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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