Flood rescue prompts police warning

A 68-YEAR-OLD man's narrow escape from his rapidly submerging ute in NSW's Northern Rivers region has prompted police to repeat warnings to motorists not to drive into floodwaters.

Police said that at about 6am (AEDT) on Saturday the man ignored signs warning of water over a causeway at Ellangowan, 20km south of Casino, and drove his utility in, flooding the vehicle up to the bonnet.

The force of the water pushed the ute off the causeway and it began to float downstream.

Police said the man managed to get out moments before the ute submerged and he was swept about 100 metres downstream before he managed to grab a tree.

At about 8.30am a passerby heard his cries for help and called a nearby resident, who waded towards the man but wasn't able to reach him because of the current.

Police and Casino Volunteer Rescue Association officers were called and conducted a swift water rescue of the man who was treated for mild hypothermia before being taken to hospital.

The rescue came only hours before the body of a man was found in his submerged car on a flooded road at Mylneford, about 20km northwest of Grafton on the NSW north coast.

That death prompted a warning to motorists from Deputy State Emergency Operations Controller, Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, and he repeated the warning after learning of the Ellangowan rescue.

"Roads are closed for a very good reason - they are flooded and dangerous," he said in a statement.

"We are again appealing for motorists and members of the public to never enter floodwaters or cross flooded causeways.

"It is dangerous for them and for those who have to rescue them."

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16 sites for new nuclear plants in Iran

IRAN has selected 16 locations for the contruction of nuclear power plants as part of a plan to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity at multiple sites over the next 15 years.

State TV says that experts at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran have finished studies to select the best locations across the country.

It added the sites were chosen in part for their resistance to earthquakes and military air strikes.

The Islamic republic says it needs 20 large-scale plants to meet its growing electricity needs over the next one-and-a-half decades.

State TV also says that Iran has discovered new uranium resources in the country that will put its reserves at 3990 tonnes compared to 1385 tonnes three decades ago.

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Pistorius spends time with family

Oscar Pistorius (R) has been freed on bail pending a high-profile trial for killing his girlfriend. Source: AAP

SOUTH Africa's Olympic "Blade Runner" and murder suspect Oscar Pistorius was on Saturday with his family spending his first day out on bail pending trial for the killing of his girlfriend.

Pistorius was freed on a record one million rand ($A110,656) bail on Friday after eight days in cells and an emotionally charged four-day bail hearing.

"I would like Oscar to just compose himself and to have a normal day," his uncle Arnold Pistorius told the local Eyewitness News.

Pistorius will return to court later this year when a date will be set for trial for having shot dead his model girlfriend and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.

When contacted by AFP, his father Henke Pistorius refused to say how his son had slept. He spent the night at his uncle's house in Pretoria.

But a source close to the family told AFP that "the family just want time together. They haven't thought about anything except being together".

Pistorius claims he killed his lover by mistake thinking she was a burglar.

The grieving parents of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, however, did not appear convinced.

"It doesn't matter how rich he is and how good his legal team is. He needs to live with himself if he lets his legal team lie for him," his father Barry told the Afrikaans language daily Beeld.

Pistorius has assembled some of the best legal brains in South African to defend his case.

"He'll have to live with his conscience. But if he's telling the truth, I may forgive him one day," said Steenkamp's father.

But "if it didn't happen as he described it, he should suffer. And he will suffer ... only he knows".

Pistorius' family sent flowers and card to the Steenkamp family, but "what does that mean? Nothing," said June, Reeva's mother.

In addition to the bail cash he posted on Friday, which experts say is among one of the highest ever set in South Africa, Pistorius had to surrender his passport and his firearms.

He will have to report twice weekly to Pretoria's Brooklyn police between 7am and 1pm each Monday and Friday. He was also ordered not to take alcohol or drugs.

Pistorius may also on Saturday hold talks with his trainer to get back on the track, despite being banned under the terms of his bail from competing outside South Africa.

"He is a professional athlete. He needs to keep his body in shape," said the family source.

His arrest on February 14 shocked the world and gripped South Africa, where he became a national hero after becoming the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics last year.

The state charged him with the premeditated Valentine's Day killing of 29-year-old Steenkamp.

If found guilty he faces a possible life sentence.

Just hours before the magistrate decided to release Pistorius on bail, arguing he was not a flight risk and did not pose a danger to the public, defence lawyer Barry Roux appeared to concede that the star sprinter could be convicted on a lesser charge of homicide.

That charge entails negligence rather than murderous intent and can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

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Opposition slams world inaction on Syria

Syria's opposition coalition says it will form a government to run "liberated areas" of the country. Source: AAP

THE umbrella opposition National Coalition condemned world powers for failing to act to stop the slaughter in Syria, as missiles killed at least 29 in Aleppo.

The remarks by spokesman Walid al-Bunni came after the Coalition had said it would form a government to run "liberated areas" of Syria and was pulling out of several international meetings in protest against world "silence".

"We cannot continue listening to statements that are not accompanied by action," Bunni said it remarks to France 24's Arabic-language channel.

"The world has a responsibility to protect (the Syrian people) from a butcher who has been slaughtering them for two years," a reference to President Bashar al-Assad.

Referring to a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Rome next Thursday, Bunni said: "We want to say... if you are our real friends, help us to stop the massacres that are being committed against our people".

Late on Friday, the group had said it would not attend meetings in Italy, Russia and the United States to protest against the "shameful" lack of global condemnation of "crimes committed against the Syrian people".

It had been due to attend the Friends of Syria, and Coalition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib had also been invited to Moscow.

"The international silence on the crimes committed every day against our people amounts to participating in two years of killings," a statement said.

"We hold the Russian leaders in particular ethically and politically responsible because they continue to support the (Damascus) regime with weapons."

Bunni also challenged the United States to honour what he said were promises of support for democracy in Syria.

"Our visit to Washington is on hold until Washington takes a stance that is in accordance with US statements on its support for democracy."

On Friday, Bunni announced plans for a government for "liberated areas" that he said he hoped would be based inside northern Syria.

Its composition and "prime minister" would be chosen at a meeting on March 2, he added, with Coalition members saying the gathering would be held in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Thursday's attack in Damascus had left about 100 people dead - substantially more than a previous toll of 61 - and wounded another 250.

Describing it as a "war crime", the UN-Arab League envoy said "nothing could justify such horrible actions that amount to war crimes under international law".

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said "nothing can justify an act of such brutality that killed so many people, mostly civilians, including children".

Both the regime and opposition have blamed "terrorists" for the attack near the ruling Baath party's main offices.

The same day, another 22 people were killed in a triple bombing targeting security headquarters in northern Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In the second largest city of Aleppo, at least 29 people, including 19 children, had been killed and 150 wounded when three missiles hit Tariq al-Bab district on Friday, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Shelling of the city's Maadi district caused a building to collapse, killing an unknown number of people, and rebels fought troops near Aleppo international airport and Nayrab air base to the southeast.

The army's use of surface-to-surface missiles is part of a bid to advance on Aleppo, swathes of which the rebels have seized since mid-2012, said Abdel Rahman.

"The army has been trying for weeks to come closer to Aleppo via its eastern entrance, in order to assault it. Elite troops are being sent... but so far the army has been unsuccessful."

The Britain-based Observatory said 149 people were killed nationwide on Friday, adding to an overall UN death toll of at least 70,000 dead in the 23-month conflict.

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Malaysia busts child trafficking syndicate

MALAYSIAN police said they have broken up a child trafficking syndicate and rescued 21 children and babies.

Police in the northern state of Penang said they arrested 43 suspects, at least 20 of them women, in a nationwide operation which began late last December.

"The babies and children were aged between a month and nine years," Penang police chief Rahim Hanafi said in a statement on the force's Facebook page.

Reports also cited him as saying in an earlier press conference that police made raids Thursday night in six states and the capital Kuala Lumpur.

"We are also working closely with Interpol on a few of the children believed to have been taken to neighbouring countries," Friday's The Star newspaper quoted Rahim as saying.

Malaysian police have in recent years broken up several other child trafficking syndicates, nabbing Malaysians and Indonesians who bought children from poor women and sold them on for as much as $A5,880.

The suspects face jail terms of between three to 20 years.

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Hitler and Frankenstein run for election

ADOLF Hitler is running for election in India. So is Frankenstein.

The tiny northeast Indian state of Meghalaya has a special fascination for interesting and sometimes controversial names, and the ballot for state elections Saturday is proof.

Hitler, aged 54, has already been elected to the state assembly three times, with little controversy over being named after the Nazi dictator.

He points out that he's not an exact match; his middle name is Lu.

Hitler has travelled the world, including to the United States and Germany. He has often been asked by immigration officials why he has that name.

He says it wasn't his decision.

India played little role in World War II, and many Indians view Hitler not as the personification of evil but as a figure of fascination.

Among the 345 contestants running for the state assembly are Frankenstein Momin, Billykid Sangma, Field Marshal Mawphniang and Romeo Rani.

Some, like Kenedy Marak, Kennedy Cornelius Khyriem and Jhim Carter Sangma, are clearly hoping for the electoral success of their namesake American presidents.

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Arrests over Tunisian politician murder

TUNISIA'S interior minister has announced the arrest of several suspects in the assassination of a leftist politician two weeks ago that plunged the country into a political crisis.

Ali Larayedh said late Thursday that "rapid progress" had been made in the investigation into Chorki Belaid's killing.

He gave few details, however, and could not confirm whether those arrested were the suspected killers themselves or say who was behind the assassination.

Belaid was shot four times outside his home on February 6, provoking days of unrest after many held the government responsible for his death.

Tunisia's prime minister has since resigned and the largest party in the assembly, the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, is now working on putting together a new governing coalition.

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Scottish schools hit by horse meat scandal

ALL Scottish schools have been told not to serve frozen beef burgers after one was found to contain traces of horse DNA.

Local authorities were advised to "place a hold" on the use of the products following the discovery in a burger at a North Lanarkshire school kitchen.

The measure also applies to council leisure facilities and some social care establishments.

The revelation was made after frozen burgers were removed for testing last week.

Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, said it was "really unacceptable that any school child in Scotland should be eating a burger which has got horse meat in it".

News of the discovery in North Lanarkshire emerged on Thursday night.

The school where the positive test was recorded has not been named.

A local authority spokesman said: "The council has notified the Food Standards Agency, as it is required to do, and investigations are continuing.

"Our investigations are focusing on the use of frozen burger supplies during the past three months, the maximum length of time these would be held in storage."

Samples of frozen mince came back negative for horse DNA.

Meanwhile, councils across the United Kingdom were advised to take frozen beef burgers off the menu as a precautionary measure.

The move was confirmed by procurement agency Scotland Excel, which deals with contracts across Scotland.

A spokesman said: "On the evening of February 21, we were advised by North Lanarkshire Council that traces of horse DNA were found in a frozen beef burger that had been supplied to one of the schools in their area.

"Scotland Excel is very concerned to learn of this incident despite the steps taken by our suppliers to provide assurances on their processed meat products.

"Investigations are taking place and we are continuing to work with our suppliers to ensure that the necessary verification is taking place across the supply chain.

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Pokies ACT precommitment trial sunk

ACT clubs have voted against participating in a pokie precommitment trial until after the election. Source: AAP

AN ACT trial of precommitment technology for poker machines is dead and has been an expensive "thought bubble", the federal opposition says.

The Canberra pokies trial appears sunk after Canberra clubs on Thursday voted against participating in the trial until after the federal election.

Clubs ACT boss Jeff House said 23 of the organisation's members unanimously agreed not to start the trial until after the September 14 poll date.

The coalition, which doesn't support mandatory precommitment measures for pokies, is likely to dump the trial if it wins government.

Mr House said Clubs ACT would continue to work with the current government on preparations for a trial, while admitting it may never happen.

"It would be a folly to expend the money and resources on starting the trial if it was only going to be cut halfway through by an incoming coalition government," Mr House told AAP.

"Far better to wait until the election result is known."

Under the watered-down anti-gambling measures passed by parliament last year, there was only a passing reference to the trial and no powers to compel clubs to participate.

Mr House blamed Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie and the Greens interference for delaying the trial, which was originally due to start in February, 2013.

Opposition families spokesman Kevin Andrews says the trial is completely dead.

"Labor's betrayal of Andrew Wilkie is complete," Mr Andrews told AAP.

"The question Labor must now answer is how much money has been wasted on this thought bubble."

Anti-gambling campaigner and independent senator Nick Xenophon described the clubs' decision as a "cynical self-serving move to stall reform".

"They were the ones that ran an hysterical fear campaign that caused the delay in the first place," he told AAP.

"I've got to give Clubs ACT full marks for sheer brashness. They're reinventing history."

Senator Xenophon said there could be a silver lining, with focus now shifting to the alternative $1 maximum bets concept.

"The industry doesn't tell tall stories; they tell stall stories," Senator Xenophon said.

A spokesman for communities services minister Jenny Macklin said the ACT trial had been "delayed" because of stalled negotiations to pass the federal legislation.

The spokesman said the government and Clubs ACT had started critical preparation work for the trial.

"We look forward to continuing to work with Clubs ACT and the ACT government on the trial," the spokesman said.

Mandatory precommitment technology requires gamblers to nominate the amount of money they are prepared to lose on high-loss machines, which can chew through $1200 an hour.

Greens senator Richard Di Natale hopes the government can salvage something out of the wreck.

"This goes to show that the clubs were never serious about reform. They played the government for fools, just like the mining companies did," he told AAP.

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Northern NSW towns put on flood watch

HUGE parts of NSW, stretching from the Queensland border to the Hunter Valley, are on "flood watch" with heavy rain due to drench the state's north.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says residents should be ready to move to higher ground if flooding develops on Thursday night in areas near the Tweed River, Brunswick River, and Richmond and Wilsons Rivers.

It lists six other areas as being on flood watch from Friday morning, including Coffs Harbour and the Bellinger and Nambucca River valleys.

The Manning River valley and Hunter River valley will also likely be on flood watch from Friday night, the BoM website says.

The forecaster noted there was a 75 per cent chance of floods developing in the areas at risk, with its next flood watch update due on Friday morning.

It also warned of severe weather for the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands from Thursday evening into Friday morning.

It predicts strong winds and heavy rain to hit those areas, as well as very heavy surf to develop.

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European stocks drop at open

EUROPE'S main stock markets are sliding at the start of Thursday trading, with London's FTSE 100 index of top companies down 0.62 per cent to 6,355.41 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.61 per cent to 7,681.61 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.62 per cent 3,687.04.

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At least 31 killed in Damascus

A POWERFUL car bomb has exploded near the headquarters of Syria's ruling Baath party in central Damascus, reportedly killing and wounding a large number of civilians.

"The terrorist explosion killed and wounded a large number of civilians," state news agency SANA said on Thursday.

Images of bloodied bodies lying on the ground and of blazing vehicles were broadcast by the official television channel Al-Ekhbariya, which said children were among the wounded, as the blast occurred near a school in the Mazraa district.

A police official told AFP the car bomb exploded at the 16 November Square near the Al-Iman mosque, where the Baath party's head offices are located.

Buildings in the area were also damaged by the blast, which sent thick black smoke billowing across the capital's skyline and all roads in the area were quickly sealed off, an AFP correspondent said.

Ambulances sirens rang out, and machine gun fire was also heard in the area.

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British unemployment rises to 7.8%

BRITAIN'S unemployment rate edged higher to 7.8 per cent in the three months to the end of December from 7.7 per cent in the three months to the end of November, official data shows.

The number of unemployed people rose to 2.50 million from 2.49 million over the same period, the Office for National Statistics added in a statement on Wednesday.

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Anti-Islam campaigner 'lost' his freedom

FOR the past nine years, right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders has needed 24-hour police protection wherever he has travelled because the anti-Islam campaigner says he is never safe to walk the streets alone.

After flying into Perth on Wednesday, where he'd been forced to cancel a press conference and speaking engagement after a hotel scrubbed his booking, Mr Wilders said he had to have heavy security around him at all times.

He was dogged by people who wanted to kill him, which was hard on his family because they were not free, he said.

"I lost my own freedom. I haven't been able to walk alone on any street in the world for almost nine years," Mr Wilders told Fairfax Radio.

"But still, I know why I am doing it. I know that it needs to be done."

In 2002, during the Dutch election campaign, anti-Islam politician Pym Fortuyn was assassinated by a man who said he wanted to stop him scapegoating Muslims.

Mr Wilders, who says he is agnostic but ascribes to Judeo-Christian values, claims he does not have anything against Muslim people.

But he's against extreme Islam, he says, which has a "totalitarian ideology" like communism and fascism.

"I feel that we should stop it from coming to our free societies because Islam and freedom are incompatible," he said.

The controversial politician, who wants a ban on Islamic immigration, received a standing ovation on Tuesday in Melbourne, where up to 300 people dodged a large group of rowdy protesters to hear the first speech in his Australian tour.

Mr Wilders said it was "very sad" he could not find a venue willing to host him in WA after Premier Colin Barnett said he would not be allowed in any state government building.

"It's sad that I was not welcome in his state," Mr Wilders told Fairfax Radio.

He said in a democratic society like Australia, he should be able to express his opinions freely.

"Let's be happy we live in a democracy," he said.

"If people don't like my message then they should advocate their own message."

His next speaking engagement in Sydney on Friday is still planned to go ahead, event organisers Q Society of Australia told AAP.

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WA nurses dispute reaches stalemate

THE Industrial Relations Commission has recommended West Australian nurses lift work bans at public hospitals but the Australian Nurses Federation (ANF) is standing firm in its bid for higher wages and less menial tasks.

The ANF says the commission did not order nurses to open beds but did recommend the lifting of all work bans, which have closed one in five beds in many wards.

But that wouldn't happen unless it was agreed to by a majority of union members at a mass meeting, ANF state secretary Mark Olson said.

"I have also said to the commission that I will not be going to a meeting of our members empty-handed," Mr Olson said.

He called on the government to make an acceptable offer to nurses before the ANF and commission resume talks at 9am (WST) on Thursday.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said no agreement could be signed during the caretaker period, although negotiations at an administrative level could continue.

Mr Barnett said he had the highest regard for nurses but was appealing to them to stop the work bans.

"I don't think there is any justification for closing beds in our hospitals and it is affecting patient care," he told Fairfax Radio.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan said the party would treat nurses better than the current state government if it won the March 9 election.

"In the course of an election campaign, I cannot be making pay offers to one group or another," he told ABC Radio.

"But I don't think nurses are being treated well. It's very unusual for nurses to take industrial action - the last time it happened was 12 years ago, again under a conservative government.

"They don't do it lightly. They only do it when they feel they are being poorly treated or provoked."

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Asian markets mostly up

ASIAN markets have mostly climbed, with dealers taking a positive cue from Wall Street and Europe, following a surge in investor confidence in eurozone powerhouse Germany.

Japanese shares posted healthy gains on Wednesday as the yen softened and data showed exports rose for the first time in eight months in January, although the country still posted its worst ever monthly trade deficit.

Tokyo added 0.84 per cent, or 95.94 points, to 11,468.28, while Sydney was up 0.33 per cent, or 16.8 points, to 5,098.7 points - its highest close since September 2008.

Seoul jumped 1.95 per cent, or 38.81 points to 2,024.64 and Hong Kong was up 0.71 per cent, or 163.50 points, at 23,307.41, while Shanghai added 0.60 per cent, or 14.27 points, to 2,397.18.

On Wall Street investors returned from a three-day weekend to send the Dow and S&P 500 to more than five-year highs thanks to fresh merger and acquisition news.

The Dow rose 0.39 per cent to its best level since October 12, 2007 and the S&P 500 was up 0.73 per cent, hitting its highest point since October 31, 2007. The Nasdaq gained 0.68 per cent.

Reports office supply retailers Office Depot and OfficeMax were planning a tie-up followed last week's news of a merger between American Airlines and US Airways, and the Berkshire Hathaway-3G Capital takeover of Heinz.

Hopes for an end to Europe's long struggles were given a fillip by the widely watched ZEW economic institute investor confidence index in Germany, which soared to 48.2 points in February from 31.5 points in January, its highest level since April 2010.

The reading beat market expectations for a much more modest increase to just 35 points this month.

On currency markets the dollar was at 93.40 yen, against 93.54 yen in New York on Tuesday.

The single European currency bought 125.29 yen and $1.3419 compared with 125.24 yen and $1.3390 in US trade.

Official data on Wednesday showed Japan logged its worst ever trade deficit in January, with a shortfall of 1.63 trillion yen, more than the 1.3 trillion forecast. That came despite exports seeing first gain since June.

In Sydney mining giant BHP Billiton said its first half net profit fell 58 per cent, but also announced that its chief executive Marius Kloppers will retire in May, to be replaced by the man who has headed the firm's non-ferrous division since 2008.

The firm's shares were 0.56 per cent lower in early trade.

On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March gained 39 cents to $97.05 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April dropped 28 cents to $117.28.

Gold was at $1,595.20 at 1100 GMT, compared with $1,612.50 late on Tuesday.

In other markets:

- Taiwan rose 68.22 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 8,029.1.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co added 1.87 per cent to Tw$109.0, while Hon Hai Precision was 0.83 per cent higher at Tw$84.8.

- Manila rose 0.42 per cent higher, or 27.85 points, to a record 6,648.57.

SM Investments Corp. gained 0.70 per cent to 1,007 pesos while Megaworld Corp. rose 0.26 per cent to 3.90 pesos.

- Wellington fell 0.71 per cent, or 29.97 points, to 4,214.24.

- Singapore closed up 0.40 per cent, or 13.12 points, at 3,308.89.

Capitaland increased 1.52 per cent to Sg$4.01 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation gained 0.50 per cent to Sg$10.03.

- Kuala Lumpur shed 1.74 points, or 0.11 per cent, to close at 1,613.33.

DiGi.com lost 1.9 per cent to 4.61 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia slipped 1.3 per cent to close at 5.15. YTL Corp added 1.3 per cent to 1.60 ringgit.

- Jakarta closed up 32.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 4,634.45.

- Astra Agro Lestari rose 2.16 per cent to 18,900 rupiah, while retailer Ramayana Lestari Sentosa jumped 5.31 per cent to 1,190 rupiah. Cigarette maker Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna slid 1.35 per cent to 73,000 rupiah.

- Bangkok added 0.95 per cent, or 14.57 points, to 1,546.64.

Power giant Electricity Generating Public Co. lost 0.66 per cent to 151.50 baht, while Thai Airways International added 4.08 per cent to 25.50 baht.

- Mumbai edged up 0.04 per cent, or 7.03 points, to 19,642.75.

Reliance Industries rose 3.13 per cent to 875.35 rupees.

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Pistorius charged with murder

Olympian Oscar Pistorius (R) has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Source: AAP

A SOUTH Africa prosecutor has charged Olympian Oscar Pistorius with the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The 26-year-old appeared in the dock at the Pretoria court in a black suit, blue shirt and grey tie and stared straight ahead anxiously.

Oscar Pistorius' father Henke Pistorius and siblings, Aimee and Carl, were in court at the start of his bail hearing on Tuesday, seated behind the defence in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

The prosecutor argued Pistorius committed premeditated murder.

The double-amputee Olympian and Paralympian "Blade Runner" is seeking bail

at the hearing.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that Pistorius killed an "innocent and unarmed woman" in a premeditated murder.

"There is no possible explanation to support his report that it was a burglar," Nel told the court.

The prosecutor said that Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door of his home in a guarded and gated complex in the South African capital.

Nel told the court the door had been broken open.

Nel said Pistorius put on his prosthesis, walked seven metres and fired three shots through a locked bathroom door at Steenkamp.

Nel said the victim arrived at the house between 5pm and 6pm the night before she was killed at 3am.

The prosecutor also said the athlete, who broke down in tears during the hearing, had not provided investigators with his own version of what happened.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said Steenkamp was not murdered, and there were a number of cases where men have shot members of their own family through doors after mistaking them for burglars.

"There's no agreement there, not even concession that this is

murder."

He also suggested that Pistorius broke the bathroom door down to help Ms Steenkamp after the shooting.

After the shooting Pistorius informed his sister that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder, the court heard.

Nel said the killing was premeditated because the defendant planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder.

He added: "It was all part of the pre-planning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?"

Nel said: "He prepared. He armed himself. The motive was, he wanted to kill.

"We have the facts. There were two people in the home. (One) was shot dead."

Four bullets were fired through the bathroom door - three hit Steenkamp, Nel said.

"There is no possible explanation to support his report that it was a burglar," he said.

Pistorius was emotional as the state read out the first parts of its case against him, at times holding his head in his hands.

Judge Desmond Nair ruled that Pistorius will face a charge of premeditated murder over the death of Steenkamp.

The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. He did not elaborate before a break was called in the session.

Pistorius spoke only to confirm he had no previous convictions.

"Yes, your worship," he said in a shaking voice.

Nair asked Pistorius to speak up and he repeated the phrase louder.

The judge ruled that, for the purpose of the bail hearing, the case was a schedule six offence - meaning premeditated murder - rather than the less serious schedule five.

Pistorius' family huddled in prayer at the court after the judge's ruling, and the his father Henke was comforted by family members outside the court.

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Germany approves troops for Mali mission

THE German government will send up to 330 soldiers to help train the Malian army and support the French deployment in its battle against Islamists.

Up to 180 German soldiers have been earmarked for the European Union Training Mission (EUTM), formally approved by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

Forty of the German contingent will train Malian forces. Another 40 will act as medical support staff, according to a government statement.

The other 100 will be available to provide logistical support, dealing with water and energy supplies.

The deployment will make Germany the second-biggest contributor to the EUTM mission behind France, according to European sources.

Germany will make another 150 soldiers available to back up the French army in Mali via air transport for French and African troops and help in the refuelling of planes.

Combat troops will not be sent to Mali.

The EUTM has a 15-month mandate to assist the ramshackle Malian army in its effort to fight Islamist rebels who last year seized control of the country's vast arid north.

The 27 EU nations first approved the idea of a training mission in December but its deployment was accelerated after the surprise intervention of France in its former colony on January 11 to halt the insurgents' march on the capital.

About 16 countries from the EU as well as Norway have agreed to take part in the EUTM, which will have a budget of 12.3 million euros ($A16.07 million).

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Troops pour into Syria's Aleppo

President Bashar al-Assad says he's confident his troops will win the conflict ravaging Syria. Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of troops backed by military vehicles poured into the northern province of Aleppo following rebel advances and as a battle raged for control of Syria's second-largest airport, a watchdog said.

The reinforcements arrived at the town of Tal-Aran in the southeast of the province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Tuesday's deployment follows unexpected advances by the rebels in their thrust to seize control of air bases in northern Syria and to capture Aleppo's international airport.

"A large number of troops are currently approaching Aleppo from the east, redeployed from central Syria, to keep the rebels from taking the country's second-biggest airport," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

"The army will not let Aleppo international airport go without a big fight."

In the past week, rebels have captured air bases at Al-Jarrah, Hassel and Base 80, as well as an important checkpoint near the international airport.

On Monday, they made a brief incursion into the airport's fuel warehouse before the army pushed them out, a military source said.

The source also said the rebels had seized a building strategically located 200 metres from the airport.

Fighting between rebels and troops also erupted Tuesday in southern Damascus, where the army deployed reinforcements in a bid to drive insurgents out of belts surrounding the capital, the Observatory said.

"Rebels and regular troops clashed at the entrance to Yarmuk (Palestinian) refugee camp in Damascus," said the watchdog.

Pro-regime daily Al-Watan at the same time reported "clashes near Sayyida Zeinab (southeast of Damascus) and the surroundings of Yarmuk camp".

The camp housing thousands of Palestinian refugees has seen fierce fighting inside and outside its premises since late last year.

Throughout much of the winter, the army has been engaged in a bid to keep approaching rebels out of Damascus, making daily attacks on their enclaves all around the capital.

But in Damascus province, as in much of the rest of the country, rebels and the army have reached a military stalemate, said Abdel Rahman.

"Across Syria today, there are hundreds of flashpoints. Both the army and the rebels are over-stretched," he said.

"While the rebels have made significant advances in some areas such as Aleppo province, the army is not going to let any strategic area slide. So what we are looking at is a long-term war of attrition."

The United Nations says that nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict.

On Monday at least 154 people were killed in violence across Syria, among them 63 soldiers and 54 rebel fighters, said the Observatory.

Russia has sent two planes to Syria to pick up Russians wanting to leave the conflict-torn country as the navy dispatched four warships to the Mediterranean possibly for a larger evacuation.

Two emergencies ministry planes carrying humanitarian aid for Syria were heading for the port city of Latakia and would take any Russians wanting to leave on their flight back, the ministry said on Tuesday.

The aid consists of electrical equipment, bedding, tents as well as food such as fish, milk and sugar.

Meanwhile the defence ministry said Russia is sending four more warships to the Mediterranean Sea to join an escort ship and smaller vessels that are already on duty in the region.

Observers are watching for any hints of Russia planning a full-scale evacuation of its citizens which would be seen as a tacit admission from Moscow that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is doomed in its fight against rebels.

The defence ministry told Russian news agencies the ships would be on "military service" but gave no further details.

But a military source quoted by RIA Novosti said their main task could be taking part in a possible evacuation of Russian citizens from Syria.

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Multimillion-dollar Belgian diamond heist

EIGHT armed and masked men made a hole in a security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched millions of dollars' worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot, authorities said.

The gang used two vehicles in their daring raid on Monday, grabbed the cache of stones and sped off into the darkness, said Anja Bijnens, spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor's office.

Police found a burnt-out vehicle close to the airport later Monday night and said they were still looking for clues.

The heist was estimated at some $US50 million ($A48.80 million) in diamonds, said Caroline De Wolf of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

"What we are talking about is obviously a gigantic sum," De Wolf told VRT network.

An airport spokesman said the robbers made a hole in the perimeter fence and drove up to the Swiss passenger plane, which was ready to leave. The robbers got out of the car, flashed their weapons and took the loot from the hold, said airport spokesman Jan Van Der Crujsse. Without firing a shot they drove off through the same hole in the fence, completing the spectacular theft within minutes, he said.

Van Der Crujsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable to theft.

"We abide by the most stringent rules," he said.

The Swiss flight, bound for Zurich and operated by Helvetic Airways, was cancelled. Swiss, an affiliate of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, declined to comment on the heist, citing the ongoing judicial investigation.

The insurance for air transport - handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies - is usually relatively cheap because it's considered to be the safest way of transporting small high value items, logistics experts say.

Unlike a car or a truck, an airplane cannot be attacked by robbers once it's on its way, and it is considered to be very safe before the departure and after the plane's arrival because the aircraft is always within the confines of an airport - which are normally highly secured.

A decade ago the Belgian city of Antwerp, the world capital of diamond-cutting, was the scene of what was probably one of the biggest diamond heists in history, when robbers took precious stones, jewels, gold and securities from the high-security vaults at Antwerp's Diamond Center, yielding loot that police in 2003 estimated to be worth about $US100 million ($A97.60 million).

Antwerp's Diamond Center stands in the heart of the high-surveillance diamond district where police and dozens of cameras work around the clock, and security has been beefed up further since the spectacular 2003 robbery.

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Rudd won't challenge: Hawker

POLITICAL consultant Bruce Hawker believes Kevin Rudd won't challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard despite a slump in Labor's electoral standing.

The latest Nielsen poll released by Fairfax Media on Monday showed Labor dropping four percentage points in the two-party preferred vote to 45 per cent, with the coalition on 55 per cent.

It showed support for Mr Rudd as preferred Labor leader was 61 per cent compared to 35 per cent for Ms Gillard.

Ms Gillard repeatedly declined to comment on the poll.

Mr Hawker, who backed Mr Rudd in the leadership vote won by Ms Gillard 71-31 a year ago, said the polls were "really grim".

He said Mr Rudd had made it pretty clear he would not challenge Ms Gillard.

"I am quite convinced that is going to be the case," Mr Hawker told ABC TV on Monday.

Mr Hawker said it would be tough for the ALP to win the federal election announced by Ms Gillard for September 14.

"It is going to be hard with Julia, or whoever would lead the party, if she somehow fell under a bus or whatever, and wasn't available to lead the party," he said.

Despite Mr Rudd being the most popular figure in the ALP, Labor MPs had to work on the assumption Mr Rudd would not return as leader, Mr Hawker said.

"That ship has sailed," he said.

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Sex videos and pics led to killing: judge

JOSHUA Hickson was so angry that Gregory Elms had distributed nude photos and sex videos of his sister that he wanted to make him pay for it.

In early 2011 Hickson and friend Brendan Gobus visited Mr Elms, 44, at his home in Kewarra Beach, north of Cairns, to give him "a wake-up call".

But Hickson lost control and began stomping or kicking Elms.

Gobus then bound Elms' hands together with duct tape and left him propped up against a bedroom wall.

Mr Elms' severely decomposed body was found in the same position a week later.

In the Queensland Supreme Court in Cairns on Monday, 30-year-old Hickson, who pleaded guilty on day three of his jury trial last week, was sentenced to eight years' jail for manslaughter.

Gobus, 38, was handed a seven-and-a-half-year jail sentence on the same charge.

Owing to a number of factors, including his early guilty plea before trial, Gobus will be eligible for parole in six months.

Both men have been in custody since they were arrested in January 2011.

In sentencing, Justice James Henry said the men made a "grave error" confronting Mr Elms after he distributed nude photos and sex videos of Hickson's sister, who was Mr Elms' ex-girlfriend.

Taking matters into their own hands was similar to having their "own kangaroo court", the judge said.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Elms' parents said they feared the pain of losing their eldest son would never leave them.

"He was happy, and so were we, with the progress he was making in his life," the statement read.

A cause of death is not known but both the defence lawyers and prosecutors agreed Mr Elms most likely died from heart failure.

"It should be said that Hickson and Gobus's conduct was a substantial cause of death," Justice Henry said.

Other possible causes of death included a head injury and positional asphyxia.

Hickson's lawyer, David Feeney, told the court his client had been stunned to hear Mr Elms had died, as he had never meant to kill him.

Gobus' lawyer, Kevin McCreanor, said his client had only wanted to give Elms "a wake-up call ... a slap on the back of the head".

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Melbourne grassfire now under control

RESIDENTS living around the large grassfire that closed the Hume Freeway at Epping in Melbourne's north have been told it is safe to return to their homes.

A Country Fire Authority spokeswoman said residents in the area around Copper St, Epping Road, Steen Avenue and Allumba Way could return home.

The grassfire, now under control, destroyed one home and damaged another.

It burnt almost 2000 hectares on both sides of the busy Hume Freeway around Epping and Campbellfield.

One home in the Epping North area was destroyed but none in housing estates, incident controller John Deering said.

Another home was damaged and several outbuildings or sheds lost.

An emergency warning remained in place on Monday night for the Epping and Campbellfield area.

Motorists have been told to take care on the freeway, with reports of wildlife on the road.

The fire closed the Hume Freeway and created traffic gridlock on nearby major roads.

Some parts of the 31km of fire edge were still active, Mr Deering said.

"The fire is not advancing or spreading any further at this stage," he told ABC radio.

"However, there may be still active fire within that fire edge."

Crews would remain on scene all night, he said.

Meanwhile, two large bushfires in the Grampians in Victoria's southwest have merged to form one out-of-control bushfire about 3260 hectares in size.

The Grampians fire had come out of bushland and into private land, Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said.

A wind change due on Monday night would put a lot of pressure on the fire, he said.

"We have a lot of resources in place but certainly it is a very dry area and certainly we will see significant fire move through Victoria Valley," Mr Lapsley told ABC television.

Farming communities in the area have been on alert for two days, with emergency warnings issued at various times on Sunday and Monday.

The latest, for the Victoria Valley area, has been downgraded to a watch and act alert.

The fire, started by lightning on Thursday, has been creating spot fires 1km ahead of it.

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Qld health cuts spark blame game

A FEDERAL funding shortfall has been blamed for a decision to axe more than 200 health jobs in the Cairns region.

But the federal government says Queensland Premier Campbell Newman is behind cuts to individual health services.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service announced on Monday that 234 staff would be axed.

Local health board chairman Bob Norman says up to 190 permanent staff will be offered redundancies as part of an administrative restructure.

Another 44 temporary workers will also go.

He told ABC Radio that frontline staff won't be affected, although a Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman later told AAP that 41 nursing staff would be axed.

Mr Norman says a $6 million shortfall in federal funding is largely to blame.

However, Federal Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek says health funding in Queensland will increase by 21 per cent, or $600 million, over the next four years.

"Any reduction in funding to individual health services is a decision of the Newman government," she said.

It was the state government, not the commonwealth, which distributed money to local hospitals, Ms Plibersek said.

Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said every state health minister agreed that the federal government had cut health funding.

He said the Queensland government had increased health funding to the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service by $40 million in the 2012-13 budget.

Cape York Hospital has also invited staff to apply for voluntary redundancies.

While chief executive officer Susan Turner could not pinpoint how many positions would go, she said no frontline services would be affected.

However, Ms Turner said a federal funding cut of $851,000 equalled the loss of about seven full-time positions.

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Vic bushfire downgraded but still a risk

THE Country Fire Authority (CFA) has downgraded the bushfire threatening the community of Mirranatwa in Victoria's west to Watch and Act but warns the rating could change with the conditions.

The large, fast-moving fire, about 30km north of Dunkeld, is travelling in a southwesterly direction.

It's expected to impact Mirranatwa any time in the next two to six hours.

The CFA says with fire behaviour being very unpredictable, communities may see the advice on this fire move between 'Emergency Warning' and 'Watch and Act' during the night.

It says residents in Mirranatwa need to keep aware of the fire situation through local radio and the CFA website.

Surrounding communities, like Dunkeld, need to remain aware of the fire activity in the southern Grampians area but there's no threat to these communities at this time.

A relief centre has been established at the Senior Citizens Hall in Lonsdale Street, Hamilton.

More than 200 firefighters from the CFA, the Department of Environment and Sustainability and Parks Victoria have been working on the fire, which was started by lightning on Thursday night.

Fourteen aircraft, including the Elvis Skycrane, have also been involved.

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Attackers hack hand off Tanzanian child

ATTACKERS collecting body parts of albinos for witchcraft have hacked off the hand of a seven-year old boy in Tanzania, in the latest in a series of bloody assaults, officials say.

"The boy was attacked on Saturday by three people as he walked home with his four school friends," said Apolinary Macheta, the local government leader in Tanzania's southwestern Milepa district.

The boy, Mwigulu Magessa, is recovering in hospital, Macheta added.

The attack came just days after an albino mother of four had her arm chopped off by machete-wielding men. Police on Saturday said they had arrested five men after discovering the decomposing limb hidden in a field.

In Tanzania, albinos are killed and dismembered due to a widespread belief that charms made from their body parts bring good fortune and prosperity.

Albinism is a genetic condition characterised by a deficiency of melanin pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes which protects from the sun's ultraviolet rays.

People suffering from the condition are discriminated against and persecuted in many African countries.

Albino body parts are sold for thousands of dollars.

Last month an albino child died in Tanzania's Tabora region after attackers hacked off his arm with a machete.

Kijo Bisimba, of Tanzania's Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) described the rise in attacks as "alarming" and said there was a renewed spate of assaults after months of calm.

Such ritual killings have also occurred in neighbouring Burundi and some of the attackers are suspected to be from Tanzania.

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Seven foreigners kidnapped in Nigeria

POLICE in northern Nigeria say gunmen have kidnapped seven foreign workers from a construction company.

The attack happened in Bauchi state overnight Saturday.

Police spokesman Hassan Muhammed said attackers first targeted a prison in the area.

Muhammed said on Sunday the attackers then went to the construction company STRAECO, where they killed a guard and kidnapped the foreign workers.

The nationalities of the workers were not immediately known.

Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north has been under attack by the radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram in the last 18 months.

The country's weak central government has been unable to stop the group's bloody guerrilla campaign of shootings and bombings.

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Myanmar boat sinks on way to Australia

A BOATLOAD of Myanmar nationals rescued from a sinking wooden vessel off Sri Lanka's east coast after two months at sea had been trying to reach Australia, local police say.

The boat people, plucked to safety by Sri Lanka's navy on Saturday, were taken to the southern port of Galle where they were rushed to hospital to be treated for dehydration and starvation, police said in a statement on Sunday.

It said 32 people were rescued, although initial reports from naval units had suggested there were 38.

A spokesman for Myanmar's embassy in Colombo said they were waiting to speak with the boat people before deciding on a course of action.

"We have been told of 32 people rescued and we are waiting to speak to them," embassy spokesman Aung Soe Moe told AFP.

Sri Lankan police said the rescued boat people claimed they were in a group of 130 who set out in three boats just over two months ago with the intention of reaching Australia.

The fate of the others was not known.

Saturday's rescue was the second in less than two weeks.

On February 3, the navy rescued 138 Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals from a sinking boat. One passenger was found dead.

Local police officials said it was unclear if those identified as Myanmar nationals were Rohingya - members of a stateless Muslim minority described by the UN as one of the world's most persecuted groups - who had fled the country.

An explosion of tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since June 2012 has triggered a seaborne exodus of Rohingya.

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