Vic union rejects sabotage claim

The CFMEU has rejected claims a fire at a Grocon building site in Melbourne was an act of sabotage. Source: AAP

THE CFMEU has rejected a claim of sabotage over a deliberately lit fire at a Grocon building site in Melbourne, saying it is a matter for police.

GROCON is claiming the fire at its Collins Street office block development on Friday is part of a string of sabotage incidents and it will refer it to police.

"This is yet another criminal act of sabotage carried out by people with no respect for the law, workplace safety or human life," Grocon spokesman Dan Blyde told News Ltd.The CFMEU released a statement on Saturday, saying any suspicious circumstances surrounding the blaze should be handled by authorities."The implication made by Grocon, as reported in the Herald Sun that this fire has been lit as some kind of industrial tool, is completely rejected by the CFMEU," union national construction secretary Dave Noonan said."It should be backed up by hard evidence or it should be withdrawn."Mr Noonan says the union condemns arson because it endangers lives and anyone behind such acts shouldn't be working in the industry."While it is no secret that the union is critical of Grocon's safety record there would never be any circumstances under which the CFMEU would sanction arson or sabotage as an industrial weapon," he said.

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Israel says Palestinians kidnapped teens

Israeli security forces are combing the West Bank in search of three missing teenagers. Source: AAP

THREE Israeli teenagers, one of them also a US citizen, have been kidnapped in the occupied West Bank, presumably by Palestinians, the army says.

THE three, all students at a Jewish seminary, went missing late on Thursday while hitchhiking between Bethlehem and Hebron.

"We believe that they have indeed been kidnapped by presumed Palestinians," a senior officer told journalists on Saturday, without giving further details.He said the search was being carried out in co-ordination with security forces from the Palestinian Authority, and that "tens of Palestinians" had been arrested in the process.He added that substantial reinforcements had been brought in, including special forces and an airborne brigade, to participate in the search around Hebron, in the southern West Bank.Asked if it was thought they had been kidnapped to hold as hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, he said the army was studying all scenarios.Military radio, quoting other officers, said without elaborating "certain progress" had been made in the search.

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Syria TV says 30 killed in blast near Iraq

A BOMB attack targeting a weapons bazaar in eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border has killed 30 "terrorists", state television reports.

"A big explosion hits a terrorist arms market in Mayadeen, killing 30 terrorists and wounding dozens of others," the television reported on Saturday.

Just 80km from the Iraqi border, the town is under the control of rebel groups, including al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate the Al-Nusra Front, that have been fighting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.ISIL is the same cross-border group which has spearheaded an offensive in neighbouring Iraq this week that has seen militants sweep down from second city Mosul towards Baghdad.A rebel spokesman from Deir Ezzor province contested the television's report, and told AFP the blast was a car bomb planted by ISIL that killed at least 15 civilians in a street market."Light weapons are sold nearby, but the targeted area was a street market and those killed were civilians," spokesman Omar Abu Leyla said.ISIL's fighters in Syria have been under attack by rival rebels since the start of the year.They have been driven out of much of northwestern Syria, but retain control of the city of Raqa up the Euphrates Valley from Deir Ezzor.They have tried repeatedly to extend their area of control to the Iraqi border to unite their forces in the two countries.

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Snow falls in Vic alpine peaks

Snow has begun falling on Victoria's alpine peaks after a slow start to the season. Source: AAP

AFTER a slow start to the season, snow has finally begun falling on Victoria's alpine peaks.

AT Mt Hotham, 3cm of snow had fallen since Saturday morning with more of the white stuff forecast through until Tuesday.

Snow is expected in Victoria's alpine peaks on Saturday and Sunday, at 1500m above sea level."We're not expecting a huge amount," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said."The days haven't been terribly cold as yet. We need the rainfall to get snow, of course, and we're getting a bit of rainfall."News the winter wonderland had arrived had snowfield operators rejoicing, while the weather bureau conceded it appears to be a warmer than average winter."There's another front on Monday with snow coming down to 1300m so it looks a bit more promising," Mr Ryan said."There's always hope we'll get some colder air through and the season can get going properly towards the end of June and early July.

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US marshals to auction seized bitcoins

US authorities will auction off $US18 million in Bitcoins they seized from Silk Road. Source: AAP

THE US Marshals Service says it will auction about $US18 million in bitcoins seized last northern autumn from Silk Road, a website that was effectively the eBay of illegal drugs.

THE marshals said on Thursday that they will auction the virtual "coins", consisting of sets of numbers entered in an online public ledger, via the web on June 27.

Authorities say Silk Road generated more than $US1 billion ($A1.08 billion) in illicit business from January 2011 to October 2013, when alleged operator Ross William Ulbricht was arrested in a public library in San Francisco.Ulbricht has pleaded not guilty. The website took commissions in bitcoins, which are hard to track.The marshals are auctioning off 29,657 bitcoins in 10 blocks, which means buyers will need to pony up nearly $US1.8 million each.The Marshals Service is keeping another 144,342 bitcoins, worth about $US87 million at current rates, that were found on Ulbricht's computer. He's contesting their forfeiture.

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Former POW Bergdahl back in US

A defence official says US soldier Bowe Bergdahl is due to arrive at a Texas facility on Friday. Source: AAP

THE US soldier freed in a controversial swap with the Afghan Taliban has arrived back in the United States, his latest step in a return to normality after five years in captivity.

THE Pentagon said Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl arrived on Friday in the middle of the night on a flight from Germany to San Antonio, Texas where he will continue treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center.

Bergdahl was handed over on May 31 in return for five senior Taliban detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects.The US Army sergeant had been recuperating at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, amid growing debate over the swap that secured his freedom, with some US politicians accusing President Barack Obama of capitulating to "terrorists".The Pentagon said in a one-paragraph statement on its website that in Texas the soldier will "continue the next phase of his reintegration process. There is no timeline for this process. Our focus remains on his health and well-being."US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel "is confident that the Army will continue to ensure that Sgt Bergdahl receives the care, time and space that he needs to complete his recovery and reintegration".Bergdahl is yet to speak to the news media about his ordeal and Pentagon officials have said his health has steadily improved in the days since his release.His disappearance from a base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009 has fuelled speculation the soldier deserted his post before being captured and may face prosecution by military authorities.Letters and other correspondence emerged this week suggesting Bergdahl was in a troubled state of mind before and during his deployment, and that he lacked confidence in his superiors."Leadership was lacking, if not non-existent," he wrote in a letter sent to family during his time in captivity obtained by The Daily Beast website.The letter, one of two sent to Bergdahl's family via the International Committee of the Red Cross, is marked by numerous spelling errors."The conditions were bad and looked to be getting worse for the men that where actuly the ones risking thier lives from attack," he wrote in a March 23, 2013 letter.Bergdahl also appeared to appeal for understanding over his disappearance, though he does not explicitly state that he deserted.

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Qld premier denies Facebook sacking

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has denied that a public servant was sacked for a Facebook post. Source: AAP

THE Queensland premier has denied a public servant was sacked for posting a Facebook message criticising the sacking of 14,000 government employees.

TROY Reeves began a six-week contract with Queensland Health on July 15 last year.

But his employment as a policy analyst at the Office of Chief Nursing was terminated two days later.Three days before starting his job, Mr Reeves had written a Facebook post criticising the government's first budget in 2012, which included mass retrenchments."There wouldn't be an unemployment problem in Brisbane if it wasn't for the fact that 14,000 sacked people are no longer spending the same amount of money in the economy," it said.The post was referred to Premier Campbell Newman's then media adviser Kylie Jacobson on Mr Reeves's second day in the job, right-to-information documents obtained by AAP show."What a f-wit," she wrote in an email to another media adviser for the premier, Kate Barwick.But a spokesman for Mr Newman said the correspondence between the two media advisers did not lead to Mr Reeves being sacked."Mr Reeves's termination is a matter for Queensland Health or the relevant department he was employed by," he told AAP."That had nothing to do with Kylie and Kate's email."Mr Reeves, a 35-year-old Masters graduate, was previously a Queensland Liberal Party member and Griffith University Liberal Club president.He has worked for Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Senator Ian Macdonald.

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Suspended MP Shaw apologises to Victorians

Suspended Victorian MP Geoff Shaw will be the main attraction at a comedy event on Friday night. Source: AAP

ROGUE MP Geoff Shaw has apologised to Victorians, despite saying he was "screwed by the parliament".

HEADLINING a comedy event at Melbourne's Wheeler Centre on Friday, Mr Shaw was asked if he would say sorry for misusing his parliamentary entitlements.

He was suspended on Wednesday night until September 2, ordered to apologise and repay more than $6800."To the people of Victoria, I am exceptionally sorry, and I apologise to parliament, and to you, good people of Victoria," Mr Shaw told comedian Sammy J.When asked what he thought of his suspension, he replied: "(I was) screwed by the parliament, wasn't I?"Mr Shaw said he "probably shouldn't have" done a radio interview where he said he would vote no confidence in the government.It led to an opposition push to expel him from parliament before the government suspended him."I don't know if I regret it but I didn't expect what came after," he said.Mr Shaw said Victorian premier Denis Napthine had suspended him despite "investigation after investigation" clearing him of wilfully misusing his car."Napthine didn't like that decision of the police, of the courts, he didn't like the ombudsman's report, he didn't like what the nine-member committee said."Mr Shaw also didn't back away from his pro-life position on abortion and the "sin" of homosexuality, which attracted some jeers from the crowd.He detailed his conversion to Christianity at 25 after he was healed of a knee injury at a church service.Earlier on Friday, Dr Napthine said Mr Shaw needed to have a "good look in the mirror", and should not wait until the end of his suspension to show the Victorian public he was sorry.Sammy J brought a mirror out on stage for Mr Shaw to look into - which he did before delivering his apology.He said he would look at the polls before deciding to re-contest the November state election.Mr Shaw finished the night with a surprisingly deft bagpipes performance.Earlier, Dr Napthine said he was waiting for a sign of contrition from the suspended independent MP."I have no plans to talk to the member for Frankston," Dr Napthine said."But I would say to the member for Frankston that he has been dealt the toughest penalty in the Victorian parliament's history for over 100 years - that should be a very, very serious lesson to the member for Frankston."Mr Shaw's suspension has left the Victorian government and opposition deadlocked on 43 votes apiece in the lower house, with the government requiring the Speaker's backing to pass legislation.

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Abbott to press Obama for TPP

AUSTRALIA will seek American support to wrap up talks on an Asia-Pacific free trade zone when Prime Minister Tony Abbott meets with US President Barack Obama.

MR Abbott was due to meet with Mr Obama at the White House at noon on Thursday (0200 AEST), on the second-last leg of his North American visit.

Australian trade officials are quietly confident the Trans-Pacific Partnership - a 12-nation agreement to boost trade in the region - can be concluded by the end of 2015, given that 80 per cent of it has been agreed.In the meeting, in which Mr Abbott will present the president with a hand-made surfboard bearing the presidential seal, he will emphasise Australia's commitment to the alliance as well as boosting trade and investment.The US is Australia's number one source of investment, number one destination for investment abroad and its third largest two-way trading partnerCountries involved in the TPP represent a trading area of almost 800 million people with GDP worth over $27 trillion.A White House spokesman said the TPP would be on the agenda, as well as Australia's leadership of the G20, Afghanistan, and the rotation of US Marines through Darwin.Security and stability of the Asia-Pacific, Syria, Russia's actions in Ukraine and North Korea would also be discussed.Mr Abbott spent his first day in Washington DC in a round of meetings made more hectic by chaos in the Republican Party.The party was dealing with the fallout from Eric Cantor's loss of preselection in Virginia and his stepping down as House majority leader - the second most powerful position in his party.Mr Abbott held four meetings, the first of which was with House Speaker John Boehner who said Republicans broadly supported the TPP.The second meeting involved senior Democratic Party leadership.Foreign relations committee members were keen to pursue how Australia reached its free trade agreement with Japan.A fourth meeting involved about 10 senators from both parties who were interested in China and Australia's intelligence services.Some of the senators expressed regret about the scandal caused by the Edward Snowden security document leaks.It is understood he told the senators - as well as senior national security chiefs he met with later - that countries involved in the so-called "five eyes" intelligence partnership should never apologise for doing what is needed to protect allies and the national interest.Mr Abbott also met with International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde.The prime minister will tell a business breakfast in Washington that Australia has managed to be a good friend to China while also a strong ally of the US.

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'Knock-about bloke' Qld's top judge

TIM Carmody is criticised for being inexperienced and too close to the government to be Queensland's top judge, but has stared down the naysayers.

HE was promoted from chief magistrate to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday, despite never serving in the court.

Attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie had a similar meteoric rise when appointed the state's top law officer after serving as an articled clerk and solicitor.Judge Carmody, QC, who was recruited as chief magistrate from the bar nine months ago, said he couldn't ignore the criticisms and acknowledged it was something the community would be worried about.He vowed to be a fiercely independent leader."If my views happen to coincide with the government's views that's pure coincidence," he said."There will be many times when I disagree with the government's position."In the end it (the criticism) was wrong. I can do this job, I will do this job, and I shouldn't not do this job because someone else says I shouldn't."Premier Campbell Newman described Mr Carmody as a self-made man and knock-about bloke, who once lived in housing commission in Inala, west of Brisbane."We need somebody who has a fine legal mind, who Queenslanders can relate to, who gets where they are coming from," Mr Newman said."He got to this day the hard way, through the sweat of his brow."He'll inspire Queenslanders because they will see they can do as he has done."But most of all we need a leader, to lead the entire legal system for the next decade and beyond."Several lawyers, including former Crown Solicitor Walter Sofronoff QC and former Supreme Court judge Richard Chesterman QC, have raised concerns about Judge Carmody's inexperience, lack of peer support and perceived closeness to the government, especially over anti-bikie legislation.Tony Fitzgerald said the appointment of Judge Carmody, who served as the counsel assisting his 1980s corruption inquiry, could damage public perception of the courts."People whose ambition exceeds their ability aren't all that unusual," he told AAP on Thursday."However, it's deeply troubling that the megalomaniacs currently holding power in Queensland are prepared to damage even fundamental institutions like the Supreme Court and cast doubt on fundamental principles like the independence of the judiciary."After serving on the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, Judge Carmody became special prosecutor of official corruption arising from the landmark inquiry.From 1998 to 2002 he was Queensland's Crime Commissioner and was appointed a Judge of the Family Court in 2003, before returning to private practice in 2008.Before his appointment as District Court Judge and Chief Magistrate in September 2013, he served as Chairman of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry.He'll replace Supreme Court chief justice Paul de Jersey, who becomes Governor next month.

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Hugh Jackman, Tony Abbott US gym buddies

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has trained alongside Hollywood star Hugh Jackman at a New York gym. Source: AAP

HE'S the Action Man PM, so perhaps it's only fitting that Tony Abbott would want to pump iron with Wolverine.

THE two fitness fanatics ran into each other in a US gym as they both went about their early morning training sessions.

Jackman, a prolific Instagram user, posted a snap of the chance encounter to his account on Thursday."Look who popped into our early AM workout," he wrote."The PM can train!"But even with a direct endorsement from Wolverine, the toned prime minister looked somewhat slight standing next to Jackman.He did, however, beat the Australian actor in the hair stakes - Jackman is currently sporting a shaved dome to play pirate Blackbeard in an upcoming live-action retelling of Peter Pan.Having revealed the new look on Wednesday, some of his fans wondered if the Les Miserables star was taking style cues from Breaking Bad's Walter White.Pan, directed by Joe Wright, is slated for release in 2015.

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Islamabad condemns US drone strikes

PAKISTAN has condemned the first US drone strikes on its soil this year despite suspicions the two countries coordinated over the attack in the aftermath of a Taliban siege of Karachi airport.

THE strikes took place over Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, killing at least 16 militants in the North Waziristan tribal district that lies on the Afghan border, in the first such attacks since December.

They came in the same week as the Taliban claimed responsibility for an all-night siege of Karachi airport that left 37 dead including 10 attackers, shredding a nascent peace process and placing pressure on Islamabad to react decisively.The foreign office issued a tersely worded statement condemning the strikes as "a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity"."Additionally, these strikes have a negative impact on the government's efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region," the statement said.A foreign office spokeswoman told AFP that rumours of Pakistan requesting the attack were "speculation".But a senior retired diplomat who is familiar with tribal affairs told AFP: "The government must have consented to this attack. It could not have happened without that."Washington reportedly suspended its drone program in December to give Islamabad time to pursue a dialogue process with the TTP aimed at ending a seven year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.The dialogue resulted in a month-long ceasefire between March and April but later broke down, with Pakistan resuming air strikes in suspected militant hideouts in the tribal areas.Following the breakdown of the talks and the Karachi attack, observers believe both civil and military authorities are converging on the need for more concerted action.Leaked documents have shown deep cooperation over drone attacks in the past, but they remain controversial with critics charging they cause many civilian casualties.Some 2171 people have been killed in drone attacks since August 2008, according to an AFP tally.The latest US drone strikes took place within hours of each other.The first struck a vehicle and a compound in the village of Dargah Mandi in North Waziristan, where almost 60,000 residents have fled since May fearing a long-rumoured offensive.An intelligence official in Miranshah, the region's main town, said the missiles had struck a pick-up truck carrying about six militants and laden with explosives.The second strike came early Thursday at the same site as militants gathered to dig out the bodies of their fallen comrades at the site of the earlier attack, a local security official said.

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Shark fin off menu in Singapore resort

A MAJOR Singaporean resort is removing shark fin from its exhibition and convention centre menus, its management has announced.

Shark fin soup is a traditional staple of wedding dinners in the predominantly Chinese city-state.

"Marina Bay Sands is a leader in the hospitality and MICE [meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions] industry. We have the unique opportunity to inspire and influence our customers and partners to adopt sustainable practices," said Kevin Teng, the resort's director of sustainability.

Wildlife and environmental activists welcomed the announcement on Wednesday.

"We applaud their strong commitment to marine protection and hope that other hotels will follow their excellent example," the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society.

"This move ... sends a strong and clear message that this is an important issue that needs to be addressed," said Olivia Choong, president of Green Drinks Singapore.

Sharks are hunted and harvested worldwide, mainly to satisfy the large demand for shark fin in Asian markets. The soup is considered a traditional delicacy in Chinese cuisine, and is often served during festive occasions.

But the slaughter of millions of top-tier predators each year just for the fins is cruel and upsets the delicate balance of marine ecosystems, conservationists say.

Singapore has been identified as one of the largest shark fin trading nations, and one of the top exporters to the major market of Hong Kong.

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WA animal poisonings worry RSPCA

THE RSPCA is calling for witnesses after reports of more than 40 animals being poisoned over the past six months in West Australia.

Since December, the not-for-profit organisation has investigated 29 cases of dogs being poisoned, seven cases of cat poisonings and five poisonings of birds and other wildlife.

An RSPCA spokesman said of the cases investigated, the majority of the animals died as a result of the poisoning or had to be euthanised.

Animals who survived poisoning were often left with ongoing health problems such as neurological and organ dysfunction, he said.

On Wednesday, the RSPCA received a report of a dog being poisoned at a home in the Perth Hills region suburb of Roleystone just four weeks after the owner's other dog died from poisoning.

The most recent incident comes only two days after two dogs were poisoned with snail pellets at a Singleton home near Mandurah.

RSPCA chief inspector Amanda Swift said poisoned animals could face a slow and agonising death.

"If you suspect your pet has been poisoned, they need to be taken to the nearest veterinary clinic immediately," she said.

People found guilty of poisoning an animal can face a fine of up to $50,000 and five years jail.

Anyone who has information or has witnessed any suspicious behaviour is urged to call the RSPCA cruelty hotline 1300 CRUELTY.

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Ministers talk security in Japan

Australia's defence and foreign ministers are in Japan for top level talks. Source: AAP

DEFENCE Minister David Johnston and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop are in Japan for top level talks as Australia and Japan move to deepen defence and security co-operation.

The ministers were meeting their opposite numbers in Tokyo on Wednesday for the fifth Australia-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial (2+2) Consultations.

That follows Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to Japan in April where he agreed on both a trade deal and future cooperation on defence science and technology, particularly joint research on marine hydrodynamics.

In practice, that means submarines, with Australia interested in Japan's new Soryu-class boats as it looks to replacements for the Navy's six Collins submarines.

The ministers are expected to conclude negotiations on the proposed Defence Science, Technology and Materiel Agreement, announced during Mr Abbott's visit.

The agreement will allow Australia and Japan to jointly develop defence technologies, establishing a basis to deepen defence cooperation, they said.

During the visit, Ms Bishop will meet Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and other senior Japanese ministers, parliament members and academics to discuss international and bilateral developments.

That will include the New Colombo Plan, under which students from around the region will receive scholarships to study in Australia.

Senator Johnston will meet Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera separately to discuss progress in bilateral defence engagement in areas such as logistics cooperation, exercises and training, and peacekeeping and disaster relief.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who reportedly is planning to visit Australia in July, wants Japan to play a bigger role on the global stage, loosening longstanding constitutional restrictions on the role of its defence force.

He has moved to ease tight restrictions on weapons exports, paving the way for greater defence co-operation with Australia.

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'Rapid' bacteria detector developed

A NEW device which cuts the time taken to detect bacteria in food down to a matter of hours has been developed by scientists who said it would help reduce the number of food poisoning cases.

The University of Southampton's Biolisme project has developed the new sensor which is capable of collecting and detecting Listeria monocytogenes on food industry surfaces, preventing contaminated products from entering the market.

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that causes listeriosis, an infection with symptoms of fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to more serious complications, like meningitis.

Transmitted by ready-to-eat foods, such as milk, cheese, vegetables, raw and smoked fish, meat and cold cuts, Listeria monocytogenes has the highest hospitalisation (92 per cent) and death (18 per cent) rate among all foodborne pathogens.

Listeriosis mainly affects pregnant women, new-born children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

"Current techniques to detect the bacteria take days of testing in labs, but the new device aims to collect and detect the pathogen on location within three to four hours," a university spokesman said.

"This early and rapid detection can avoid the cross contamination of ready-to-eat food products.

The spokesman explained that the new device was designed to sample single cells and biofilms - groups of microorganisms where cells stick together on surfaces.

Compressed air and water is used to remove the cells before they are introduced to an antibody.

If Listeria monocytogenes is present, cells react with the antibody to produce a florescent signal, which is detected by a special camera.

Doctor Salome Giao, from Southampton's Centre for Biological Science Unit, who worked on the technique with Professor Bill Keevil, said: "The scientific research we have carried out at the University of Southampton has been used by our Biolisme project partners to develop a device which will have major implications for the food industry.

"By making the process simpler we hope that testing will be conducted more frequently, thereby reducing the chance of infected food having to be recalled or making its way to the consumer."

The prototype sensor, which is being created by a consortium of six partners across four EU countries, has been finalised in France and field trials are under way to test the device before it is demonstrated in food factories.

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Trapped man may stay in German cave longer

Rescuers are working to retrieve a man stuck deep underground inside a cave in the German Alps. Source: AAP

RESCUERS say they aim to extract a researcher trapped with a serious injury in Germany's deepest and longest cave by the end of the week.

The Bavarian mountain search and rescue service said a Swiss team expected to reach the 52-year-old cave explorer, who is lying injured at a depth of around 1000 metres, later on Tuesday.

He is to be gradually lifted back to daylight by way of five bivouac stations that are being set up in the Alpine cave Riesending on the Austrian border over the next three to five days, German news agency DPA reported.

The researcher was exploring the cave with two other people early on Sunday when he suffered head and chest injuries from falling rocks.

A 42-year-old member of the expedition climbed out of the cave on his own to get help and it took a team of four first responders 12 hours to reach the stricken man Monday.

A team building the bivouac stations set up a telephone line at a depth of 400 metres to facilitate the operation.

A total of around 200 helpers have deployed from across the region to assist in the operation.

"The conditions are extremely narrow. The rescue won't be easy," doctor Christoph Specht told rolling news channel NTV.

"There are only a few people in Germany who know how to handle such a rescue."

The labyrinth-like Riesending cave, which has only been explored by researchers since 2002, is more than 19 kilometres long and up to 1148 metres deep.

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Johnson won't be expelled: Barnett

WA's premier says rogue MP Rob Johnson is not at risk of being expelled from the Liberal party. Source: AAP

ROGUE West Australian Liberal backbencher Rob Johnson is not at risk of being expelled from the party, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Mr Johnson has been an outspoken critic of the state government since he was dropped as police minister during a cabinet reshuffle in June 2012.

Recent media reports suggested MLC Phil Edman, the government whip, was securing support to move a motion to expel Mr Johnson at a party room meeting on Tuesday.

While Mr Barnett said no motion was made during the meeting, members had discussed the need to end leaks from the Liberal party room to keep its confidentiality.

"It's courteous to let the party room or the leader know you're going to speak on some topic which is perhaps contrary to the party's position or the government's position," Mr Barnett said.

"If you want to make a comment as a Liberal you can - that's one of the freedoms within our Liberal Party. I also insist you actually put your name to it, you actually have the courage to do that.

"When members of parliament go outside and, with respect, talk to the media, or divulge what's said in the party room, that undermines confidence in (the party room) process."

Mr Barnett urged party members not to personally criticise each other and instead focus on debating policy.

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Scottish backpacker missing in Melbourne

A social media campaign has been launched in a bid to locate a missing Scottish tourist. Source: AAP

WITH no passport, money or a place to stay, backpacker Jonathan Ansell was distressed when he called his mother back in Scotland two weeks ago.

The 27-year-old said he was in Melbourne and had lost his passport and mobile phone, before the call ended abruptly. He has been missing ever since.

"I think he must have been calling from a phone box and didn't have any more money and it just got cut off," Judith Ansell, who has travelled to Australia to search for her son, told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"He said he had run out of money, and was living rough."

Mr Ansell came to Australia on a work visa in April 2013 and was employed on Hamilton Island before hitting the road and visiting Sydney and Byron Bay.

In February, he met up with friends in Sydney, where his Scottish bank records indicate the last use of a credit card.

Victoria Police are checking to see if he had an Australian bank account that could shed more light on his movements.

Mr Ansell's work visa ran out in April 2014.

Mrs Ansell described her son as affable, but extremely quiet and he was unlikely to approach people to ask for help.

His sister Kate has started a social media campaign which has been shared more than 2000 times on Facebook.

A picture of Mr Ansell has been released and anyone with information is urged to contact police.

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Barnett flags WA penalty rate changes

THE West Australian premier is seeking to allow small businesses access to the same employment conditions as larger companies to establish fairer penalty rates throughout the week.

Colin Barnett said larger employers, such as Coles and Woolworths, often negotiated enterprise agreements with unions to compensate lower weekend and night penalty rates with higher hourly rates during the week.

The premier said WA's small businesses were disadvantaged by award structures and he had spoken briefly to Attorney-General Michael Mischin about remedying the situation.

"There are certainly some legal difficulties but to me that's not a reason for not trying to provide something more fairer to small business and also fairer to the employees," Mr Barnett said.

"Why should you see that people perhaps on a second job on the weekend or students working part-time over a weekend get dramatically higher rates than people whose whole career and support in terms of their employment is working in the retail industry or the hotel sector or the entertainment sector?

"There should be penalty rates for weekend and night work but they shouldn't be so far above the normal weekly hourly rate so it's unfair to most people working in those industries."

Mr Barnett said large and medium-sized corporate entities came under federal relations law but unincorporated small businesses were a state responsibility.

"That's the typical shop you would see in a shopping mall or street shopping environment perhaps employing just two or three people," he said.

"I think that they are the ones that are stuck with an award that stipulates higher penalty rates than Coles and Woolworths or other stores would pay."

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Malaysia, Aust to share MH370 search costs

Malaysia and Australia will share the cost of the next phase of the search for missing plane MH370. Source: AAP

MALAYSIA and Australia will share the cost of the next phase of the search for a Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing more than three months ago, a senior official says.

"Costs will be shared 50-50 between Malaysia and Australia," deputy defence minister Abdul Rahim Bakri said, adding that there were no figures yet for how much they would have to spend.

The Australia Transport Safety Board last week issued a tender to continue the deep-water search for the Beijing-bound MH370 that disappeared on March 8 and is suspected to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Malaysia Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that Malaysia had spent 27.6 million ringgit ($A9.30 million) in fuel and food for equipment and personnel in the search.

"The cost that we had to bear is relatively small compared to the other assets given by other countries used in the search," he said in a press briefing.

Malaysian officials were to go to Canberra on Tuesday to discuss the next phase of the search.

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Scottish tourist missing in Victoria

POLICE have appealed for public help to find a missing UK tourist who has not had contact with his family in Scotland for two weeks.

Twenty-six year old Jonathan Ansell, who has been in Australia for about two years, last told his family he was in Melbourne, but Mr Ansell may have travelled within Victoria or interstate.

He is described as of Caucasian appearance, 175cm tall with a fair complexion and short, light brown to dark blonde hair.

Anyone who sees him should call triple-zero.

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BHP axes 170 jobs at WA iron ore mine

BHP Billiton has slashed 170 jobs at its massive Mt Whaleback iron ore mine in Western Australia. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton has slashed 170 jobs at its massive Mt Whaleback iron ore mine in Western Australia's Pilbara region, saying the cuts are part of the company's bid to increase export volumes while reducing costs.

The mining giant said it would assist affected employees through the process and seek redeployment opportunities where possible.

BHP Billiton said its iron ore unit regularly undertook reviews to ensure it was operating as efficiently as possible.

"This includes reviewing the size and structure of our workforce to ensure it supports the delivery of our productivity agenda," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We have been open with our employees about the work being done to improve productivity."

BHP Billiton last week axed about 100 staff from its iron ore division headquarters in Perth.

Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie last week told reporters in Beijing that the iron ore market was oversupplied.

"We don't quite see the case for the scale of investment we saw in the last 10 years," he said.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union said Mt Whaleback employees had been treated appallingly.

Workers were finding out whether they still had a job when they turned up for their shift.

"Workers will be turning up for their shifts all week without knowing whether they're in the firing line," CFMEU mining and energy WA secretary Gary Wood said.

"Many of those losing their jobs live locally and will have to uproot their families in search of a new job."

The union said BHP Billiton could "easily" absorb fluctuations in the iron ore price without slashing jobs.

"Instead it is throwing workers and families into turmoil because of its ruthless focus on cutting costs to improve shareholder returns," Mr Wood said.

"Mining should benefit the whole community not just shareholders and BHP should be fighting to keep its people in work rather than throwing them on the scrap heap at the first opportunity."

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17 Indian police get life for killing man

AN Indian court has sentenced 17 police officers to life in prison for kidnapping and killing a 22-year-old jobseeker in their custody in 2009.

Prosecutors said business graduate Ranbir Singh had gone to the northern city of Dehradun looking for a job when he was arrested by police for alleged robbery.

Newspapers said police claimed Singh was involved in an extortion racket and was shot trying to escape arrest.

But an investigation determined he'd been tortured, shot 12 times at close range and died in custody.

The conviction of 17 police officers in a single case is believed to be unprecedented in India.

Rights groups often accuse Indian security forces of torturing and killing people in custody to force them to confess.

In convicting the officers on Friday, Judge J.P. Malik also found them guilty of entering into a criminal conspiracy to kill Singh.

The officers had denied the charges against them and can appeal.

Members of the victim's family said on Monday they had hoped the officers would be given the death penalty, and would appeal the sentences to a higher court.

The case was tried in New Delhi, after the victim's father, Ravindra Singh, filed a petition saying the involvement of Uttarakhand's state police left him doubtful that justice could be served by authorities in the state capital of Dehradun.

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Pope begins Middle East prayer summit

VATICAN officials insist no political agenda is lurking behind Pope Francis' invitation to the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to pray for peace together in the Vatican gardens, and no concrete initiatives are expected.

But Sunday's unusual summit - with Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers intoned in the shadow of St Peter's Basilica - could take on great significance on the ground.

And it will certainly enhance Francis' reputation as a leader unhindered by diplomatic and theological protocol who is willing to take risks for the sake of peace.

The prayer was organised in the two weeks since Francis first made the surprise invitation from the biblical city of Bethlehem. On Sunday, he asked the crowd attending his weekly noon blessing to join in with their own prayers as well.

As Palestinian flags fluttered in the breeze, Francis pressed the importance of "surprise" in the Catholic Church, saying a church that doesn't have the ability to surprise with its message of love is "weak, sick and dying and needs CPR".

Francis showed himself a master of improvisation and surprise during his trip to the Middle East, stopping to pray at the Israeli security barrier surrounding Bethlehem and then, at Israel's request, changing his busy itinerary to pray at a memorial to Jews killed in suicide bombings and other attacks.

But it was his invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - two men who signed the Oslo peace accords in 1993 - to come to "my home" to pray for peace that captured imaginations and led to Sunday's common call for peace on a patch of lawn inside the Vatican walls.

"Peace is a gift of God, but requires our efforts. Let us be people of peace in prayer and deed," Francis tweeted on the eve of the summit.

"Prayer is all-powerful. Let us use it to bring peace to the Middle East and peace to the world."

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Authorities work to recover fallen body

A man has died after falling over a cliff in the Royal National Park south of Sydney. Source: AAP

THE body of an experienced French climber who died after falling 40 metres off a cliff in the Royal National Park south of Sydney has been recovered.

The man, named as "Fabian" by the Seven Network was reportedly hanging from the edge of a sandstone cliff north of Little Marley Beach while on a Sunday morning when he lost his grip.

He was bushwalking with his girlfriend and mates from Wollongong University.

"It is believed he was with a group of seven other walkers at the time of the incident, however the exact circumstances remain unclear," police said in a statement.

High winds and rough seas impeded aerial recovery efforts on Sunday afternoon, but authorities anchored abseil lines in bedrock and were able to retrieve the man's body on Sunday evening.

"About 6.30pm, officers reached the man's body and he's been brought to the top of the cliff face," police say.

Initially reports suggested the Frenchman had dropped about 10 metres, but on Sunday evening police said "it appears the man has fallen closer to about 40 metres down the cliff face".

A report is being prepared for the coroner and investigations are continuing.

Police "are in the process of informing next-of-kin", a police spokeswoman told AAP.

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Sotheby's goes street with Banksy exhibit

Sotheby's in London is behind one of the largest-ever Banksy exhibitions. Source: AAP

THERE'S a dead rat at the heart of a new exhibition mounted by august auction house Sotheby's.

Stuffed and sporting a backpack and a spray can, the rodent is the creation-cum-alter ego of Banksy, the anonymous street artist turned art-world superstar.

It's a sign of his status that Sotheby's is behind one of the largest-ever Banksy exhibitions, a display of kissing policemen, placard-wearing chimpanzees and smiley-faced riot police spanning much of the artist's career. Some of the works originally sold for as little as STG50 ($A91.27). Now, prices range from STG4,000 ($A7,301.27) to more than STG500,000 ($A912,658.57).

Banksy is not involved in the show, which is being billed as an "unauthorised retrospective". It has been assembled by his former agent Steve Lazarides, who first met Banksy in the 1990s in their home town of Bristol in southwest England.

Lazarides took a paint-filled fire extinguisher to the gallery's white walls to make it look less like an alien environment for graffiti art. But, he conceded Friday, "it's completely paradoxical for me to be here, for the work to be here."

"It's in a space it almost shouldn't be and viewed in a way it was never intended," he said. "But I think that's part of the fun."

The 70 paintings, prints and sculptures, owned by Lazarides and other collectors, display Banksy's subversive - if not always subtle - humour. Winston Churchill sports a Mohawk haircut; genteel pensioners play lawn bowls with fizzing bombs; a ballerina breathes through a gas mask; a hungry child with an empty bowl wears a Burger King hat.

Several early works feature police officers - bane of Banksy's existence as a young street artist. For others, he's altered existing paintings: Van Gogh's sunflowers have withered and died; flying saucers disrupt a maritime scene.

Some have not been seen in public for years, including the rat, in a glass case bearing the words "Our time will come". Banksy installed it in 2004 in London's Natural History Museum as hundreds of visitors and staff walked by.

Banksy works have fetched as much as $1.8 million at auction, so it's no surprise that several of his outdoor works have recently - and controversially - been stripped from walls and sold for high prices.

None of the pieces in the London show was originally street art, and Sotheby's contemporary art chief Cheyenne Westphal said all have been endorsed as genuine by Pest Control, Banksy's authentication service.

"Works that are on the street don't get certificates," she said. "They're there to be enjoyed, they're there to be seen but they're not there to be resold again."

As his career has bloomed, Banksy has left his spray-painted mark worldwide, from the streets of New York to the Israel-Palestine separation wall.

As for big gallery shows like this, Lazarides said: "He hates it."

Lazarides, who parted company with Banksy several years ago, takes a different view.

"The show being here at Sotheby's is almost a validation of the whole scene," he said. "When we were doing this 15 years ago, everyone told us this was impossible, no one would buy the work, it was a fad, it would disappear.

"People tend to forget that (Jean-Michel) Basquiat and Keith Haring were graffiti artists first. This is just following on from a rich tradition."

The exhibition opens at Sotheby's S/2 Gallery in London on Wednesday and runs to July 25.

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US soldier: 'I was tortured by Taliban'

SGT Bowe Bergdahl has told people treating him at a US military medical facility in Germany that he was tortured, beaten and held in a cage by his Taliban captors in Afghanistan after he tried to escape, a senior US official says.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss what Bergdahl has revealed about the conditions of his captivity.

The official said it was difficult to verify the accounts Bergdahl has given since his release a week ago.

Bergdahl, now 28, was captured in June 2009 after he disappeared from his infantry unit.

He was held for nearly five years by Taliban militants.

The New York Times reported Sunday that military doctors at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center say that while Bergdahl is physically able to travel he's not yet emotionally prepared to be reunited with his family. He has not yet spoken to his family.

Bergdahl was returned to the US military in exchange for the release of five Taliban militants from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The deal, which the Obama White House brokered without consulting Congress, ignited a political firestorm that shows no signs of abating.

Lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, who initially praised Bergdahl's release, quickly backed off amid questions about whether he was a deserter who walked away from his post and an outcry over the exchange.0

Some of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers maintain that Americans died during efforts to find and save him.

On Wednesday, Bergdahl's hometown of Hailey, Idaho, abruptly cancelled plans for a welcome-home celebration, citing security concerns, and on Saturday the FBI said Bergdahl's family had received threats that are being investigated by federal, state and local authorities.

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