Blizzard brings US northeast to a halt

PLANES, cars and trains came to a standstill across the densely populated US Northeast on Friday in the face of a blizzard raging from New York to Boston.

The storm was forecast to bring the heaviest snow so far this winter along the New England coast, threatening power and transport links for tens of millions of people.

By late on Friday, New York, one of the world's busiest air travel hubs, was cut off from the skies as snow and wind led airlines to suspend all operations at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and John F. Kennedy International airports.

In Massachusetts alone, more than 255,000 homes and businesses were without power by late evening and the number was expected to rise, the Boston Herald reported.

A gust of 119km/h was reported on Nantucket Island.

LaGuardia general manager Tom Bosco told NY1 television that the airport was "battling" the storm and would strive to remain open even after the airlines shut down for the night.

He estimated that if 30 centimetres of snow fell - the worst case scenario forecast for New York - flights would resume "probably by mid-morning."

The heaviest impact of the storm was expected overnight in and around Boston, and Governor Deval Patrick temporarily ordered all normal traffic off Massachusetts roads, with the threat of up to a year in jail for violators.

"There are a number of exemptions for... emergency workers and the like. Please exercise caution and use common sense," Patrick said at his emergency center in Framingham.

In Connecticut, Governor Dannel Malloy issued a "ban on motor vehicle travel on limited access highways" to free up emergency services traffic.

Rhode Island, where some of America's most exclusive summer homes are located, also instituted driving restrictions.

In addition to the road and air snarl-ups, the rail service Amtrak said trains from New York northbound and also southbound to the capital Washington were being suspended.

The storm came a little over three months after Hurricane Sandy devastated swathes of New York and New Jersey, killing 132 people and causing damage worth some $US71.4 billion ($A69.81 billion).

Snow began in light flurries across the region early Friday, but thickened and by Saturday was expected to leave depths of between half and one foot in New York and as much as two feet in Boston.

"In addition to the heavy snowfall, wind gusts of up to hurricane force are possible, especially near the coast," the National Weather Service warned. "This will result in blizzard conditions with drifting and blowing snow."

Travel at night "will be extremely hazardous, if not impossible," it added.

Among the more glamorous victims of the travel upsets was designer Marc Jacobs, who said he had to reschedule his two shows at New York Fashion Week due to storm-related "production problems."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who came under withering criticism for the city's flat-footed response to a blizzard in 2010, said residents should stock up with vital supplies and prepare for the worst.

"Stay off the city streets, stay out of your cars," he said at a news conference. "Staying off the streets will make it easier for city workers to clear the streets of snow."

New York's four zoos also announced they were closing for the duration of the storm.

"You can't take nature too lightly. Hopefully it won't be anything too drastic," Bloomberg said.

The good news was that the storm's peak was due as the weekend began, meaning far fewer people would be on the roads. Forecasters said the system should blow through on Saturday, with milder temperatures to follow.

Locals were comparing the coming storm to the ferocious blizzard of 1978, which killed 100 people and buried Boston in more than 69 centimetres of snow and Providence, Rhode Island in nearly 28 inches.

During that storm, people were forced to abandon cars stuck on highways and made their way around Boston on cross country skis and snowshoes.

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Mexico's vigilantes turn over 11 captors

Farmers in the mountains of Mexico are holding gang violence suspects in improvised jails. Source: AAP

FARMERS who have taken up arms against drug-gang violence in the mountains of southern Mexico have turned over 11 of 53 people they've been holding in improvised jails.

Bruno Placido, leader of the self-styled "self-defence" movement, described the 11 as the detainees accused by local residents of the most serious crimes, such as murder, kidnapping and extortion. He said they were turned over to state and federal officials.

The authorities will presumably weigh bringing charges against the detainees, but given that the suspects were taken and held with no legal authority, in some cases for weeks, any prosecution might prove difficult.

The government of the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, where the vigilante movement sprang up after a series of kidnappings in early January, said that Placido's group had agreed to turn over "the first 20" detainees, implying that more would eventually follow.

But Placido said an assembly of residents in the township of Ayutla would determine the next step.

The movement has spread to about a dozen towns, with farmers wearing ski masks and bearing old hunting rifles and shotguns setting up roadside checkpoints to ask passing motorists for identification. The IDs are checked against handwritten lists of "bad guys" that the movement wanted to detain.

At an assembly of townspeople last week, the 53 detainees were paraded before local residents and plans were announced to bring charges against them and try them before a similar town assembly, with no clear provisions for what kind of defence they would be allowed to mount.

That drew sharp criticism from human rights officials and activists, who said the farmers movement was taking the law into its own hands and could ride roughshod over the rights of the accused.

The situation grew more complicated when local media said the vigilantes might be trying to detain activists from other political groups, and tensions rose between the vigilantes and the more established "community police" that operates in dozens of Guerrero towns. The community police are better regulated and partially recognised under state law.

State and federal authorities have so far tolerated the movement, despite the fact that its members have turned back government human rights officials seeking to check on the detainees condition.

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Assange urges leak of US drone rules

Julian Assange has condemned Obama's green light to kill American citizens conspiring with al-Qaeda. Source: AAP

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has urged US officials to leak secret documents on drone strikes, saying that the broad discretion to kill citizens shows a "collapse" in the American system.

Assange, who has angered US officials by releasing thousands of secret memos, used a rare US television appearance to condemn President Barack Obama's controversial green light to kill American citizens who conspire with al-Qaeda.

"I can't see a greater collapse when the executive can kill its own citizens arbitrarily, at will, in secret, without any of the decision-making becoming public," Assange told the HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher.

"That's why we need organisations like WikiLeaks. I encourage anyone in the White House who has access to those rules and procedures, work them on over to us. We'll keep you secret and reveal it to the public."

Assange spoke to host Bill Maher, a supporter of WikiLeaks, by video link from Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has been holed up since June to avoid extradition to Sweden. Britain has refused him safe passage to Ecuador.

Swedish authorities say they want to question Assange over allegations of sex crimes. The former computer hacker says he fears Sweden will extradite him to the United States over WikiLeaks's massive release of sensitive documents.

Bradley Manning, a young army intelligence analyst in Iraq, was arrested in May 2010 over suspicions he handed diplomatic correspondence and other data to the website. He faces life in prison if convicted by a military tribunal.

NBC News published an unclassified document by the Justice Department this week indicating that senior al-Qaeda operators may be lawfully killed, even if they are US citizens and are not shown to be actively plotting an attack.

The Obama administration called strikes legal, ethical and "wise," and vowed to provide lawmakers with access to secret documents that outline the legal justifications for drone strikes.

Human rights groups voiced outrage in September 2011 when a US drone strike in Yemen killed radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, editor of an al-Qaeda magazine. Both were US citizens who had never been charged with a crime.

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Aust share market finish higher

THE Australian share market finished stronger near a 22-month high, as investors reacted positively to economic data from China indicating a rebound in activity.

At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 35.6 points, or 0.72 per cent, higher at 4,971.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 33.6 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 4,989.4.

On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 39 points higher at 4,933, with 21,084 contracts traded.

It was the the All Ords best finish since April 2011.

Market analyst Gavin Wendt said investors had shrugged off a weaker US lead and instead turned to the local region for direction.

"It's a continuation of the positive theme since the start of the year," Mr Wendt said.

"However, there appears to be more optimism from the bigger funds rather than the smaller retail investors."

On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.47 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 13,944.05 points, weighed down by disappointing December quarter US productivity data.

China on Friday reported better than expected trade data, fuelling optimism that its economic growth may be rebounding from the recent slowdown.

Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank gained 13 cents to $64.83, National Australia Bank advanced 39 cents to $29.02, Westpac added 12 cents at $28.08 and ANZ firmed 61 cents at $28.12.

In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 30 cents higher at $37.95 and Rio Tinto climbed 92 cents to $69.60.

Gold miner Newcrest's rose five per cent, or $1.17, to $24.52 even though first half profit had dropped by 51 per cent because of weaker production and sales.

Iron ore explorer Sundance Resources dropped four cents, or 12 per cent, to 30 cents after another delay in its drawnout takeover process by China's Hanlong.

AGL Energy shed 19 cents to $15.13, as it suspended an expansion of its coal seam gas operations in southwest Sydney due to community concerns.

National turnover was 1.66 billion shares worth $4.56 billion, with 542 stocks up, 435 down and 435 steady.

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Foreign troops at Mali's rebel-held mount

Islamists fighters have reportedly taken seven French hostages in Mali's remote northeast. Source: AAP

FRENCH and Chadian troops have pushed to the far northeast of Mali, up to the mountain range where Islamists fighters are thought to be holed up with seven French hostages.

The joint force arrived late on Thursday at the town of Aguelhok, 160km north of the town of Kidal, near Mali's border with Algeria, Malian sources said.

Nearly a month after France sent in the first fighter jets and attack helicopters, it has largely driven the rebels into remote mountains in the far northeast. But the threat from the rebels is still very real.

"French and Chadian soldiers have left Kidal and are currently patrolling in Aguelhok," Malian Captain Aliou Toure told AFP.

"The French and Chadian soldiers left in strength by road," said an official with the administration in Kidal. "They arrived at Aguelhok and are then heading for Tessalit." Tessalit lies even closer to the Algerian border.

Both towns had been targeted with repeated French air strikes over the last few days aimed at knocking out Islamist bases there, French military spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard said.

The two towns lie in the Adrar des Ifoghas massif, in the far northeast, a craggy mountain landscape honeycombed with caves, where the insurgents are believed to have fled with seven French hostages.

One of the Islamists groups, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), said in a message to AFP Thursday that it had "created a new combat zone" by organising attacks on military convoys and placing landmines.

A landmine blast on Wednesday between the northern towns of Douentza and Gao killed four civilians.

An officer with Mali's paramilitary police initially said the four dead were Malian soldiers, but later said they were civilians returning from market.

That explosion came after a similar blast in the same area on January 31 claimed the lives of two Malian soldiers.

"MUJAO is behind the explosion of two Malian army cars," the group's spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui said in a text message to AFP.

He called on Malians to stay away from main roads, which he said had been heavily mined.

French-led forces continue to come under attack in reclaimed territory, including rocket fire directed at them Tuesday in Gao, the largest city in the north.

The shift to guerrilla tactics by the al Qaeda-linked groups, which for 10 months occupied Mali's vast desert north, came as France sought to hand over its four-week-old intervention to UN peacekeepers.

France had moved in as the rebels pushed south, sparking fears that they might try to advance on the capital, Bamako.

Large numbers of troops from France, Mali and Niger have been patrolling Gao, and French helicopters have been monitoring the road between Gao and Douentza, 400km to the southwest.

Paris is keen to hand over the military burden of an operation the defence ministry said has already cost France 70 million euros ($A91.90 million) , with the figure rising by 2.7 million euros every day.

France now has 4,000 troops in Mali, as many as it had in Afghanistan at the peak of its deployment in 2010.

After announcing plans to start withdrawing its soldiers in March, France on Wednesday called for a United Nations peacekeeping force to take over.

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US mayor scraps city police drones plan

SAYING police need to stay focused on "community building," Seattle's mayor has pulled the plug on the department's controversial drone program even before it got off the ground.

In a brief statement on Thursday, Mayor Mike McGinn said he and police Chief John Diaz agreed that it was time to end the program so the Seattle Police Department "can focus its resources on public safety and the community building work that is the department's priority".

McGinn said the two drones purchased by the city with federal funds will be returned to their vendor.

When reached for comment, Seattle police referred questions to the mayor's office.

The mayor's office declined to elaborate on McGinn's statement.

The announcement came one day after the city held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance outlining restrictions for the department's drone program, which drew vocal opposition from numerous citizens concerned with intrusions into their privacy.

The ordinance was expected to come up for a vote later this month.

The Police Department is among dozens of law-enforcement agencies, academic institutions and other agencies that were given approval last year by the Federal Aviation Administration to train operators in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones.

The FAA action came after President Barack Obama signed a law that compelled the agency to plan for safe integration of civilian drones into US airspace by 2015.

The Police Department purchased two 1.6kg Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Tech drones with money from a regional Homeland Security grant, envisioning uses during hostage situations and search-and-rescue operations and after following natural disasters.

One of the helicopters was expected to be used by the King County Sheriff's Office.

Police said the unmanned systems would allow the city to have some of the public-safety benefits of a manned helicopter without the prohibitive costs.

But the proposed use of drones by police drew "tremendous, widespread concern among the general public," according to Doug Honig, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

When police introduced the program during a public presentation last northern autumn, officers were shouted down by opponents who feared misuse.

Honig said on Thursday the ACLU was pleased with McGinn's action.

"It's a wise decision," he said.

"Drones would have given police unprecedented abilities to engage in surveillance and intrude on people's privacy and there was never a strong case made that Seattle needed the drones for public safety."

When King County Sheriff John Urquhart took office last year, he said he returned his department's drone to Seattle police.

"I came in and said,'We're not going to fly that.' We hadn't done our homework, and I don't think the time is right," he said on Thursday.

"What's happening to Seattle is exactly what I hoped to avoid."

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Vic health to get $900m extra: PM

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has rejected an "irresponsible campaign" from the Victorian government over the reason for cuts to hospitals and health care.

She says the commonwealth has actually increased funding to hospitals in that state.

Victorian hospitals have closed hundreds of beds and delayed thousands of elective surgeries as the two governments accuse each other of multi-million dollar health cuts.

Ms Gillard said the commonwealth contribution for health would be increasing by $900 million to $4.5 billion total over the next four years.

"Why are there cutbacks in Victoria? It is because of Victorian government cuts," she said during question time on Thursday.

"$900 million up from us, $616 million down from the Victorian government."

The prime minister suggested the Liberal MP who asked about the cuts, Alan Tudge, phone premier Ted Baillieu and ask him not to slash funding further.

Meanwhile the Senate has voted to set up an inquiry into hospital funding.

Australian Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale hoped the inquiry would bring transparency to recent cuts including those in Victoria.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek will meet with her Victorian counterpart again next Wednesday in a bid to solve the bitter stoush over hospital funding cuts.

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Tokyo's Nikkei ends 0.93% lower

TOKYO'S Nikkei stock index has closed 0.93 per cent lower on profit-taking, a day after it soared to its highest close since September 2008.

The index shed 106.68 points to 11,357.07 on Thursday, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was flat, edging up 0.36 points to 969.18.

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Whitehaven shares plunge after mine delay

The government has delayed its decision over Whitehaven Coal's plan to develop a controversial mine. Source: AAP

WHITEHAVEN Coal's bad year has got worse after the federal government delayed a decision on plans for one of the world's largest coal mines in NSW.

The company's shares plunged following Environment Minister Tony Burke and his department's decision to extend their timeframe for considering the controversial Maules Creek project and its environmental impacts until April 30.

The stock closed nearly six per cent weaker at $3.02.

That follows a similar fall last week when it more than halved half year earnings forecasts to below $10 million, unless weak coal prices lifted and the high Australian dollar remained unchanged.

Maules Creek would be a game-changing mine for Whitehaven if it went ahead.

It is expected to produce 10.8 million tonnes of a coal a year (Mtpa) of thermal and coking coal, with Whitehaven's current level under 10Mtpa.

It already has NSW government approval.

However the central NSW project has been targeted by environmentalists, culminating in activist Jonathan Moylan sending a press release to media outlets in early January falsely claiming the ANZ Bank had pulled its $1.2 billion loan to the miner.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is considering laying charges after the hoax temporarily wiped $314 million from the value of Whitehaven.

The federal government's decision has been delayed to seek clarification on the mine's impacts, which were of national environmental significance, said a spokesman for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC).

A decision on expanding the adjacent Boggabri mine has also been delayed.

Opponents says Whitehaven would destroy 1360ha of koala habitat and force farmers off their land through soil damage if the Maules Creek mine is allowed to go ahead.

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has called on the federal government to reject the proposal.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters on Thursday accused Whitehaven of being misleading in pledging to offset any environmental damage the mine causes, saying the trees it was planting were unsuitable as an ecological replacement.

Managing director Tony Haggarty said he was extremely disappointed and that Whitehaven had spent many months working with Mr Burke's office and staff at SEWPAC to address concerns about the mine.

"Whitehaven is not aware of any substantive issues with the environmental evaluations or process which has been followed," Mr Haggarty said in a statement.

Patersons resources analyst Andrew Harrington said the delay was disappointing as the government had not explained its reasons and appeared unwilling to face the potential of a community backlash.

Mr Harrington said Whitehaven's plan to start producing coal from the mine in 2014 could be under threat because of the government's delays in making a decision on the mine.

"This will impact on sentiment but Maules Creek is a very large long-life mine and a delay of a few months on first production has almost no impact on the value of the project," he said in a note to clients.

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Flat retailing trend confirmed by data

RETAIL spending flattened out over the second half of 2012.

It's hardly a controversial observation, but figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday confirm the plateau extended through to the end of the year.

The figures won't surprise the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which on Tuesday said "a return to the very strong growth (in consumer spending) of some years ago is unlikely".

The value of turnover in retail establishments - which excludes motor vehicle and fuel sellers but includes on-line sellers registered in Australia - fell by 0.2 per cent in December, after adjustment for regular seasonal variations.

It was the third small fall in a row; the first three-in-a-row since the summer of 1999-2000.

With these monthly estimates a fall could always be the result of changes in prices.

But the quarterly estimates which adjust for price changes suggest otherwise.

In real terms, turnover rose by an inconsequential 0.1 per cent in the three months ending December 31 after a 0.2 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

In other words, there was a fall in the volume of goods and services sold by retailers turnover over the second half of 2012.

This represents a rather abrupt halt after a rise of 2.8 per cent, well above the historical average, in the first half of the year.

There is more than one likely contributor to the pause.

One is slow employment growth, with the latest trend estimates from the ABS showing very slow monthly growth of 7,000, compared with a recent peak of more than 19,000 a month early last year.

Slower growth in jobs means slower growth in disposable income.

Another is the decline in housing construction, particularly in the volume of work done on alterations and additions, over the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012.

Housing activity tends to feed into retail spending.

Then there is the emergence of more conservative spending habits, including a preference to reduce debt, among households since the global financial crisis that came to a head in 2008.

Each of these factors probably plays a role in the flat trend in retailing since mid-2012.

And, because they all still apply to a significant extent, it's unlikely that retailing will pick up strongly in the first half of 2013.

Even so, a firmer share market and signs of a rally in housing prices, along with a likely ongoing impact of recent interest rate cuts, suggest some scope for growth rather than the flatlining now evident in the data.

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China radar-lock on Japan ship 'dangerous'

THE radar lock that a Chinese frigate put on a Japanese warship is "dangerous", Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says, as tensions in a territorial row heighten.

"It was a dangerous act that could have led to an unpredictable situation," Abe told parliament on Wednesday.

"It is extremely regrettable. We strongly ask for their self-restraint in order to avoid an unnecessary escalation."

Abe's comments come a day after his defence minister announced weapon-targeting radar had been directed at the Japanese vessel in international waters of the East China Sea last week.

The move marks the first time the two nations' navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was "concerned".

"With regard to the reports of this particular lock-on incident, actions such as this escalate tensions and increase the risk of an incident or a miscalculation, and they could undermine peace, stability and economic growth in this vital region," she said.

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8.0 quake hits Solomons, generates tsunami

A MAJOR 8.0 magnitude earthquake has hit the Solomon Islands, reportedly flattening three villages, as small tsunami waves lapped Pacific coastlines and emergency sirens blared evacuation warnings.

A quake-generated wave of just under one metre reached parts of the Solomons, and Vanuatu, and New Caledonia also reported rising sea levels, before a region-wide tsunami alert was lifted.

Sirens were heard in Fiji while the alert remained in place, locals said. "Chaos in the streets of Suva as everyone tries to avoid the tsunami!!" tweeted Ratu Nemani Tebana from the Fiji capital Suva.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled its regional alert at 1450 AEDT, about two and a half hours after the powerful quake struck at 1212 AEDT on Wednesday in the Solomons.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit the Santa Cruz Islands, which have been rocked by a series of strong tremors over the past week, at a shallow depth of 5.8 kilometres.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit near Lata on Santa Cruz in Temotu province, at a shallow depth of 5.8 kilometres.

Temotu is the easternmost province of the Solomons, about a three-hour flight from the capital, Honiara. The region has a population of around 30,000 people.

Two powerful aftershocks of 6.4 and 6.6 magnitude were also recorded.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the Hawaii-based Pacific centre said after the 8.0 quake, before lifting its tsunami alert for several island nations.

Australia's earthquake monitoring agency and the Pacific centre said the biggest tsunami wave was measured at 91 centimetres, at Lata, on the main Santa Cruz island of Ndende.

Solomons officials reported two 1.5-metre waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz Island, damaging about 50 homes and properties, said George Herming, a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lillo.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths. Villagers were heading for higher ground as a precaution, Herming said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami of about a metre at Lata wharf. The center said an 11cm wave was observed in neighbouring Vanuatu.

Locals in the Solomons capital Honiara, 580 kilometres from the epicentre, said the quake was not felt there, but some villages on the Santa Cruz islands were destroyed, according to a hospital director.

"The information we are getting is that some villages west and south of Lata along the coast have been destroyed, although we cannot confirm this yet," the director of nursing at Lata Hospital told AFP.

"There was continuous shaking in Lata, but no damaged buildings here," he added.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation cited emergency service authorities in the Solomons as saying three villages were destroyed by the quake. Officials could not be reached for confirmation, with phone lines down.

Hospital director Augustine Bilve said patients were being evacuated to prepare for any injured from the villages along the coast.

"We were told that after the shaking, waves came to the villages. So far, we are waiting in Lata and are evacuating patients in case there are any casualties."

A staff member at the Solomons National Disaster Management Office said officials were concerned about the eastern province of Temotu, which includes the Santa Cruz islands.

"That's the province, which if it is going to have an effect, then they will be the first people to be impacted," the official, who did not wish to be named, told AFP.

"They felt the quake."

He added that the national disaster operation centre had been activated and officials in Honiara were trying to contact those in Temotu province.

Before it was lifted, the Pacific centre's tsunami warning was in effect for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna.

In 2007, a tsunami following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless. The quake was so powerful that it lifted an island and pushed out its shoreline by dozens of metres.

The Solomon Islands are part of the "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific Ocean that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

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Fire ban for ravaged southern Tasmania

A TOTAL fire ban has been declared for southern Tasmania, including areas that were ravaged by bushfires just last month.

With temperatures expected to reach into the 30s and predicted high winds, a ban will be in place from midnight on Tuesday.

The areas affected include parts of the Sorell and Tasman municipalities that bore the brunt of the state's worst blazes in half a century, with nearly 200 properties destroyed.

The Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) says any fires already lit will need to be extinguished.

Residents are being asked to check their bushfire survival plans.

"There are significant penalties that can be imposed on anyone not adhering to the total fire ban restrictions," TFS chief officer Mike Brown said.

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Retailers expect slow start in spending

RETAILERS are disappointed by the central bank's decision to leave the cash rate unchanged, saying they're expecting a slow start to the trading year.

At its first board meeting of 2013 on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the cash rate at three per cent, saying fears about global economic growth have abated.

However Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond says retailers are still doing it tough.

"January retail figures which are out next month might paint a brighter picture after the school kids bonus arrives in the family bank accounts, but with no other stimulus to discretionary spending, retail will remain in the doldrums," Ms Osmond said.

She said despite weak inflation figures the RBA chose to adopt a "wait and see" approach.

"Retailers don't need to be so cautious, they know what they will see," Ms Osmond said.

She said the election could also potentially slow consumer spending this year.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) renewed its calls for banks to cut their rates regardless of the cash rate.

"The evidence is clear banks and lending institutions can more than afford to cut rates for their consumer and business customers," ARA executive director, Russell Zimmerman said.

"The only sensible decision from the RBA on interest rates would be to cut them to 2.5 per cent in light of suppressed economic conditions and pressure on non-mining sectors, including retail," he said.

"However, regardless of the cash rate, home mortgage and business borrowers are bearing the burden of overblown pricing as a result of banks failing to set interest rates relative to borrowing costs."

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Ulcer study could clear WA man of murder

A TRIO of West Australian Supreme Court judges have been urged not to delay a decision that could clear a man of a 30-year-old murder conviction, following new evidence supplied by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barry Marshall.

Chris von Deutschburg was a teenager in 1983 when he was convicted of murdering 86-year-old Stavros Kakulas in a scuffle during a burglary at his home in Perth's seaside suburb of Scarborough.

Von Deutschburg, then 19, received a life sentence on the basis Mr Kakulas died of a bleeding duodenal ulcer, seven days after the crime, which was said to have been brought on by the stress of the home invasion.

Last year, then state attorney-general Christian Porter referred the case to WA's Court of Appeal, after Professor Marshall wrote to the State Solicitor's Office saying, based on his prize-winning research, von Deutschburg could not be guilty.

On Tuesday in the appeal court, Justices Carmel McLure, Robert Mazza and Michael Buss were urged to consider the new evidence and make a decision quickly on von Deutschburg's fate.

"This matter has caused a great deal of stress for the appellant and as you would appreciate, he is keen to get this resolved as soon as possible," said Sam Vandongen SC, appearing for von Deutschburg.

The judges have vowed to make a decision as quickly as they are able.

Prof Marshall, along with Nobel Prize-winning colleague Robin Warren, received worldwide accolades in 2005 after proving that bacteria, rather than sress, caused stomach ulcers.

He acted as a human guinea pig, downing a bacterial brew that made him very ill, but gave new hope of treatment for millions of ulcer sufferers.

The discovery was also a lifeline to von Deutschburg, who immediately believed Prof Marshall's evidence could clear him of murder.

His bid for acquittal started in 2005, more than 20 years after Mr Kakulas suffered bruising and fractured ribs during the burglary and then died of a bleeding ulcer in hospital a week later.

"There is no likelihood that his (Mr Kakulas') injuries either worsened or contributed to the duodenal ulcer in question," Prof Marshall wrote in his petition on behalf of von Deutschburg.

The expert said his opinion did not depend on when duodenal ulcer began - either before or after the assault on June 1, 1983.

"Persons with duodenal ulcer disease have ulcers coming and going throughout their life," Prof Marshall said.

"The injuries sustained by Mr Kakulas did not contribute to the development, or accelerate the development of his duodenal ulcer."

WA's Director of Public Prosecutions, Joe McGrath SC, appeared as the respondent to the appeal in the brief hearing.

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Man loses appeal over rape of 83-year-old

A MAN who sexually assaulted an 83-year-old woman in her home on the NSW south coast has lost his appeal against the severity of his sentence, with a court defending a judge's right to describe the crime as "just below worst-case category".

Tony Piscitelli was sentenced in 2011 to a maximum of 16 and a half years, with a non-parole period of 11 and a half years, for the April 2010 attack.

In handing down his sentence at the District Court in Wollongong last year, Judge David Frearson described the offences as "just below worst-case category".

The court heard that Piscitelli had cut the flyscreen of the woman's Tuross Heads home at night, followed her into the bathroom and then pulled her into her bedroom.

Despite pleas for him to stop, the then 23-year-old told her to take off her dressing gown and nightie before sexually and physically assaulting her.

In Piscitelli's subsequent appeal, barrister Robert Sutherland SC criticised the language used by Judge Frearson in condemning the attack, saying it was "intemperate and suggestive".

But on Monday, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal rejected this and five other grounds of appeal, including submissions that the sentence was manifestly excessive.

"Where, as here, a series of offences is so serious as to inspire severe condemnation I do not consider that a sentencing judge should be prohibited from using strong, even powerful language," Justice Richard Button said on Monday.

In a victim impact statement heard in the Wollongong court the woman, who was being treated for depression, described suffering flashbacks and nightmares.

She revealed that the only person who she had sexual contact with previously had been her husband, now deceased.

"The profound gravity of the criminality encompassed by the offences ... requires no elaboration by me," Justice Button said on Monday.

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The ICAC is a no-go area in Bylong Valley

THE Bylong Valley general store is neutral territory.

The store in the beautiful valley, a couple of hours drive northwest of Sydney, was full at lunch time on Monday with drillers from coal companies, farmers and grey nomads passing through.

And everybody who comes in wants to speak about the ICAC inquiry.

But co-owner of the store Jodie Nancarrow has declared the topic out of bounds.

"We made the shop neutral territory because we don't want people feuding or punching each other out, that sort of caper," she told AAP.

"If you want to talk about coal mining, do it at home."

Ms Nancarrow, a resident here since 1979 and owner of the store with Jayne Watson for nearly 12 years, was previously president of the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, which was formed after residents discovered the area was targeted for coal mining.

But she resigned from that position so she could do business with a whole spectrum of people.

However, she has given evidence at the inquiry.

"I believe Bylong Valley is God's own country," she said.

"My father used to call it Paradise Valley."

The land was so fertile and perfect for horse breeding that her father never needed to hand feed his horses, she said.

"I just wish they'd go away and leave us alone."

As far as Eddie Obeid is concerned, "He's just trying to look after his family," she said. "But there's no thought for the people who live in Bylong."

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Motorists set to pay more at the pump

MOTORISTS can expect further price rises at the petrol bowser over the next couple of weeks, reflecting rising world oil prices, Commonwealth Securities says.

The Australian Institute of Petroleum in its latest report on Monday said the national unleaded fuel price rose by an average 2.1 cents per litre in the past week to 144 cents.

The average metropolitan price rose by 2.4 cents per litre to 142.6 cents, while the regional price increased by 1.3 cents to 146.7 cents.

CommSec chief economist Craig James expects a further two to three cent price rise over the next fortnight as a result of a wholesale prices rising over three cents a litre to a two-month high.

He said world oil prices are being pushed up due to improving sentiment among investors about the global outlook.

"The bottom line is that motorists will end up paying more to fill up," Mr James said in a client note.

He said while higher petrol prices potentially mean a lift in consumer price inflation, the Reserve Bank would remain comfortable about monetary policy given the absence of other price pressures at present.

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Missing woman's body found on Sydney beach

POLICE have identified the body of a woman found on a beach in Sydney's south on Saturday as a woman who's been missing from her home in Kogarah.

Police were called to Green Hills Beach about 5.15pm on Saturday, after the body of a woman was found by a passerby.

Later that night, police were contacted by a man who reported that his mother was missing from their Kogarah home.

Police from Miranda Local Area Command on Sunday confirmed the body found was that of the 59-year-old woman reported missing.

A report will be prepared for the NSW coroner.

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Sri Lanka rescues 138 on sinking boat

SRI Lanka's navy rescued more than 100 Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals from a sinking fishing vessel off the island's eastern coast, a spokesman said.

One passenger was found dead on Sunday while many of the 138 plucked from the boat were dehydrated, he added, but it was not immediately clear where the vessel was headed or whether they were asylum seekers.

"We sent three ships for the rescue at a location 80km off the eastern coast of Akkaraipattu," navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya said.

"Some have been admitted to a local hospital. Others are being taken to Colombo."

The early-morning rescue came amid stepped up naval patrols to check Sri Lankan fishing boats taking would-be illegal immigrants to Australia.

Sri Lankan authorities arrested more than 1,200 people trying to leave the island illegally last year.

Many of those who make the perilous journey pay up to $US3,000 ($A2,890) for a place on trawlers run by people-smugglers.

Warnakulasuriya said the passengers rescued on Sunday identified themselves as Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals.

"We have not been able to get much information about their port of origin or the destination, but we have asked the embassies of the two countries to help us with translations," he said.

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US, Europe stock surge runs on

STOCK markets in the United States and Europe have been building up steam for six months and now seem oblivious to still fragile economic growth, but analysts say this does not yet amount to another financial bubble.

Markets tend to anticipate trends and most of the signals emerging from the main stock markets in the world are pointing towards "go".

Since the middle of July, the main Dow Jones index on Wall Street has risen by 10.0 per cent.

Driven by prospects or hopes of economic recovery, it has broken through the 14,000 point level to reach its highest level since November 2007.

In Europe, the main index in Germany, the Dax, has surged by about 20 per cent since July and is at the highest level since the beginning of 2008.

The French CAC 40 index has made similar gains but is around levels reached in the middle of 2011.

"The market is in the process of making a long-term change of direction," said Bertrand Lamille, director of investment management at B*Capital, a branch of BNP Paribas bank.

"The downward movement for stocks, which has been underway since 2007, is over."

The rise of the markets may be seen more as a process of making up lost ground, given that they had fallen heavily owing first to the financial crisis, and then to the eurozone debt crisis.

Since the president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi made a watershed speech in July underpinning eurozone countries in debt trouble and therefore also the integrity of the eurozone, "the rise is logical since the prospect of the eurozone breaking up, played up by Anglo-Saxon (British and North American) investors, has faded," said an investment manager at Barclays Bourse, Renaud Murail.

On the sovereign debt market, Spain and Italy no longer have to offer unsustainably high interest rates to borrow as was the case in 2012.

Yields on their debt bonds have fallen sharply in the last few months.

At brokers Aurel BGC, economist Jean-Louis Mourier commented: "The rally is broadly justified if one bears in mind the fact that the big risks which hung over the market have been dissipated, in a context in which there is plenty of cash for investment."

Shares are the big gainers, together with the bonds of countries in a weak situation, from the policies of leading central banks which have flooded the markets with hundreds of billions of dollars and euros to avert a crisis of confidence and to stimulate economic activity.

Analysts at PrimeView said that "the abundance of liquidity throughout the world... should now flow towards shares rather towards bonds," noting that low-risk investments such US of German sovereign bonds generate no real return for investors.

Commodity and raw material markets have not yet been affected by any speculative surge. The rise of the price of oil is being contained by plentiful supplies.

Demand for industrial metals is subdued owing to weakness of demand for finished products, and gold, a haven in times of risk aversion, could now be in competition with risky assets.

The surge of stock prices could seem to be a paradox given that growth in the US has scarcely got going and is struggling to gain any momentum in the eurozone.

Mourier warned that "the uncertainties which weigh on future growth justify a pause, or at least that the rate of the rise should slow down."

He also noted that there remained a risk that the eurozone could plunge back in to crisis.

But so far, analysts do not see a risk of a stock market bubble.

"There is no such risk, as things stand," Murail said.

This analysis appears to be borne out by the ratio of the value of leading stock indices to company profits which is still far below the long-term average.

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