Knox 'afraid' to front Italian court

US murder suspect Amanda Knox has emailed an Italian court to say she is "afraid" to show up for her trial on charges of killing British student Meredith Kercher, judge Alessandro Nencini says.

Knox, who is a defendant, along with her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, is letting herself be tried in absentia.

She has signalled she would not return to Italy to serve her sentence if she is found guilty.

"I am not in the courtroom because I am afraid," Knox said in a message in Italian that was read out in court by Nencini on Tuesday.

"I am afraid that you will be influenced by the vehemency of the accusations, that you will be blinded by their smokescreens."

The judge dismissed Knox's email as "unorthodox" and said those who "want to speak at a trial should come to the trial".

He said lawyers for the defence vouched for the authenticity of the message.

Ms Kercher was 21 when she died.

She was found on November 2, 2007, half-naked and with multiple stab wounds, in the apartment she was sharing with Knox and two other female students in the central Italian university town of Perugia.

Knox and Sollecito were arrested days after the crime.

In 2009, they were jailed for 26 years and 25 years, respectively, after Perugia judges concluded in a first instance ruling that the pair, along with a third person, had killed Kercher during a group sex game.

They were acquitted in 2011 after an appeal court deemed incriminating DNA evidence to be unreliable.

Freed from prison, Knox returned to her home city of Seattle.

But the verdict was annulled in March by Italy's top appeals body, which ordered a retrial and moved proceedings from Perugia to Florence.

Judges are expected to issue a new ruling in January, but it could be appealed again.

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Business as usual as Pope turns 77

THOUSANDS of goodwill messages have poured in to the Vatican for Pope Francis, who has turned 77.

But no special celebrations were planned for the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, with Tuesday expected to be a normal working day for him.

The pope celebrated his daily mass in the Santa Marta chapel at 7am (1700 AEDT), and was preparing his speech for his weekly audience, scheduled for Wednesday.

Francis was given a surprise party at the weekend, when he met a group of children at a charity office inside the Vatican.

They each sported a letter of the alphabet on their shirt, and lined up to spell out the message Happy Birthday, Pope Francis. There was also a cake, with candles.

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Bus carrying 13 rolls in NT

A BUS has rolled in the Northern Territory, seriously injuring two people.

Police say the crash happened on the Stuart Highway 128 kilometres south of Alice Springs, about lunchtime on Tuesday.

Thirteen people were on board.

The seriously hurt pair are being treated at Alice Springs Hospital.

The other 11 reportedly received minor injuries.

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Syria peace talks to open in Montreux: UN

The UN has called for $US6.5 billion in aid for the expected 4.1 million Syrian refugees in 2014. Source: AAP

THE long-delayed "Geneva II" peace conference for Syria will open in the Swiss lakeside town of Montreux because of a lack of hotel space in Geneva, the United Nations says.

"The international conference on Syria ... will be held due to logistical reasons ... in Montreux," said Khawal Mattar, spokeswoman for UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who is trying to organise the conference.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month finally set January 22 as the date for the talks, which have been repeatedly postponed since June.

But a luxury watch fair will be taking place in Geneva at the same time.

The global elite will also begin gathering for the annual World Economic Forum that begins in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on January 22, many of them passing through Geneva.

As a result, the city's hotels are fully booked, leading organisers to look for alternatives.

Montreux was decided upon, Mattar said, for a variety of reasons, including security considerations and the availability of hotel space in the scenic town at the other end of Lake Geneva known for its jazz festival.

The conference centre at the Montreux Palace will only host the first day of high-level talks on January 22, hosted by Ban and including all invited country delegations.

Negotiations between the two Syrian delegations and Brahimi will then continue at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva on January 24, but it has not been decided how long the talks will continue, Mattar said.

Meanwhile, UN agencies have launched what they say is the biggest-ever relief appeal for a single emergency, as they called for $US6.5 billion ($A7.3 billion) in funds for Syrians in 2014.

The UN's humanitarian affairs and refugee agencies said on Monday that $US2.3 billion is needed to provide for people inside the war-torn country, with the remainder for Syrian refugees in the region.

"We're facing a terrifying situation here, where, by the end of 2014, substantially more of the population of Syria could be displaced or in need of humanitarian help than not," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in Geneva.

"This goes beyond anything we have seen in many, many years, and makes the need for a political solution all the greater."

The agencies warned that they were planning for up to 4.1 million refugees by the end of 2014 - of a total pre-war population of 22.4 million.

More than 2.3 million Syrians have so far fled the country since the conflict began in 2011, with more than four million estimated to be displaced inside its borders.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP), one of the bodies participating in the multi-agency plan, separately announced it would feed 4.25 million Syrians next year, at a cost of $US2 billion.

The WFP said almost 6.3 million people in the country needed "urgent, life-saving food assistance".

It pledged to focus on preventing child malnutrition, giving food supplements to 240,000 children aged 6 to 23 months.

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Pressure grows for NSW pub lockouts

EMERGENCY service workers and doctors are demanding NSW government action to stop the carnage caused by alcohol-fuelled violence.

NSW confirmed it was the capital of drunken violence at the weekend, with 540 arrests during a trans-Tasman operation meant to curb the problem.

The NSW opposition is renewing its calls for a trial of reduced trading hours and lockouts in the state's licensed venues after the success of those measures in Newcastle.

The Last Drinks coalition, a group representing concerned emergency department staff, police and paramedics, has joined the chorus.

Its spokesperson, Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation president Dr Tony Sara, says the pressure is firmly on the government.

Dr Sara says a trial in select trouble spots would show positive results in a short time.

He said measures in Newcastle cut alcohol violence by 37 per cent and emergency department admissions by 26 per cent, so were worth a try in Sydney.

He challenged NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to explain what harm a trial could do, believing the government was under the thumb of the powerful liquor lobby.

"How could it hurt?" Dr Sara told AAP.

"It might reduce profits a bit, but either they lose some money or we continue to have people hurt and maimed.

"I think the community comes before profits."

But Mr O'Farrell rejected calls for tougher laws, arguing authorities had done their part.

"Police and government agencies are doing their bit and the hotel industry, by and large, is responsibly getting on with their task," he told reporters on Monday.

"What we now need is for the community to come to the party."

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says police tell him privately they support tougher measures such as pub lockouts.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione agreed that cultural shift was crucial.

"Police will never arrest our way out of this problem," he said.

"If we don't start today we will lose a generation of young people to this love affair with alcohol."

Mr Scipione said a 23-year-old man who was punched and stomped on in front of dozens of revellers at Bondi Beach at the weekend was no longer in a critical condition.

The Australian Hotels Association NSW would not comment.

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Aurizon to cut rail fleet, cancel project

FREIGHT and coal haulage operator Aurizon will take a hit of almost $200 million as it cuts the size of its rail fleet and cancels a major Queensland project.

The company, previously known as QR National, is reducing its locomotive fleet by 28 per cent and cutting the number of wagons by 12 per cent in a bid to bring down fuel and maintenance costs.

Aurizon's downsizing will appear as an asset impairment expense of $130 million to $150 million in its accounts for the first half of the 2013/14 financial year.

The company will also incur a $47 million impairment on recent changes to several projects, including Glencore Xstrata's decision to stop the Wandoan project because of weakening thermal coal prices.

Aurizon had proposed a 210 kilometre Surat Basin rail corridor from the Wandoan mine in a joint venture with the Swiss multinational.

"There's not any job losses that are related to that," chief executive Lance Hockridge told reporters on Monday.

In July, Aurizon launched a second voluntary redundancy program in a bid to save $230 million by 2015.

Some 248 voluntary redundancies have since been accepted.

"I think the bulk of it is done," Mr Hockridge said.

More than 2,000 employees have left the company since it was privatised by the former Queensland Labor government in 2010.

Mr Hockridge said he was "cautious but confident" about the thermal coal sector, as well as the future of projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin, where Aurizon has agreed to develop a rail project for the GVK-Hancock joint venture involving billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Aurizon shares dropped two cents to $4.68.

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Kiwi extends gains over Aussie dollar

THE New Zealand dollar has extended its rally against its trans-Tasman counterpart as the divergence between the neighbouring economies makes New Zealand interest rates more attractive.

The kiwi rose as high as 92.49 Australian cents on Monday, the highest since October 2008, trading at 92.40 cents at 5pm in Wellington from 92.26 cents on Friday in New York.

The NZ dollar traded at 82.78 cents from 82.56 cents at 8am and 82.63 cents on Friday in New York.

The kiwi has been making fresh five-year highs against its Australian counterpart as the slowing economy in Australia and burgeoning local recovery underline the different stages of the interest rate cycle each nation's central bank is in.

New Zealand's Reserve Bank is keen on hiking rates next year, while Australia's is sitting on record-low rates to keep the stimulus coming.

Investors will be looking to see any hint of an easing bias when the minutes to this month's Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting are released on Tuesday.

"Their central bank is quite determined to get the Aussie dollar lower to get a more sustainable mix in their economy," said Dan Bell, head of corporate sales at HiFX in Auckland.

"It looks like the kiwi/Aussie could get up to the 95 cent level" over the next month before it "runs out of puff," he said.

The kiwi fell to 85.04 yen at 5pm in Wellington from 85.31 yen on Friday in New York, and was little changed at 60.16 euro cents from 60.19 cents.

The trade-weighted index was steady at 77.92 from 77.90.

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Wesfarmers sells underwriting operations

DIVERSIFIED conglomerate Wesfarmers is selling its Australasian insurance underwriting operations to Insurance Australia Group (IAG) for about $1.85 billion - its biggest ever divestment.

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder said the sale followed approaches by a number of parties that were interested in the underwriting business.

Wesfarmers had spent a lot of money in recent years getting the Australian and New Zealand insurance underwriting business into much better shape.

"But it hasn't delivered satisfactory returns on average over the last five years to Wesfarmers," Mr Goyder told reporters.

"And over a period of time, if any of our businesses don't generate satisfactory returns, we'll look and see what we do with it."

Mr Goyder said the sale of the insurance underwriting business also reduced some of the risk in Wesfarmers' portfolio of industrial, mining, retail and financial businesses.

There was inherent volatility in the insurance business because of catastrophic events like earthquakes in New Zealand, and Cyclone Yasi.

The sale does not include the insurance division's broking operations in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and its Australian and New Zealand premium funding businesses which will remain part of Wesfarmers.

Wesfarmers expects a pre-tax profit of about $700 million to $750 million from the transaction, which will be included in the financial results for the second half of the 2014 financial year.

Mr Goyder said Wesfarmers had not yet decided what to do with the proceeds from the sale.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to take several months.

The acquisition comprises Wesfarmers' underwriting companies trading under the WFI and Lumley Insurance brands, and a 10-year distribution agreement with Coles.

IAG chief executive Mike Wilkins said the acquisition was a compelling strategic fit for IAG.

"Acquiring these businesses supports the group's strategic priorities of accelerating profitable growth in Australia and sustaining our market-leading position in New Zealand, and we expect attractive EPS (earnings per share) accretion," Mr Wilkins said.

IAG expects the acquisition will lift earnings per share by a modest amount in the first full year of ownership and by at least five per cent in the second year.

The acquisition will be partly funded from a $1.2 billion placement of shares to institutional investors, at $5.47 per share.

The integration of Wesfarmers' underwriting businesses is expected to generate pre-tax net benefits of about $140 million a year, with a significant proportion derived from reinsurance.

The integration process is expected to be substantially complete within two years, with pre-tax integration costs of $120 million.

Shares in Wesfarmers were 20.5 cents higher at $41.51 at 1515 AEDT. IAG shares are in a trading halt until the start of trading on Wednesday, December 18. They last traded at $5.70.

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Police assaulted at NSW soccer game

A POLICEMAN had to use "defensive strikes" to force a man to release his grip on his groin during a brawl at a Newcastle A-League soccer match.

Another police officer was punched in the head by another man in the melee, which saw a spectator punched in the face three times on Saturday night.

Police from the Public Order and Riot Squad and local officers were patrolling the match between the Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers at the Hunter Stadium when a fight broke out and objects were thrown at 9.40pm.

They say the crowd turned hostile towards them when they intervened.

During a scuffle, a 21-year-old man allegedly grabbed the policeman's groin and refused to let go.

The man, police say, had been hindering police when he was pushed out of the way and fell on the ground.

He was arrested and charged with assault police.

He will appear in Newcastle Local Court on January 16.

At the same match police spoke to three spectators who were allegedly causing trouble.

One man refused to follow a police direction to return his seat.

Police allege he punched another spectator in the face three times before turning on the officers who tried to arrest him.

The 41-year-old is accused of punching one officer in the side of the head.

He was charged with assault police and behave in an offensive manner.

He will also appear in Newcastle Local Court on Monday.

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Aussie held over alleged arson in Thailand

A 47-YEAR-OLD Australian man has been arrested by Thai police and faces charges of assault and arson after clashing with the manager of a motorbike rental company in southern Thailand.

Kent Wesley Farrar, from Victoria, was detained on Friday after becoming allegedly angered by the bike's excessive use of fuel after renting the bike for a week on the resort island of Koh Chang, and demanded a refund.

But the manager, Narong Borploy, 55, said Farrar turned down the offer of another bike and started fighting after being refused the repayment.

Farrar, who sustained head injuries in the clash, then allegedly grabbed a fuel canister and poured petrol over three rental bikes and set them ablaze.

Thai police said Farrar then grabbed a knife and began threatening passers-by before being subdued at the scene.

Farrar faces charges of arson and assault and a damage bill of 100,000 baht (A$3500).

Thai Police investigator on the case, Police Captain Banjerd Krachangsaeng, was unavailable for comment when contacted by AAP.

Farrar's arrest comes in the lead up to the peak holiday season in Thailand and an influx of Australians over the Christmas period. Up to one million Australians visit Thailand each year.

Australian travellers are regularly warned over renting motorbikes in Thailand, often associated with scams by operators to extract additional fees for unspecified damages allegedly caused during the rental period.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the department was aware of Farrar's arrest and consular staff were seeking to meet with him and provide assistance.

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