports privatised in 99 year deal

THE NSW government has agreed to privatise the state's ports, in a deal that will net more than $4 billion for infrastructure projects in the state.

Port Botany and Port Kembla will be leased to the NSW Ports Consortium for 99 years, Treasurer Mike Baird announced on Friday.

The successful consortium is made up of a range of mostly domestic and international investors, including Industry Funds Management, Australian Super, QSuper and the Abu Dhabi government.

The Port Botany transaction netted more than $4.31 billion, while $760 million was earned from the Port Kembla package.

Around $4 billion of the net proceeds would be invested in the state government's infrastructure fund, Mr Baird said.

"Today our $1.8 billion commitment to the WestConnex project is funded. There are also vital funds to meet commitments in the Pacific Highway, Princes Highway and Bridges for the Bush," Mr Baird told reporters in Sydney.

Thirty per cent of the funds would also be reserved for projects in regional areas and a further $100 million would go towards infrastructure in the Illawarra, he said.

Mr Baird said the sale did not solve all the government's financial problems, but it was a "good start".

"In order to catch up on the infrastructure backlog we have... the only way to start addressing that is to look at the capital on your balance sheet," he said.

"It's a great win for NSW. The infrastructure funding for this state has had a massive boost".

Mr Baird said each member of the NSW Ports consortium was an experienced asset owner and would ensure the operational integrity of the ports.

"This bid was the highest in terms of price and the best in terms of risk," he said.

The NSW government will retain regulatory oversight of the ports, as well as responsibility for maritime safety and security functions.

A small number of Sydney Ports Corporation and Port Kembla Port Corporation employees would also transfer to the port lessee, Mr Baird said.

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Manslaughter charges in HK ferry crash

THE two captains involved in a Hong Kong ferry collision last year that claimed 39 lives in the city's worst maritime disaster in decades will be charged with manslaughter, say reports.

The men will be brought to court later on Thursday to face 39 counts of manslaughter, public broadcaster RTHK reported, without identifying its source.

The South China Morning Post has also reported that the duo will be charged.

Police declined to immediately confirm the report when contacted by AFP.

The incident saw a high-speed ferry, the Sea Smooth, collide with a pleasure craft, the Lamma IV, carrying around 120 passengers on a company trip to watch national day fireworks on October 1 last year.

Police arrested the captains of both vessels along with five crew at the time, pointing to possible human error as the cause of the accident.

The government has set up a commission to look into the reason for the crash, which happened near Lamma Island, a popular spot with expatriates. The commission is due to report its findings later this month.

Investigators have pored over last year's crash, trying to piece together how such an accident could have happened in a city that prides itself on its state-of-the-art transport infrastructure.

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Nurses rally in Sydney for fixed ratios

NURSE numbers in hospital emergency departments have to be guaranteed to make sure patients' lives aren't at risk, their union says.

Addressing a rally in Sydney on Thursday, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) general secretary Brett Holmes called on the state government to ensure a fixed ratio of ED staff to patients.

The demand is a key part of an industrial claim being made by the union.

"More work needs to be done," Mr Holmes told around 40 employees outside Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred hospital.

"It's now an opportunity for the O'Farrell Government to build on what has been established in terms of nurse to patient ratios."

The current award that governs pay and conditions for the state's 30,000 public sector nurses expires on June 30.

The union wants a guaranteed minimum of one nurse for every every three patients in emergency departments in any future award.

It's also pushing for annual pay rises of 2.5 per cent for nurses and midwives, and a cap on the contact community nurses can have with patients each shift.

Mr Holmes said the changes were needed to maintain patient care.

He said there had been many cases "where nurses and midwives are asked to stretch further and further" due to more patients presenting at EDs.

"That puts lives at risk," Mr Holmes told the nurses, many of whom were wearing blue hospital scrubs.

Marrickville Labor MP Carmel Tebbutt told the rally it "was time for Barry O'Farrell to listen to the nurses association".

"I hold grave fears for even maintaining what we've got," she said.

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China ex-rail minister charged with graft

PROSECUTORS have charged China's former railways minister Liu Zhijun with bribery and abuse of power, state media says, after scandals involving hundreds of millions of yuan.

The official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday said the charges were filed at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court, which has "accepted the case and will set a trial date".

Details of the charges were not immediately published. The court refused to comment to AFP.

State media have previously reported that Liu, who was appointed in 2003 and sacked in 2011, faced investigation for allegedly taking payouts while handing out contracts for the rapid expansion of China's high-speed railway system.

He was expelled from the ruling Communist Party in November, a move seen as paving the way for a trial over alleged bribe-taking involving 800 million yuan ($A123.58 million). Expulsion from the party typically precedes a court trial.

China's rail system - which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars - has been one of its flagship development projects in recent years, and it now boasts the world's longest high-speed network.

But a high-speed crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou killed some 40 people in 2011, sparking a torrent of public criticism that authorities compromised safety in their rush to expand the network.

China announced last month it was switching control of the railway ministry's administrative functions to the transport ministry and handing its commercial functions to a new China Railway Corporation.

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Landmark Malaysian election set for May 5

MALAYSIA'S general election will be held on May 5, an electoral official says, setting a long-awaited date for highly anticipated polls tipped to be the closest in the country's history.

Election Commission chairman Aziz Yusof on Wednesday said balloting would be preceded by a two-week official campaign period kicking off on April 20.

The United Malays National Organisation, which has controlled Malaysia since independence in 1957, is seeking to hold off a formidable opposition that has gained ground with promises to end corruption, cronyism and authoritarian rule.

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Sydney surgeon's ex 'seen as gold digger'

THE former partner of plastic surgeon and hotelier Jerry Schwartz was seen by his mother as a "gold-digger" who was eyeing the family fortune, a Sydney inquest has been told.

NSW State Coroner Mary Jerram is investigating whether Dr Schwartz acted appropriately in signing the death certificates of his mother Eve Schwartz, 79, and her best friend Magda Wales, 76, who died three weeks apart in 2005.

Dr Schwartz, along with his late parents, founded The Schwartz Family Company, which owns a dozen hotels in NSW and Victoria, a shopping centre, a medical centre, and a brewery.

He is currently embroiled in a civil suit concerning the division of his mother's estate with his former partner Liliane Viselle, whom he never married.

During evidence given by Mrs Wales' son George in Glebe Coroner's Court on Tuesday, the relationship between Dr Schwartz and Ms Viselle was described as "tumultuous" and "aggravated".

Mr Wales said in the two years before her death, Eve Schwartz had repeatedly made it clear she thought Ms Viselle was after her son's money as well as her own.

"I believe the term 'gold-digger' was used," said Dr Schwartz's defence counsel Patrick Saidi.

Mr Wales said his own mother was also "towards the end ... genuinely trying to distance herself" from Ms Viselle.

The death certificate Dr Schwartz signed for his 79-year-old mother listed cause of death as lung cancer and a collapsed lung which cut off her oxygen on August 20, 2005.

The certificate he signed for Mrs Wales said her death was caused by an "acute cardiac event", ischaemic heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Mr Wales said he knew his mother was being treated by Dr Schwartz in the year or two before her death, and that he has never had any suspicion that his mother's death was unnatural.

The inquest heard that she had been seeing several different doctors for different medical conditions, and did not always disclose her ailments to her children for fear of upsetting them.

The inquest continues.

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WA hot air balloon landing 'not emergency'

AN egg-shaped hot air balloon that touched down in a suburban Perth street was not involved in an emergency, but came down as a precaution.

Police reported the balloon, which is promoting the Cirque Du Soleil production Ovo, made an emergency landing in the eastern suburb of Burswood around 8.30am (WST) on Tuesday.

Two passengers were not injured.

Police later said it was a controlled landing.

"It was in fact a safe and precautionary landing, as this was a more appropriate place to land under the circumstances, as opposed to the eventual planned landing," police said.

"The company have advised us that if this was a genuine emergency landing, they would by law have had to declare it as an emergency and this has not taken place."

Picture This Ballooning chief executive Damian Crock told AAP that the pilot, Peter Wright, who had more than 10 years experience, made the decision to land the balloon early.

"The wind became light and variable," he said.

"The pilot makes the assessment on how much to travel.

"He decided that it was the best place to cut short the flight."

The balloon has been floating above Perth in the past week.

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