UN pushes for war crimes probe in Syria

A senior UN official has called for a war crimes investigation in Syria. Source: AAP

FIERCE clashes raged on Friday in a majority Kurdish city of Syria and near Damascus, as UN rights chief Navi Pillay piled pressure on the Security Council to probe war crimes in the 22-month conflict.

The violence claimed dozens of new lives on Friday, including an Al-Jazeera reporter, the second journalist killed by snipers in 24 hours, the pan-Arab news channel said.

Mohammed Hourani "was shot dead by a regime sniper", Al-Jazeera said, a day after French journalist Yves Debay was gunned down in the northern city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hourani was covering clashes in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, said the network.

Farther north near Damascus, regime warplanes bombarded rebel strongholds including Daraya, while the army dispatched reinforcements to the town to reclaim it from the insurgents, activists said.

A building housing a field hospital was hit and residents struggled to pull people from the rubble, activist Abu Kinan told AFP via the Internet. He was unable to give a casualty toll.

But the Britain-based Observatory said at least 119 people were killed in violence across Syria on Friday, including 93 civilians.

Fighting also raged in the majority Kurdish northern city of Ras al-Ain, on the Turkish border, with jihadists battling Kurdish militiamen for control of the district, activists and residents said.

They said fighters from the radical Al-Nusra Front - listed by the United States as a "terrorist" organisation - and Ghuraba al-Sham groups launched an assault on Thursday, crossing into the city from Turkey with three tanks.

"The Kurdish fighters seized one of the tanks," on Friday, an activist identifying himself as Havidar told AFP via the Internet.

Syria's Kurds are divided over the conflict with some supporting Assad's regime, others backing the uprising and others striving to stay neutral.

Activists say they fear Turkey, which backs the revolt against Assad, may be using jihadists in Syria to fight its own battle against its own Kurdish minority.

The relentless violence was at the centre of a meeting Friday at the divided Security Council, where human rights commissioner Pillay gave a briefing on the deteriorating events tearing apart Syria.

Pillay called for an International Criminal Court war crimes investigation in Syria, adding her voice to 58 countries who petitioned the body for a such a probe to be launched.

"I have urged the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court for investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity on the part of all parties engaged in this conflict," Pillay said.

She said victims in Syria "see the situation as the United Nations not carrying out its responsibility to protect victims."

Russia and China have used their power as permanent Security Council members to block three resolutions which would have threatened sanctions against Assad and in some cases a war crimes case.

Also on Friday, protesters flooded streets of flashpoint areas across Syria, renewing their calls for the fall of Assad's regime and paying tribute to 87 victims of a deadly bombing in Aleppo university this week.

Syria's spiralling conflict has killed more than 60,000 people in less than two years, says the United Nations. The Observatory has documented 48,000 dead, most of them civilians.

According to an AFP count and the Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders, at least 20 professional journalists have been killed in Syria where more than 40 citizen journalists have also died.

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White House, Pentagon 'disagree over Mali'

THE White House and the US Defense Department are at odds over the danger posed by radical Islamic groups that have taken control of parts of Mali and are stirring up trouble in other parts of West Africa, The Los Angeles Times has reported.

Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the events in Mali and neighbouring Algeria have prompted sharp debate within President Barack Obama's administration over whether these radicals present enough of a risk to warrant a military response.

Islamist militants associated with al-Qaeda have seized control of a significant part of northern Mali, prompting France to launch a military operation there a week ago to prevent the rebels from capturing Bamako, the capital.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris had increased its troop numbers by 400 in a single day - from 1400 on Thursday to 1800 on Friday - "and the progress on our presence on the ground continues."

France plans to deploy 2500 soldiers in the country.

Some top Pentagon officials and military officers warn that without more aggressive US action, Mali could become a haven for extremists, akin to Afghanistan before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the report said.

But many top White House aides say it is unclear whether the Mali insurgents, who include members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), could threaten the United States, the paper said.

Those aides worry about being drawn into a messy conflict against an elusive enemy in Mali just as US forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan.

"No one here is questioning the threat that AQIM poses regionally," the paper quoted one administration official as saying.

"The question we all need to ask is, what threat do they pose to the US homeland? The answer so far has been none."

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Bull shark gets into swimming enclosure

A LARGE shark managed to get into a swimming enclosure near a popular picnic spot on Macleay Island, off the southeast Queensland coast.

Police were alerted to the bull shark in the swimming area, which is surrounded by a net, at Macleay Island in Moreton Bay about 7.30am (AEST) on Saturday.

The shark stayed in the enclosure near the picnic spot Pats Park for some time before swimming out about 11am (AEST), according to police on the island.

"The shark net there isn't real flash. It doesn't quite go down to the sea bed so anything can slide in underneath," Sergeant Dave McDougall told AAP.

He said it was the first time he heard of a shark swimming into the section.

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Japan firm confirms safety of three staff

JAPANESE plant builder JGC says it has confirmed the safety of three of its Japanese staff and one Philippine employee in Algeria, with the whereabouts of 74 other staff of various nationalities unknown.

The company's top spokesman told reporters the firm had been able to speak via telephone with three of its 17 Japanese workers at In Amenas gas plant in Algeria.

Of 78 employees working for JGC or its affiliates there, 61 were non-Japanese. The safety of one Philippine worker was confirmed on Friday, said Takeshi Endo, the company spokesman.

Hundreds of hostages, including foreigners, were being held in the In Amenas site after Islamist militants seized the gas plant on Wednesday purportedly to avenge a French-led offensive in Mali.

It was not immediately clear if the four whose safety had been confirmed were hostages or not, but public broadcaster NHK reported they were not together.

"So far, we have been able to communicate with three of 17 Japanese" staff via telephone, Endo told reporters.

"There was a rescue effort by Algeria's military. Perhaps there was (an) intense military action. We can only imagine that our staff were placed in an extremely confusing situation," he said.

Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Japan did not support the use of force.

"Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe directly conveyed his strong concern to the Algerian prime minister about this case and asked him to refrain from any action leading to the endangerment of people's lives," Suga told reporters.

"We have acted based on the principle of putting top priority on the lives of people. (But) there are some news reports about casualties. In that sense, we consider this Algerian army action to be regrettable."

The comments come as a piecemeal picture continued to emerge from Algeria's desert, where the Algerian military launched a ground and air assault on a gas complex where the hostages were taken by Islamist gunmen.

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Aust shares close higher

THE Australian market has closed higher propelled by climbing Rio Tinto shares after its chief Tom Albanese resigned in the wake of the miner's $US14 billion worth of write downs.

At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 14.5 points, or 0.31 per cent at 4,771.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 15 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 4,794.7.

On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 19 points higher at 4,740, with 24,246 contracts traded.

Lonsec private client adviser Michael Heffernan said the Australian market's momentum had been led by Rio Tinto which posted strong gains after Mr Albanese announced his resignation.

"Australian shares have really been propelled by Rio," he said.

"I think someone has to take responsibility for what they've done over the last few years. You just can't set fire to multiples of billions of dollars and expect things to go on as they have before."

Rio Tinto shares closed 2.71 per cent, or $1.75, higher to $66.35.

The other big miners also closed in the black.

BHP Billiton gained 16 cents to $36.50 and Fortescue added 14 cents to $4.52,

The Australian market was off to a good start with strong leads from Wall Street and Europe as well as the Rio announcement.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday closed 84.79 points (0.63 per cent) higher at 13,596.02.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies rose 0.46 per cent to 6,132.36 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.58 per cent to 7,735.46 points.

National turnover was 1.577 billion shares worth $3.526 billion, with 543 stocks up, 408 down and 374 unchanged.

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Melbourne Zoo's elephant family grows

IT'S said parenting is a labour of love and for Melbourne's newest elephant mum, the old adage has already proven true.

After a 22-month pregnancy, Melbourne Zoo's Asian elephant Num-Oi gave birth to a male calf at 2.50am (AEDT) on Thursday.

But true to form, the labour was a lengthy process, with the calf taking about seven hours to fully emerge.

Weary zoo staff said Num-Oi had already honed her mothering skills before the birth by nicking food from the other elephants to make sure her baby was born healthy and strong.

It's this preparation that made the eventual birth such a drawn-out process with the 131kg calf a bit too big to move easily down the birth canal.

Elephant curator Jan Steele said the newborn - the third calf to be born at Melbourne Zoo - would be a welcome addition to the expanding elephant brood.

"Today is incredibly significant because this is a continuing evolution of our family group, and this allows us to keep progressing (them) so we can have a socially functioning group," she said.

With mother and calf currently bonding in private, zoo crowds had to make do by watching father Bong Su take a dip in the pool to beat the summer heat.

It's the virile bull elephant's fourth offspring, after Melbourne Zoo's Mali and Ongard and Taronga Zoo's Pathi Harn.

The interstate two-year-old, nicknamed Mr Shuffles as a newborn for his stilted walking manner, nearly crushed his keeper Lucy Melo to death after an apparent rush of testosterone last year.

Melbourne Zoo director Kevin Tanner said there would be a naming competition for the calf, as was done for the last newborn Mali.

And there must be something in the water at the elephant enclosure - another female is expecting already.

It will be Dokkoon's second calf after Mali in 2010, and no doubt make the play pen that little bit more crowded.

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Monsoon to spell end to heatwave

IT'S going to get worse before it gets better but Australia's heatwave is set to subside with the overdue arrival on the monsoon season in the top end.

Friday is forecast to bring extreme temperatures, strong winds and dangerous fire conditions ahead of a much anticipated cool change on the weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology weather services assistant director Alasdair Hainsworth said the extended period of extreme heat affecting large parts of the nation for the last fortnight will start to ease over the weekend.

"Unfortunately high temperatures reaching into the mid-40s over eastern Western Australia, South Australia, western Queensland and large parts of Victoria and NSW are expected today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday)," Mr Hainsworth said.

"This extreme heat, combined with strong, gusty winds ahead of the cool change will prove particularly challenging for firefighters who have been battling blazes for two weeks now."

Mr Hainsworth said the late onset of the monsoon season had allowed hot air to build up in northern Australia.

But there is relief in sight with some cloud cover and rain expected in northern Australia on the weekend.

This will eventually flush out the hot air mass that has built up in the nation's interior, causing sweltering conditions and risky fire conditions across NSW and Victoria.

Northern Territory climate services manager Joel Lisonbee said all indicators were pointed to the arrival of the well overdue Australian monsoon.

"This year the monsoon onset is about three weeks later than we would usually expect to see it, although this is not a first," Mr Lisonbee said.

"During the summer, or northern wet season, of 1972-1973 and 1992-1993 we also saw a late onset of the monsoon, in the last week of January."

A strong, stationary mid-level ridge over eastern Australia had prevented the monsoon trough from moving onshore and contributed to the heatwave conditions.

"As the monsoon trough moves south over the continent the hot, dry air mass will be gradually replaced by a moist, tropical air mass - bringing welcome relief in the form of cloud cover, rainfall and lower temperatures across central Australia," Mr Lisonbee said.

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Bushfire threatens homes in Rockingham

A BUSHFIRE is threatening homes in the east part of Rockingham, south of Perth, with authorities issuing a watch and act alert.

The alert has been issued for people in an area bounded by Day Road, Dixon Road and Mandurah Road in the eastern part of Hillman in Rockingham.

The 12-hectare fire, which began around 10.30am (WST) on Thursday and which is being treated as suspicious, is burning in an area bounded by Dixon Road, Darile Road and Lawson Road and is burning towards Dixon Road.

The Department of Fire and Emergency services (DFES) said there was a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching the area and conditions were changing.

Residents needed to leave or get ready to actively defend their homes, DFES said.

The bushfire is said to be moving slowly in a north-easterly direction towards Dixon Road, and is contained and not controlled.

Firefighters from Hope Valley, Rockingham and Success Fire Rescue Service and volunteer firefighters from Baldivis, Kwinana South, Mandogalup Bushfire Brigades and Rockingham Volunteer Fire Rescue Service were all on the scene.

Three helitacs and one air-intelligence helicopter are assisting ground crews and protecting homes.

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Federal gun intervention 'a bid for votes'

THE federal government's move to intervene in gun crime and violence in the states has been dismissed as a grab for votes by the NSW government.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard told a cybersafety launch in Sydney on Wednesday she has asked Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare to prepare some options for cabinet to address the issue.

Her comments follow two violent incidents in recent days including racial conflict south of Brisbane and Tuesday's fatal shooting of a bikie gang member in Sydney.

Acting NSW Premier Andrew Stoner said Prime Minister Julia Gillard's "out of the blue" comments were designed to seek electoral favour with western Sydney.

"This is merely a stunt by Julia Gillard in order to win some sort of support in western Sydney," he told media in Sydney on Wednesday.

"They know that western Sydney is a key battleground for the federal election later this year."

The majority of crime in western Sydney was carried out by organised gangs with illegal firearms, a responsibility that constitutionally already fell on the federal government, Mr Stoner said.

He added the NSW government had, 18 months earlier, urged the federal government to improve customs operations to "stop the flood of illegal guns into NSW", and introduce national bikie laws in an attempt to curb gun violence in NSW.

The state government had not received a response, he said.

Mr Stoner said the failed Pink Batts strategy and the Building Education Revolution were proof that the federal government was not equipped to deal with state-based issues.

"The last time the federal Labor government got involved in matters that were primarily state responsibilities ... they couldn't manage it," he said.

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Abuse inquiry to examine confidential docs

THE head of the royal commission into child sex abuse says he will not hesitate to investigate alleged assaults that are the subject of confidentiality agreements.

Speaking alongside his five co-commissioners in Sydney, Justice Peter McClellan told reporters non-disclosure agreements would not stop the commission inquiring into institutional responses to child sex assault.

"The commission is aware that there has been considerable public discussion about the powers the commission has to inquire into matters which are the subject of confidential agreements," Justice McClellan told reporters.

"We wish to emphasise that under the Royal Commission Act the commission has powers to compel the production of evidence, including documents.

"We will not hesitate in an appropriate case to exercise those powers.

Justice McClellan said the task facing the commission was large and complex and he could not put a timeframe on when public hearings would commence.

"Our task is complex and it will take significant time," he said.

He said the commission would be based in Sydney but that the six commissioners would sit in different parts of the country.

He also reminded those present that the commission was not a prosecuting body nor was it able to award compensation to victims.

"Our investigative processes will be utilised to receive and consider what we expect to be accounts by individuals that tell of their experience," he said.

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Tas fire remains a threat as mercury rises

A BUSHFIRE that destroyed homes in southern Tasmania is still causing concern for authorities as temperatures again heat up.

Areas around Hobart are predicted to reach above 30C on Thursday, with hot and dry conditions forecast for most of south eastern Australia.

Fire crews have spent the past week backburning and building containment lines around several major bushfires across the state, especially the Forcett fire that tore through areas east of Hobart almost two weeks ago.

More than 130 homes and buildings were lost at Dunalley and the Tasman Peninsula on January 4, when southern Tasmania experienced its hottest day on record.

Tasmania Fire Service spokesman John Holloway said fire conditions for Thursday were not likely to be as bad as initially predicted.

"We were expecting to have much more dangerous weather, but it is still quite hot," he told AAP.

"The wind is in a different direction, so we've got a bit of a reprieve, but we're still asking people to keep vigilant."

However, Mr Holloway said the Forcett blaze, which is not yet fully contained, could again cause problems.

"People around Eaglehawk Neck and Doo Town are the ones we are most concerned about but that risk appears to be reducing a little," he said.

The state's Bushfire Recovery Taskforce held its first formal meeting on Wednesday, after the state and federal governments announced grants for the massive clean-up and rebuild.

Up to $25,000 will be available to eligible small businesses, not-for-profit organisations and primary producers in the Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan-Spring Bay local government areas.

Energy supplier Aurora said around 500 customers remained without power in Tasmania's southeast as a result of the January 4 fires.

The Insurance Council of Australia says insured private losses from the fires have reached $69 million.

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Vic police urge public to dob in arsonists

POLICE are urging Victorians to dob in people they suspect could be arsonists, with temperatures forecast to nudge 40C later this week.

Crime Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said there were 195 suspicious grass and scrub fires across Victoria last month alone.

He said police have charged about 29 people with arson since the start of December and a number of investigations were ongoing following a spate of grassfires across the state.

"We are asking for the community to be vigilant," Mr Fontana told reporters on Tuesday.

"If they see people acting suspiciously or know something to please contact police."

Last week, four fires were lit in an industrial area at Sunshine in Melbourne's northwest, as well as a spate of deliberately lit blazes in nearby Keilor East.

A five-hectare grassfire in Wallan, about 60km north of Melbourne, took fire crews 2.5 hours to control last Wednesday and was also believed to have been deliberately lit.

Mr Fontana said a grassfire at Little River, southwest of Melbourne, on Monday was being treated as suspicious, as well as several fires in the Lara area over recent weeks.

He said it was unknown at this stage whether several grassfires along the banks of the Barwon River in the Geelong area on Tuesday were deliberately lit.

Mr Fontana said fires had also started due to people being careless on extreme fire risk days and doing things such as driving cars through long grass or using machinery.

Police would scale up patrols on Thursday, which is expected to reach 39C in Melbourne and higher temperatures in other parts of the state, he said.

Mr Fontana said police were using various forms of surveillance to track known arsonists and would focus on arson hot spots.

Premier Ted Baillieu said the police had collected a significant amount of information on arsonists.

"Obviously anybody who lights a fire at any time which endangers life is not only foolish, they're reckless and they are committing a very serious crime," he told reporters.

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Aust shares close slightly lower

THE Australian market closed marginally lower after investors decided to reap their profits later in the day.

At the close on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 3.1 points, or 0.07 per cent at 4,716.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 2.7 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 4,743.

On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was three points lower at 4,692, with 20,823 contracts traded.

Paterson's Securities associate director Mark Goulopoulos said the Australian market closed slightly lower after a late session of profit taking.

"We've have generally a pretty positive start to the year so we had a bit of profit taking this afternoon," he said.

"We were down as much as 10 or 12 points mid afternoon until the Rio production report came out which was a solid one and the market liked it and we closed off just three points down."

Mining giant Rio Tinto announced that it had lifted global iron ore production by four per cent to a record 253 million tonnes in 2012.

The company still closed nine cents down at $65.90 but recovered from an intraday low of $65.33.

BHP Billiton closed four cents lower at $36.53 and Fortescue lost nine cents to $4.64.

Beleaguered retailer Billabong's shares surged 15.98 per cent to 98 cents after it announced it had a second takeover offer, this time from from VF Corporation, owner of The North Face and Timberland brands, and US private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners.

The four major banks had a mixed day of trading.

ANZ finished six cents up at $25.27 and Commonwealth Bank jumped 12 cents to $61.75.

However, Westpac tumbled 14 cents to $26.36 and National Australia Bank lost three cents to $25.71.

The spot price of Sydney gold closed at $US1,671.63 up $US4.83 from Monday's close of $US1,666.80.

National turnover was 1.506 billion shares worth $3.975 billion, with 464 stocks up, 505 down and 345 unchanged.

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Blind Russian girl criticises adoption ban

A blind teenager's criticism of Russia's ban on adoption by Americans has attracted media attention. Source: AAP

A BLIND Russian high schooler's impassioned criticism of the ban on adoption by Americans has added a new and compelling voice to the chorus of condemnation of the law.

Since her January 6 blog entry complaining about the ban, written as an open letter to President Vladimir Putin, Natasha Pisarenko has attracted the wide attention of Russian media and, she fears, drawn the disapproving notice of authorities.

The adoption ban, which went into effect on January 1, is one of the most controversial moves of the first year of Putin's third term in the Kremlin. It was enacted as part of a bill retaliating for a new US law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators.

But critics say it punishes innocent children by denying them a chance of escaping Russia's often-dismal orphanages. Around 20,000 people held a protest march against the measure in Moscow on Sunday that included banners likening Putin to King Herod, whom the Bible says ordered the massacre of Jewish male infants.

Pisarenko wrote sarcastically that by signing the law, Putin was "saving children from American evil" and said that Russians rarely adopt disabled children because the country's medical system is backward and can't take care of them.

"They die because Russia doesn't have modern medicine," she wrote.

Pisarenko, blind from birth, writes that she has painful personal experience with Russia's medical inadequacy. She says that although her father detected her blindness within days of her birth, Russian doctors were unable to diagnose it for months. But, she says, she received precise diagnosis and the hope of treatment from German and American doctors.

"For Russian doctors, I am a child with an illness of unknown etiology ... but in Germany and America I am a patient whose sight the doctors are trying to restore," she wrote.

Concluding her post, Pisarenko called on Putin to adopt five or 10 children with serious congenital disorders.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by a local radio station as saying: "Of course we will pay attention to such a statement.

"This girl is well known to us, she's known by the regional authorities and by the health ministry," he said.

In a later post, she expressed worry that her letter would cause her parents to be called in for questioning by regional authorities.

"Probably, I will regret that I wrote what I think," Natasha wrote.

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Aust bonds close firmer

AUSTRALIAN bond futures prices are higher, broadly holding onto gains achieved during weekend offshore trading.

At 1630 AEDT on Monday, the March 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.560 (implying a yield of 3.440 per cent), up from Friday's local close of 96.545 (3.455 per cent).

The March three-year bond futures contract was at 97.160 (implying a yield of 2.840 per cent), up from 97.140 (2.860 per cent) previously.

Australian bond futures contract prices rose in weekend offshore trading, moving in line with a rally in the US Treasury market particularly longer dated bonds.

During the local session, bonds were supported by weak economic data which showed job advertisements were down 3.8 per cent in November and the number of new housing loans slid 0.5 per cent in the month.

"Whilst the ranges have been relatively narrow, I think overall the market has found just a little bit of support today on the data," ANZ head of interest rate research Tony Morriss said.

However, a more positive picture out of Europe, coupled with upbeat economic data out of China in recent days, kept demand for fixed-income assets "relatively muted", Mr Morriss said.

Also, some investors had chosen to remain on the sidelines ahead of Australian jobs figures due out later in the week and inflation data out next week.

"I see limited scope for our market to rally too much before labour force on Thursday," Mr Morriss said.

Also, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was due to speak at the University of Michigan.

The event is scheduled to start at 0800 Tuesday morning (AEDT), with market players looking for more clarity on the US central bank's intentions regarding its quantitative easing program.

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Argo, Les Miserables win big at Globes

BEN Affleck's Iran hostage drama Argo and musical Les Miserables were the big winners Sunday at the Golden Globes, while Steven Spielberg's presidential drama Lincoln won only one major award.

Affleck won the top prizes of best dramatic film and director for his movie about a CIA mission to rescue diplomats caught in Tehran in 1979, while Les Miserables won best film, actor and supporting actress in the musical/comedy category.

Daniel Day-Lewis won best drama actor for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln at the 70th annual Globe awards, but that was the only top award for Spielberg's film, which had topped the nominations tally with seven.

Jessica Chastain meanwhile won best actress in a drama, beating Naomi Watts, for her role as a relentless CIA agent tracking down Osama bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, while Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained won two key prizes.

Affleck, who also stars as a CIA agent who rescues six US diplomats who took refuge in the Canadian ambassador's residence in Tehran in 1979, paid tribute to real-life agents and diplomats, including the character he was playing.

"Really this award is about Tony Mendez. You saw him. He's an American hero. He represents the (US) foreign service making sacrifices every day for Americans. Our troops overseas. I want to thank them very much," he said.

The movie has been accused of taking liberties with history, notably by exaggerating the role of the CIA in getting the US diplomats out, at the expense of the Canadian envoy in Tehran at the time.

Les Miserables, a musical adapted from the book by Victor Hugo, won best musical/comedy movie, while Aussie actor Hugh Jackman won best actor for his all-singing role, and co-star Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress.

In his acceptance speech, Jackman - praised for his vocal skills in the movie - revealed that he almost gave up the starring role of Jean Valjean only a few weeks before it started filming, after "humiliating" rehearsals.

"My wife talked me off the cliff like she talks me (down) most days," he said of Deborra-Lee Furness.

Hathaway won for her portrayal of the young mother and prostitute Fantine, beating fellow nominees Amy Adams in The Master, Sally Field in Lincoln, Helen Hunt in The Sessions and Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy.

Day-Lewis, who had been widely expected to win for his turn in Lincoln, had to make do with being the only big winner for Spielberg's movie - which has also topped nominations for next month's Oscars.

"My fellow nominees, boys and girls, such beautiful performances this year. I'm very proud to be one amongst you," said Day-Lewis, paying tribute to Spielberg as a "humble master with a quicksilver imagination" and a friend.

Tarantino's blood-soaked spaghetti Western tribute Django Unchained meanwhile won two Globes: best supporting actor for Austrian Christoph Waltz, and best screenplay for the Pulp Fiction director himself.

"This is a damn surprise, and I'm happy to be surprised," said Tarantino, whose film tells the story of a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a dentist-turned-bounty-hunter a few years before the American Civil War.

British songstress Adele, making her first red carpet appearance since giving birth in October, won best song for the theme tune from James Bond blockbuster Skyfall, pipping Keith Urban who was nominated for For You in Act of Valor.

Best foreign language film went to Austrian Michael Haneke's Amour, which won the Cannes Palme d'Or last year.

Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence won best musical/comedy actress for rom-com Silver Linings Playbook, while best original score went to Taiwanese-born Ang Lee's Life of Pi.

Scottish-themed Brave won best animated feature.

On the small screen meanwhile, terrorism-themed thriller Homeland and the quirky Brooklyn hipster comedy Girls took top television honours.

Homeland, which wrapped its second season in the US last month, won for best dramatic series, as well as best actress and best actor for its two stars, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis.

Other TV winners included the television movie Game Change and its star Julianne Moore, who took best actress in a dramatic series for her role as renegade Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile Nicole Kidman who was up for two Golden Globes - for her Supporting Performance in The Paperboy and the TV movie Hemingway & Gellhorn - bombed out of both.

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Illegal drugs found in stone dragon

CUSTOMS officers have made a series of seizures of the precursor drug ContacNT, the latest haul stashed inside a stone dragon imported from China.

The two-kilogram discovery last Thursday followed a 5.5-kilogram find in the handles of skipping ropes from Hong Kong earlier that day.

On Wednesday authorities also found 4.6 kilos of ContacNT in the handles of make-up brushes in an air cargo consignment from Singapore.

Customs and Border Protection National Manager Cargo Operations Jagtej Singh says officers are committed to stopping ContacNT being smuggled into the country.

"We use intelligence and a range of detection tools to inspect high-risk consignments," he said in a statement on Monday.

"Regardless of the concealment method, we have the tools, technology and resources to detect and seize illegal goods."

ContacNT is a cold and flu medication containing high levels of pseudoephedrine, which is used to make methamphetamine and other types of amphetamines.

Anyone caught importing it illegally could face a fine of up to $170,000 and/or five years in jail.

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Banks need to pass on savings, says ARA

Interest rate cuts are lagging in Australia, according to the Australian Retailers Association. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S peak retail industry body says the retail sector is waiting for the big banks to cut interest rates, passing on additional cuts to reflect lower borrowing costs.

Director of the Australian Retailers Association, Russell Zimmerman, said the savings should be passed on before the Reserve Bank meets in February to make its first decision on interest rates for 2013.

Mr Zimmerman said compared to equivalent performing economies in Canada, New Zealand and Norway, which have cut interest rates to one per cent, 2.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively, Australia was lagging with an official rate of three per cent.

"Since the start of the GFC (global financial crisis) Australia's banks have not passed on full interest rate cuts because of internationally high borrowing costs, with clear evidence these costs are lowering, consumer and business borrowing interest rates must be lowered," Mr Zimmerman said in a statement on Sunday.

He said poor retail sales figures for November 2012 indicated a stalling economy, and it was critical both the RBA and banks play their role in stimulating the economy.

"While Christmas sales initially appear to have been a little better than the previous year we know some categories were down and sales growth was still well below historic levels," Mr Zimmerman said.

"Australia is facing significant economic headwinds and the need for serious economic reform from whoever wins this year's federal election, in the meantime the big banks and RBA need to play their role in supporting the economy."

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New fire tax in train for NSW

A new fire tax on NSW homeowners will be fairer for funding the state's fire and emergency services. Source: AAP

A NEW fire tax on NSW homeowners will be fairer than the current system which exempts people without home insurance from helping fund fire and emergency services, the state government says.

The proposed blanket tax could see all homeowners and landowners billed to fund the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), NSW Fire & Rescue and the State Emergency Services (SES).

But volunteer firefighters are gearing up to fight the proposed tax which they say would see funding for emergency services fall as community donations dried up.

The government has not decided on a funding formula yet but under one proposed model, a household with a land value of $250,000 would be charged $267 annually.

The government's funding overhaul would replace the current system under which households that have taken out insurance pay a levy added onto their insurance premium.

Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher said on Sunday it was unfair that people who did not have home insurance were not contributing to the funding of the RFS, the states's fire brigade and the SES.

"We haven't committed to an amount, it's the process and the principle in terms of a levy that people within government believe is worthwhile," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Gallacher said the government had yet to finalise its decision on the proposed levy but extensive consultations had been held and many submissions received, which would be gone through early this year.

He said there would be a chance for public discussion on the proposal.

All other states had moved towards or had introduced such levies, the minister said.

NSW Fire Service Association President Brian McKinley says a tax-based funding system will lead to a reduced firefighting budget because people will stop donating when they think they are already paying through a tax.

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Armed, barefoot man on the run in Qld town

A BAREFOOTED armed man is on the run in a southeast Queensland town, and should not be approached, police say.

Officers wanted to speak to the man about in incident in Kingaroy on Sunday morning.

But as they arrived at a home in the town, where he was staying, they saw him running away.

The man wasn't wearing any shoes and police believe him to be armed.

People who see him are being urged not to approach and to contact police.

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