Sydney Harbour to launch Australia Day

WHETHER you're into sheep shearing, whip cracking, fireworks or surfing, there is something for everyone this Australia Day.

And a 100-year-old Iraqi-born grandmother and a two-year-old Indian boy are among nearly 3600 people from 113 countries to become citizens across the state on Sunday.

The largest ceremonies in NSW will take place at Sutherland and Blacktown.

Meanwhile in Sydney, an indigenous ceremony will welcome in Australia Day with a ritual fire at the Opera House at 7.30am.

The fire, along with offerings from around the world will then be carried onboard a boat, before meeting bark canoes under the Harbour bridge for a smoking ceremony.

It will commemorate our past and future, with the national anthem to be sung in the Eora language.

Throughout the day, other free festivities include the popular race of Sydney's ferries, as well as the Australian army parachute display over Circular Quay.

In a new event, tug boats and 10 yachts will perform a "ballet" on the harbour.

Singers Mahalia Barnes and Prinnie Stevens will entertain with the sounds of motown in Darling Harbour from 6pm.

Ms Barnes said it is a great opportunity to celebrate and be grateful.

"We live in one of the most amazing countries in the world, we are very, very lucky," she told reporters on Saturday.

"The best thing about it is that everyone goes out and has a good time."

At 8.45pm, fireworks will mark the finale of the festivities on the harbour.

Meanwhile, face painting, an animal farm and a 3pm concert with The Wiggles will be rolled out at Hyde Park through the day to keep the kids entertained.

"Police have said that the crowd that comes to The Wiggles, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Peppa Pig are the best behaved crowds of the Australia Day weekend," Blue Wiggle, Anthony told reporters.

"It is a lovely, lovely day for families to come along, celebrate Australia and the multicultural society we live in."

Further west in Sydney's Olympic Park, about 6000 Sydneysiders are expected to head to Bicentennial Park for fireworks, sheep shearing, whip cracking and sheep dog trial shows.

Elsewhere in the state, more than 110 people are hoping to break a world record by riding the same wave at North Broulee Beach on the NSW south coast.

At Newcastle a national maritime festival will be held from 8am to 5pm.

Across the state, police are urging people to slow down after almost 800 speed infringement notices were issued on day one of the long weekend campaign.

"With 168 major crashes and one fatality, I'd like to again remind drivers to slow down, stay within the speed limit; no deadline is worth dying for," NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said in a statement.

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UK teacher tells of Kruger elephant attack

A BRITISH teacher who suffered a serious leg injury when an elephant tore through her car in South Africa has told how she desperately tried to drive away.

Sarah Brooks, who works at the Sir John Gleed School in Lincolnshire, and her South African fiance Jans de Klerk, were attacked by the elephant as they drove through the Kruger National Park on December 30.

The couple have now returned to England after Brooks spent more than a week recovering from a pelvis fracture and stitches to her right leg after the elephant's tusk pierced it.

The pair have received death threats since footage of the attack - which they say was heavily edited to make it look as if they drove towards the animal - went viral.

The 30-year-old science teacher told the Daily Mail she "completely freaked" as the elephant stormed towards them and in her panic was unable to find reverse in the hire car.

The couple then resorted to stopping, turning off the ignition and looking at the ground, but seconds later the elephant rammed into them.

"The next thing I heard was Jans screaming at me: 'Drive! Drive!'," Brooks said.

"I somehow managed to turn the engine on, Jans found reverse, but just as I got it going, the elephant tipped us up.

"Then he crushed the undercarriage by ramming it with his head, and the key snapped out of the ignition. 'I remember thinking, 'We're never going to be able to drive away now' - and the next thing I knew we were rolling.

"At that moment, your life flashes through your head. I thought, 'We've only been together a year-and-a-half, life's good. Why now? Why the hell now? It just isn't fair.' I didn't know if either of us would live."

She recalled how the bull elephant twice missed her when his tusks ripped through the car before one pierced her leg leaving her streaming with the blood.

De Klerk, who was left unhurt, managed to pull her across to his side of the car, from which the elephant finally walked away only after pushing it up against a tree and smashing the windscreen.

The incident was captured on film by tourists in a car behind, but they drove off after the attack believing the pair to be dead.

The distressed couple, who feared attacks from other animals, waited for help after phoning de Klerk's brother but it was 25 minutes before a helicopter landed.

"They took me to a doctor, where I was patched up before being taken to a hospital to check for internal injuries," Brooks said.

"In the back of the ambulance, I said to Jans: 'I don't want ever to spend another day apart from you.' He said: 'Marry me then?' I said: 'Yes.'"

She told the newspaper that she pleaded with the tourists not to publish the footage, but days later an edited version went viral.

The male elephant, who was believed to be a risk to other tourists, was destroyed after the incident.

The animal had been "on musth", a periodic condition where testosterone levels rise and elephants become more aggressive, and had fought with another elephant earlier that day.

The couple said park rangers told them they were "just unlucky" and had done nothing wrong.

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Jury sides with Love in trial over tweet

A US jury has rejected a defamation case against Courtney Love over a Twitter post that suggested one of her lawyers had been "bought off" for not pursuing a lawsuit over her late husband's estate.

The verdict came after roughly three hours of deliberation in a case that spanned eight days and focused on the Hole frontwoman's postings on the social networking site.

The case centred on one 2010 post that suggested that San Diego lawyer Rhonda Holmes had been "bought off" and that was why she wasn't representing the singer anymore.

Love had hired Holmes to file a fraud case against the estate of her late husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The lawyer contended during the trial that she was fired by Love and that the tweet and other statements the singer made against her have caused her substantial damage.

Love's tweet stated, "I was (expletive) devastated when Rhonda J Holmes Esq of san diego was bought off" in response to a question from user of the popular social media site.

The message was never meant to be public, Love told jurors. She said she meant for it to be sent as a direct message, which only the recipient would see, but it instead went public and was quickly deleted.

The swift verdict wasn't witnessed by Love, who had left court after closing arguments ended on Friday morning. She arrived just as the courthouse was closing down and met her lawyers, John Lawrence and Matthew Bures, in the hallway where she hugged them both.

Love praised her lawyers and the jury after the verdict. Asked about her social media presence, Love said she refrained from posting on Twitter during the trial. "I didn't tweet out of respect for the case," she said.

While the case was billed as the first "Twibel" trial in which Twitter and libel law intersected, Lawrence said it was tried by the same rules as traditional defamation cases.

Jurors determined that Love's tweet included false information, but the musician didn't know it wasn't true.

Holmes lawyer Mitchell Langberg said the jury's verdict meant the panel determined Love's statement was defamatory, but the singer couldn't be held liable for it. Holmes' side asked the panel to award $8 million in damages and send a message that false statements online had consequences.

Langberg said that while his client was disappointed with the verdict, her reputation was upheld and the world now knows that Love's statements were false.

"At the end of the day, her biggest asset in life is her reputation," Langberg said. "That she got back today."

Love's social media postings have gotten her into trouble several times.

In 2011, she agreed to pay $US430,000 to fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir over statements she posted on Twitter and Myspace.

Simorangkir sued Love again last year, alleging the musician libelled her when Love accused Simorangkir of theft on the Howard Stern's radio show and taunted her on the social media site Pinterest.

The case is pending, but Love said she's trying to be more careful about her online musings than she was when she tweeted about Holmes.

"I don't tweet like I did back then," Love said on Friday.

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Govt 'creating' welfare crisis: Labor

LABOR has accused the Abbott government of "manufacturing" a welfare crisis ahead of a planned crack down on young people claiming the disability pension.

Under federal government plans to overhaul the welfare system, young people who are deemed partially fit to work will no longer be able to claim disability welfare payments, News Corp Australia reports.

Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said under the previous Labor government, young Australians were able to claim the disability pension despite their condition being minor.

Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite rejected the claim, saying the number of people on the disability pension actually decreased between 2012 and 2013.

He said there was no need for a planned overhaul of the welfare system because Australia didn't have a welfare problem.

"They are creating and manufacturing a crisis to ensure they look like they are a government that is doing something," he told Sky News on Saturday.

The federal government is facing criticism for excluding aged pensioners, who make up the majority of the welfare expenditure, in its welfare payments review as it grapples with a budget deficit.

Finance Minister Mathias Corman said increasing workforce participation among younger people claiming the disability allowance was part of the government's agenda to reduce the budget bottom line.

"We don't think that people with temporary health conditions should be put onto the Disability Support Pension for the remainder of their working lives," he told Sky News.

"We want to help people who are able to work back into the workforce. We think that is good for them and it's obviously good for the country."

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United Airlines posts 4Q profit of $US140m

United Airlines posted a growth in fourth quarter earnings with an increase in passenger numbers. Source: AAP

THE parent of United Airlines has earned $US140 million ($A158.60 million) in the fourth quarter, as more passengers flew and paid more for their tickets.

The airline's fuel bill also shrank.

Net income at United Continental Holdings Inc was $US140 million, or 37 US cents per share. A year earlier it lost $US620 million, or $US1.87 per share.

Not counting special charges, United would have earned 78 US cents per share - well above the 66 US cents expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue rose more than seven per cent to $US9.33 billion, also higher than analysts had expected.

Passengers paid three per cent more per mile to fly compared to a year earlier. They paid more in add-on fees, too. United said so-called ancillary revenue, which covers items such as baggage fees, rose 15 per cent in the quarter to nearly $US21 per passenger.

Fuel expenses fell four per cent to $US2.97 billion for the quarter.

United said in November that it intends to cut $US2 billion in annual costs. The company is still working to integrate Continental after their 2010 merger. Although all the paint on the planes and the signs at the ticket counters read "United," the company still has to schedule flight crews and planes separately for the two airlines, reducing the savings from the merger.

"Our goals for 2014 are to provide even more reliable operations, great customer service and materially better financial performance," chairman and chief executive Jeff Smisek said in a written statement on Thursday.

For the full year, United earned $US571 million, after losing $US723 million in 2012.

Shares of Chicago-based United Continental fell 3.4 per cent in premarket trading to $US47.50. They set a new 52-week high on Wednesday at $US49.20.

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Church official amends commission evidence

A Catholic church official has revised his evidence to the Royal Commission on Child Sex Abuse. Source: AAP

A SENIOR church official has revised his evidence to the Royal Commission on Child Sex Abuse following a flurry of late night emails with a law firm representing the Catholic Church.

Michael Salmon, director of the Catholic Church's NSW/ACT Professional Standards Office, said on Friday he wanted to submit a supplementary statement to assist the commission.

He was contacted on Thursday evening by law firm Gilbert + Tobin and asked to clarify statements he made about a mediation session with an abuse victim who had concerns the Marist Brothers knew of and did nothing about abuse at a Cairns college.

A string of emails between the law firm and Mr Salmon, which culminated in him agreeing to a revised statement at about 9pm (AEDT) on Thursday night, were examined by the commission on Friday.

During a public hearing into Towards Healing, the internal church process for dealing with abuse complaints, it became an issue whether a Marist brother lied at a mediation session for a man referred to as DK about what he knew about a brother who has since been jailed.

Mr Salmon facilitated the 2010 session with DK, who was sexually molested when he was a student at the St Augustine's Marist College in Cairns in 1976.

Evidence from Mr Salmon on Wednesday and Thursday suggested that the conversation DK had with former college principal Brother Gerald Burns and another clergy member covered what they knew of inappropriate behaviour by Ross Murrin in relation to DK and other boys.

Murrin was jailed in 2008 for offences against children at Sydney schools. He had been moved to Rome by the order in 2002 but voluntarily came back in 2007 to face charges.

In his evidence on Thursday, Br Burns told the commission DK never asked him about offences against other boys but only about his own situation.

Br Burns also said a file note from Mr Salmon written after the mediation session which suggested otherwise was inaccurate.

Commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan asked Mr Salmon if lawyers told him during the Thursday night exchanges whether there was an issue as to whether Br Burns had told DK the truth.

Mr Salmon said he had not been told that.

He said that he wracked his brains for further recollections of whether the discussion had been about just DK, or other students and could only remember the discussion was all about DK.

Justice McClellan reminded Mr Salmon that he had asked him twice during his original evidence about the context of the conversation between DK and the brothers.

"I put it to you it was beyond DK and you said 'Yes, Yes'," he said.

He said DK was also concerned that the brothers had not helped Murrin, who he saw as a sensitive person, and this was the context of his "beyond DK" responses.

Mr Salmon said he was aware DK had broader concerns about whether the brothers had knowledge of the abuse at the school but left it to him to raise it at the mediation meeting because DK had come to the session with detailed notes and was "not a shrinking violet".

DK had left the mediation happy and on good terms with the brothers, he said.

Mr Salmon told senior counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness he had taken the advice of the lawyers when they rejected his suggestions for amendments as not relevant to the statement because it did not alter what he was trying to say.

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Ukraine protesters expand camp after talks

Thousands of anti-government protesters continue to hold out in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Source: AAP

UKRAINIAN protesters have expanded their protest camp in Kiev closer to the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych after crisis talks to end Ukraine's worst crisis since its 1991 independence ended in deadlock.

After five days of clashes that activists say left five dead, Ukraine's three main opposition leaders held several hours of talks with Yanukovych late Thursday but the minor concessions they announced were greeted with derision by protesters.

The outcome to the crisis remains uncertain, with protesters refusing to give way after over two months of demonstrations against Yanukovych's refusal to sign a pact with the EU that have now turned into a broader movement against his four-year rule.

In a new tactic sure to rattle Yanukovych, thousands of protesters stormed local administration buildings in the west of Ukraine, seizing control or besieging governors offices in half a dozen cities.

Wearing helmets and ad-hoc body armour, the Kiev protesters worked through the night to build up their existing barricades around Independence Square using sandbags filled with snow and tyres, turning the centre of Kiev into a fortress.

In a clear warning to Yanukovych, their final barricade is now only a few dozen metres from the presidential administration located on Bankovaya Street in central Kiev.

Activists also occupied the agriculture ministry in the city centre, an AFP correspondent said, and it was not clear if its bureaucrats would be able to go to work.

Most shops and restaurants close to or in the protest zone have now closed down "for technical reasons", with Kiev's famed Khreshchatyk Avenue now an extension of the protest camp.

"I feel deceived. We waited all day for a result of the negotiations and we got nothing," said protester Yevgeny, 26, wearing a helmet.

"I have fear now but have even more fear for the future," he added.

Lyubov, a protester from Ivano-Frankivsk in west Ukraine who had travelled to Kiev, added: "We know the authorities do not want to compromise, we have known this for a long time."

Clashes that started Sunday on Grushevsky Street on the fringes of the main protest zone left five dead, according to activists. The authorities have only confirmed that two died from gunshot wounds but have claimed police were not to blame.

Opposition leader and former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said the president appeared to be turning a deaf ear to the opposition's key demand of the resignation of the government.

"I feel how tense the atmosphere is. I feel how great the hopes are," he said.

Oleg Tyagnybok, leader of the Svoboda (Freedom) party, said there was a proposal to create a buffer zone between protesters and security forces that would leave the main protest camp on Independence Square untouched by police.

But when Tyagnybok asked protesters for a show of hands about whether the talks should continue, the answer was negative. It was not clear whether the opposition would continue the negotiations ahead of an extraordinary session of parliament Tuesday.

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Swastika on Austrian tombstone defies ban

Nazi symbols continue to be seen on Austrian tombstones despite laws against displaying them. Source: AAP

THE marble tombstone looks like others dotting the main cemetery of Graz, Austria's second city - but only at first glance. Carved into it are a swastika and the inscription: "He died in the struggle for a Great Germany."

Footsteps away, another gravestone is marked with the SS lightning bolts proudly worn by the elite Nazi troops who executed most of the crimes of the Holocaust.

Austrian law bans such symbols, and those displaying them face criminal charges and potential prison terms.

Yet the emblems reflecting this country's darkest chapter in history endure here, and officials appear either unable or unwilling to do away with them - despite complaints from locals.

The controversy reflects Austria's complex relationship with the Hitler era.

Annexation by Germany in 1938 enabled Austrians to claim after the war that they were Hitler's first victims.

Austria has moved since to acknowledge that it was instead a perpetrator. It has paid out millions of dollars in reparations, restored property to Jewish heirs and misses no public opportunity to ask for forgiveness for its wartime role.

Some comments by Graz city and church representatives responsible for managing the dispute suggest they see nothing wrong with graveyard Nazi displays.

While acknowledging the mayor's office was uncomfortable with the swastika, the city's spokesman, Thomas Rajakovics, called it an old "symbol in the English world that stands for the sun."

Christian Leibnitz, provost of Graz' Roman Catholic church, said "a lot" of tombstones in the city still displayed the swastika and suggested it had a right to remain in cemeteries as a "political and societal symbol" of the era, even "if I totally oppose this era."

Asked if the church was ready to put up a sign next to the grave explaining how the swastika is associated with Nazi horrors, he demurred, saying symbols displayed on other tombstones might be just as offensive to some people.

Pressed for specifics, he spoke of "anti-religious" symbols on some graves, adding without elaboration that the church was "not necessarily happy" with some of the emblems displayed on the cemetery's Jewish graves.

Austria enacted a law in 1947 banning Nazi symbols that led to the purging of such emblems from Austrian graveyards. Vienna cemeteries spokesman Florian Keusch says he believes none of the 500,000 gravestones in the Austrian capital now has such symbols, "and if we found any they would be removed."

But Rajakovics, the Graz spokesman, and Leibnitz, the church provost, say their hands are tied.

Both claim they are not aware of the grave with the SS symbol. But in the case of the swastika, they cite Graz' top prosecutor, Hans-Joerg Bacher, who ruled that the law prohibiting Nazi displays did not apply to that headstone because it was put up before the law was passed in 1947.

Under that interpretation, Graz officials say it's up to the grave's owner - a German man they refuse to identify - to voluntarily remove the emblem. But that's something they say he refuses to do.

Rajakovics says the city council criticised the headstone years ago, and the church, as the graveyard's owner, "is the only institution that can do something." Leibnitz, in turn, says the Roman Catholic church has "tried going to the politicians and to the state prosecutors" for a solution that has yet to materialise.

Meanwhile, the swastika remains - to the aggravation of its critics, including Austria's Jewish community.

Raimund Fastenbauer, who speaks for Vienna's Jews, said the problem is not with Austria's anti-Nazi laws but a reluctance to enforce them.

"This is disappointing and frustrating," he said.

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Woman's body found in Sydney car park

A woman's body has been discovered in a car park in Sydney's south. Source: AAP

A WOMAN'S body has been discovered in a car park in Sydney's south.

Police found the body in a Taren Point car park after being called there on Wednesday afternoon.

Officers spoke with a man at the scene, who is assisting with their inquiries.

Investigations are continuing.

Police believe the woman's death is related to a "domestic incident", a police spokeswoman told AAP.

"It's not a random attack," she said.

She wouldn't say whether the death was being treated as suspicious.

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Cops search for escaped detainee in shops

Police are still looking for a detainee who escaped from Serco guards in Perth's city centre. Source: AAP

POLICE have locked down a large part of Perth's city centre as they continue to search for a detainee who escaped from Serco guards while being transported.

A police spokesman told AAP it was not a Corrective Services matter and the person on the run was not a prisoner.

It is understood the detainee was being transported by Serco guards, possibly from Royal Perth Hospital, and escaped custody, running west along Murray Street.

Police have cordoned off the area and are searching for the detainee inside shops including the Myer department store and the Perth Cultural Centre.

Comment is being sought from the Immigration Department.

It has been a difficult time for Serco following a string of embarrassing escapes for the company contracted by the state government for prisoner transport and by the federal government for the transportation of detainees.

There have been four break-outs from the Yongah Hill detention centre in the past five months.

Two men also recently escaped from a prison van in Geraldton and a third man escaped from a Joondalup hospital while under the guard of Serco officers.

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Qld acid murderer lodges appeal

A Cairns man found guilty of murdering his Chinese wife in 2011 is appealing his conviction. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND man who murdered his wife and dissolved her body in a bin of acid is appealing his murder conviction.

Klaus Andres, 70, was found guilty last month of murdering his Chinese wife in October 2011.

He was sentenced to life in prison in the Cairns Supreme Court.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman on Wednesday confirmed that Andres's lawyers had lodged an appeal against the murder conviction.

The case will be heard in the Court of Appeal. No date has been set.

At the start of last month's trial, German-born Andres admitted he dissolved Li Ping Cao's body in a wheelie bin of acid, but said her death was an accident.

He claimed he pushed her in self defence and that she died instantly when she fell on to the kitchen floor at their Cairns home.

Andres said he didn't call police because he thought he would be blamed for her death.

He also admitted pouring Ms Cao's remains down a storm drain outside the couple's home. Only her false teeth were found by investigators.

Andres met Ms Cao while on holiday in China in 2006 and the pair married in November that year.

About two months before Ms Cao's death, Andres began a sexual relationship with a 35-year-old Thai woman he met at a Cairns casino while the she was on holiday.

Andres is appealing on the grounds that the trial judge erred in admitting a key piece of evidence - a letter Andres sent to Centrelink.

His legal team will argue it could have encouraged the jury to infer intent or premeditation.

It was revealed during the trial that Andres sent a letter to Centrelink asking the agency to redirect his wife's welfare payments to his bank account.

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2 bodies found after migrant boat sinks

GREEK officials say the bodies of a woman and an 11-year-old boy have been found a day after a fishing boat crammed with immigrants capsized in the dark, leaving 12 people feared drowned in the Aegean Sea.

A coastguard statement says the two bodies were found on Tuesday by authorities on the nearby Turkish coast.

The crippled vessel, whose engine failed as it was trying to reach Greece illegally, was being towed by a Greek patrol boat when it overturned.

Wednesday's statement says photos of the bodies were identified by some of the 16 survivors. Their nationalities were not announced.

The United Nations refugee agency has expressed dismay at the accident, urging Greece to investigate the circumstances.

Greek authorities say the boat capsized during a panic after two passengers dived overboard.

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Teen charged over attempted home invasion

A TEENAGER accused of threatening a middle-aged couple with a shotgun during an alleged attempted home invasion on the NSW south coast has been charged.

The 16-year-old allegedly pointed the gun at a man, 54, and a woman, 53, when they answered his knock on their Wollongong door in the early hours of Saturday.

"The male tried to gain entry, however, the occupants managed to close the door," police said in a statement.

On Tuesday police arrested the teenager at a Wollongong home.

He was charged with offences including special aggravated break and enter.

Bail has been refused for the teenager, who is due before Port Kembla Children's Court in late February.

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Iran sends warships to Atlantic Ocean

TWO Iranian warships have set sail for the Atlantic Ocean on their navy's first-ever mission there, state TV has reported.

The voyage comes amid an ongoing push by Iran to demonstrate the ability to project power across the Middle East and beyond.

The report said that the destroyer Sabalan and the logistic helicopter carrier Khark will be dispatched on a three-month voyage.

"The warships will have task of securing shipping routes as well as training new personnel," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iran's navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying.

It said the ships, carrying some 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews, left the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. It did not mention any ports of call.

Iran has regularly deployed warships to the Gulf of Aden off the eastern coast of Africa to fight piracy and protect commercial ships.

The recent Iranian naval surge is also a response to US naval deployment near the Islamic Republic's coasts in the Persian Gulf. The US Navy's 5th fleet is based in Bahrain - across the gulf from Iran.

It has also sent its warships to Syrian waters in recent years.

In 2012, Iran said it aims to put warships in international waters off the US coast within the next few years, and extend its reach as far as Antarctica.

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Big issues to deal with in Aust: Buttrose

AUSTRALIA has come a long way since Federation, but there are still many important issues to resolve, outgoing Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose says.

Attitudes towards the elderly, Aborigines, refugees and those suffering dementia could be improved, as could education, social reform and opportunities for women to make Australia a better and fairer nation, Ms Buttrose said during a half-hour speech on Tuesday in Sydney.

Australia should celebrate its development as a society and "the great social policies of which we should be so proud", she told a packed auditorium at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Ms Buttrose was optimistic about the future but she also expressed some worries during the 18th Australia Day address.

"I worry that our preoccupation with balanced budgets will lead to the chipping away of the things which protect the most vulnerable."

"As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, this would be unforgivable."

Ms Buttrose, the first female editor of a major metropolitan newspaper and the first woman director of News Limited Australia, reiterated her support for a legislated "quota system" to ensure a fairer representation of women on company boards.

A law should be introduced in Australia, similar to that passed in Norway in 2003, requiring companies to have women comprise at least 40 per cent of their senior executive, she said.

A passionate advocate against ageism and discrimination against dementia sufferers, Ms Buttrose said she would continue her work despite losing the "influential platform" of being Australian of the Year.

"I've never not found a way to make my point of view heard," she told reporters after the speech.

"It's very handy if you're on television. It's also handy if you're able to write for a living."

And after a busy year with formal duties and a busy media schedule, Ms Buttrose isn't slowing down.

She's working on a new book, but wasn't letting any details slip.

"No author worth their salt reveals their book beforehand," she said.

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UN makes 'mistake' on Iran: Russia

THE UN chief's decision to rescind the invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks was a mistake but not a catastrophe, Russia's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov said that Ban Ki-moon's decision to withdraw his last-minute offer to Iran to attend the conference set to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss resort of Montreux would have a negative impact on the United Nations image.

The invitation to Iran extended by Ban on Sunday put the talks in jeopardy, with the US pushing for rescinding the offer and the Syrian opposition threatening to skip the event entirely.

"This story hasn't helped strengthen the UN authority," Lavrov said at a news conference, adding that recalling the offer looked "unseemly."

The controversy over Iran's participation in the talks reflected deep differences over Syria between the United States and Russia, which has been a key ally of Syria, shielding Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime from the United Nations sanctions and continuing to supply it with weapons throughout the civil war that has killed more than 130,000.

He reaffirmed Russia's stance that the presence of Iran was essential for the success of the talks.

Iran has been Assad's main regional ally, supporting his regime with advisers, money and materiel since the uprising began in 2011.

Lavrov warned that spurning Iran would deepen division lines in the Islamic world and would have a negative impact on global efforts to fight terrorism.

"The absence of Iran isn't going to help strengthen the unity of the world's Muslims," he said.

Lavrov insisted that Russia is not supplying Syria with any weapons that are "banned by international agreements and could destabilise the situation in the region."

At the same time, Lavrov voiced hope for the success of the talks that would put the government and the opposition at the same table for the first time since the start of the conflict three years ago.

"There is no catastrophe, we will push for a dialogue between the Syrian parties without any preconditions," he said.

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Firefighters escape serious injury in NSW

FIREFIGHTERS in northern NSW have had a lucky escape from one of their trucks that caught alight in a sudden wind change.

Crews were protecting properties around Moree on Monday evening when a sudden wind change blew a fast-moving grass blaze towards a truck parked between homes and the fire front.

"The truck was engulfed in a matter of seconds, with firefighters quickly abandoning their vehicle and seeking refuge nearby from the fire," Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins said in a statement.

"Trucks and equipment can be replaced but people cannot and I am thankful that no one has been injured in this incident."

There have been no confirmed property losses in the area.

A replacement vehicle has been sent from the New England region.

Firefighters will continue to battle the three-hectare fire throughout Monday night.

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SA fires continue, but Barossa gets Tour

Firefighters are continuing to battle SA blazes, which have destroyed 16 homes and 33 buildings. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS are still battling blazes across South Australia, which have been estimated to have caused $10 million worth of property damage.

But the Country Fire Service (CFS) says that only the Bangor fire in the Southern Flinders Ranges remains subject to a watch and act alert.

Premier Jay Weatherill on Monday afternoon visited the firegrounds at Eden Valley in the Barossa.

After being briefed by the CFS, he told journalists that property losses included 16 homes, 33 other buildings, about 18 vehicles, kilometres and kilometres of fencing and about 1700 head of stock.

Preliminary estimates put the damage loss at around $10 million, the premier said.

State forest loss in the state's mid-north was in the order of $7 million, he added.

The government was providing assistance and support to people at the 200 affected farm properties.

He repeated his thanks to the volunteer firefighters, saying their extraordinary and courageous effort meant many losses were averted in the face of a very frightening fire.

"There have been some incredible saves, but also some tragic losses," Mr Weatherill said.

Tour Down Under organisers earlier confirmed that stage one of the race would go ahead after earlier fears it might have to be cancelled due to the bushfires.

The two races are in the Barossa region and will finish at Angaston.

The premier said this was great news for people in the Barossa who had put up with a "very frightening and, in some cases, damaging experience" and who would now get to celebrate the race.

"It would have been a cruel thing if it was taken off them, just at a time when it was going to bring a lot of money into the economy," he said.

The race also would give them something happy to focus on, he added.

More than 445,000 hectares of grass, scrub, forest and bushlands has been burnt since fires started last Tuesday.

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Cameras found in SA Tour toilets: police

SECRET cameras have been found in the female and male toilets at the Tour Down Under village in central Adelaide.

A member of the public found what he believed to be a hidden camera in the Victoria Square male toilets late on Monday afternoon, police say.

The black device resembled a double towel hook and was mounted on the wall.

Police removed the device, which was off and not transmitting at the time.

A second device was found in the female toilets.

Police said any images captured appeared to be stored on SD cards which also have been seized.

The other toilets at Victoria Square have been checked, but no other devices have been found.

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Accused baby-basher faces Qld court

A NORTH Queensland mother accused of punching her baby girl in the face has appeared in court.

Police say a passer-by allegedly saw the 29-year-old punch the crying baby, who was in a pram on a footpath, in the Townsville suburb of North Ward on Saturday afternoon.

The baby was taken to hospital with bruises and was in a stable condition on Monday.

The mother appeared briefly before the Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.

She was granted bail and will reappear in court on February 7.

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Oscar nominee Williams tops charts again

US rapper Pharrell Williams is No.1 on the ARIA singles chart for the third week straight. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS can't seem to get enough of Pharrell Williams with the US rapper topping the ARIA singles chart for the third week in a row.

William' hit Happy, which features in the animated Despicable Me 2 film, was nominated for an Oscar (Best Original Song Oscar) on Friday.

If Williams wins, he will become only the third rapper to receive an Oscar following Eminem and Three 6 Mafia.

At No.2, also for the third week running, is Jason Derulo's Trumpets.

Local talent Joel Fletcher's Swing, featuring Savage, has jumped three places to No.3, replacing Magic's Rude, which fell to No.4.

All of Me by John Legend also fell a spot to No.5.

Scoring its first top 10 single this year is British indie group London Grammar, which rose five spots to No.6 with Strong.

Both Rudimental and Emeli Sande's song Free, as well as Pitbull and Ke$ha's Timber slipped two spots, to No.7 and No.9 respectively.

The Monster by Eminem and Rihanna and I See Fire by Ed Sheeran remained stable, at No.8 and No.10.

On the albums chart Beyonce, like Williams, holds the top spot for a third week with her self-titled album.

Katy Perry's Prism also stays, in second place.

Making its top 10 album debut is the soundtrack from the animated film Frozen, which scored an Oscar nomination for its song Let It Go by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The hit is up against Williams' Happy in the Best Original Song category.

Lorde's Pure Heroine dropped a spot to No.4, while Avicii's True rose two spots to No.5.

Also falling one place is Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP2, at No.6.

While doing well in the singles chart, London Grammar's album If You Wait fell three spots to No.7.

Also falling down the charts, by two spots to No.8, is One Direction's Midnight Memories, an album which peaked at No.1 album.

Taylor Henderson's self-titled album and James Blunt's Moon Landing each dropped a place to No.9 and No.10 respectively.

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Fire guts historical Norwegian village

OFFICIALS say a large fire has blazed through a historical village famous for its well-preserved wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, destroying at least 23 buildings.

The municipality of Laerdal, in western Norway, said in a statement on Sunday that 52 people had been hospitalised with light injuries and hundreds had been evacuated from their homes.

It said the fire burnt down 16 homes, as well as industrial buildings, community centres and holiday homes.

It also destroyed at least three buildings in the protected area of the village of Laerdalsoyri.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire, which started on Saturday night and quickly spread, exacerbated by strong winds.

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Detention centres are 'dysfunctional'

Leaked documents have revealed security weaknesses in a WA detention centre exposing major flaws. Source: AAP

THREE asylum seekers escaped a Western Australia detention centre in 45 seconds last week, exposing major security flaws at the facility, a leaked report has revealed.

The January 12 breakout was the third escape from the Yongah Hill Detention Centre in five months and an embarrassment for Serco, which manages Australia's detention centres and WA's prisoner transport system.

Documents reveal security weaknesses including asylum-seeker access to the internet for maps, to book plane tickets and organise getaway cars through social media.

Detainees had also become more confident as a result of the number of recent escapes and the lack of penalties, while the voltage on the 3.2-metre electric fence at Yongah Hill was not strong enough to shock escapees and was easy to climb.

A Serco insider described the entire system as "dysfunctional" and said he was speaking out against "incompetence".

"There is no training given and everything is about money," he told The Sunday Times newspaper.

"Every time we have these incidents the main effort isn't improving, but more so passing the buck and looking for someone to blame."

Two of the Vietnamese detainees from the January 12 breakout have been caught, but the third remains on the run.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said recommendations made by Serco following any escape incident were considered and implemented if appropriate.

"There are service standards in place with regard to performance against the department's contract with its detention service provider, Serco, and compliance with these standards is regularly reviewed," she told AAP.

"Security is a key performance indicator under the contract and there is provision for abatement for such breaches."

The incident happened a week after a rapist and alleged armed robber kicked their way out of a prison van at Geraldton Airport, prompting a 36-hour manhunt.

A third prisoner escaped from Serco's custody while being treated at Joondalup Health Campus on Friday afternoon and was caught on Sunday.

The prisoner ripped a metal rail off a wall and threatened staff, so guards shut him in a bathroom and it is believed he then climbed through the ceiling to escape.

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'Social' smokers warned of risks

Almost a quarter of British smokers say they have a social habit despite puffing up to 20 a day. Source: AAP

ALMOST a quarter of British smokers say they only have a social habit despite the fact many smoke six to 20 cigarettes a day.

A survey of 2000 smokers found 24 per cent class themselves as social smokers but more than one in three of these buy up to a packet a day.

About 60 per cent of all those questioned said they have tried giving up in the past, with women being slightly more likely than men to have attempted quitting.

One in six of those who had tried to stop smoking succeeded for over a year but then went back to their old habits.

Some 13 per cent said part of the reason they took up smoking again was because their friends smoked and they did not like being left alone on nights out.

Other reasons included the effects of alcohol, a football team losing and because the smoker did not want to miss out on socialising with work colleagues.

Of those who did go back to smoking, 47 per cent said they had initially cut down how many cigarettes they smoked.

The poll also found that 54 per cent of smokers admitted to smoking in banned areas, such as indoors in public spaces.

One in six said this was because it was too wet and cold to smoke outside, while 14 per cent took the risk because the area was not policed very well and one in 10 did so because they had never been asked to stub out their cigarette.

Catherine Cox, primary care manager at The Co-operative Pharmacy, which conducted the poll, said: "The smoking ban in public places has had a major effect on the health of the nation with a significant number of people giving up.

"But many smokers are convincing themselves they are consuming less tobacco than they actually are by classing their habit as a 'social' one.

"People see it as more acceptable to be a social smoker than admitting they regularly light up each day, even though our research shows that this is the case.

"Just smoking a few cigarettes a day has an impact on your health and the wellbeing of those around you."

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