'Butcher of Bega' released from jail

A former NSW doctor has successfully appealed his jail sentence for mutilating a woman's genitals. Source: AAP

FORMER NSW doctor Graeme Reeves has been released from Long Bay jail after he successfully appealed an 18-month increase to his sentence for mutilating a woman's genitals.

Dubbed the "butcher of Bega", Reeves was found guilty in 2011 of removing Carolyn DeWaegeneire's clitoris and genitals.

Medical Error Action Group spokeswoman Lorraine Long said she was shocked at news of his release and said she would meet with women who had contacted her to decide the next step.

"I think the first step is to organise a meeting and (the women) can reveal (their cases)," she said.

On December 18 the High Court ruled Reeves had the right to appeal against an 18-month increase to his sentence, but not his conviction.

A spokesman for NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith said a number of charges were withdrawn by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in mid-November after it found there was insufficient evidence to ensure a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Reeves was released to court-based parole on December 20.

"The Corrective Services NSW Community Corrections Division has placed strict parole conditions on Reeves, including that he not contact his victims," a spokesman for the attorney-general said on Saturday.

"The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal will re-sentence Mr Reeves in light of the High Court decision.

"It is possible he will serve an additional period of imprisonment."

Ms Long said she was unaware the charges against Reeves were dropped in mid-November.

She said she has 832 complaints against Reeves and planned to make them public in the coming year.

"They did that in November and never had the decency to contact the women," she said.

"Why do it right now, so we won't notice?"

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Gambler rewards honest US cabbie with $10K

A US gambler who left behind $US300,000 in a cab has handed over $US10,000 to the honest driver. Source: AAP

A POKER player who left $US300,000 ($A338,275) in the back seat of a Las Vegas taxi made good on his promise this week, handing over a $US10,000 reward to the honest cabbie who returned the stash.

Yellow Checker Star Cab Company CEO Bill Shranko confirmed Friday that Gerardo Gamboa had been paid by the poker player. The cab company also honoured the driver's good deed by naming him employee of the year, awarding him $US1000 and giving him a gift certificate to a Las Vegas steakhouse.

It's unclear how Gamboa plans to spend the belated Christmas gift. He did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Friday.

The tale, first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, started Monday when Gamboa accepted a fare at the Bellagio casino. A hotel doorman noticed a brown paper bag on the back seat and handed it to him; Gamboa thought it was sweets.

The driver said he had another passenger by the time he began wondering what kind of chocolates were in the brown paper bag. He peeked inside at a traffic light and spotted the cash.

"I told my passenger, 'You are my witness on this'," the 13-year taxi driver told the Las Vegas Sun, "and then I immediately called my dispatcher".

Gamboa took the six bundles of $100 bills to the company's main office, where Las Vegas police and casino officials linked it to the poker player.

It took several hours to verify the identity of the owner and return the cash. Authorities aren't identifying the poker player.

Before he learned about the anonymous gambler's gift, Gamboa said he wasn't in it for the money.

"If he doesn't give me anything, that's OK," Gamboa told the Sun earlier this week. "I'm not waiting for any kind of return. I just wanted to do the right thing, and I appreciate what the company did for me."

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China one-child policy change approved

CHINA'S top legislature has sanctioned the ruling Communist Party's decision to allow couples to have a second child if one parent is an only child.

It's the first major easing in three decades of the restrictive national birth planning policy.

Implemented around 1980, China's birth policy has limited most couples to only one child, but has allowed a second child if neither parent has siblings or if the first born to a rural couple is a girl.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the standing committee of the National People's Congress approved a resolution on Saturday to formalise the party decision.

It says the national lawmaking body has delegated the power to provincial people's congresses and their standing committees to implement the new policy.

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Searchers for tramper find body

A BODY has been recovered from the bottom of a 100-metre cliff in Nelson Lakes National Park in New Zealand by searchers looking for British tramper Andrew Wyatt.

The body is yet to be formally identified, police say.

The body was below the Lake Constance Bluff, which is on Mr Wyatt's intended route between Blue Lake Hut and Waiau Pass.

Four ground teams, one dog team and a communications team were flown into the park by Air Force Iroquois on Friday to resume the search for Mr Wyatt after the weather improved.

He had been missing for 12 days.

The search was suspended on Christmas Day due to bad weather.

A helicopter spent three hours visiting all the huts in the area on Monday.

Mr Wyatt arrived in New Zealand on November 21 and was last seen on December 15 at Blue Lake Hut.

He planned to walk the Te Araroa Trail that links Cape Reinga to Bluff.

Police have been in daily contact with Mr Wyatt's parents in the UK.

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Gold Coast adventurer reaches South Pole

A GOLD Coast adventurer taking a pink "boob-sled" across Antarctica has made it to the South Pole.

Dr Geoff Wilson reached the milestone on Friday, leaving him with 1100km to go in his quest to become the first Aussie - and third person - to cross the southern continent solo.

But he reckons the worst of the journey is over.

"Now I've got the shorter run to the coast, which is the traditional entry route for most polar travellers," he told ABC Radio on Friday.

"The positive is that it's down hill and it will get warmer and warmer as I get closer to the coast."

Dr Wilson has endured sub-zero temperatures and strong icy winds throughout his trek.

Earlier this month he even ventured into the elements naked, dancing around a tent to celebrate beating the Australian record for the longest trek across the icy continent.

However, his main goal is to take the "boob-sled" 3300km from one side of Antarctica to the other - and raise $1 million for breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation.

"I've been pulling the boob-sled for 2280km to here, so it's double the current record for Australian solo polar travel already and there's still 1100km to go," he told ABC Radio.

"It will be the first Australian crossing of the Antarctic continent and there's only two other guys who have ever done it solo unassisted - they're both Norwegian legends.

"We may, as long as I keep making good decisions, give the record a shake which has been held since 1997 by a very tough Norwegian called Borge Ousland."

Dr Wilson began the trek on November 4 and expects the journey to take him up to 80 days.

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Sydney woman charged with attempted murder

Police have charged a woman with attempted murder after a man was stabbed in Sydney's west. Source: AAP

A WOMAN who allegedly stabbed a man numerous times on Christmas Eve at a granny flat in Sydney's west has been charged with attempted murder.

Police said they were called to a house on Woodville Road, Guildford after reports of a fight between a man, 43, and 26-year-old woman, about 12.30pm (AEDT) Tuesday.

After returning home, the man was assaulted in the house's granny flat by the woman and two other men, police believe.

They allege the woman stabbed the man three times in the neck, arm and shoulder, before the fight spilled out onto the road.

The man and woman collapsed, and the two other men fled the scene in a ute.

The pair were taken to hospital and the woman was arrested on her release.

She has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

She was granted conditional bail yesterday and will face Parramatta Local Court on January 16.

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No laughing matter as scary clowns strike

UK clowns are up in arms about impostors who are tarnishing their name by scaring people in public places.

The copycat craze - believed to have been started by a man known on Facebook as the Northampton Clown - involves people dressing as the circus characters to surprise passers-by in public places.

Derbyshire police received 29 reports of clown sightings after social media claims that a man in the Nottingham area was dressing up and carrying balloons and a knife.

One report read: "Caller scared as someone had tried to get in to their house - posted on Facebook that a clown had been going around village trying door handles."

Another said: "Caller reported having received numerous calls from concerned parents about a clown going up to the windows of houses brandishing a gun and knife frightening the residents."

Tony Eldridge, the secretary of Clowns International, which represents the entertainers in Britain, said the problem had escalated beyond harmless fun.

"The fear of clowns - coulrophobia - is a real thing and some people will react very badly to this.

"This has nothing to do with clowning. It's a small group of people with stupid views and it spoils the fun for everybody else."

He added that most legitimate entertainers followed a code of clown conduct which includes not wearing their costume in public.

The trend emerged when the Northampton Clown, who posts photos of himself in public places, rose to prominence and gained nearly 200,000 "likes" on Facebook.

Last month Norfolk police told the public to ignore clowns after sightings around King's Lynn.

These included a person in a "full clown outfit" with a red suit and red hair chasing members of the public.

South Yorkshire police recorded 28 incidents involving people dressed as clowns.

These included a clown standing in a park, jumping out at somebody in the street and staring through the window of a house.

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US migrant stats 'can't be produced fast'

US prosecutors say they can't meet demands to deliver documents about thousands of immigrants. Source: AAP

US prosecutors say they can't meet a judge's demands that they quickly deliver documents about thousands of immigrants who've been detained across the country for months or years as their immigration statuses are reviewed.

The office of US Attorney Preet Bharara laid out the government's position to US District Judge Richard M. Berman in a letter made public on Wednesday.

The letter came five days after the judge criticised the government, saying it had been on notice since the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)requested the documents nearly five years ago.

The ACLU eventually filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in Manhattan federal court in 2011 seeking documents from the US Department of Homeland Security and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The ACLU questioned the practice of "prolonged immigration detention - for months, if not years - without adequate procedures in place to determine whether their detention is justified".

It cited a dramatic increase in the number of immigration detainees in recent decades, noting they weren't serving criminal sentences but were being detained by the thousands to ensure they're available for removal from the country if removal is ordered and appeals are exhausted.

The judge said the government's continued refusal to produce documents had stymied efforts to reform a system in which thousands of immigrant detainees, some applicants for asylum, languish in immigration jails longer than six months.

He also attacked as "painstaking and riddled with further delay" the government's process for releasing documents, saying the government hasn't produced any documents since his September 9 order to release documents, and had at times claimed it would take seven years to produce 100 files.

The government, though, said in its letter it is "not feasible" to produce documents from more than 22,000 individual files as ordered but said it can produce a reliable sample of 385 files within 15 months, with rolling releases within eight weeks of a revised order.

In 2009, The Associated Press conducted a computer analysis of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement database obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, finding there were 32,000 immigrants from 177 countries detained, including more than 18,000 with no criminal convictions.

The analysis showed that nearly 10,000 had been in custody more than a month, that 400 of those with no criminal records had been locked up more than a year, that a dozen had been held for three years or more and that one man from China had been incarcerated more than five years.

Many of the longest-term, non-criminal detainees were asylum seekers.

The analysis was referenced in the ACLU lawsuit.

According to a 2001 US Supreme Court ruling, immigrants are supposed to be deported or released within about six months.

The steady increase in the number of immigrants held behind bars grew considerably after Congress passed a pair of laws in 1996 requiring immigrants who committed crimes be locked up for deportation. The numbers continued to rise after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and amid anti-immigrant political rhetoric.

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Indon remembers 170,000 tsunami victims

FLAGS are flying at half-mast and locals have gathered at mass graves as Indonesia's Aceh province marks nine years since it was ravaged by a tsunami that killed 170,000 people.

The province on the northern tip of Sumatra island bore the brunt of the tsunami that devastated the region and affected coastal areas across south and South-East Asia.

"It's been nine years but it feels like it was yesterday," said 50-year-old Makmun Adam, who lost two children and his wife in the tsunami.

"I pray to God that they be given a place in heaven," he said.

Indonesian red-and-white flags will be flown at half-mast for three days to mark the disaster.

The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-9.3 earthquake off Sumatra and killed an estimated 230,000 people in 13 countries in the Indian Ocean.

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Stocks to watch at close on Tuesday

STOCKS to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Tuesday:

PPX - PAPERLINX - up 0.1 of a cent, or 2.3 per cent, at 4.4 cents

Paper merchant and packaging supplier PaperlinX will cut 75 jobs in Germany and 65 in the United Kingdom as the group continues to restructure its operations.

RIO - RIO TINTO - down six cents, or 0.09 per cent, at $66.84

Rio Tinto could dump its 19.1 per cent stake in a proposed copper and gold mine in Alaska that has been opposed by the local community and several of Rio Tinto's shareholders.

TCL - TRANSURBAN - up six cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $6.86

Transurban is close to completing the purchase of $475 million of debt held by Sydney's Cross City Tunnel.

WCB - WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER - steady at $9.25

Canadian dairy firm Saputo has increased its stake in Warrnambool Cheese and Butter to almost 18 per cent.

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Vic shoppers battle last-minute crowds

LEGO and Barbie have been selling for more than 100 years between them but are still among the most sought-after Christmas gifts in Victoria this festive season.

Shoppers leaving it late had to battle big crowds throughout the state, with around seven per cent of Victorians buying last minute presents on Christmas Eve, the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) says.

More than $1.46 billion will be spent nationwide in the two days before Christmas, with Victorians stumping up around $233 million on presents alone.

David Jones regional manager Lyn James said despite continuing growth in online shopping, many Victorians still preferred to visit retail stores and purchase gifts personally.

"People love the stores and the experience of being able to touch and feel what they want to buy," Ms James said on Tuesday.

"The trend is definitely around the very last minute," she said.

"This Christmas for children it has been about Lego and Barbie," Ms James said when asked about top selling items.

For adults, it's all about smelling good this festive season with perfumes and cologne among the top stocking stuffers.

Retailers are predicting about $29.6 billion in sales across the Christmas period, a jump of 5.4 per cent on 2012.

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Alleged Hells Angel charged over drug haul

AN alleged Hells Angels bikie has been charged after a police raid uncovered crystal methylamphetamine with a street value of $42,000.

Police also seized $1190 in cash and a small amount of cannabis during the search of a home at Brassall, in Ipswich.

A 30-year-old Brassall man has been charged with two counts of supplying dangerous drugs and one count of possessing dangerous drugs, possessing drug paraphernalia and possession of explosives (ammunition and fireworks).

He will face the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.

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NZ shares rally with 'bargain-hunting'

NEW Zealand shares have rallied as offshore investors saw value in a market that has lagged global peers in recent days.

The NZX 50 Index rose 41.444 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 4722.635 on Monday. Within the index, 33 stocks rose, 11 fell and six were unchanged. Turnover was $93 million.

A2 Corp led gainers, rising 6.7 per cent to 80 cents.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings rose 4.5 per cent to $3.70, leading some retailers higher after Paymark said spending in the first three weeks of December was 6.9 per cent up on the same period last year, suggesting retailers may be in for a strong Christmas.

Michael Hill International rose 3.7 per cent to $1.41 and Kathmandu rose about three per cent to $3.48. Warehouse Group slipped 0.5 per cent to $3.65.

Among market heavyweights, Fletcher Building rose 1.8 per cent to $8.54 and Telecom rose 1.3 per cent to $2.34. Auckland International Airport gained two per cent to $3.55.

"There's been a few people looking to pick up a bargain," said Greg Easton, an adviser at Craigs Investment Partners.

"We've lagged the rest of the world."

Guinness Peat Group fell 1.7 per cent to 58.5 cents after saying the UK Pensions Regulator had issued warning notices over two of its pension plans.

Chorus, the network operator, fell 1.4 per cent to $1.445.

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Stocks to watch at close on Monday

STOCKS to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Monday:

AIO - ASCIANO - up 3.00 cents, or 0.53 per cent, at $5.70

TOL - TOLL HOLDINGS - up 5.00 cents, or 0.91 per cent, at $5.57

Transport group Toll will provide Asciano with at least 90 per cent of its Queensland rail freight volumes from next year in a new 13-year deal between the companies.

EGP - ECHO ENTERTAINMENT - up 14 cents, or 6.09 per cent, at $2.44

The managing director of Sydney casino The Star has resigned to take a job overseas.

GFF - GOODMAN FIELDER - up 1.5 cents, or 2.31 per cent, at 66.5 cents

Food producer Goodman Fielder is selling its biscuits business in Australia to Green's Foods, generating proceeds of $17 million.

JFX - JAMES HARDIE - down 1.00 cents, or 0.08 per cent, at $12.55

Building products maker James Hardie Industries and the New Zealand Ministry of Education have reached a confidential settlement over leaky school buildings.

LEI - LEIGHTON HOLDINGS - up 67 cents, or 4.36 per cent, at $16.04

Leighton Holdings-owned Thiess has won a $230 million, one-year contract extension at Glencore Xstrata's Mt Owen Coal Mine in the NSW Hunter Valley.

NCM - NEWCREST MINING - down 16 cents, or 2.08 per cent, at $7.54

Australia's largest gold miner is facing a class action from shareholders over its massive financial writedown.

NHF - NIB HOLDINGS - up 6.00 cents, or 2.46 per cent, at $2.50

Health insurer nib is lifting its premiums by an average of almost eight per cent.

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Goodman Fielder sells biscuits business

FOOD producer Goodman Fielder is selling its biscuits business in Australia to Green's Foods, generating proceeds of $17 million.

But the company will record a non-cash impairment of between $50 million and $55 million in its half year accounts as a result of the sale.

The business produces sweet and savoury biscuits, with brands including Paradise, Cottage, Vive and Veri Deli.

Goodman Fielder chief executive Chris Delaney said the transaction was consistent with the company's strategy of focusing on core categories and brands.

Goodman Fielder also produces spreads, flour and dressings, with brands including MeadowLea, Olive Grove and White Wings.

"The biscuits business is not core to our grocery division, and we formed the view that this business can maximise its potential under different ownership," Mr Delaney said.

Green's, which is Australian-owned and operated, said the acquisition would secure the jobs of more than 300 employees.

It said the acquisition of Goodman Fielder's biscuits business would make Green's the second largest Australian-based biscuit manufacturer and the largest Australian-owned biscuit company.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2014.

Shares in Goodman Fielder were 1.5 cents higher at 66.5 cents on Monday.

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Iraqi general among 24 killed in attack

Twenty-four Iraqi military personnel have been killed in an attack in western Iraq. Source: AAP

TWENTY-FOUR Iraqi military personnel, including a senior commander, have been killed in an attack in western Iraq, according to police.

A series of back-to-back bombings on Saturday occurred as troops were raiding a hideout of insurgents with suspected links to al-Qaeda in Anbar, west of Baghdad.

The senior officer killed was identified as Major-General Mohammed al-Karawi, the commander of the Iraqi army's Seventh Division.

The dead also included intelligence officers, police said.

At least 35 soldiers were wounded in the attack, which prompted the authorities to put security forces on heightened alert in the mainly Sunni province, media reports said.

Military reinforcements have been sent to Anbar in preparation for the launch of a large-scale campaign in the area, reports said.

In the aftermath of the attack, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed an "iron-fist" policy to tackle the insurgents.

"I call on personnel of our brave army to strike with an iron fist against the heads of the evil minority, and pursue them everywhere until Iraq is purged of their wickedness," he said.

An increase in attacks by insurgents in recent months has raised the prospect of a return to the violence that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

According to UN estimates, 659 people were killed in attacks in Iraq in November.

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Hot air balloon lands in Melbourne carpark

THE pilot of a hot air balloon has been praised for his emergency landing in a Melbourne carpark without any of the 10 people aboard being injured.

The balloon came down in the carpark of an apartment building in the inner suburb of Balaclava on Sunday morning.

Everyone walked out of the balloon without a cut or scratch.

Victoria Police Sergeant Barney Wursthorn said the successful emergency landing was a testament to the pilot's skills.

"He's pretty much put the basket down where he wanted to and chosen a parking spot here in the carpark," he told reporters at the scene.

"It's quite a good effort by the pilot."

He said the pilot had to make a controlled landing after having problems with the wind.

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Man critical after CBD assault

Police would like to speak to this man in relation to a serious assault in Brisbane's CBD early Sunday morning. Source: Supplied

Police would like to speak to this man in relation to a serious assault in Brisbane's CBD early Sunday morning. Source: Supplied

A MAN has come forward over a bashing in Brisbane CBD overnight, which left another man with critical injuries.

A man voluntarily attended Petrie police station a short time ago and is currently speaking with detectives.

The other man is still in hospital in a critical condition with life threatening injuries.

EARLIER, police relased CCTV images of a man as part of ongoing investigations into the serious assault of a man in Brisbane's CBD.

Police are searching for a man who intervened in a couple's fight, seriously injuring a 38-year-old man in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The couple were arguing on the footpath of Queen Street near the intersection with Wharf Street around 4am when an unidentified man stepped in, seriously injuring the 38-year-old.

Brisbane region detective inspector Ian Park said the partner of the injured Arana Hills man was by his bedside in hospital.

"She's very upset obviously by what's happened," he said.

He said the man today remained in Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition with serious injuries after being resuscitated at the scene.

Insp Park said alcohol may have been a factor.

"I guess it's a fair assumption that at 4 o'clock there is going to be alcohol involved, so we would appeal to people to just be careful with alcohol and look after themselves and each other and not to drink to excessive levels, which is always a deadly cocktail."

There were reports that people performed CPR on the man before paramedics arrived.

Alessandro Vosolo, who is staying on the 44th floor of the building, said the fight sounded violent and lasted less than four minutes.

"Fighting, screaming, arguing like guys getting thrown around, that sort of thing," he said.

One witness said he was on the 20th floor of the hotel and heard the fight.

"A dude got beat up... We heard it but then police rocked up."

Police insp Park said a number of witnesses had already been interviewed but appealed for more people to step forward, particularly the man, understood to be Caucasian and in his 30s, who was involved in the fight.

The injured man was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition.

"Initial information suggests that a man and a woman were seen arguing on the footpath of Queen Street near the intersection with Wharf Street when another man intervened just before 4am," police said in a statement.

Police said the two men were then involved in a fight in which a 38-year-old Arana Hills man sustained a serious head injury.

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Detective inspector Ian Park said police were also investigating the assault of a man who got into a fight with a hotel staff member at the Orient about 4.30am.

A 37-year-old man fell down the stairs and suffered serious head injuries when his head hit the concrete pavement.

"I believe the may have been a disagreement between this person and a staff member but as to what actually took place is subject to investigation," Insp Park said.

The man was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he is in a serious condition.

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In a third incident, a man was allegedly glassed in the face at the Family Nightclub on McLachlan St in the Fortitude Valley about 3am Sunday.

Police said a 19-year-old was struck in the face with a glass, receiving cuts to his cheek area. Police said the man did not have life-threatening injuries.

A spokesman said security staff and patrons stopped the alleged attacker and held him until police arrived.

A 20-year-old Calamvale man has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm. He is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday morning.

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