Chinese tourists victims of crime in Paris

MASS muggings and attacks on Chinese tourists in Paris have spawned alarm and warnings of a decline in the number of free-spending visitors from the Asian giant who swarm to France.

More than one million Chinese visitors come every year to France, a country which for them epitomises luxury, romance and quality products.

But that may very well change, said one expert, citing a slew of recent attacks which he says takes the sheen off the "City of Lights" for Chinese visitors.

"This has become a scourge. Since the past year, we have been seeing attacks almost every day," said Jean-Francois Zhou, the head of Ansel Travel, which specialises in tours to and from China.

On March 20, a group of 23 Chinese visitors were robbed in a restaurant shortly after they landed in Paris's Charles De Gaulle airport.

Their passports, plane tickets and cash were stolen and the group leader sustained an injury to the face.

"The situation is serious. If these attacks continue, we may have to pay the price," Zhou told AFP.

He said about 10 Chinese visitors were robbed on one day in October, mainly in the famed Louvre museum, right in the heart of the city.

And in February, "a minibus caught in a traffic jam was attacked, its windows were smashed and hand bags stolen", he said, adding there was a more recent attack on Chinese nationals at a four-star hotel in Paris.

Li Peng, who is in charge of consular affairs at the Chinese embassy in Paris, said: "There has been an increase in the number of complaints filed over the past year.

"In a week we could have five to six demands for travel documents" to replace stolen passports, Li said.

French Tourism Minister Sylvia Pinel has pledged that "everything will be done to find the perpetrators" of the latest mass mugging, and underscored "the determination of the French government to ensure the security of tourists in France".

Zhou, the travel agency boss, said the Chinese were targeted as they were big spenders, adding: "Some of them carry up to 20,000 euros ($25,000) for shopping."

The latest incident has fuelled concern and some anti-French feeling on China's talkative social media scene, but several Chinese travel agencies declined to comment to AFP on the possible consequences.

One municipal travel committee in China's Jiangsu province urged travellers to take precautions.

"Chinese tourists who travel abroad are recommended to take less cash, never show off money or valuables, never talk to strangers in public places or scenic spots, always keep an eye on personal belongings," it said on its weibo account, a Chinese website similar to Twitter.

They should "take proper care of valuable items including passports" and "avoid going outside alone at night or in any remote places", it added.

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Bombings kill 23, wound dozens in Iraq

Bombings targeting Shi'ite mosques in Iraq have killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens. Source: AAP

A STRING of bombings targeting Shi'ite mosques in Iraq have killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens, officials say.

Friday's attacks were the latest in spectacular assaults staged by insurgents seeking to undermine the Shi'ite-led government's efforts to achieve security across the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the bombings bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraq branch. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated blasts in an effort to sow fear among Shi'ites and erode their trust in the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Four car bombs hit Shi'ite mosques in the Iraqi capital as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers, killing 19 people and wounding 72.

First, a parked car exploded in Baghdad's western Jihad neighbourhood, killing seven worshippers and wounding 25, a police officer said. Another police officer said four people were killed and nearly 20 were wounded in a bombing in an eastern Qahira neighbourhood. Three people died and 15 were wounded in the eastern Zafaraniyah district while yet another car bomb killed five people and wounded 14 in the northeastern Binook neighbourhood.

Three health officials confirmed the causality figures.

And in the northern city of Kirkuk, 290km north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a group of worshippers as they were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers, killing three people and wounding up to 70, according to police colonel Najat Hassan. A senior provisional health official, Sidiq Omar Rasool, confirmed the casualty figures in Kirkuk.

Violence has ebbed sharply since the peak of Sunni-Shi'ite fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007, but Sunni insurgents still occasionally carry out high-profile attacks against Shi'ites, considering them to be heretics.

Friday is a particularly popular day for militants to undertake such attacks because of the rush of mostly men and boys who flock to the mosques throughout the country to hear traditional Muslim sermons and take part in communal prayers.

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Qld's deadly Easter takes toll to 12

FOUR people have been killed in three separate road crashes in Queensland, the worst of the states' additions to the national Easter holiday road toll.

A German tourist and a police officer were among the fatalities, which all occurred on Friday.

The 19-year-old tourist was driving a van that collided head-on with a sedan on a far north Queensland highway on Friday night.

The female sedan driver was also killed and another 19-year-old German tourist is in hospital with serious injuries.

The smash happened on the Kennedy Highway near Emerald Creek, Mareeba.

So far 12 people have been killed on Australian roads since the Easter holiday period began on Thursday.

On Friday morning, a Queensland police officer was killed in a single vehicle smash at Georgetown in the state's far north.

And a 41-year-old motorcyclist died when his bike left the road and hit a tree in the Mount Binga State Forest, north of Toowoomba.

In South Australia, a 17-year-old boy died after a car carrying five passengers crashed just before midnight on Friday near Balaklava, north of Adelaide.

The 17-year-old female driver is being questioned.

The other passengers in the car, all teenage girls aged between 14 and 17 years, received non-life threatening injuries.

The boy's death brought South Australia's Easter holiday road toll to three.

In other states, two people have died in New South Wales, two in Victoria, and one in Western Australia.

No deaths have been recorded in Tasmania, the ACT or the Northern Territory.

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Displaced Rohingya face monsoon threat

TENS of thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in squalid, flood-prone camps in western Myanmar (Burma) after fleeing communal unrest face "imminent danger" from looming monsoon rains, the UN warns.

An estimated 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims have languished in insanitary camps since violence flared last year with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, leaving scores dead and whole neighbourhoods in ruins.

They "are now in imminent danger of yet another tragedy when the monsoon rains hit.... We must act immediately to prevent a predictable tragedy," said John Ging of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Friday.

With the monsoon expected to start in May, Ging called on the government to release new land for camps and to help rebuild shattered community relations, highlighted by the deadly outbreak of anti-Muslim violence in central Myanmar this month.

"The gravity and urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. Community and religious leaders also have a major role in promoting a culture of peace and mutual respect in multicultural and multi-ethnic Myanmar," he added.

Curbs on relief to the camps are creating a "crisis that will become a disaster when the rainy season arrives," according to Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders has said a lack of clean drinking water in the camps has caused skin infections, worms, chronic coughing and diarrhoea while many malnourished people are going without urgent medical care.

Thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar in recent months on rickety boats, mostly believed to be heading for Malaysia.

Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship.

The country's non-Rohingya Muslims have been targeted by violence led by Buddhist mobs in central Myanmar since March 20.

At least 40 people have been killed and mosques burned in several towns, prompting the government to impose emergency rule and curfews in some areas.

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Elderly talent reject threatens TV show

A 70-YEAR-OLD Japanese man was so enraged at being rejected by a TV talent show that he allegedly threatened to blow up the program's broadcaster, police said Friday.

Kazumi Yaoita applied for a spot in an NHK singing contest that is shown nationally every Sunday afternoon, hoping to fulfil a long-cherished ambition, said a police officer in the city of Niigata.

But the retiree's application was rejected before he even got to the audition stage, with a postcard from the show's producers saying he had not made the grade, the officer said.

Infuriated, Yaoita allegedly phoned NHK from his own mobile phone and said he would bomb the contest site.

"He told police he loves singing karaoke and that all his friends tell him he is a great singer. But he was rejected by a single postcard, which it seems really upset him," the police officer said.

Police traced the mobile number, which had been displayed on the receiving phone, he said.

Yaoita was arrested on charges of forcible obstruction of business. If convicted he could face up to three years in jail.

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Four injured in NSW south coast boat crash

FOUR men have been injured in a boat crash on rocks on the NSW's south coast.

Police said that just after 2pm (AEDT) on Friday the five-metre aluminium vessel ran aground near Target Beach on Jervis Bay, southeast of Nowra, after being hit by a large wave.

The four men aboard, aged between 20 and 25, managed to clamber onto rocks.

Police from Shoalhaven Local Area Command, NSW Ambulance Paramedics and the Westpac Life Saver helicopter responded.

The chopper flew the injured to nearby Honeymoon Bay where they were examined by paramedics.

Three of the men were taken to Shoalhaven Hospital for treatment to cuts and abrasions.

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WA sculpture parking fines top $100,000

VISITORS to Western Australia's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition on Cottesloe Beach have been slugged more than $100,000 in parking fines, the local council has revealed.

Billed as Perth's largest free outdoor art exhibition, this year's array included includes 71 sculptures including 21 from artists in China, Spain, Finland, Japan and the US.

But the rush of over 200,000 visitors keen to take in the unique artworks has kept Cottesloe parking inspectors busy with 844 parking infringements issued at the beachfront during the three weeks of the exhibition.

The Town of Cottesloe penalises motorists $200 for infringing a "no stopping" sign, $150 for ignoring a "no parking" sign and $100 for overstaying a parking bay.

Town of Cottesloe chief executive Carl Askew said because of resident concerns, more signs were placed to warn motorists not to park on verges.

"Despite rangers being on duty and advising people of where they can and cannot park there were unfortunately people who continued to ignore both signs and rangers," Mr Askew said.

Plans will also be put to organisers about how to create more temporary parking options next year, he said.

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Ryder fighting for life after assault

NZ cricketer Jesse Ryder is in intensive care after an attack left him with a fractured skull. Source: AAP

THE cricket community is in shock as Jesse Ryder fights for his life in hospital after he was attacked twice while out in Christchurch, New Zealand with his teammates.

The 28-year-old is in a critical condition in an induced coma in Christchurch Hospital after he suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull.

Police say Ryder had been out for a drink with his Wellington teammates at Aikmans Bar in Merivale following their loss to Canterbury in a domestic one-day match.

At about 12.30am on Thursday, there was an initial altercation on the footpath outside the bar involving Ryder and at least two other men, Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer told reporters.

Ryder and two others went across the road to McDonald's to meet up with their teammates, where a second altercation involving one of the men from the initial incident took place at the entrance to the carpark.

It was then that Ryder was seriously assaulted and emergency services were called, Det Sen Sgt Archer said.

It's thought at least 10 people witnessed the attacks and police are reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

One witness, HR manager Emma-Louise Ferguson, told the New Zealand Herald she saw three or four men attacking Ryder.

"They were just punching him, they had him on the ground and they were kicking him hard. It was unbelievably brutal," she said.

"When he was on the ground, I couldn't actually see him but I could hear the they were kicking him as hard as they could."

Det Sen Sgt Archer said police haven't yet identified the people involved, but they're following "positive lines of inquiry" and reviewing CCTV footage.

Although Ryder had been drinking, there was no indication that alcohol was a contributing factor to the assault,Det Sen Sgt Archer said.

New Zealand Cricket Players' Association Heath Mills said the cricket community is in shock over what's happened to Ryder.

"It's a sad day for us," he said.

New Zealand Cricket offered its support to the player.

"We are all shocked by what has occurred and extremely concerned for Jesse. New Zealand Cricket's thoughts are with him and his family," NZC chief executive David White said.

The big-hitting Ryder was due to leave for the Indian Premier League on Friday after his services were acquired by the Delhi Daredevils at a player auction in February.

It is not the first time Ryder has been involved in an incident in Christchurch. In February 2008 he cut his hand trying to break into a toilet in a bar in the city.

After a number of other drinking incidents, he admitted he had a drinking problem and last March announced he was taking an indefinite break from international cricket.

He played for the Pune Warriors in last year's IPL and was accompanied by psychologist Karen Nimmo and Klee.

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Nufarm down sharply on poor profit

SHARES in Nufarm have plummeted to an 18-month low after $215 million was wiped from its market capitalisation in the wake of a big fall in its profit, and a disappointing outlook.

Shares in the agricultural chemicals supplier were 82 cents, or 17.19 per cent, lower at $3.95 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, after the share market closed, Nufarm reported a 53.5 per cent fall in net profit to $8.4 million for the six months to January 31 and slashed its outlook.

Hot, dry conditions in Australia had reduced demand for crop protection products, and Nufarm was also hurt by foreign exchange losses.

Nufarm managing director Doug Rathbone said that agricultural companies were always exposed to the weather, but seasonal conditions in Australia were exceptionally bad.

Morningstar analyst Peter Rae said Nufarm's downgraded full year outlook showed the company remained exposed to cyclical demand from agricultural markets and had limited pricing power in some of its products.

Nonetheless, Nufarm's financial result did not change his overall view of the company.

"It has a sound global crop protection business with strong distribution capabilities and key market positions in its core products," Mr Rae said in a research note.

Mr Rathbone said on Wednesday that Nufarm was unlikely to make up the lost ground from its first half and poor start to the second half of the year.

Underlying full year net profit was expected to be below last year's and within a range of $80 million to $95 million.

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Chinese ETS will be here in months: Combet

AUSTRALIA is in talks with China, California and South Korea as it pushes for an Asia-Pacific carbon market, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet says.

Mr Combet says Australia has worked closely with China as it developed its carbon price plans over the past two years.

In an address to the Australia China Climate Change Forum in Sydney on Wednesday, he attacked Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's scepticism about China's carbon price plans.

"This is a case of the opposition campaign of deceit on carbon pricing going international," Mr Combet has told visiting Chinese officials.

"I can tell you the political will is there and by the end of this year, emissions trading will be up and running in China."

Speaking at a joint press conference with Chinese National Development and Reform Commission vice president Xie Zhenhua, Mr Combet said Australia's own emissions trading scheme could help shape China's approach.

"Our ambition is to ultimately try and link (Asia-Pacific) schemes together and to do that, we need to be closely cooperating in design features of the schemes," he told reporters.

He said any attempt to repeal Australia's price on carbon would be environmentally and economically "reckless" and would "trash our international reputation".

"To pretend that Australia lives in a vacuum, and that we can repeal the most cost-effective way of reducing emissions in our economy, is a complete fantasy," he said.

"It would harm a lot of investors in the renewable energy sector."

China, Australia's major trading partner, has pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 17 per cent from 2010 levels by 2015 and by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020.

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Aust share market closes higher

THE Australian share market closed almost one per cent higher as investors took their cues from positive news in the US.

On Wall Street overnight on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 111.90 points, or 0.77 per cent, to a fresh record of 14,559.65.

Rising home prices and orders for manufactured goods pushed up stocks.

European markets also firmed as investors gained confidence in the bailout plan arranged for Cyprus and its banking system.

EL&C Baillieu Stockbroking director Richard Morrow said the local market had slavishly followed the US lead in the absence of any local news.

"We've also managed to ignore all of the negative headlines out of Europe," Mr Morrow said.

"The market is bereft of influence because all of the major local profits have been announced, so we're in a bit of a vacuum of news."

Most market participants were packing their bags for the upcoming Easter holiday break, so trade on Thursday would been quiet.

In the local resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was 27 cents higher at $33.19 and Rio Tinto gained 89 cents to $57.82.

National carrier Qantas was up four cents at $1.76 after it received final approval from the competition watchdog for its global partnership with Dubai-based airline Emirates.

Airline Virgin Australia added 1.5 cents to 41.5 cents, after the High Court of Singapore gave its blessing to Virgin Australia's takeover of regional carrier Skywest.

Global insurer QBE lifted 48 cents to $13.42 as it said it was on track to meet its financial targets this year as it embarks on a major transformation plan.

Agricultural chemicals supplier Nufarm was in a trading halt pending an announcement about the company's half year financial results and the outlook for the full year.

Nufarm last traded at $4.77.

Linc Energy shares have been placed in a trading halt ahead of an announcement about raising capital, and last traded at $2.67.

KEY FACTS

* At the close of trade on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 44.8 points, or 0.91 per cent, higher at 4,995.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 42.3 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 5,007.

* The June share price index futures contract was 54 points higher at 5,010, with 54,100 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 1.4 billion securities worth $2.9 billion.

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Teens questioned over Litchfield murder

SEVERAL juveniles are being questioned by police over the murder of a good Samaritan in Western Australian.

Tauri Litchfield, 28, was found unconscious in a Mandurah car park, south of Perth, with severe head injuries on March 17.

He was rushed to hospital by ambulance but later died.

Major Crime Squad detectives have been investigating possible links between Mr Litchfield and a 17-year-old girl who was found nearby with serious but not life-threatening injuries, and whose condition later improved in hospital to stable.

Media reports suggested the man was set upon while trying to come to the aid of the girl, who he did not know, and who was being attacked.

Police executed several search warrants around the metropolitan area on Wednesday and arrested a number of juveniles who were assisting police with their inquiries.

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Wharfies rally over workplace safety

HUNDREDS of wharfies and union workers have rallied across the country calling on industry to support waterfront safety reforms.

The protests are part of a national campaign by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUW) to push the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to cease its opposition to a national stevedoring code of practice.

Workers rallied in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Devonport on Tuesday, but not in Perth, where other union meetings were being held.

About 40 union members turned up blowing horns and waving placards at ACCI offices in Brisbane and succeeded in gaining a 20-minute police-brokered meeting with ACCI members.

Outside the NSW Business Chamber 200 protesters rallied against opposition to the code, aimed at protecting the safety of workers.

MUA Sydney branch secretary Paul McAleer said the ACCI argued the code was too expensive but that was a step backwards.

"For them to say that the cost of implementing the code is an obstacle effectively says wharfies' lives and safety are not a priority for them," Mr McAleer said.

"They have kicked dirt in our faces."

In Melbourne more than 100 MUA and other union workers waved banners and chanted "people first, profits last" and "saving workers is our task".

MUA assistant national secretary Warren Smith said waterfront workers were 14 times more likely to die on the job than the average worker.

"This actually is a matter of life and death," he told the Melbourne rally.

Wharfies also protested at Fremantle by refusing to work on a vessel they say doesn't comply with minimum safety standards, and accused their employer Patrick of responding with "standover tactics".

MUA WA branch deputy secretary Adrian Evans says the work area in the vessel's walkway puts workers at risk of back injuries, with insufficient room to lift 15kg lashing bars above their heads.

Comment has been sought from Patrick.

ACCI spokesman David Turnbull said industry would work with unions to make sure the code reflected good practice and conformed to legislative requirements.

"We all want to see credible, workable guidance on how to operate safely," he said in a statement.

He said SafeWork Australia would make the final decision on the code.

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Judge emotional as she jails axe murderer

A SUPREME Court judge became visibly upset as she consoled the family of an axe-murdered prostitute whose last moments must have been "spent in terror, horrific pain and despair".

Justice Christine Adamson had to pause for a moment as she sentenced David John Dunn, 29, to at least 14 years' imprisonment for the murder of Rebecca Apps at Barrack Heights near Wollongong on September 9, 2010, and for an armed robbery the night before.

Justice Adamson struggled to control her voice as she acknowledged the "pain, grief and loss" suffered by Ms Apps' grieving family.

Ms Apps' relatives embraced and sobbed, while Dunn bent over double in the dock.

The court heard Dunn picked up Ms Apps, a street sex worker, after he had robbed a takeaway store owner of $85 and taken the drug ice.

The pair attempted and failed to obtain heroin, before Dunn tried to have sex with Ms Apps.

"He was unable to have intercourse. He then hit her over the head with an axe," Justice Adamson said.

"She was lying on the ground. She screamed at him and begged him to stop."

Instead, Dunn hit Ms Apps, 28, over the head several more times before putting her body in the boot of a stolen car and attempting to hide her body in bushland.

His attempts were witnessed by a neighbour who rang triple-zero, and Dunn was arrested near the scene.

The court previously heard Dunn suffered from a delusional disorder, a mild intellectual disability and poly-substance dependence.

Defence barrister Mark Ierace SC said Dunn was suffering from a delusion that his ex-wife had killed two of his family members and he murdered Ms Apps because he believed she was his ex-wife.

But Justice Adamson said she was not satisfied Dunn was suffering from this delusion when he murdered Ms Apps.

"The death of the deceased was brought about by (Dunn's) lack of tolerance and frustration which was brought on by the drugs he had taken," she said.

"... The method of killing was particularly violent and carried out in complete disregard for the deceased's pleas for mercy.

"Her last minutes of life must have been spent in terror, horrific pain and despair."

The judge noted Dunn had told police what was going through his head when he struck Ms Apps was, "you nagging bitch, f***ing shut up, shut up".

"The unlawful and intentional taking of human life is a heinous crime," Justice Adamson said.

Setting a maximum jail term of 21 years, Justice Adamson recommended Dunn be given treatment in custody to deal with his drug addiction.

Taking into account time already served, he will be eligible for parole in September 2024.

Ms Apps' family members declined to comment outside court.

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Knives, ropes used to butcher Qld cows

KNIVES, bows and arrows and ropes were used to mutilate and kill two cows in a horrific case of animal cruelty in Queensland.

Stock squad officers say the attack is one of the most cowardly and appalling cases they've ever seen.

The remains of the cows - one of which was heavily pregnant - were found scattered over half a kilometre at Gympie, north of Brisbane, on Sunday.

Police detailed the horrific crime on Tuesday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Ferling said that in a decade with the Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad, he's never seen animals killed in such a horrific way.

No arrests have been made, but police say deer poachers may have been involved. Officers are appealing for witnesses.

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Union rally against chambers of commerce

MARITIME Union of Australia members are planning rallies around the country to urge the business community to back waterfront safety reforms.

Rallies are planned outside chamber of commerce offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Devonport on Tuesday.

The union's Assistant National Secretary, Warren Smith, said on Monday the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) had intervened in the development of the National Stevedoring Code of Practice (NSCOP).

The NSCOP sought to create a uniform national set of safety guidelines for stevedoring, following a spate of deaths on the waterfront over the past ten years, he said in a statement.

"Wharfies are fourteen times more likely to die at work than the average Australian worker," Mr Smith said.

The development of the code of practice has been a collaborative effort between Safe Work Australia, state regulators, the union and industry representatives.

But Mr Smith said big stevedoring companies and the representative of foreign shippers, Shipping Australia, last year tried to "bomb the code".

"To its credit, Safe Work Australia maintained the key protections in the code, but now ACCI has weighed in, delaying the code's progress by making factually incorrect, misleading claims about the cost of implementation to industry.

"It is disgraceful for ACCI to misrepresent any impact on a company's bottom line when it comes to protecting the safety of workers."

An ACCI spokesman said Australian industry was committed to ensuring businesses operated safely and businesses had to be safe to be productive.

"That's why industry, together with other stakeholders, is involved in developing documents aimed at safe workplace practices," he said in a statement.

"We work together with unions and others to make sure the documents reflect good practice and accurately conform to legislative requirements."

The ACCI spokesman said the final decision on any document would be made jointly by SafeWork Australia and the government, and it was not up to individual parties.

"We all want to see credible, workable guidance on how to operate safely.

"And we need to take time to ensure that the guidance is as accurate and helpful as possible. The safety of our people depends upon it."

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Syd man acquitted of strip club shooting

A MAN accused of shooting another man in the shoulder in a crowded strip club has been found not guilty by a Sydney jury.

Ricky Anthony Ciano, 31, was acquitted of wounding Amer Tashman with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Bada Bing nightclub in Kings Cross on April 9 last year.

He was also acquitted of using a pistol without a licence, in a verdict handed down in the District Court in Sydney earlier this month.

The crown had alleged Mr Ciano got into a fight with Mr Tashman in the strip club before approaching him a few minutes later and shooting him in the shoulder.

No one in the crowded nightclub reported witnessing the shooting, although some said they heard a shot.

In his opening address, defence barrister Graham Turnbull SC told the jury there was a "host of people" involved in the scuffle and there were "lots of people coming and going that night".

Mr Turnbull said the jury would need to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Ciano had a gun on him and he used it to shoot someone.

He said Mr Ciano did not shoot the victim - a submission that was ultimately accepted by the jury.

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Ex-AFL agent Nixon must do community work

Former AFL player agent Ricky Nixon pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-fiancee in Melbourne. Source: AAP

FORMER AFL player agent Ricky Nixon must complete 200 hours of unpaid community work as part of his sentence for punching his ex-fiancee in the face and fleeing arrest.

Nixon, 49, has been sentenced to a 24-month community corrections order, which includes the volunteer work, alcohol rehabilitation and a behavioural change program.

Magistrate Simon Garnett said Nixon's offending was too serious to consider a fine and conviction, as requested by his lawyer.

"Domestic violence is a serious problem in Australia and often it can lead to serious injury or death," Mr Garnett told Nixon in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

Nixon, of Port Melbourne, was convicted after pleading guilty to intentionally causing injury and escaping from police custody.

The court heard Nixon arrived at his Port Melbourne apartment one morning in July last year to find his ex-partner Tegan Gould in his bed.

The pair argued and Nixon grabbed her by the neck, pulled her hair, pushed her against the wall and hit her in the face.

Ms Gould fled the apartment and called police.

As police led Nixon to a divisional van he broke free and fled along the street before officers tackled him to the ground, the court heard.

Ms Gould said in a victim impact statement she felt humiliated after the assault.

"I felt like I was being judged each time I went out in public," she said.

"I cut and coloured my hair as the colour reminded me of the traumatic memory seeing my hair that had been ripped out of my head during the attack and scattered on the floor."

She suffered bruising to her face, neck and arms in the assault.

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WA residents to get gas supplier choice

WEST Australian company Kleenheat Gas has entered the state's natural gas market, providing a first-time retail alternative.

Kleenheat Gas, a subsidiary of Wesfarmers, will now compete with Alinta in the domestic gas market, potentially servicing up to 630,000 customers.

The company says it can supply residential, small business, commercial and industrial customers from Geraldton to Busselton, through the mid-west/southwest main distribution system that takes gas from the Dampier to Bunbury pipeline.

The market could be expanded further south to Albany if the state government implements its plan for a gas pipeline from Bunbury to Albany.

Alinta has had control of the market since it was established as part of privatisation efforts in the 90's.

But Kleenheat Gas is promising a discount of 10 per cent on standard prices linked to streamlining online account management.

However, Kleenheat's vision depend on its ability to attract consumers away from Alinta and also relies on the government further lifting gas tariffs.

Comment is being sought from Alinta.

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Leaders urge end to Myanmar clashes

BUDDHIST and Muslim religious leaders are calling for calm in violence-hit central Myanmar (Burma), while urging the government to step up security for both communities.

The outbreak of religious violence in the town of Meiktila has claimed at least 32 lives and displaced about 9,000 people, according to officials on Sunday, leaving swathes of the town in ruin and prompting an army-enforced state of emergency.

The Interfaith Friendship Organisation called on the government "to lay effective security plans and provide security to people of the two communities".

The statement, signed by Buddhist and Muslim leaders and carried in the state-mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar, asked followers of different religions to obey the law and "maintain the community harmony with love and kindness".

The leaders are the first religious figures to speak out publicly since riots hit Meiktila, 130 kilometres north of the capital Naypyidaw, last Wednesday, leaving buildings torched and charred bodies in the streets.

The clashes are the latest sign of worsening tensions between Muslims and Buddhists and present a serious challenge for the quasi-civilian regime as it looks to reform the country after decades of iron-fisted military rule.

It is the worst communal violence since a wave of clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine last year that left at least 180 people dead and more than 110,000 displaced.

Urging people from all communities to step back from violence, the Interfaith Friendship Organisation, which also includes Christian and Hindu community leaders, said the clashes were posing a threat to Myanmar's progress.

The state of emergency order, signed by President Thein Sein, is designed to enable the army to help restore order and is a significant move in a country trying to emerge from the legacy of junta rule, which ended two years ago.

The United Nations, US, Britain and rights groups have called for calm and dialogue between communities amid fears that the violence could spread.

Myanmar's Muslims - largely of Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi descent - account for an estimated four per cent of the population of roughly 60 million, although the country has not conducted a census in three decades.

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Five boot camps for Qld young offenders

FIVE boot camps designed to put young offenders on the straight and narrow will be running in Queensland within six months.

Premier Campbell Newman announced on Sunday that boot camps for convicted youths will be open in Townsville, Rockhampton and on the Fraser Coast by September, along with two other camps.

Youths will spend four weeks at the camps cooking, cleaning, doing physical activities and studying while under constant surveillance.

Mr Newman says they will be given an opportunity to turn their lives around under the guidance of mentors and their families.

"This program is designed to teach these young people about discipline, rehabilitation and respect for themselves and those around them," he said in a statement.

"We promised a fresh approach to youth justice and these boot camps are a key part of that reform.

One camp is already up and running on the Gold Coast and another camp will be opened in Kuranda, near Cairns, in April.

The five boot camps will be trialled for two years.

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