Stately Bentley to go SUV: company

Luxury car maker Bentley says it will go ahead with plans to launch a sport utility vehicle in 2016. Source: AAP

LUXURY car maker Bentley, a unit of German auto giant Volkswagen, says it will go ahead with plans to launch a sport utility vehicle in 2016.

The Bentley brand has been associated down the years with stately vehicles for heads of state, the rich and show business stars.

"Bentley Motors today confirms that it will proceed with the development of the Bentley SUV," which would be made in Crewe in Britain and go on sale in 2016, the automaker said in a statement earlier this week.

"It will create over 1,000 jobs" in Britain.

Over the next three years, Bentley would invest more than STG800 million ($A1.34 billion) in its headquarters at Crewe and the development of new models, it said.

Bentley's pursuit of an SUV had been up in the air in the past months, as the company awaited a green light from Volkswagen and debated where production would be based.

"The Volkswagen Group believes in the UK as a competitive location for industrial production. Bentley fans all around the world are looking forward to the brand's first SUV," said VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

Bentley is part of the VW group, Europe's largest automaker, alongside other brands such as Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda.

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US won't seek death penalty for Snowden

The US has told Russia it will not seek the death penalty for intelligence leaker Edward Snowden. Source: AAP

ATTORNEY General Eric Holder has told the Russian government that the US will not seek the death penalty for former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden.

In a letter dated July 23, the attorney general said the criminal charges Snowden faces do not carry the death penalty and that the US will not seek the death penalty even if Snowden were charged with additional death penalty-eligible crimes.

Holder says his letter follows news reports that Snowden, who leaked information on largely secret electronic surveillance programs, has filed papers seeking temporary asylum in Russia on grounds that if he were returned to the United States, he would be tortured and would face the death penalty.

The attorney general's letter was sent to Alexander Vladimirovich Konovalov, the Russian minister of justice.

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16 boats arrive since PNG deal struck

More than 1000 asylum seekers are waiting on Christmas Island to be transferred to PNG. Source: AAP

THERE have been 16 asylum seeker boat arrivals since the Rudd government announced a week ago its new hardline policy to resettle refugees in Papua New Guinea.

On Saturday, Home affairs Minister Jason Clare revealed details of the latest arrivals.

Border protection authorities intercepted boat number 13 carrying 76 passengers and two crew north of Christmas Island on Thursday.

It came after HMAS Bathurst assisted boat number 12, carrying 96 passengers and three crew, when it ran into trouble north-northwest of Christmas Island on Wednesday.

People on board both boats have been taken to Christmas Island for initial identity and health checks before they are transferred to Papua New Guinea.

A spokeswoman from Mr Clare's office said the number of passengers on three other boats - making a total of 16 boats in the week - was still being confirmed.

Close to 1000 people, the total number of passengers on the 13 boats, are waiting on Christmas Island to be transferred to PNG.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke will address the media in Sydney on Saturday afternoon following his recent visit to inspect conditions at the Manus Island tent city detention complex in PNG.

During the visit Mr Burke spoke with whistleblower Rod St George who alleges up to half a dozen men were assaulted and sexually abused by some detainees.

Under the federal government's deal with PNG, people arriving by boat without a visa will be denied resettlement in Australia, be taken to Manus Island for processing and if their refugee status is approved, resettled in PNG.

In a later statement, Mr Clare gave details of another of the 16 boats which had been assisted by HMAS Melville northwest of Christmas Island, also on Wednesday.

He said it had 69 passengers on board and three crew members who had been taken to Christmas Island for health and identity checks.

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Havana airport to get $US10.2m upgrade

Cuba's Havana airport will get a $US10.2m upgrade to improve operations at the overcrowded facility. Source: AAP

CUBA'S main international terminal is getting a $US10.2 million ($A11.04 million) overhaul to improve operations at the overcrowded facility, according to state-run media.

The Havana Reporter, an English-language semi-weekly newspaper, says the Terminal 3 upgrade will include eight footbridges for boarding and the expansion of a parking area outside the terminal.

Government website Cubadebate added that the project also calls for new walkways, additional check-in counters, lighting and air conditioning improvements and systems to conserve water and electricity.

Airport director Juan Carlos Quintana told Cubadebate that the eastern part of the terminal would be upgraded to accommodate larger airplanes, and nearly 17,500 square metres of new roofing has already been installed.

Terminal 3 is the most modern of the Jose Marti International Airport's terminals. It was built with Canadian assistance at a cost of $US93 million, and inaugurated in 1998 in a ceremony involving Fidel Castro and Canada's then-premier, Jean Chretien.

However, it has not kept up with increasing traffic since then, and at times seems to be straining at the seams with long waits at check-in, immigration, security and baggage claim.

Cubadebate said the terminal has as many as 1,800 to 2,000 travellers passing through at times, a number that can rise to 2,500 if people accompanying passengers to the airport are factored in.

"The current design only allows for the terminal to accommodate 1,400 passengers, a number lower than the real volume that exists in these moments, which hurts the quality of service," the website said.

Overall, 2.5 million travellers pass through Terminal 3 each year, according to Cubadebate.

The terminal handles most international traffic with the exception of charter flights to and from the United States, which go through Terminal 2.

The number of travellers to the island has increased steadily since the 1990s, when in the midst of a severe economic crisis following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Castro's Communist-run government turned to tourism for badly needed hard currency.

Some 2.7 million tourists visited the island in 2011, according to the most recent government figure available, up from 2.1 million in 2007. Authorities predict it will hit three million this year.

Canada sends more travellers to Cuba than any other country, followed by England, Italy and Spain.

Repairs on the terminal began earlier in July and are expected to last six months, during which time access will be restricted to passengers only, Cubadebate said.

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Qld fears TB epidemic from PNG

Queensland's health minister says the state is wearing a big bill to treat sick Papua New Guineans. Source: AAP

PAPUA New Guineans are being turned away from the Torres Strait Islands over fears they're spreading a deadly disease, which has already claimed one life.

Locals say the state and federal governments aren't doing enough to stop a tuberculosis (TB) "epidemic", which has hit the islands and could spread to the mainland.

Torres Strait Regional Council Mayor Fred Gela says since an elderly local woman died from TB in April the council has refused to allow traders from PNG to visit the islands.

Council staff are required to sign temporary permits before someone from PNG can visit any of the 14 islands under a treaty agreed by the two countries.

Last year up to 26,000 individual permits were issued.

Mr Gela says the council has been forced to act because there are no health checks in place and he fears more people could die.

"My people are vulnerable and susceptible to contracting TB," he told AAP.

"Some of our communities are right on the front line, they're only a 10 minute boat ride from the PNG border.

"The reason is strong and simple: we're very, very concerned."

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says Queensland isn't receiving enough compensation to treat the hundreds of sick people from PNG who travel across the border each year.

He begrudgingly signed a deal on Wednesday that will see the state receive $18 million in compensation from the Commonwealth over four years.

He wanted an extra $10 million a year and a commitment to close the north's "porous" borders.

"This border is about as porous as a spaghetti colander," Mr Springborg said.

In 2011/12 about 1100 Papua New Guineans visited Queensland Health facilities in the Torres Strait and Cairns, 15 of whom had tuberculosis.

In one case, the cost of a patient's treatment came to $1 million.

Mr Springborg says Mr Gela wants to close the border, but only the Commonwealth has the power to do that.

Mr Gela described the extent of the TB outbreak in the Torres Strait as an epidemic and says the situation has worsened over the past decade.

He welcomed funding for programs such as AusAid in PNG but says Australia needs to ensure the money is being spent on stopping sick people crossing the border.

"The Australian government is pouring money into an international country with very little measures ensuring accountability," he said.

Mr Gela warned authorities not to view Torres Strait as "out of sight, out of mind," as diseases that spread through that area would soon reach the mainland.

"This is everybody's business," he said.

"The state and federal governments need to front up to this issue and deal with it."

The Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Hospital and Health Service says asylum seekers have been treated in far north Queensland hospitals.

Spokeswoman Simone Kolaric says a Syrian man, who came via PNG, was brought to a hospital by immigration officials a couple of months ago, amid concerns he had TB.

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Natural gas well off US coast catches fire

A FEDERAL official has confirmed that a fire has broken out on a blown-out Gulf of Mexico gas well.

Eileen Angelico of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement confirmed that the evacuated rig caught fire late on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The 44 workers on the drilling rig were evacuated early on Tuesday when the blowout occurred.

Angelico says it wasn't immediately clear what caused the gas to ignite. And it wasn't known what efforts to extinguish the blaze were being made early on Wednesday.

Personnel with Wild Well Control Inc were at the site to assess how and when to try to bring the well under control.

The site is about 88km off the Louisiana coast.

The drilling rig is owned by Hercules Offshore Inc. Executive vice president Jim Noe says experts will assess the well site and develop a plan to shut down the flow of gas.

Noe stressed that gas, not oil, was flowing from the well.

He says it's an important distinction because gas wells in relatively shallow areas - this one was in 47 metres of water - sometimes tend to clog with sand, effectively snuffing themselves out.

"That is a distinct possibility at this point," he said. "But until we have our (well control) personnel on the rig, we won't know much more."

Kevin Davis, head of the Louisiana governor's homeland security office, said: "According to federal officials, there is no imminent danger at this time."

Nonetheless, the Coast Guard is keeping nautical traffic 500 metres away from the site, where the spewing gas poses a fire hazard, and the Federal Aviation Administration has restricted aircraft up to 2000 feet (610 metres) above the area.

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More steam in Fukushima reactor building

Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan have reported more steam inside a reactor building. Source: AAP

WORKERS at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan have reported steam inside a battered reactor building for the second time in less than a week.

The operator said on Tuesday steam was seen around the fifth floor of the building housing Reactor No 3 shortly after 9am (1000 AEST), Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said, adding workers are continuing with the operation to inject cooling water into the reactor and a pool storing nuclear fuel.

TEPCO said monitoring equipment showed no significant changes, including in the levels of toxic substances the broken reactor is releasing.

Steam was spotted in the same area on Thursday last week but had disappeared by the next day, with TEPCO saying it did not know for sure what had caused it.

It said it was looking at the possibility that accumulated rainwater had been the source.

The reactor, devastated by a massive tsunami in March 2011, is too dangerous to approach, and workers had seen the steam on a camera feed, the utility said.

The roof of the building was blown off in a hydrogen explosion days after meltdowns that were sparked when cooling systems were flooded as the tsunami swept ashore.

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How will the royal baby grow up?

AS part of one of the most famous, privileged families in the world, what will childhood be like for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son?

The youngster will grow up, just as William did, with the knowledge that he will one day be king.

But with three generations of monarchs - the Queen, the Prince of Wales and William - between the baby and the crown, the prospect of ruling as sovereign looks likely to be a long way off.

A private education beckons, as well as an elite nursery and possibly a stint at boarding school. William went to Eton.

William calls his father "papa" and called his mother "mummy".

He also had childhood nannies - Olga Powell and Tiggy Legge-Bourke - to whom he was very close.

It is thought unlikely that the Duke and Duchess will employ a full-time nanny, but it is expected they will either opt for a part-time nanny to enable them to carry out official duties or turn to Kate's mother Carole Middleton instead.

William and Kate will do their utmost to give their child as normal an upbringing as possible as they grow up in the world of the Windsors.

The Duke has often spoken of how important it was for him to be treated like everyone else.

He relished the time he spent away from the media at university, where he met and fell in love with the Duchess, and in the armed forces.

Kate too, although also from a wealthy background, has been praised for her down-to-earth approach.

The child's milestones - from their first day at school to their first public engagement - may well be recorded by the media and a barrage of photographers just like William experienced.

Yet this could be kept private to offer as much protection to their child as possible.

The baby's central London home will be Kensington Palace's Apartment 1A, which used to belong to Princess Margaret.

With a big, private walled garden, there is plenty of space to play outside, as well as scores of rooms to explore.

It is being refurbished at a cost of STG1 million ($A1.67 million) to the taxpayer so far, with STG600,000 spent on internal refurbishments including removal of asbestos and STG400,000 spent on repairing and renewing the apartment's roof.

The cost of decorating the rooms, which is expected to be substantial, is being met privately.

William and Kate are also expected to use the 10-bedroom Georgian Grade II-listed house Anmer Hall on the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk as their country retreat.

The family already has its first pet - a black cocker spaniel called Lupo.

The baby will also have to get used to the Queen's beloved corgis and dorgis - a cross between a corgis and a dachshund.

Summer holidays will often be spent with the family in the Scottish countryside up at Balmoral - only for this youngster, grandpa will also be the Prince of Wales and great-granny the Queen.

Royal children greet the Queen with a kiss on both cheeks and a bow or a curtsey.

Christmases will partly be at Sandringham in Norfolk with the royals or with the Middletons in Berkshire and trips to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle will expose the youngster to opulent surroundings.

Prince Harry will also be a doting uncle while the Middletons too will play an important part in the baby's life, with the Duchess particularly close to her family - her mother, father Michael, sister Pippa and brother James.

When the Queen was a child, she was heir apparent by the time she was 10 and Charles was heir to the throne when he was just three.

But for this baby, born third in line, the responsibility of wearing the crown is a distant future event.

At some stage, though, the royal baby can expect to be prepared for their important future role - possibly lessons on the constitution or simply by watching relatives at work.

William and Kate's child may also accompany them on official trips overseas.

Royal protection officers will always be close by, while help from housekeepers and aides will be the norm.

Church services will also be familiar - this baby will one day be Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The baby is also likely to experience a stint in the armed forces, particularly as a future head of the military.

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Tokyo stocks close 0.82% higher

TOKYO shares ended up 0.82 per cent on Tuesday as Japan upgraded its view of the national economy while a weak dollar capped market gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 120.47 points higher to 14,778.51, reversing a 0.70 per cent decline at the open, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was 0.51 per cent, or 6.19 points, higher at 1,222.72 in low-volume trading.

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Hames resigns as WA tourism minister

Senior WA minister Kim Hames has resigned his tourism portfolio after admitting an expenses bungle. Source: AAP

SENIOR West Australian minister Kim Hames has resigned his tourism portfolio after he admitted wrongly claiming more than $1000 for accommodation expenses.

After questions from the opposition, Mr Hames admitted he had wrongly claimed for an MP's allowance for staying at his home in Perth several times totalling $1013.

Premier Colin Barnett said he had accepted Mr Hames explanation that the bungle was an innocent mistake but "there must be consequences".

"When you hold public office, the standards are high. They were innocent mistakes, but not excusable mistakes," Mr Barnett said.

Mr Barnett will act as tourism minister until a replacement is found.

Mr Hames, who is also WA's deputy premier and health minister, said on Sunday he had never "milked the system", but had made significant clerical errors.

"I just didn't go through my records enough or missed the fact that I was leaving on that day for those four claims," Mr Hames said.

"If I wanted to milk the system I would have had a lot of opportunities over four-and-a-half years to do it - and here we've found I've made clear mistakes on three or four occasions."

But opposition health spokesman Roger Cook said it was more than just shoddy bookkeeping Mr Hames was guilty of.

"He can't manage his personal finances, we question whether he can manage the senior portfolios of tourism and health at the same time."

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Greens candidate on drink-driving charge

AN electric car-led campaign has backfired for a Greens election candidate facing a drink-driving charge.

Rosalie Ellen Woodruff, 48, has appeared in the Hobart Magistrate's Court on a single count after recording a blood alcohol level of 0.065 in June.

Dr Woodruff is a federal candidate for the southern Tasmanian seat of Franklin, currently held by newly promoted cabinet minister Julie Collins.

She is yet to enter a plea but issued an apology through the party.

"Ms Woodruff apologised unreservedly for the incident," a Greens statement said.

Dr Woodruff, who is a renowned epidemiologist and a local councillor, arrived at her campaign launch last year in a Daihatsu converted to run on electricity.

She said Tasmania could become a centre for electrical conversions, which cost about $15,000 per car.

Greens leader Christine Milne said disciplinary action, if deemed necessary, would be handled locally by the party.

"Of course I don't condone drink driving," Senator Milne said.

Dr Woodruff will reappear in court on September 5.

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Earthquake kills 47, injures 300 in China

AT least 47 people have died and about 300 have been injured after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit north-western China's Gansu province the government and state media say.

The quake shook homes in Gansu's Minxian and Zhangxian counties at 7:45 am on Monday and was felt in nearby cities, the Gansu Seismological Bureau reported.

The US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude at 5.9 while initial reports by the China Earthquake Networks Centre and the Gansu provincial seismological bureau estimated it at 6.6.

At least 45 people died in Minxian county, while the quake destroyed 380 homes and seriously damaged 5,600 others in Zhangxian county, the seismological bureau said.

Electricity was cut in five townships of Zhanxian and several railway lines were damaged, it said.

Local governments mobilised hundreds of soldiers, police and civilians to help with rescue work, state media said.

The International Red Cross said staff from its Chinese branch were on their way to Gansu and would send initial relief supplies including 200 tents and 1,000 "family kits" of basic household items.

"Heavy rain is forecast in the disaster-hit area, which is likely to affect rescue and relief efforts and pose dangers of landslides," the International Red Cross said.

"The two counties at the intersection of which the quake epicentre was located, Minxian and Zhangxian, are still recovering from weeks of torrential rain and flooding, increasing residents' vulnerability in face of this fresh disaster," it said.

The rescue work was also hampered by nearly 400 aftershocks, including a 5.6-magnitude quake at 9:12 am, reports said.

The epicentre was southeast of the provincial capital, Lanzhou, and west of Beijing.

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Rudd deal with PNG a fix: Abbott

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says asylum seekers could still be resettled in Aus. Source: AAP

THE coalition has launched a broad attack on Labor's asylum seeker deal with Papua New Guinea, accusing Kevin Rudd of misleading Australians to win votes ahead of an election.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the central thrust of the deal - that all asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent to PNG and will not be resettled in Australia - simply is not true.

"It's clear that neither of Mr Rudd's assertions are actually borne out by the document," he told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.

"Mr Rudd has been misleading to the point of dishonesty."

Mr Abbott, accompanied by his immigration spokesman Scott Morrison, detailed a long list of alleged flaws with the deal, signed on Friday by Mr Rudd and his PNG counterpart Peter O'Neill.

Under the arrangement, people arriving by boat without a visa were to be sent to Australia's Manus Island facility in PNG for assessment and, if found to be refugees, would be settled there.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus earlier said it was unlikely PNG's leader would have told the coalition anything different.

"I'm certain that's not what Prime Minister O'Neill said," Mr Dreyfus told Network Ten.

But Mr Abbott said the document wasn't even legally binding, but a scant two pages "held together with blue tac and sticky tape" to last until the election.

"This is simply another fake fix from someone who is the great pretender of Australian politics," he said.

Mr Morrison said it was clear from examining the details that PNG was not bound to the agreement, and that Labor had no plan for children arriving by boat.

PNG would not take an unlimited number of asylum seekers, despite Labor claims to the contrary, and it could be years before Manus Island could handle a surge in arrivals, he added.

He said people who are found not to be refugees would become Australia's problem, and those with communicable diseases, terrorism charges or a criminal background would remain in Australia.

"The devil is always in the detail with Mr Rudd, and Mr Rudd always proves to be the devil in that detail," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Rudd's hardline policy will likely feature at a meeting of Labor MPs meeting in Sydney on Monday, with Cabinet member Mark Butler acknowledging a level of discomfort within the party ranks.

"There would be people within the Labor movement and the Labor party and the broader community who would feel uncomfortable with this," he told Sky News.

It comes as Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare announced that the Australian Federal Police would pay rewards of up to $200,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people smugglers.

But Foreign Minister Bob Carr said asylum seekers were arriving at the rate of 40,000 to 50,000 a year, and a tough response to stop that rising even further was unavoidable.

"If it continues at this level - the prime minister was very persuaded by this - it could rise further as people smugglers really close in to make a financial killing," he told Sky News.

The coalition has said it would "salvage" what it could from the deal if elected to government, but wouldn't be replaced its foremost policy of turning back asylum boats where it's safe to do so.

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Avicii No.1 for a third week in Australia

Avicii's Wake Me Up is the No.1 single on the ARIA charts for a third week. Source: AAP

AVICII stays atop the ARIA Singles chart for a third consecutive week with Wake Me Up.

Also holding at No.2 for a second week are OneRepublic with Counting Stars, while Robin Thicke is at No.3 with Blurred Lines.

Jumping up ten places to land at No.4 is Lorde with her EP The Love Club, which features the track Royals.

This is her first Australian Top 10 entry.

We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus is down a place to No.5 this week.

Matt Corby's Resolution has jumped four places to No.6 - helped by the release of the song's EP version, which was released last week.

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons has fallen one spot to No.7.

Australia has become the seventh country to give Naughty Boy and Sam Smith a top 10 placing for their former No.1 UK single La La La.

The track has jumped 12 places to No.8 and pushed Parachute for Timomatic and Dear Darlin' for Olly Murs down two places each to No.9 and No.10 respectively.

Pink reclaims her No.1 crown on the ARIA albums chart, with her The Truth About Love record jumping up three places this week.

This becomes the record's third run at the top of the chart.

Harrison Craig's More Than A Dream has dropped one spot to No.2

Jay-Z also drops down a place to No.3 with Magna Carta Holy Grail.

Landing the highest debut of the week is Robin Thicke with Blurred Lines, his sixth studio album and first to chart in Australia.

Former No.1 Circus in the Sky for Bliss N' Eso is down two places to No.5, and coming in at No.6 with his first post-The Voice release is Luke Kennedy's A Time for Us.

With the Fleetwood Mac tour nearing in November, the group has jumped ten places to No.7 with their new compilation 25 Years - The Chain.

Their last top 10 appearance was Rumours: 35th Anniversary Edition, which was No.2 in May 2011.

Pink has a second album within the top 10. Her Greatest Hits So Far is at No.8.

A for Agnetha Faltskog is down one place to No.9.

Holding for a third week at No.10 is Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox.

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Concerns over Billabong deal

A SHAREHOLDERS' rights group has taken aim at Billabong's planned recapitalisation deal, arguing competing offers for the surfwear icon should be considered.

Billabong last week announced it had reached a $US294 million ($A325 million) deal with US private equity group Altamont Capital Partners which will allow it to repay its debts.

Altamont is expected to take a stake of up to 40 per cent in the company under the deal.

But two of Billabong's main creditors, Centerbridge Partners and Oaktree Capital, have lodged a challenge to the deal with federal regulator the Takeovers Panel.

The challenge centres around a 35 per cent interest rate levied on a $A44 million convertible loan held by the company, which will be charged until shareholders approve the deal, and a reported $A65 million break fee which Billabong will have to pay if it scraps the deal with Altamont.

The panel has yet to decide whether to hold hearings into the matter.

Australian Shareholders' Association chairman Ian Curry on Sunday said the panel should declare the break fee to be "unacceptable".

The panel had previously said break fees should not equate to more than one per cent of the equity value of the transaction, he said.

"ASA is not currently a party to the proceedings, but we are concerned by media reports about the break fee and urge the Takeovers Panel to declare it to be 'unacceptable'," Mr Curry said in a statement.

Centrebridge and Oaktree have submitted their own refinancing proposal which involved them taking a 61.2 per cent stake in Billabong, but their offer has been rejected by the company's board.

Mr Curry wants the Billabong board to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure an orderly and competitive process that allows shareholders to consider alternative proposals to the Altamont deal.

"Billabong shareholders have suffered enough at the hands of a board and management team which have imperilled the company," he said.

"At the very least, the board should facilitate a truly competitive auction so that all serious bidders can lodge their best offers."

Shares in Billabong have risen sharply since the Altamont deal was announced, jumping from 25 cent to 40 cents between Wednesday and Friday.

The company has been subject to a string of takeover attempts in recent years as it tries to combat weak revenues and high debts.

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