US man has been found years being abducted

A boy who was abducted 19 years ago has been found living in Minnesota under a different name. Source: AAP

A MAN who was abducted his paternal grandparents 19 years ago when he was five years old has been found living in Minnesota under a different name.

Richard Wayne Landers Jr was five years old when he and his grandparents, who were upset over custody arrangements, disappeared from the town of Wolcottville.

Indiana State Police say the now 24-year-old Landers was found in Long Prairie, Minnesota, thanks in part to his Social Security identification number.

His grandparents were living under aliases in a nearby town and confirmed his identity, investigators said. Police declined to say whether the couple would face charges, citing the ongoing investigation.

Landers' mother, Lisa Harter, screamed and was "jumping up and down for joy" when she learned a few days ago that her son had been found, her husband Richard Harter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Thursday. He said his wife is "the happiest woman on earth".

Harter said he and his wife were working with an attorney and hoped to reunite with his stepson soon. Police said Landers is married and expecting his first child.

Harter declined further comment and referred questions about the case to his attorney, who didn't immediately return phone messages on Thursday. Investigators declined to release the names under which Landers and his grandparents had been living.

Police said the boy's paternal grandparents, Richard and Ruth Landers, abducted him in July 1994 because they were "upset over pending court proceedings" regarding his placement.

Police said it appears the boy's father was never in the picture. Lisa and Richard Harter had married a year earlier.

Authorities believe the grandparents took the boy from their home in Wolcottville and fled. They were charged at the time with misdemeanour interference with custody, which was bumped up to a felony in 1999. But the charge was dismissed in 2008 after the case went cold.

Investigators reopened the case in September when Richard Harter turned over the boy's Social Security card to an Indiana State Police detective.

That turned up a man with the same Social Security number and date of birth living in Long Prairie, Minnesota. A driver's licence photo for the man appeared to resemble Landers, police said.

The grandparents were found living under aliases in nearby Browerville, Minnesota, and verified the Minnesota man was Landers.

"By all accounts, it didn't appear he suffered from any abuse, either physical or mental," Galaviz said.

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Iran nuclear talks date set: official

World powers will meet Iranian representatives to discuss the disputed nuclear program in Istanbul. Source: AAP

WORLD powers will meet Iranian top representatives to discuss the Islamic state's disputed nuclear program in Istanbul at the end of January, a Russian official says.

Iran and the so-called "P5+1" nations - the five permanent UN Security Council members along with Germany - have not all met since a June session in Moscow, but an unnamed Russian source told the state RIA Novosti agency that the next meeting has been provisionally scheduled for the end of the month in Istanbul - host of the first such talks last April.

The source did not name a specific date or say when one might be announced.

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov - Russia's pointman at the talks and most senior Iran expert - expressed frustration that an exact date had not been fixed.

"We have had situations in the past when we had trouble agreeing a time and place, and we have one now today," Interfax quoted Ryabkov as saying on Friday.

He said Moscow wanted to see the momentum of talks continue "without significant delays".

Ryabkov gave no indication whether it was Iran or Catherine Ashton - the EU foreign affairs chief and main Western representative at the negotiations - who had the most serious reservations about new talks.

Three prior "P5+1" meetings have been held with Iran at the most senior level envisioned for the Istanbul session.

None has produced a compromise that sees the powers accept Iran's right to enrich uranium in exchange for its provision of access to closed nuclear facilities and its promise not to make higher-grade material.

Israel and much of the West suspects Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear energy program. Tehran denies the charge.

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Pole embedded in teenager's head

A metal pole has been embedded in a teenager's head during a row at a Sydney birthday party. Source: AAP

A SYDNEY teenager is fighting for his life after a metal pole was embedded in his head during a birthday party brawl.

Police and paramedics were called to a Forestville home in Sydney's north at 11.40pm (AEDT) on Friday after gatecrashers tried to force their way into an 18th birthday party.

In the ensuing fight, an 18-year-old man was struck in the head with a 2.5 metre metal pole.

The pole became embedded in the right side of his head and he was taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital, paramedics said.

He underwent surgery and remains in a critical condition.

Police have set up a crime scene at the home and were continuing to question witnesses on Saturday afternoon.

No arrests have been made.

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Vic lawyer welcomes commission focus

A LAWYER who will represent scores of Ballarat sexual assault victims at the royal commission has welcomed the focus on organisational abuse, saying it can devastate entire generations.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday announced the terms of reference for the royal commission on child sexual abuse, which will start as soon as possible and hand down its interim report mid 2014.

It will focus on how organisations have managed and responded to claims of sexual abuse and associated forms of abuse and neglect.

Viv Waller, who will represent 70 victims of abuse perpetrated by clergy in Ballarat during the 1970s, said abuse within churches and schools was particularly abhorrent, given offenders had access to a fresh lot of victims each year.

"Entire generations of families can be destroyed by a sexual offender remaining in a school or in a church because in the years that follow, they have the opportunity to abuse their victims' younger siblings," she told AAP on Friday.

She said the royal commission should consider reviewing the time limit for victims of sexual assault to pursue compensation through the courts.

Dr Waller said she also hoped the commission would examine the Catholic church's use of the Ellis defence, which it used to successfully argue that it wasn't legally an entity that could be sued over the actions of its priests.

"Personally, I find it morally bankrupt," she said.

"I find it lacks compassion and I find that it lacks any sense of justice for victims."

Dr Waller welcomed the appointment of multiple commissioners, singling out Justice Jennifer Coate, a former coroner and the first Victorian Children's Court president, as a fearlessly independent and courageous person.

Comment was being sought from the Victorian government, which already has a parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse underway.

The Victorian inquiry will continue its work, said Georgie Crozier, chair of the family and community development committee which is conducting the inquiry.

"The scale and scope of the royal commission is vast and will take some time to establish and get underway," Ms Crozier said.

"In Victoria we have already made significant progress with our inquiry and we will continue with our work."

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Japan unveils $215bn stimulus package

The Japanese cabinet has approved fresh stimulus spending of more than $A215 billion. Source: AAP

JAPAN'S new government has unveiled a massive $US226.5 billion ($A214.68 billion) stimulus plan in the latest bid to boost the world's number three economy, with plans to rebuild disaster-hit areas and boost the military.

Japanese investors welcomed the news on Friday, with the Nikkei index surging to a 22-month high and the yen tumbling, but analysts questioned its long-term effect and warned it could lead to more misery further down the line.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who came to power in a landslide election victory last month, followed through with one of his key pledges by outlining details of a big-spending plan designed to create jobs and end deflation.

"With the measures, we will achieve real GDP growth of two per cent and 600,000 jobs will be created," he told a briefing.

Japan's economy shrank by 0.6 per cent in 2011, while last year's gross domestic product figures are yet to be released.

"It is crucially important to break out of prolonged deflation and the high yen," he added.

A hawkish Abe also repeated his call for Tokyo and the Bank of Japan to "join hands" on driving growth, comments that have stoked tension between the him and BoJ chief Masaaki Shirakawa over perceived threats to its independence and policy decisions.

The new premier had pledged before the election that he would press the BoJ to carry out more aggressive monetary easing and warned that if it did not agree to a two per cent inflation target he would change the law regarding its remit.

While the total size of Friday's package came in at 20.2 trillion yen, Tokyo's direct spending on economic stimulus and pension financing amounts to about 13 trillion yen, with local governments and the private sector kicking in the rest, Abe said.

Rebuilding disaster-struck areas, making more schools and hospitals earthquake resistant, and upgrading ageing infrastructure were among the planned measures.

It will also see 180.5 billion yen spent on missiles, fighter jets and helicopters to beef up the military as Tokyo is embroiled in an increasingly bitter territorial row with China over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

Friday's stimulus is the latest unveiled by successive governments who have tried to lift the economy from years of anaemic growth.

Investors gave a big thumbs up, with the Nikkei surging 1.5 per cent in the afternoon to levels not seen since before the March 2011 quake tsunami.

The yen also tumbled to 89.35 against the dollar, its lowest since June 2010 and a far cry from the record high 75 it hit in late 2011, which hammered exporters.

But the big spending plans have stoked fears over Japan's already tattered fiscal health, the worst among industrial countries with public debt standing at more than twice the size of the economy.

"Huge spending of this size will, of course, have a one-time effect on boosting the economy. But if it fails to ignite a sustained recovery, Japan could fall into a vicious cycle of needing more stimulus spending," said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.

Saito also raised fears that some of the money would fall into a black hole of "wasteful spending".

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Macklin 'very sorry' for dole comments

THE minister who said she'd be able to live on the dole has now apologised, admitting her remarks were insensitive.

Amid growing calls for unemployment benefit Newstart to be boosted, Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin was asked at a New Year's Day press conference if she could survive on $35 a day.

She responded: "I could".

This caused outrage among advocacy groups, particularly in the context of government changes to the parenting payment scheme that will shift some 84,000 single parents to the Newstart allowance when their youngest child turns eight.

Welfare groups estimate some families will be between $60 and $100 a week worse off.

On Friday, almost two weeks after her comments, Ms Macklin said she understood people were angry.

"I do acknowledge that my remarks were insensitive and I'm certainly very sorry for that," she told reporters in Sydney.

"I do understand that it is very hard to live on a very low income including unemployment benefits."

Ms Macklin said she could have been clearer in the way she expressed herself.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd on Friday said the ditching of the budget surplus goal gave the government an opportunity to do more for the poor.

"I'm just saying we are the Labor Party, we are a Labor government, we have got responsibility for people who are doing it tough and people who need a bit of a hand up, and therefore we could be doing more," Mr Rudd said.

"I've also noted carefully what the treasurer has said about the non-deliverability of the budget surplus."

That decision provided a greater opportunity to attend to some pretty basic social needs, he said.

"I think people need to show a bit more of a heart."

Mr Rudd said he had no specific proposal for change as that was the responsibility of government ministers.

"The truth is, if you put yourself in the position of people who have to make ends meet on Newstart, this is very, very hard," he said.

Mr Rudd said he had not spoken about the matter to caucus members "for some weeks".

Other Labor backbenchers, along with the Greens, have called for a $50-a-week increase to the dole and the reversal of the parenting payment changes.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said a job was the best form of relief for those people on unemployment benefits.

"I understand it is very tough for people on low and fixed incomes to make ends meet," she told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

"We keep our focus on creating jobs because the best thing we can do for anybody experiencing unemployment is to make sure there is a job available for them."

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NSW priest to face court over child abuse

A CATHOLIC priest will face court charged with indecently assaulting two teenage boys at a school in the NSW Hunter region in the 1960s.

Police on Thursday served court attendance notices on the 83-year-old Glenbrook man's legal representatives in Sydney.

He is facing eight counts of indecent assault with a child under 16 years.

Police allege the offences occurred in the early to mid 1960s when the man was teaching at a school in Newcastle.

The man is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court on February 26.

The charges stem from an investigation by Strike Force Georgiana, which was established in 2008 to examine allegations of child sexual abuse by various priests within the Lake Macquarie area.

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Man refused bail over Sydney stabbing

A MAN accused of stabbing another man 11 times in Sydney's west has been refused bail, with a court hearing that CCTV footage showed him chasing his alleged victim.

Nasher Kahwaji, 27, has been charged with causing wounding and grievous bodily harm with intent to murder after he allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old man on a median strip in Bankstown in April last year.

In a bail application on Thursday, the Supreme Court heard that the man sustained 11 stab wounds to the neck, chest and stomach.

Kahwaji's barrister George Thomas said one of the "significant" weaknesses in the crown case was that the alleged victim hasn't made a statement.

A previous statement by the stabbed man's partner claiming that Kahwaji had told her: "We're going to get you next" has also since been retracted, Mr Thomas said.

But Justice Peter Hall said the nature of the alleged offence was of a "very high order".

While there is no CCTV footage of the actual stabbing, which took place around 100 metres outside the Three Swallows Hotel, Justice Hall said Kahwaji and others were captured pursuing the then 24-year-old.

"With the evidence that is before me I'm of the opinion that the crown case should be regarded as a reasonably strong case," he said.

Before refusing bail, Justice Hall also pointed to police concerns that they held fears for the safety of the alleged victim and the crown witness.

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Greens wrong on Whitehaven hoax: Joyce

LIBERAL National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Greens' endorsement of the Whitehaven Coal hoax and criticised the prime minister for staying silent on the issue.

Senator Joyce says it was wrong for Greens Leader Christine Milne to endorse an anti-coal mining activist's scam that wiped millions from the coal miner's share price.

"That is not a noble action of an environmental warrior," he told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.

"That is the action of a person who's lied and defrauded people out of their money."

Having strong views against coal mining did not justify telling a lie, he said.

"You can't go out tomorrow and just say, well, to remove the Greens from the political scene I'll say that (Greens Senator) Lee Rhiannon is marrying a whale farmer.

"It would be a lie and it would be the wrong thing to do."

Senator Joyce added that given the government's relationship with the Greens, Prime Minister Julia Gillard should not remain silent about the hoax.

"The prime minister is sitting back, silently, just accepting the fact that she's in business with a party that a couple of weeks ago said they'd changed their ways and today are back out endorsing lies," he said.

Earlier this week, Senator Milne reportedly described activist Jonathan Moylan's hoax as being part of a proud tradition of civil disobedience to highlight wrongdoing.

Mr Moylan, a member of Frontline Action on Coal, sent a fake press release to media outlets claiming the ANZ Bank had pulled its $1.2 billion loan to Whitehaven Coal.

The anti-coal mining group accuses Whitehaven of planning to destroy a koala habitat and force farmers off their land near its Maules Creek project in NSW.

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NSW priest to face court over child abuse

A CATHOLIC priest will face court charged with indecently assaulting two teenage boys at a school in the NSW Hunter region in the 1960s.

Police on Thursday served court attendance notices on the 83-year-old Glenbrook man's legal representatives in Sydney.

He is facing eight counts of indecent assault with a child under 16 years.

Police allege the offences occurred in the early to mid 1960s when the man was teaching at a school in Newcastle.

The man is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court on February 26.

The charges stem from an investigation by Strike Force Georgiana, which was established in 2008 to examine allegations of child sexual abuse by various priests within the Lake Macquarie area.

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Man refused bail over Sydney stabbing

A MAN accused of stabbing another man 11 times in Sydney's west has been refused bail, with a court hearing that CCTV footage showed him chasing his alleged victim.

Nasher Kahwaji, 27, has been charged with causing wounding and grievous bodily harm with intent to murder after he allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old man on a median strip in Bankstown in April last year.

In a bail application on Thursday, the Supreme Court heard that the man sustained 11 stab wounds to the neck, chest and stomach.

Kahwaji's barrister George Thomas said one of the "significant" weaknesses in the crown case was that the alleged victim hasn't made a statement.

A previous statement by the stabbed man's partner claiming that Kahwaji had told her: "We're going to get you next" has also since been retracted, Mr Thomas said.

But Justice Peter Hall said the nature of the alleged offence was of a "very high order".

While there is no CCTV footage of the actual stabbing, which took place around 100 metres outside the Three Swallows Hotel, Justice Hall said Kahwaji and others were captured pursuing the then 24-year-old.

"With the evidence that is before me I'm of the opinion that the crown case should be regarded as a reasonably strong case," he said.

Before refusing bail, Justice Hall also pointed to police concerns that they held fears for the safety of the alleged victim and the crown witness.

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Greens wrong on Whitehaven hoax: Joyce

LIBERAL National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Greens' endorsement of the Whitehaven Coal hoax and criticised the prime minister for staying silent on the issue.

Senator Joyce says it was wrong for Greens Leader Christine Milne to endorse an anti-coal mining activist's scam that wiped millions from the coal miner's share price.

"That is not a noble action of an environmental warrior," he told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.

"That is the action of a person who's lied and defrauded people out of their money."

Having strong views against coal mining did not justify telling a lie, he said.

"You can't go out tomorrow and just say, well, to remove the Greens from the political scene I'll say that (Greens Senator) Lee Rhiannon is marrying a whale farmer.

"It would be a lie and it would be the wrong thing to do."

Senator Joyce added that given the government's relationship with the Greens, Prime Minister Julia Gillard should not remain silent about the hoax.

"The prime minister is sitting back, silently, just accepting the fact that she's in business with a party that a couple of weeks ago said they'd changed their ways and today are back out endorsing lies," he said.

Earlier this week, Senator Milne reportedly described activist Jonathan Moylan's hoax as being part of a proud tradition of civil disobedience to highlight wrongdoing.

Mr Moylan, a member of Frontline Action on Coal, sent a fake press release to media outlets claiming the ANZ Bank had pulled its $1.2 billion loan to Whitehaven Coal.

The anti-coal mining group accuses Whitehaven of planning to destroy a koala habitat and force farmers off their land near its Maules Creek project in NSW.

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Alumina shares rise on partner result

SHARES in Australian company Alumina shot up after aluminium giant and joint venture partner Alcoa beat sales expectations and forecast a rise in demand in 2013.

Alcoa kicked off the US earnings season posting net income of $US242 million ($A231.5 million), compared to a $US193 million ($A184.63 million) net loss from the same period a year ago.

Excluding one-time gains such as the sale of a hydroelectric project, the amount was only $US64 million ($A61.22 million).

Melbourne-based Alumina's only earning asset is its 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC), with Alcoa holding the controlling remaining 60 per cent.

That includes aluminium smelters at Portland and the struggling Point Henry plant in Victoria.

Shares in Alumina, which is among Australia's top 100 companies by market capitalisation, closed 4.5 cents, or 4.6 per cent, stronger on Wednesday at $1.025.

Alcoa's sales of $US5.9 billion ($A5.64 billion) were higher than the $US5.58 billion ($A5.34 billion) analysts predicted.

However its full year net income slumped to $US191 million ($A182.71 million) from $US611 million ($A584.49 million), driven by a 12 per cent slump in the long struggling price of aluminium to $US1,982 ($A1,896.02) a tonne.

China's overproduction of aluminium have driven down prices that were above $US3,000 ($A2,869.85) a tonne before the global financial crisis.

Weaknesses in the global economy in 2012 have hurt demand for aluminium used in products such as aircraft, cars, drink cans, the construction industry and other appliances.

Prices for alumina (aluminium oxide) and aluminium have improved in the last two months and Alcoa forecast demand growing by seven per cent for aluminum this year from six per cent in 2012.

It also sees global aluminium demand doubling between 2010 and 2020.

Alumina's chief executive John Bevan said the fourth quarter result reflected continued challenging industry conditions and the ongoing strength in the Australian dollar.

Alcoa says despite recent price gains in November and December the outlook for pricing remained uncertain in the near term.

Alumina received fully franked dividends of $US20 million ($A19.13 million) from AWAC for the quarter, after receiving no dividends in the previous quarter and $US95 million ($A90.88 million) for the full year.

Mr Bevan says Alumina will receives dividends of at least $100 million in 2013.

It also refinanced a $US107 million ($A102.36 million) in debt that was due in November this year, to December, 2017 with analysts having raised worries about a 44 per cent jump in net debt to $US602 million ($A575.88 million) in 2012.

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Experts slam Truss' CO2 emissions claims

ENVIRONMENTAL experts have shot down acting Opposition Leader Warren Truss' claim current bushfires are emitting more carbon dioxide than coal-fired power stations.

"Indeed I guess there'll be more CO2 emissions from these fires than there will be from coal-fired power stations for decades," Mr Truss told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday.

Associate director of the Australian National University's climate law and policy centre Andrew Macintosh says Mr Truss' comment is way off the mark.

"It's utter rubbish," Associate Professor Macintosh told AAP.

"The electricity emissions in Australia at the moment are around 200 million tonnes a year.

"These fires wouldn't come even near that."

University of Queensland climate change professor James Shulmeister says Mr Truss has made a "ridiculous" statement.

"Yes bushfires do create a lot of carbon emissions but it's a silly argument against coal-fired power stations," Prof Shulmeister told AAP.

He said bushfires were more frequent in hotter conditions and climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels have played a big role in that.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday warned there would be more extreme weather because of climate change.

But Mr Truss said: "It's too simplistic to link a finite spell to climate change."

"These comments tend to be made on hot days rather than cold days.

"I'm told it's minus one in Mt Wellington at the present time in Tasmania.

"Hobart's expecting a maximum of 16.

"Australia's climate, it's changing, it's changeable. We have hot times, we have cold times."

Bushfires driven by soaring temperatures have burned out of control across Tasmania, NSW and Victoria in recent days.

Mr Truss is standing in as opposition leader for Tony Abbott who has joined his local fire brigade on bushfire watch in NSW.

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Christchurch homes asbestos a 'landmine'

PLASTERBOARD will be used to encase potentially deadly asbestos in more than 4000 earthquake-damaged Christchurch homes due for repair.

Canterbury District Health Board medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey says the Earthquake Commission (EQC) decision not to remove the asbestos creates a "landmine".

Christchurch-based Labour MP Ruth Dyson, in a statement on Wednesday, said the asbestos looked set to create a potentially fatal legacy, akin to the trail of events which culminated in the huge loss of life with the CTV building collapse in 2011.

Leaving asbestos in houses contravened EQC's own guidelines, she said.

It was also unfair that home owners could not decide to have the asbestos removed, and future owners could be unaware of the asbestos.

"This is obviously about saving money, but at what cost? It is risking lives. The practice must stop."

Ms Dyson said the matter needed an urgent response from the government.

But a spokesman for Duty Minister Anne Tolley said it was an operational matter for EQC, and the minister would not comment.

Dr Humphrey told The Press the encasement practice is a serious health risk, and homeowners selling their house could try to hide the presence of the now discredited building material.

"We have an opportunity to make sure houses are safe. They should just take it all out.

"It is a landmine sitting there which we won't know about."

Prolonged, chronic exposure to disturbed asbestos can cause various lung diseases, including cancer, but can take decades to develop.

But EQC home repair program manager Reid Stiven said encasing followed health guidelines.

Asbestos ceilings were encased only when they were not damaged or deteriorating, he said.

"Enclosing is a reliable method for ensuring asbestos is safely contained," he told The Press.

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Vic bushfire still out of control

A LARGE bushfire in Victoria's southwest is expected to continue burning out of control through Wednesday as the state positions firefighters near the border to help NSW in its fire battle.

A blaze at Kentbruck has burnt though 9000 hectares, and a westerly wind has forced the fire back on itself.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said southwesterly winds were expected later on Tuesday, which would push the blaze towards the Princes Highway close to Dartmoor.

The fire was not expected to hit Dartmoor directly, but the town was on the highest alert, he said.

"We don't believe this fire will be controlled today. This will reach into tomorrow due to the conditions in southwestern Victoria," Mr Lapsley told reporters.

He said northeastern Victoria was experiencing wind speeds of up to 60km/h and temperatures reaching the low 40s.

"It is serious fire weather in northern Victoria, it is very serious fire weather in southern NSW.

"Fires that do start will run hard, fast and be very difficult to control," he said.

He said Victorian fire crews would be positioned at Wodonga and Wangaratta to help respond to fires in southern NSW if required as well as blazes in northeastern Victoria, including Corryong.

Victorian fire crews were also expected to help fight a growing blaze between Cooma and Bega in NSW.

Mr Lapsley said the 64 Victorian firefighters who went to Tasmania on Sunday would return on Thursday and be replaced with a fresh contingent on Friday.

He said a small fire at Sunbury on the Calder Highway had been controlled by 30 fire crews.

An emergency alert was sent to 1400 people in the area, in Melbourne's northwest, via mobile phones and landlines.

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Constitutional fight looms over Chavez

A CONSTITUTIONAL fight over ailing President Hugo Chavez's status intensified with the government planning a massive show of support in the streets on the day he is supposed to be sworn in to a new term.

Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said that Chavez's medical condition has remained "stationary" since the latest complication from surgery was reported four days ago.

Chavez, who underwent his fourth round of cancer surgery in Havana nearly a month ago, is suffering suffering from a severe pulmonary infection that has resulted in a respiratory insufficiency.

The call for a rally January 10 outside the Miraflores presidential palace comes amid a stormy debate over whether Chavez and his current government can remain in office if he is too sick to take the oath of office.

The Catholic church waded into the controversy for the first time on Monday, with a warning that it would be "morally unacceptable" to override the constitution and that Chavez's prolonged absence had put the country's stability at risk.

But the leftist government and the conservative opposition brandished conflicting interpretations of the constitution, with Chavez's allies calling the president's swearing in a "formality" that can be fulfilled sometime after January 10.

"We rule out absolutely nothing," said National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello, when asked at a news conference if Chavez's return in time for the inauguration had been ruled out.

"But we're not going to get to the 10th and not know what we are going to do. We know what we're going to do," he said.

Part of the plan is to hold a huge pro-Chavez rally, with the participation of as yet unidentified foreign leaders, in a reminder of the 55 per cent support that won the leftist firebrand re-election to another six-year term October 7.

"All of Venezuela will come here in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, the people supporting our president -- the people supporting comandante Chavez -- in an overwhelming manner, the people in the street," said National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello.

The only foreign leader who has confirmed he will attend is Uruguay's President Jose Mujica, who was scheduled to arrive Thursday.

A key opposition leader, meanwhile, has called for street protests if the government pushes past January 10 without a swearing-in, raising the risks of confrontation.

"People should get ready to protest and rebel against what will be a failure to uphold the constitution," said Julio Borges, national co-ordinator of the opposition Justice First party.

Borges said the opposition will also go to "institutions, countries, embassies and organisations outside of the country to let them know that authorities are trying to twist the constitution due to an internal problem."

The government, however, gained support from Latin American heavyweight Brazil, which said a constitutional process was in place to assure continuity in the event Chavez is unable to be sworn in.

Marco Aurelio Garcia, a top adviser to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, met in Havana last week with the Venezuelan leaders and said he learned there was "constitutional cover" if Chavez fails to show in Caracas January 10.

Garcia said the process involved setting a 90 day period, renewable for another 90 days, for the Venezuelan leader's absence, after which a decision would be made on whether he is permanently incapacitated.

Under the constitution, new elections must be held within 30 days if the president dies or is permanently incapacitated either before he takes office or in the first four years of his six-year term.

The Venezuelan opposition argues that the constitution establishes January 10 as the end of the current presidential period, and a new one cannot begin until the president takes the oath of office.

Throughout his illness, which was first detected in June 2011, the 58-year-old Chavez has refused to relinquish the powers of the presidency, even when leaving for Cuba to undergo his fourth and most difficult round of cancer surgery.

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Sorry Possums, Dame Edna says goodbye

DAME Edna Everage is probably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today.

That is of course according to the fictitious character's official biography on her website.

With an illustrious career that began in 1955, the housewife from the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds is getting ready to say goodbye to touring in Australia, ending her Eat, Pray, Laugh tour in Perth in February.

Asked by a reporter how she was "finding" Perth so far, Dame Edna joked that the quality of questions from the media had not changed since 1955.

"I got on a plane and sure enough it landed here and so I found Perth," she joked with reporters on Tuesday.

Satirist, artist and comedian Barry Humphries created the Dame, along with several other memorable alter egos including Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, who also appear in the show.

However, Dame Edna told AAP she did not get along very well with Sir Les.

"I don't approve of him. But the public seem to like him and women like him to my amazement," she said.

"He has become a celebrity chef so members of the audience are invited to eat something he makes on stage.

"He is really Australia's answer to Nigella Lawson."

Asked if the food would be edible, Dame Edna replied: "We will see."

Dame Edna said wrapping up touring in Australia would be a bittersweet moment for her.

"I feel a little pang of nostalgia because I enjoy what I do so much and if I didn't enjoy it, you wouldn't," she said.

Just because she won't appear on stage anymore, doesn't mean the icon will disappear from the limelight.

Dame Edna said she wanted to try some more "serious acting" similar to her stint on Ally McBeal when she played Claire Otoms, a client of the show's law firm who later became a secretary there.

But the widow has ruled out remarrying and doesn't think she will become a religion in America as so many wanted.

"I didn't want that, I didn't want to be worshipped," she said with a smile.

The mother of three grown children said she would also focus more time on her charities including Friends of the Prostate.

"I pumped a fortune into the prostate," she said.

"I really made people aware of it."

Dame Edna said she promoted the charity by encouraging "nice ladies on street corners" to sell brooches in the shape of a prostate.

Not at any stage did Barry Humphries break from character, even after the official interview was over.

Like a true starlet, as this journalist left the room, Dame Edna's publicist was heard calling for make-up to touch up the Dame's face.

* Eat, Pray, Laugh final tour dates:

January 18-27 - Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide

February 1-8 - Crown Theatre, Perth

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$A stays higher after US jobs figures

THE Australian dollar is almost a third of a US cent higher after rallying during the offshore session on Friday night on the back of a solid US jobs report.

At 1700 AEDT on Monday, the local unit was trading at 104.72 US cents, up from 104.43 cents on Friday.

Since 0700 AEDT on Monday, the Australian dollar traded between 104.71 US cents and 105.13 cents.

US non-farm payrolls data, released on Friday, showed 155,000 jobs were added to the US economy in December, and the unemployment rate stayed steady at 7.8 per cent.

CMC Markets senior trader Tim Waterer said markets reacted positively to the figures, which helped the Australian dollar surge higher.

"The US jobs report on Friday wasn't a fantastic number but it came in close to expectations," he said.

"There were some positive signs there, the S&P 500 (in the US) and the Dow Jones index moved higher and that's what is keeping the Aussie dollar well supported."

Mr Waterer said the Australian dollar has a fairly circumspect start to the week after Friday's rally, trading in a fairly narrow range.

"It did have a nice run earlier in the session breaking through 105.00 US cents but it gave up some ground in the afternoon mainly because of some Asian equity market weakness," Mr Waterer said.

"That sapped the Asian market of a little bit of confidence and saw the Australian dollar come off the boil.

"All in all the Australian dollar remains well supported in light of a strong Wall Street finish last week but it looks like any significant moves are being reserved for when we get some key economic data over the coming days."

On Tuesday the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release trade figures for November and on Wednesday it will release retail spending data and job vacancies numbers, both for November.

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Peter Slipper to face charges

Former speaker Peter Slipper has been summonsed to face three charges in a Canberra court. Source: AAP

FORMER speaker Peter Slipper will face three charges in court after being summonsed by police who investigated allegations of travel fraud.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Monday summonsed the MP in relation to three offences of dishonestly causing a risk of a loss to the Commonwealth.

He will appear in Canberra Magistrates Court on February 15 where he will be formally charged.

A police statement on Monday did not say what the charges related to.

However, the summons follows claims made in April 2012 when Mr Slipper's former staffer James Ashby alleged the then-speaker had misused Cabcharge dockets by giving a sheaf of blank dockets to drivers.

Mr Slipper denied the allegation and Mr Ashby later withdrew it from his sexual harassment case.

Police finalised their investigation into the allegations of fraud in July and referred the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

A spokesman for Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the decision to issue the summons was made by the Australian Federal Police, an independent statutory office.

"The investigation and charging of any person is a matter for the law enforcement authorities - the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions," the spokesman told AAP on Monday.

He said defendants were entitled to the presumption of innocence.

"Prejudicial commentary must be avoided to ensure a fair trial," he said.

"This will be a matter for a court to decide."

Comment was being sought from Mr Slipper's office.

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Abbas orders use of 'State of Palestine'

The Palestinian president has ordered work to begin on new ID cards reading "State of Palestine". Source: AAP

PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas has given orders for work to begin on new passports, ID cards, driver's licences and stamps reading State of Palestine, official media say.

The decree, carried by the official WAFA news agency on Sunday, came after the Palestinians' successful bid late last year for non-member observer state status at the United Nations over intense Israeli and US opposition.

Abbas said the changed language on official documents would help strengthen the Palestinian state "on the ground and build its institutions ... and its sovereignty over the land".

Already last week, he ordered the foreign ministry and embassies around the world to begin using "State of Palestine" in official correspondence.

Previously, official documents issued by Abbas's government, including passports and other identification documents, had been labelled as issued by the Palestinian Authority, which he heads.

Israel has criticised the Palestinians for their successful bid for enhanced UN status, saying Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through bilateral talks with the Jewish state.

The Israeli foreign ministry declined to comment on the latest Palestinian move.

The Palestinians say the UN upgrade will strengthen their position in negotiations with Israel and is a complement to any future talks.

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Haiti officials renew Duvalier's passport

Haiti officials have reissued the expired passport of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. Source: AAP

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 5 AP - Haitian officials have renewed the diplomatic passport of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, his lawyer says.

Lawyer Reynold Georges said the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reissued the expired travel document for Duvalier last month as is customary for ex-presidents and former prime ministers.

"They have to, because he's an ex-president," Georges said by telephone on Saturday. "This is not something people should talk about. It's common practice."

Duvalier returned to Haiti in 2011 following 25 years in exile in France.

Upon his return, Haitian authorities opened an investigation into the human rights abuses associated with his 15-year rule. But the judge instead recommended that Duvalier be indicted for only financial crimes, and faces no more than five years if convicted.

The case is currently slogging its way through an appeals process, and a hearing is scheduled for January 24, Georges said.

"I can guarantee you we will win," he said.

Throughout the case, the 61-year-old Duvalier has been spotted driving himself and a longtime partner throughout Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, apparently in defiance of a house arrest that, Georges said, expired last year. The pair has also been widely seen dining at some of the more high-end restaurants in the country.

It doesn't seem that Duvalier has made use of the travel document.

Georges said Duvalier was recently supposed to visit Santo Domingo, the capital of the neighbouring Dominican Republic, but he wasn't sure if the trip went ahead.

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Oldest living US woman dies at 114

A 114-year-old woman who was the oldest living US citizen has died, her daughters say. Source: AAP

A 114-YEAR-OLD South Carolina woman who was the oldest living US citizen has died, two of her daughters say.

Mamie Rearden of Edgefield, who held the title as the country's oldest person for about two weeks, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Augusta, Georgia, said Sara Rearden and Janie Ruth Osborne on Saturday. They said their mother broke her hip after a fall about three weeks ago.

The Gerontology Research Group, which verifies age information for Guinness World Records, listed Mamie Rearden as the oldest living American after last month's passing of 115-year-old Dina Manfredini of Iowa.

Rearden was more than a year younger than the world's oldest person, 115-year-old Jiroemon Kimura of Japan.

"My mom was not president of the bank or anything, but she was very instrumental in raising a family and being a community person," said Sara Rearden, her youngest child.

"Everybody can't go be president of a bank or president of a college, but we feel just as proud of her in her role as housewife and particularly as mother and homemaker."

Mamie Rearden, who was married to her husband Oacy for 59 years until his death in 1979, raised 11 children, 10 of whom survive, Sara Rearden said. She lived in the family homestead with a son and a daughter on land that had been in the family since her father's accumulation of acreage made him one of the area's largest black landowners.

Her father sent her off to earn a teaching certificate at Bettis Academy on the far side of the county, and she would spend an entire day on a loaded wagon to reach the school along dirt roads, her daughter said. She taught for a few years.

In the mid-1960s at age 65, when some settled into retirement, she learned to drive a car for the first time and started volunteering for an Edgefield County program that had her driving to the end of remote rural roads to find children whose parents were keeping them home from school, Sara Rearden said.

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Search for bodies begins in Tas fires

Bushfires in southern Tasmania may have claimed a number of lives, police say. Source: AAP

AUTHORITIES will begin searching for bodies amid fears lives may have been lost in bushfires that have ravaged southern Tasmania.

More than 100 buildings have been destroyed by the fires, which continue to burn on the Tasman Peninsula and while there have been no confirmed deaths, police say they have fears for a number of people.

Acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said up to 100 people have not made contact with family or authorities by Sunday afternoon and the search for bodies has so far centred on destroyed properties in Dunalley, Boomer Bay and Marion Bay.

"It's not to say those people have necessarily come to harm, but we can't totally eliminate that until we have contact with those individuals," Mr Tilyard told reporters.

"But we have to brace ourselves for the fact we may locate one or more deceased people."

He said police teams were checking around eight properties an hour.

"At this stage we have not located any deceased people," he said on Sunday afternoon.

"There are a lot of premises that need to be checked. Until we've had the opportunity to check every one of those locations we won't be in a position to confirm there has been no deaths."

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) chief fire officer Mike Brown said crews were having trouble accessing parts of the Tasman Peninsula as they battled to bring the Forcett fire under control.

"There is still some problems getting fire vehicles into the Tasman Peninsula to work more on protecting properties and protecting assets," he said.

He said around 60,000 hectares have been burned out while another blaze of around the same size continues to burn out of control in remote areas of the southwest of the state.

While that blaze is not affecting any communities, Mr Brown said Parks and Wildlife were checking on its register for any bushwalkers who may be in the area.

He said there was no time frame on when the fires would be brought under control.

"Our predictions over the next week is that temperatures will warm up a bit," he said.

More than 1000 people have been evacuated from the peninsula to Hobart via boat, with the final ferryload of 180 people departing Nubeena for the capital early on Sunday morning.

Hundreds more have sought refuge with relatives and in evacuation centres across the region, including at the Port Arthur historic site.

Acting Premier Bryan Green has announced financial assistance saying hundreds of Tasmanians have been affected.

"This is a very harrowing time for many Tasmanians and our communities have more challenges to face in the weeks and months to come," he said in a statement on Sunday.

The threat posed to communities by the Forcett bushfire was downgraded to watch and act, but the blaze continues to burn out of control, and has already done massive damage throughout the peninsula.

The town of Dunalley was the worst hit, with around 65 homes and the town's school destroyed, while dozens more buildings were razed at Connellys Marsh, Eaglehawk Neck, Murdunna, Copping and Primrose Sands.

Mr Brown said a bushfire near Bicheno had destroyed between 10 and 15 homes, and burned around 7000 hectares.

The fire continues to burn out of control and the town's main access route, Coles Bay Road, was closed again after briefly reopening on Sunday morning.

Firefighters and support personnel have flown in from Victoria and NSW to assist the fight.

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