Liberal lead narrows in McEwen

The margin is tightening in the nation's closest election race in the Victorian seat of McEwen. Source: AAP

THE margin is tightening in the nation's closest election race in the Victorian seat of McEwen.

Liberal challenger Donna Petrovich narrowly leads Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell, with just 142 votes separating them at lunchtime Saturday.

This has narrowed from Friday, with almost 85 per cent per cent of the vote counted.

In Victoria's other close contest, between Liberal Sophie Mirabella and independent Cathy McGowan in Indi, the latter's lead is widening.

On Saturday, Ms McGowan led by 805 votes with more than 88 per cent of the ballots tallied.

Mrs Mirabella this week ruled herself out of a cabinet post in the Tony Abbott government, saying her decision allowed the new prime minister to choose his ministry without waiting for the result in her seat.

Counting continues Saturday and Sunday.

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Police end Mexico City plaza occupation

Police have raided Mexico City's historic centre to remove striking teachers from Zocalo plaza. Source: AAP

RIOT police have swept thousands of striking teachers out of the heart of Mexico City.

The authorities used tear gas, flash grenades and water cannon against protesters to bring a swift end to weeks of occupation of the Zocalo plaza over reforms to the country's dysfunctional education system.

Three days before Mexican Independence Day, the teachers armed themselves with metal pipes and wooden clubs and blocked off the Zocalo with steel grates and plastic traffic dividers, threatening to scuttle the traditional national celebration in the massive colonial-era square.

Before moving in, the government had promised that Independence Day celebrations would take place in the Zocalo as scheduled, and the head of the federal police warned on national television that police would move in at 4pm local time.

The teachers, many veterans of battles with police in poor southern states, promised not to move from the square where they have camped out since last month.

Some fixed knives and nails to wooden planks and declared themselves ready to fight.

Others set up sewage-filled portable toilets in the path of police vehicles.

Shortly after 4pm, the police swarmed in, shooting tear gas from specially equipped fire extinguishers, tossing flash grenades and spraying water from armoured trucks.

Protesters hurled sticks and chunks of pavement broken from the streets around world-famous tourist attractions including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Templo Mayor and the National Palace.

But within a half hour, police had cleared the Zocalo and much of the surrounding historic centre of virtually all protesters.

Union organisers said they would reassemble away from the main plaza at the nearby Monument to the Revolution.

Small knots of teachers, self-described local anarchists and other supporters hurled bottles and rocks at police on some of the main avenues of downtown Mexico City.

It was a dramatic reassertion of state authority after weeks of near-constant disruption in the centre of one of the world's largest cities.

The teachers have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two months, decrying a plan that aims to break union control of education with a new system of standardised teacher testing that become law on Tuesday.

The teachers say blocking the reform itself is no longer the point.

They say they are now trying to maintain pressure to protect their rights and privileges as the government puts the labour reforms into effect and reduces union control over teacher hiring and assignment.

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Singer Joan Regan dies aged 85

BRITISH singer Joan Regan has died in London aged 85, the BBC reports.

Regan had chart hits in the late 50s and early 60s with records including Ricochet, May You Always and If I Give My Heart To You and also had her own BBC TV series Be My Guest.

Born in Romford, Essex, she was signed up by theatre impresario Bernard Delfont and went on to star on both sides of the Atlantic with artists including Perry Como, Max Bygraves and Cliff Richard and performed on many occasions at the London Palladium.

An accident in the shower in 1984 caused a blood clot on the brain and left her paralysed and without speech, but through therapy she made a complete recovery and was able to sing again.

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Rooftop negotiations continue at Qld jail

A BRISBANE prison remains in lockdown as talks continue with two inmates who've scaled the facility's roof in protest.

The men were on their way back from an oval when they climbed on top of a building at Brisbane Correctional Centre at Wacol in the city's west just before noon (AEST).

They are protesting a third prisoner being placed in solitary confinement.

A corrective services spokesman told AAP there was no threat to public safety, but the facility has been placed in lockdown and police negotiators called in to coax the men down.

Eight hours later, the men were yet to make any demands, the spokesman said.

"Police are still negotiating with the two on the roof," he told AAP just before 8pm on Saturday night.

The inmates have reportedly damaged CCTV cameras and the facility is expected to remain in lockdown until the men come down.

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Taliban bomb US consulate in Afghanistan

A truck bomb killed at least one person and wounded 18 outside the US consulate in Afghanistan. Source: AAP

SEVEN heavily armed Taliban suicide attackers have staged a dawn strike on the US consulate in the Afghan city of Herat, setting off two car bombs and sparking a shootout with US forces.

The sophisticated attack early on Friday in the western city, a key business hub near the Iranian border, underscores how the Taliban are able to strike outside their main centres in the south and east.

At least one Afghan guard was killed in the attack and 18 other people wounded, but US officials said there were no US casualties with all consulate staff safe and accounted for.

The US State Department said the attackers appeared to be wearing suicide vests and detonated a truck bomb that "extensively" damaged the front gate.

Afghan security officials said six attackers took part in the assault, detonating a minivan bomb and then a four-wheel drive vehicle, before engaging in a gunbattle with security forces.

The attack comes days after Pakistan said it would soon release its top Taliban prisoner, former military chief Abdul Ghani Baradar, in what Afghan officials hope can ignite peace talks.

The Taliban publicly refuse to negotiate with the Afghan government, branding Afghan President Hamid Karzai a US puppet, but opened a liaison office in Qatar in June billed as a step towards talks with the Americans on a possible prisoner swap.

Abdul Hameed Hameedi, the deputy security chief of Herat province told AFP that after the two vehicles were detonated, "five suicide bombers engaged in a gunbattle with the Afghan security forces, and after a while, all of these suicide bombers get killed in the attack."

He said an Afghan guard at the US consulate was killed and two other guards and two policemen wounded. A number of civilians were wounded because of the powerful explosion, he said.

Herat hospital spokesman Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai told AFP that 18 people were wounded, including four policemen and 14 civilians.

Abdul Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for Herat police, said US and Italian forces were called to the scene and cordoned off the area.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters the attack started at 5.30am when the gunmen, dressed in suicide vests, drove up to the front gate in a truck, opened fire and then detonated the truck bomb.

American and contracted security personnel reacted to the attack before it came to an end, Harf said.

US Ambassador James Cunningham condemned the attack and thanked Afghan and NATO troops for their quick response in securing the building and keeping consulate staff safe.

"We are reminded again of the very real human toll exacted by terrorism. The perpetrators of this attack have shed Afghan blood on Afghan soil," he said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP in a telephone call that the militia were responsible.

"Our mujahedeen, armed with heavy and light weapons, attacked the US consulate in Herat. There are several casualties to Afghan and US forces," he said.

US-led NATO troops who have supported the Afghan government against the Taliban are due to end their combat mission next year, after Afghanistan holds key presidential elections.

Roughly 100,000 foreign troops now serve in Afghanistan, two-thirds of them from the United States.

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Carmakers bet on alternative-fuel future

JUDGING by the slew of electric and hybrid vehicles being rolled out at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it might seem carmakers are tapping a large and eager market.

But in fact almost no one buys such cars - yet.

Every major carmaker is coming out with electric versions of existing vehicles - such as Volkswagen's all-electric versions of its up! city car and Golf compact.

And they are also showcasing models they have designed as electrics from the ground up, like small BMW's electric i3 city car.

Analyst Christoph Stuermer at IHS automotive called Frankfurt "the first full-throttle electric propulsion show" that's about "getting electric drive cars out of the eco-nerd, tree-hugger segment and into the cool group".

To whet appetites, carmakers are making high-performance, luxury versions that give up little or nothing in performance to conventional models. BMW's i8 goes 0-100 kph in a speedy 4.5 seconds.

Audi's Quattro sport concept - meaning it's for demonstration, not for sale - is an aggressive looking sports car with large air intakes flanking the grille and a whopping 700 horsepower from its hybrid drive. The company says it can reach 305 kph.

The Mercedes S-Class plug-in hybrid version, meanwhile, has a powerful six-cylinder internal combustion engine plus an all-electric range of about 30 kilometres.

This way, owners could commute all-electric during the week, recharging overnight but use the petrol engine on a family vacation.

The company says mileage is 3.0 litres per 100 kilometres.

All this, to cater to a market that doesn't really exist in mass terms. Only 0.2 per cent of all cars registered in Europe are hybrids, which combine batteries with internal combustion engines, or electrics, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.

In the United States, the Toyota Prius hybrid has broken into the top 10 selling passenger cars. However, electric vehicles have struggled to increase sales numbers because of high prices and so-called range anxiety: buyers' fear of running out of power.

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Labor's friendly leadership battle begins

LEADERSHIP hopefuls Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese insist there is no 'I' in Labor and their civil showdown for the ALP's top job is headed for a contest of personal experience and popularity.

Both candidates say the 30-day leadership campaign - which will see them jetting around the nation - will be a gentlemanly joust, putting the party first and moving away from Labor's past division.

"Labor is drawing a line underneath the rancour of previous years," Mr Shorten told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

"We will not seek to publicly disparage each other in our efforts."

Separating them on policy will not be simple though.

Mr Albanese said both he and Mr Shorten support a price on carbon and would oppose the coalition government's plans to scrap the carbon tax.

Victorian Labor right powerbroker Mr Shorten agreed they had a lot of values in common.

But Mr Albanese, from the party's left, believes his parliamentary longevity gives him an edge.

"I come here as someone (with) 17 years in public office," he said.

"I think one of the things I would bring to the leadership is that I have had time in opposition, I know what it's like, I know what has to be done ... that experience I think does count."

Mr Shorten, a former Australian Workers Union national secretary, has just won his third parliamentary term and hopes his history as a "builder and a campaigner" combined with his energy and enthusiasm makes him leadership material.

But he added: "This ballot in the Labor party will not be the contest of personalities, it will be the contest of ideas".

Both men indicated they would happily work with the other should their leadership aspirations fail.

They both gave their sales pitches to a caucus meeting on Friday where outgoing leader Kevin Rudd accepted responsibility for Labor's election loss and said the party was well placed to win the next election no matter who led the party.

The party room was told Labor had to become more unified to move forward.

"Whoever it was who was tweeting out of the caucus today, it's got to stop," Mr Albanese said later.

"It's not helpful for people to be sitting in a caucus room to be tweeting out to members of the press gallery."

Outgoing Treasurer Chris Bowen has been given the interim party reins while the leader is chosen, in what he called the nation's most democratic election process.

"They will have been elected by the whole Labor party, by every eligible rank and file member, as well as by the parliamentary caucus," Mr Bowen said.

While now it's only a two-horse race, there could be another candidate. Nominations for leadership remain open for seven days, before ballot papers are sent to Labor members.

Caucus will cast their votes last but will not know the grass-roots ballot result when they do.

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Keep Rudd asylum-seeker policy: Burke

TONY Abbott should swallow his pride and stick to Labor's hardline asylum-seeker policies because they are working, says outgoing Immigration Minister Tony Burke.

Mr Abbott did not speak to the media as he continued setting up his government on Friday, amid suggestions Indonesia will not accept part of his border-protection policies and news a fourth asylum-seeker boat had arrived since the coalition won the election.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa reportedly said this week his country won't accept part of the coalition's policy for a $20 million community engagement program to pay Indonesian village "wardens" to provide intelligence about people smugglers and a boat buy-back.

"We will reject his policy on asylum seekers and any other policy that harms the spirit of partnership and (Indonesian) sovereignty and national integrity," Mr Natalegawa told a House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Abbott's incoming foreign minister Julie Bishop was not available for comment either.

But she said in a statement that Abbott government policies would, where appropriate, be discussed during formal bilateral meetings with Indonesian officials in coming weeks and months.

Discussions would not be conducted through the media, she said.

Mr Burke says there was a "complete collapse" in boat arrivals after former prime minister Kevin Rudd changed the rules so that asylum seekers who arrive by boat without a visa are sent to PNG or Nauru and are ineligible for resettlement in Australia.

Mr Burke said that if Mr Abbott sticks with these policies people-smuggling operators won't be able to get their customers back.

"But he needs to swallow his pride and it's hard to swallow his pride so soon after what was such a big win for him," Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.

The coalition's border-protection plan, called Operation Sovereign Borders, will officially begin when the new government is sworn in next week, Mr Abbott said.

Australian authorities intercepted a boat carrying 158 people, believed to be asylum seekers, north-west of Christmas Island overnight.

Meanwhile, the Australian Lawyers Alliance says Australia has spent almost $28 million on asylum seekers' compensation claims since 2000 - $21.1 million for unlawful detention in 299 matters and $6.9 million for breaches of duty-of-care and statutory duties towards 150 others.

And outspoken barrister Julian Burnside QC suggested the incoming Abbott government should fund a processing centre for asylum seekers in Indonesia to help prevent the perilous sea voyages.

He said Australia should prepare for more arrivals when international troops withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of the year.

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Indonesia eyes Oz land for cattle breeding

PLANS by the Indonesian government to purchase a million hectares of Australian land for cattle breeding have been welcomed by farmers.

Amid growing demands for beef, the southeast Asian nation will turn to Australia where breeding is about one fifth of the cost, Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said.

"It's specified only for breeding," Mr Dahlan said of the plan.

"After they're born, a few months afterward, (the cattle) must be brought to Indonesia for feedlot."

In contrast to breeding costs, feedlot expenses are three times cheaper in Indonesia, Mr Dahlan said.

National Farmers' Federation boss Matt Linnegar said the Indonesian investment would provide a much-needed injection to Australia's struggling agriculture sector.

"Our sector will not survive without a level of foreign investment," he told SBS TV on Thursday night.

"If it's part of a broader solution where the trade is continuing and they invest in that property and in infrastructure, that could in fact mean more jobs for Australians."

Incoming coalition government MP Barnaby Joyce, who holds the rural NSW seat of New England, was more wary of the plan.

"This is like selling somebody (a portion of land equal in size to) the ACT, so it's quite a substantial chunk of Australia," Mr Joyce said.

He said Australia has plenty of cattle to sell but live trade was suspended by the federal government in 2011 amid animal cruelty allegations.

Indonesia's purchase of Australian land could be blocked by the federal government or the Foreign Investment Review Board.

But farmers say the number of cattle bred on a million-hectare property would not pose a threat of market domination and there are suitable land holdings available for sale.

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Prince William quits armed forces

Prince William is quitting the armed forces and will focus on charity duties for 12 months. Source: AAP

PRINCE William is to leave the armed forces and temporarily focus on official engagements both in Britain and overseas, Kensington Palace says.

The new father will spend the next year considering his future work options with an announcement on that to come "in due course".

The Duke of Cambridge's wife Kate gave birth to baby George in July.

Prince William has been working as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot in Wales.

But the palace on Thursday announced "the Duke is to leave operational service in the armed forces".

"He completes his tour with the RAF search and rescue force ... after more than seven-and-a-half years of full-time military service," the palace said in a statement.

Prince William plans to support the work of the Queen and the royal family through a program of official engagements with Kate.

Over the next 12 months he'll work with the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

"He will expand his work in the field of conservation particularly in respect of endangered species," the palace said, adding he'd also continue to work with his charities on issues relating to children, young people, veterans and serving members of the armed forces.

As to his long-term future, the palace stated: "The Duke is currently considering a number of options for public service, a further announcement on which will follow in due course."

William, Kate and little Prince George are expected to move into their official residence at Kensington Palace within the next few weeks.

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