Single parents to protest over payments

WELFARE advocates are planning to protest around Australia next month over the government's cuts to single parent benefits.

From January 1, single parents have not been eligible for the Parenting payment once their youngest child has turned eight years old and have been transferred to the lower Newstart allowance.

More than 60,000 single parents now receive between $60 to $100 a week less under entitlement changes.

The single parents action group (SPAG) are organising rallies in all major cities on February 5 to push for the government to reverse its decision, with the main protest at Parliament House in Canberra.

Protest organiser Samantha Seymour said the payment changes would have a detrimental impact on single parent families.

"Our purpose is to show the government that we will not tolerate their decision to further deprive and isolate Australians whose only crime is being single parents," Ms Seymour said in a statement on Sunday.

Families spokeswoman for the Australian Greens, Rachel Siewert, said she was concerned about the long-term impact of the lower Newstart payments on parents and their children.

"We shouldn't be condemning people to poverty," Senator Siewert said in a statement.

She said the government should reverse these payment cuts and also boost the Newstart allowance by $50 a week.

The government introduced the changes, worth around $728 million in savings over four years, in its bid for a budget surplus in 2012/13.

Last December, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government was unlikely to have a surplus this financial year due to lower than forecast tax revenue.

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Closer Asian financial ties a boost: Swan

TREASURER Wayne Swan says closer financial ties with Asia will benefit the nation and Australian companies.

Mr Swan will speak at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Monday where finance ministers, business and financial leaders will discuss trends and developments in markets in Asia.

"At the forum I will continue to stress the importance of strengthening and developing closer financial integration within the region and the benefits this will bring," he said in a statement on Saturday.

He said he would reinforce Australia's keen interest in promoting greater use of China's official currency, the renminbi (RMB), for international trade and finance.

The RMB would be increasingly important in the Asian Century as the weight of global economic activity shifts from West to East, Mr Swan said.

On his previous trip to Hong Kong, Mr Swan and Hong Kong's financial secretary, John Tsang, announced the establishment of a joint Australia-Hong Kong RMB trade and investment dialogue.

The first will be held later this year in Sydney.

Mr Swan said his fourth visit to Hong Kong would allow him to promote Australia's economic interests in Asia.

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Country getting hotter: Climate Commission

AUSTRALIA was already a land of extremes but it's hotter than before with a greater risk of more heatwaves and more severe weather.

The Climate Commission says the length, extent and severity of the present heatwave is unprecedented and shows climate change is making extreme heat and bushfires worse.

It says the impact needs to be understood to plan for more of the same.

In a report called Off the charts: Extreme Australian summer heat, one of the authors, David Karoly, says the heatwave has affected over 70 per cent of Australia and longstanding temperature records have been broken.

"Although Australia has always had heatwaves, hot days and bushfires, climate change is increasing the risk of more frequent and longer heatwaves and more extreme hot days, as well as exacerbating bushfire conditions," Professor Karoly said in a statement.

"The baseline conditions have shifted.

"We live in a hotter world and the rise of more frequent and severe extreme weather has already increased."

The current conditions are unusual because of their widespread nature and duration, the report says.

Heat is a "silent killer" because small changes in the environment can have dramatic impact on the human body.

The report says if the core body temperature exceeds 38 degrees Celsius for several hours judgment and behaviour can be impaired.

Heatwaves in recent years have resulted in increased hospital admissions and death.

The Climate Commission says having a good understanding of climate change risks can ensure that action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and plans are made to respond to more extreme weather.

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Woman dies in car smash with truck in Qld

A WOMAN has been killed when the car she was driving collided with a semi-trailer in southwest Queensland.

Police said they were called the scene of the crash which occurred on the Warrego Highway near Jondaryan about 7pm AEST on Friday night.

They said a male passenger in the car was seriously injured while the driver of the truck was not injured.

The highway has been closed while the forensic crash unit investigates.

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Saudi king names women for Shura Council

SAUDI King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the previously all-male consultative Shura Council in decrees published on Friday, marking a historic first as he pushes reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The decrees, published by the official SPA news agency, give women a 20 per cent quota in the Shura Council, a body appointed by the king to advise him on policy and legislation.

One decree amended an article in the council's statute to give women representation on the body while the other named the 150 members, among them 30 women.

King Abdullah took the decisions following consultations with religious leaders in the kingdom, where women are subjected to many restrictions and are not allowed to mix with men, according to the decrees published by the SPA.

They stipulate that men and women will be segregated inside the council, with a special area designated for females who will enter through a separate door so as not to mix with their male colleagues.

King Abdullah had been carefully treading towards change, introducing municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

In September 2011 he granted women the right to cast ballots and run as candidates in the next local vote, set for 2015.

In announcing those changes, he also said he was planning to name women to the Shura Council.

Women's rights activists have long fought for the right to vote in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, which applies a strict version of Sunni Islam and bans females from driving or travelling without the consent of a male guardian.

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Judi Dench 'sorry' over Bond's Oscar snub

VETERAN British actress Judi Dench has spoken of her disappointment that the latest James Bond film Skyfall did not feature more prominently in the latest round of Oscar nominations.

The 23rd outing of 007 in a 50-year franchise opened in Britain late last year to rave reviews and broke box office records, but failed to meet expectations in Thursday's shortlist of screen candidates.

"I'm very, very sorry nothing has been recognised," said Dame Judi, who plays MI6 chief M in Skyfall.

"That's a great pity. I thought Sam (Mendes) directed it beautifully. It's a terrific film. I think that all round it was really wonderfully presented, filmed, lit and shot," she added, during an interview with London's Radio 4.

Skyfall received five nominations in Los Angeles in production categories.

British singer Adele made the shortlist for the best song, with Skyfall's theme.

Asked if she thought there was a bias against 007 films when it comes to awards, Dench replied: "I hope not."

The film, starring Daniel Craig as Bond, has eight 2013 Bafta nominations, including one for Outstanding British Film.

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New TVs will be 'watching' viewers

IN the new world of technology, television is not just for watching. It is also watching you.

So-called smart TVs being unveiled this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas offer technologies that watch the viewer, in an effort to offer more relevant programming.

The idea may sound eerie to those familiar with George Orwell's novel 1984 but people in the industry say this is the next step in the evolution of TV viewing.

Chinese manufacturer TCL unveiled a new TV and set-top box using the Google TV platform which recognises who is watching in order to suggest potential programs.

The new TV developed with Marvell Technology Group uses sensors and voice recognition to determine and can offer streamed or live programs to appeal to an individual or family.

"We have developed many innovations to personalise the viewing experience," said Haohong Wang, general manager in the US for TCL, a major global manufacturer which has made TVs under the RCA and Thomson brands.

This offers a "game-changing entertainment experience for consumers around the world that will drive the smart TV market forward at a rapid pace," said Weili Dai, co-founder of Marvell.

Panasonic also used CES to show its new Viera smart television which can recognise users and create a home screen allow programming tailored for each.

Other manufacturers are working on similar technology which take advantage of television over Internet.

This new interactivity opens up possibilities for advertisers who will be able to develop more targeted pitches, but raises some of the same privacy concerns of data collection on the web.

"The concept is not so much Big Brother as Big Marketer," says Thomas Coughlin of the data consulting firm Coughlin Associates.

"This could be creepy to some of us because it is making use of data in a way that has not been done before."

Coughlin said consumers will want to know where the data is and how it might be shared, and says there also may be questions about security of the data in the cloud.

Rob Enderle, an analyst and consultant said this model will become the norm as television gravitates to internet platforms.

"Increasingly, TVs will know who is watching them and I expect advertisers will know shortly thereafter.

"This should result in shows and commercials you like more and even better products but far less privacy."

Stu Lipoff, from the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, said TV on mobile devices will have similar characteristics.

"The website not only knows you are interested in Chevy, but knows where you are," he said.

James McQuivey at Forrester Research said consumers will accept these privacy tradeoffs if they see an advantage to the new style of television.

McQuivey said millions have already accepted this type of tracing by connecting their TVs to Xbox consoles with Kinect motion detection where "the camera is tracking you all the time."

"This tells me Orwell got it wrong," he said. "Orwell's camera did the bidding of the state and these cameras do your bidding."

But he said companies should be prepared to develop privacy policies to avoid government intervention.

TCL's Wang says the TV makers are not interested in tracking people and will allow them options.

"We are an equipment company. What we want is to give a good user experience," he said.

If viewers feel uncomfortable with being monitored they don't have to use those features, "they can just turn it off."

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Gadget, apps aim to boost health, fitness

APPS, games or gadgets are trying to tackle some of the thorniest problems in health and medicine.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is filled with new gadgets to monitor fitness, detect problems and find solutions to health issues ranging from obesity or diabetes to rare medical conditions.

One trend is "gamification," which uses a model from the video game industry to offer points and rewards to boost health.

At CES, the world's biggest technology show, UnitedHealthcare unveiled a joint effort with Konami Digital Entertainment to reduce childhood obesity with a new dance game that challenges youngsters while monitoring body mass index or how many calories are being burned.

The program "adds game mechanics and game psychology to make the experience more engaging and immersing," said Arianne Hoyland, game producer for the insurance giant.

Hoyland says the company also has mobile apps to provide rewards to pregnant women to encourage prenatal visits. The women are given a gift certificate but if they receive the right care, "we can offset those costs and keep them healthier," she said.

"It turns out gamification of health really works," said James McQuivey, analyst at Forrester Research.

"People have a competitive urge, and this can bring new people into something. People want peer recognition, they want to outdo other people."

Other firms are finding ways to use mobile apps to improve health care.

Business software giant SAP has developed an app called "Care Circles" that allows a parent or other individual to manage health care with a multitude of specialists and others.

The program, available for free, was developed by an SAP employee to co-ordinate care among several specialists for a child with a rare medical condition.

"This gets around privacy concerns because the care is controlled by the guardian or individual," said Rishi Diwan, a product manager at SAP who showed the app to CES visitors.

Diwan said the app can help people with special needs, and the company is working with the Alzheimer's Association and Breast Cancer Foundation to generate interest in the platform.

"We are thinking about ways to work on electronic medical records," he told AFP.

Other exhibitors at CES showed exercise armbands and other gadgets to track factors such as heart rates, or real-time monitoring of blood sugar for persons with diabetes.

Another showed a digital fork that monitors caloric intake and vibrates if its user is eating too much too fast.

Some use low-power Bluetooth-connected patches to transmit data to a smartphone, a godsend for Bastian Hauck, a competitive sailor with type 1 diabetes who attended CES to promote the Continua Health Alliance for mobile wellness.

Hauck told AFP the Bluetooth patch he wears transmits to a smartphone and enables him to monitor glucose in real time, helping him determine the best eating and insulin intakes. He shares that information with other diabetics.

Treating diabetes, Hauck said, "is like a guessing game. You have to do it 24/7. There is no rest."

The wireless app "makes it easier" and provides extra motivation by being part of a community battling the same disease.

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World must prepare to step up Syria respon

WORLD powers will have to step up their response to the Syrian conflict if the violence worsens, British Foreign Secretary William Hague says, warning that all options are on the table.

He has reiterated that Britain will seek to amend the EU weapons embargo on Syria when it comes up for review on March 1 to allow them to arm rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

In an update to the House of Commons, Hague said Britain was supporting UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's efforts to end the 21-month-old conflict, and revealed he would visit London for talks later this month.

But the foreign secretary warned: "Given the regime's intransigence and brutality, there is a serious risk that the violence will indeed worsen in the coming months.

"If that happens the international community's response will have to be stepped up.

"So we will not rule out any options to save lives and protect civilians in the absence of a political transition in Syria.

"We will ensure that our efforts are legal, that they're aimed at saving life and they support at all times the objective of a political transition and encouraging moderate political forces in Syria."

Hague repeated that Britain would seek to amend the European Union embargo blocking the delivery of weapons to either side in the Syrian conflict.

"No decisions have yet been made to change the support we provide to the Syrian National Coalition or the Syrian people," he said.

"But European countries now have the flexibility to consider taking additional steps to try to save lives if there is no progress in the near future.

"Clearly the best outcome for the Syrian people would be a diplomatic breakthrough, bringing an end to the bloodshed and establishing a new Syrian government able to restore stability.

"However we must keep open options to help save lives in Syria and to assist opposition groups opposed to extremism if the violence continues.

"We should send strong signals to Assad that all options are on the table. We will therefore seek to amend the EU sanctions so that the possibility of additional assistance is not closed off."

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Search to resume for missing NSW fisherman

A SEARCH for a rock fisherman who was swept off rocks on the NSW central coast will resume on Friday.

Police said the man, 60, was fishing on rocks at Little Bay when he fell into the water about 3.45pm on Thursday.

POlice said in a statement that the man was fishing on a rock ledge and was knocked into the water by a big wave.

Authorities subsequently launched a search for the man but could not locate him.

Police divers will assist with the search when it recommences on Friday morning.

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OECD says inflation slows sharply

ANNUAL inflation slowed to 1.9 per cent in November in industrialised countries, a drop of 0.3 per cent from the level in the year to October, thanks to moderating oil prices, the OECD says.

"This easing in the annual rate of inflation mainly reflected slower growth in energy prices, which increased by 2.9 per cent in November, down from 5.4 per cent in October," said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a statement.

Food price inflation rose modestly in November to 2.2 per cent from 2.1 per cent in October.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, annual inflation in the 34 OECD countries was unchanged for the fourth consecutive month, at 1.6 per cent in November 2012.

Slowing inflation should give central banks additional latitude to continue or increase their measures to stimulate economies, with the European Central Bank and Bank of England to take rate decisions on Thursday.

Annual inflation in the eurozone slowed to 2.2 per cent in November from 2.5 per cent in October.

It slid to 1.8 per cent in the United States from 2.2 per cent, and was stable in Britain at 2.7 per cent

The drop in consumer prices in Japan moderated to 0.2 per cent in November from 0.4 per cent in October.

Outside the OECD area, annual inflation slid to 9.5 per cent in India in November from 9.6 per cent in October.

It ticked up to 5.5 per cent in Brazil from 5.4 per cent, and rose to 2.0 per cent in China from 1.7 per cent the previous month.

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Driverless car concept revs up

THE concept of driverless cars is gaining traction with car makers and technology firms, as a platform for new technologies to improve road safety.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Toyota and Audi displayed their ideas for autonomous vehicles, in the wake Google's push for its own driverless car.

Toyota attracted significant interest with its electronically modified Lexus sedan, equipped with a host of sensors and cameras that can detect what is around the vehicle.

"It has the ability to drive itself but we won't allow it," said Jim Pisz, corporate manager at Toyota North America.

Pisz says the technology is similar to Google's with the use of electronics but Google is focusing on software mapping.

"That's what they're really good at. Toyota focuses on safety programs and more integrated programs," he said.

The Japanese automaker says its 2013 Lexus LS, also being shown at the expo, already has "the world's most advanced pre-collision safety system" but its driverless cars are only being used in closed research centres, unlike Google's publicised road tours.

The growing use of advanced electronics for auto safety, communications and entertainment has prompted a record eight automakers to attend the Las Vegas show, along with dozens of firms working on related products and services.

"Electronics are vital to our cars. Today's cars are rolling computers," Audi executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told reporters at CES.

The German automaker's Ulrich Hofmann told AFP that the new technology "helps the driver in situations where it's boring to drive, and leaves you to drive when it is fun."

At the Las Vegas tech expo, Audi showed its concept for a driverless vehicle in a simulator.

Hofmann said an autonomous car could be developed within five to eight years but noted that "there are a lot of regulatory and legal issues."

Ford Motor Co researcher Pim van der Jagt says the US auto giant halted its program on driverless cars several years ago.

The concept "seemed so far out, it didn't make sense having big teams working on it," he said.

However, Ford resumed its program because of the interest in the Google car.

Nevertheless, "a full autonomous car is far out, and may even never exist," van der Jagt said.

Audi engineers envision an on-off switch which could be used in traffic jams on highways, where vehicles could join a type of "motorcade" travelling at identical speeds, freeing a driver for a few moments.

In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill clearing the way for self-driving cars so the technology could be tested on the state's roads.

The state of Nevada in May 2012 issued a licence plate giving Google's self-driving car the green light to travel along public roads.

The growing interest in autonomous cars has sparked a fresh look at how the tech sector - which has been under fire for fuelling "distracted driving" - can improve auto safety and the driving experience.

"Everybody gets distracted at some point," said Steven Wenger of Mobileye, a company that makes equipment for crash avoidance for major automakers and as a consumer aftermarket device.

"Three seconds could save a person's life. We want people to be aware of these technologies which can help avoid accidents."

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Deadly zorb ride in Russian mountains

WHAT was supposed to be a thrilling ride down a ski slope inside a giant inflatable ball has ended in tragedy for the two Russian men inside.

The transparent plastic ball - called a zorb - veered off course and sailed over a precipice in the rugged Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia. One man died and the other was badly injured. The terrifying ride was captured on video.

The man who died, 27-year-old Denis Burakov, was with friends at the Dombai ski resort, where they frequently went snowboarding, on January 3 when he decided to take a ride in a zorb being operated next to a beginners' slope. His friend Vladimir Shcherbakov joined him.

An eight-minute video taken on Burakov's phone by one of his friends shows the two men being fitted into harnesses inside the zorb, which consists of two polyurethane balls with a layer of air between them. The zorb is then released to roll down the hill, the two men spinning inside.

But the zorb bounces off of the intended path, and a man waiting for it at the bottom of the hill tries in vain to catch the ball before it pops over a rocky ledge and disappears down a gorge below Mount Mussa-Achitara.

The Emergencies Ministry said both men were ejected from the zorb as it tumbled and they landed on the snow about 10 metres apart. They were rescued by two skiers, who then pulled both men up to the top of the hill. Burakov suffered serious spinal injuries and died on the way to the hospital. Shcherbakov suffered a concussion and other injuries and remains hospitalised.

The accident prompted the emergencies minister to demand on Wednesday that Russia address its lax enforcement of safety rules for winter sports, citing a series of accidents over the January holidays. Vladimir Puchkov said during a televised meeting with officials in charge of rescue services across the country that they should take extra measures to ensure safety, in particular at Russia's ski slopes.

Sergei Loginov, deputy director of Z-orb.ru, the largest supplier of zorbs in Russia, said the zorbing run that killed Burakov was conducted in violation of all safety rules. Zorbing requires a groomed gentle slope with fences on both sides of the track and a secure spot at the bottom where the ball can be safely brought to rest, he said, but none of this was present at Dombai.

"It's not even irresponsibility. It's an experiment on life," Loginov said. "It's all or nothing. They either survive or they don't."

The sport of zorbing originated in the 1990s in New Zealand and is now done around the world, most often on grassy slopes.

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Crowded but crucial: London Underground

THE London Underground has begun celebrating its 150th anniversary, creaking under the demand of four million passengers a day but still innovating.

The world's first underground railway, then known as the Metropolitan Railway, unveiled its first stretch of track between Paddington and Farringdon on January 9, 1863, with passengers making their first journeys a day later.

Long queues formed for the steam trains in gas-lit tunnels, with one delighted passenger exclaiming that the trains were so tall, a man could stand inside with his hat on his head.

A century and a half later, the sprawling 402-kilometre network suffers frequent breakdowns and delays, but is key to London's functioning as a global city, with a record 1.171 billion passenger journeys made in 2011/12.

London mayor Boris Johnson called the network affectionately known as the Tube "arguably the best, and most iconic, underground system in the world".

A series of events are planned to mark the milestone, including trips by steam trains through Tube tunnels and two new two-pound coins commemorating the anniversary.

Twelve short stories by well-known authors will each focus on one Tube line, and more broadly on what the Underground means to Londoners and visitors.

The original Underground, opened after just three years' construction, was designed to reduce congestion above ground from carts and stagecoaches.

Today the Underground employs 19,000 people and carries passengers between 270 stations each year, linking London with its commuter belt including Surrey, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Waterloo is its busiest station, with 82 million passengers passing through each year.

It has borne witness to key moments in Britain's history, sheltering 175,000 people from bombings during World War II and bearing the impact of terrorist attacks in 2005 which killed 56 people on three tube lines and a bus.

A huge fire left 31 people dead in 1987 at King's Cross Station, leading to a safety overhaul and smoking ban.

But it continues to develop, with the latest innovations including air-conditioned trains and high-frequency services planned on the Victoria and Central lines.

Johnson said in tribute: "The arrival of the Tube was truly revolutionary and today it is still admired around the world.

"It annihilates distance, liquidates traffic and is the throbbing cardiovascular system of the greatest city on earth.

"It continues to play a hugely important role in the success of our capital - efficiently moving record numbers of people during the London 2012 Games."

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Walkies morsels prove poisonous for pooch

SCAVENGING canines have been left bleary-eyed after inadvertently feasting on cannabis while on walkies in northwest England.

Patch was one of several dogs "poisoned" after tucking in to a package left on a walking track in greater Manchester, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

"Patch was just totally out of it," said owner Neil Rogers of his four-legged friend.

"When I got home he just collapsed and couldn't do anything. I realised he had eaten something."

Mr Rogers returned to the track and collected the package, the contents of which police later identified as cannabis.

Veterinary surgeon Lorna Cook, who treated two of the intoxicated dogs, said: "I haven't seen anything like this before.

"We had two dogs with similar signs in quick succession so we knew there was something suspicious. Both dogs collapsed and had dilated pupils."

All the stoned pooches have reportedly made a full recovery.

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Eurozone unemployment rate jumps to record

EUROPE'S unemployment numbers are rising to worrying new records with dire figures from Spain especially underlining a growing north-south divide, official data shows.

The unemployment rate across the troubled eurozone hit 11.8 per cent in November, up from 11.7 per cent in October, with the number of people out of work in the 17-nation single currency area now nudging 19 million.

The 19th rise in a row for the eurozone, home to some 330 million people, represented an increase of more than two million on the dole compared to a year ago.

London-based IHS Global Insight analyst Howard Archer calculated the cumulative increase since April 2011 as 3.278 million out-of-work.

"The only crumb of comfort was that this was the smallest rise since August, although it did follow a particularly sharp rise of 220,000 in October," Archer said, adding that he expected the jobless rate to "move clearly above 12 per cent during 2013."

While the jobless numbers exceeded 26 million for the first time across the full 27-member European Union, which includes Britain and Poland, the EU as a whole recorded an unchanged 10.7-per cent unemployment rate.

Indeed, there were more jobless over the past year, according to Eurostat data, in the 17-nation eurozone - where the number of newly unemployed was 2.015 million, compared to 2.012 million for the EU.

Facing a bust property boom and riddled with bad debt in its banks, Spain recorded the highest unemployment rate of all the European countries - at 26.6 per cent, worse even than bailed-out Greece.

Among under-25s, both countries saw unemployment rates hovering around 57 per cent.

According to Eurostat figures seasonally-adjusted for comparative purposes, the November unemployment rate in key rival economies was 7.8 per cent for the United States and 4.1 per cent for Japan.

"2012 has been another very bad year for Europe in terms of unemployment and the deteriorating social situation," said European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Laszlo Andor.

Giving his annual report on employment trends, he said that "appropriate labour market reforms and improvements in the design of welfare systems" could make countries more resilient to economic shocks.

But with a north-south divide between Germany and similar satellite economies faring far better than Europe's southern Mediterranean rim, Andor said it was "unlikely that Europe will see much socio-economic improvement in 2013."

"A widening gap is emerging," Andor said, even between the north and south just of the eurozone.

The Commission concluded there was a divergence between "countries that seem trapped in a downward spiral of falling output, fast-rising unemployment and eroding disposable incomes, and those that have so far shown good or at least some resilience."

Southern and peripheral countries whose governments and companies face much higher interest rates or no access to market financing will continue to struggle, the Commission said, citing an over-allocation of lending during the construction boom of the last decade.

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Police fire plastic bullets in N. Ireland

POLICE in Northern Ireland have fired plastic bullets and water cannon at protesters in the capital Belfast after coming under a hail of petrol bombs, bricks and stones for a fifth night.

Rioters in the east of the city used weapons including hatchets and sledge hammers to attack police and their vehicles, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

Pro-British protesters have taken to the streets of Belfast almost every night since December 3, when the city council announced that it would no longer fly the British flag all year round at the City Hall.

The decision sparked riots at the start of December which gave way to largely peaceful protests, but the violence has flared again since the start of the new year.

Britain's Northern Ireland minister Theresa Villiers said the province was being "held to ransom" by the protesters and called for an end to their demonstrations, including peaceful rallies that have blocked traffic for weeks.

"It's not acceptable that those who say they are defending a Union flag are actually doing it by hurling bricks and petrol bombs at police. It's disgraceful, frankly," she told BBC radio.

She added that the protests were doing "huge damage to Northern Ireland's image abroad".

The flag ruling has raised tensions in the British province between loyalists - who want to maintain the links to Britain and are mostly Protestant - and largely Catholic republicans who want a united Ireland.

Northern Ireland's chief police officer Matt Baggott on Monday accused the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force, which murdered more than 500 people during the province's 30-year sectarian conflict, of whipping up the disorder.

"Senior members of the UVF in east Belfast as individuals have been increasingly orchestrating some of this violence," he told a press conference.

"That is utterly unacceptable and is being done for their own selfish motives."

On Monday, police battled to separate a crowd of around 250 loyalists from some 70 Catholic republicans, who hurled missiles including bottles at the protesters.

Around 1000 loyalists had earlier staged a peaceful demonstration outside the City Hall as councillors held their first meeting since their decision to take the flag down.

More than 60 police officers have been injured and over 100 people arrested since the disorder began at the start of December.

The PSNI said four people had been charged in connection with Monday night's disorder and were due to appear in court on Tuesday.

Politicians from both sides have received death threats in recent weeks, but MPs from all major parties have insisted that the spate of violence does not pose a serious threat to Northern Ireland's peace process.

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Carly Rae Jepsen tops Psy for No.1 single

CARLY Rae Jepsen has held off the Gangnam Style moves of Psy to be crowned the biggest selling single of 2012 in Australia.

Jepsen's global hit Call Me Maybe finished ahead of the Korean pop star to top the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart. Both songs sold close to nine times platinum.

Guy Sebastian scored the top single by an Australian artist with Battle Scars taking the No.3 spot, while Justice Crew were the only other Aussie act to break the top ten at No.7.

Controversial rapper Flo Rida completed the top five with two singles, Whistle and Wild Ones, while Nicki Minaj, Birdy and Swedish House Mafia all made the top ten.

Current ARIA No.1 single Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Feat Wanz shifted enough copies last year to be named the ninth highest seller.

While Australian artists made up only a tenth of singles sales chart, it was better news in the albums list, with 26 homegrown stars making the grade.

Records by Karise Eden (6), Guy Sebastian (9), Hilltop Hoods (13), 360 (17) and Keith Urban (19) made the top 20, but it was left to international stars Pink, One Direction and Adele to pip the pack.

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Kidman, Watts, Jackman score AACTA noms

A MOVIE about mental illness leads the nominations for the second Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) International Awards.

Silver Linings Playbook scored nods in all of the categories available - Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Actor for Bradley Cooper and Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.

Cooper will be up against Australia's Hugh Jackman, nominated for his role in Les Miserables, while Lawrence will be competing with local heroines Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy) and Naomi Watts (The Impossible).

Australian writer-director Ben Lewin has been nominated for his work on The Sessions, where he'll be competing with Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and Ben Affleck (Argo) among others.

AACTA President Geoffrey Rush said in a statement the Academy will be delighted to build upon the success of the inaugural awards, held in 2012.

"As the Australian Academy engages in the international Awards conversation, it's brilliant to see Australian performers and practitioners nominated alongside international talent," Rush said.

AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella says it's important the Australian screen industry recognises the talents of their international peers through these awards.

"Last year's inaugural AACTA International Awards presaged the huge Academy Awards success of The Artist as well as Meryl Streep's win for her performance in The Iron Lady," Trewhella said.

The awards will be presented in Los Angeles in late January, although the Academy is yet to determine a date or a place for the ceremony.

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New TV headphones bypass your ears

TV watchers who don't want to disturb sleeping family members may be interested in new headphones which don't need cables.. or even your ears.

The wireless headphones from Panasonic connect to a TV via Bluetooth and attach to your head like a normal set of headphones.

But instead of using your ears to pick up sound, the headphones work like hearing aids by transmitting sound waves through your skull.

They are one of several innovations Panasonic unveiled at the International CES show in Las Vegas.

It also showed off a new user interface for its "Smart Viera" TVs, featuring a TV-mounted camera that recognises the user and sets viewing preferences accordingly.

The Japanese electronics maker also demonstrated an easy way to send YouTube videos from smartphones to the TV.

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New Lego robots can talk to iPhones

LEGO will become compatible with the iPhone and other Apple devices in the latest incarnation of the Mindstorms robotics kit.

Lego is set to announce a new, $US350 ($A336) Mindstorms EV3 kit will have the ability to talk to iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches through Bluetooth wireless connections.

That means Lego builders can use the devices as remote controls for their robots, or create simple programs that are then sent to the robots to control their actions.

Lego says the kit will go on sale in the second half of the year.

Remote control was already possible with Android smartphones and the most recent Mindstorms kit, the NXT.

Apple devices didn't work because the "brain" of the kit - a juice-box-sized electronic brick - lacked a chip that would identify the Lego gadget to Apple devices.

Also new in the Mindstorms EV3 kit is a "two-eyed" infrared sensor that can pick up signals from a small infrared remote and locate it.

In the kit, Lego includes the blueprints for a snake robot that uses its eyes to sense if someone is close to its head, in which case it strikes.

The EV3 will also be the first Mindstorms kit to be available in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Russian. Previous kits have been in English, Japanese and a few other European languages.

As with earlier kits, the EV3 includes four motors and five different sensors. The new brick is compatible with earlier sensors and motors and is "more hackable than ever," according to Lego.

The first Mindstorms came out in 1998.

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Mobile surges, old tech fading: forecast

THE global tech industry has become a tale of two sectors, with mobile devices surging at the expense of older electronics that are struggling, a forecast shows.

A survey presented ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest trade show of its kind, projects modest growth of four per cent for the industry expected to generate 2013 sales of $US1.1 trillion ($A1.06 trillion).

But half of the revenues will come from mobile devices - smartphones, tablets and mobile computers, according to the forecast by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and GfK Research.

The industry has been buffeted by the huge shift to mobile but also by sluggish global economic conditions, especially in recession-hit Western Europe.

The report said 2012 sales, which a year ago were expected to rise five per cent, ended up falling one per cent, dragged down by weakness in Europe.

Sales in western Europe are expected to shrink again in 2013, while North America will see tepid growth.

The chief drivers of tech growth will be from big emerging markets like China, the forecast says.

With many big economies in recession it will be hard to rev up tech sales, says Steve Bambridge of GfK.

"We're no longer talking about double digit growth," he told reporters in Las Vegas.

"We're talking about a recovery in growth but a much more modest recovery."

Steve Koenig of the CEA said tablets were the clear star of 2012 and that sales are expected to jump another 50 per cent in 2013.

"Tablets were a must-have item for both Western Europe and the US," he said, calling the devices probably the biggest growth item in the history of the industry.

But he said the surge in tablets and smartphones has meant people are forgoing other devices like laptop computers, small televisions for the bedroom or kitchen, or even digital cameras, since many of these functions can now be done on a tablet or phone.

"A lot of these old technologies are turning into apps," Koenig said.

"We may end up seeing the whole hardware industry turn negative because it's all going into the cloud, into services."

Video game sales are flat or declining, he said.

Mobile computers may be gaining some traction - "convertible" or "hybrid" computers that can function as tablets may erase memories of the failure of "ultrabooks," according to Koenig.

While many consumers are using tablets instead of a second television, Koenig said interest is growing in "jumbo" TVs with screens of 60 inches (152cm) or larger.

"More and more sales are starting to happen at this super jumbo size," he said.

But so-called ultra HD televisions remain slow to capture the market because of high price tags, according to the CEA/GfK forecast, which showed the segment capturing just five per cent of the US market by 2016.

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Nepalese journalist buried alive: police

A GROUP of Maoist former rebels have been arrested over the death of a journalist during Nepal's civil war, with one of them confessing the reporter was buried alive, police say.

The arrests of the five men, whose detention came days after a Nepalese soldier was held in Britain on charges of torture, are the first in Nepal for crimes committed during the decade-long conflict that ended in 2006.

The five men, all middle-ranking cadres, have been charged with the abduction and murder of Dekendra Raj Thapa, a radio reporter and human rights activist who died in 2004.

Lachhiram Gharti, one of the accused, had confessed to taking part in the murder, Binod Sharma, an inspector in the western district of Dailekh, told AFP.

"He confessed to us that they kidnapped (the victim) under the pretext of a discussion on water supply and took him to a local school," Sharma said.

"They tortured him by repeatedly beating him and when he fell unconscious, he was brought to Gharti's home.

"Gharti told us that he gave a glass of water to him. After drinking it, he again fell unconscious ... so they dug a pit and buried him alive."

Thapa's wife Laxmi, who has two teenage daughters and an 11-year-old son, told AFP she had almost given up hope of getting justice over his death.

"But now the accused have been arrested and I hope that justice will prevail," she said.

The arrests follow the appearance in a British court on Saturday of Nepalese army colonel Kumar Lama, currently serving as a United Nations peacekeeper in South Sudan, who is charged with two counts of torture.

The 46-year-old stands accused of inflicting severe pain or suffering on two men when he was in charge of a barracks during the conflict in 2005.

More than 16,000 people died in the civil war between Maoist rebels and government forces, and more than 1000 are still missing.

There are allegations of killings and torture on both sides, and rights groups say little has been done to bring justice to victims and their families.

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Sunshine Coast bank robbed

A SUNSHINE Coast bank has been robbed by a man claiming to be armed.

Police are investigating the robbery of the Buddina bank, which occurred about 3pm (AEST) on Monday.

A man entered the Nicklin Way bank before approaching a teller and producing a note stating he was armed and wanted money.

The teller complied with his demands and the man fled the scene with a sum of cash.

The man is described as being about 175cm tall with a tanned complexion. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, pants and cap and black sunglasses.

No one was injured during the incident.

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Sri Lanka court stops judge's impeachment

SRI Lanka's Court of Appeal has ordered parliament to drop its impeachment of the country's top judge, amid international concern for judicial independence on the island.

The court issued an order quashing a report by ruling party MPs who found Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake guilty of financial and professional misconduct more than a month ago.

"The court granted the writ sought by the chief justice (against parliament)," a court official told reporters outside a packed courthouse on Monday. "This means parliament cannot legally proceed with the impeachment."

He said the court declared the Parliamentary Select Committee that probed the chief justice was illegal and the legislature could not take any action against Bandaranayake on the basis of its flawed findings.

The ruling was widely expected after the Supreme Court four days ago ruled the committee had no powers to find a judge guilty.

Bandaranayake, 54, had angered the ruling party after recent constitutional decisions that went against the government. She has also resisted pressure to step down. Unless removed legally she could remain in office for 11 more years.

The United Nations as well as international rights groups have raised concern over moves by President Mahinda Rajapakse's government to remove the chief justice. The impeachment is seen as politically motivated.

Rajapakse has tightened his grip on power after crushing Tamil rebels in 2009 following a major military offensive that has sparked international allegations of rights abuses.

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Depardieu gets Russian passport

French actor Gerard Depardieu has received a Russian passport and met with President Vladimir Putin. Source: AAP

GERARD Depardieu, the French actor who has threatened to quit his homeland to avoid higher taxes for the rich, has received a Russian passport and met with President Vladimir Putin.

Depardieu met Putin, who earlier granted him citizenship, at the Russian leader's sumptuous residence in the palm-dotted Black Sea resort of Sochi on Saturday, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP.

Putin granted Depardieu "a short meeting" and did not personally deliver the document to the actor, Peskov added without saying where and when Depardieu "was handed his passport".

National television broadcast images of the Sochi meeting featuring Depardieu and Putin hugging each other and sharing a meal at Putin's residence.

Dressed casually in a white shirt and a dark jacket, Depardieu asked the Russian strongman whether he had seen a new film about the mysterious Tsarist monk Grigory Rasputin played by the French actor.

"Did you see the movie at all? I had sent (it) to you," Depardieu said in remarks translated into Russian, appearing to use the familiar form of address to speak to Putin.

The film is a France-Russia co-production about a monk who was famous for his mystical influence over Russia's last Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra and was assassinated in December 1916 by a group of discontented aristocrats.

"Gerard, are you pleased with your work?" Putin, who also wore a shirt without a tie, asked the actor.

"I am very much pleased with everything," Depardieu replied, praising the Russian actors who co-starred with him in the movie.

Oleg Dobrodeyev, chief of state television broadcaster VGTRK, who was also present at the meeting, said the film would be released to the general public in May.

Moscow's decision to grant citizenship to the star of Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card and the Asterix and Obelix series was the latest volley in a row between the actor and the French government over its attempt to raise the tax rate on earnings of more than one million euros ($1.3 million) to 75 per cent.

When Depardieu first announced he would leave the country to avoid the tax, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault branded the move "pathetic".

Depardieu, who can easily earn up to two million euros per film and who has extensive business interests in France and elsewhere, will qualify for the 13 per cent tax rate if he spends at least six months of the year in Russia.

The Kremlin move and the actor's comments praising Russia sparked amusement and disbelief among many in the country.

The eccentric actor has been a huge star in Russia since the Soviet era and still enjoys cult status among many movie buffs.

But in recent years, he has also raised many eyebrows with his often unsavoury behaviour.

In 2011, Depardieu shocked passengers on a Paris to Dublin flight when he relieved himself on the cabin floor.

He was arrested last November after falling off his scooter, which he had been riding while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Depardieu is also planning to star in a historic serial penned by the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's strongman President Islam Karimov.

In a surreal twist to the saga over Depardieu's move, cinema legend Brigitte Bardot this week threatened to follow him out of France unless two elephants under threat of being put down are granted a reprieve.

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Border fence with Syria needed: Israeli PM

ISRAEL'S prime minister says he will erect a fortified fence on the border with Syria to protect against radical Islamist forces who he claims have taken over the area.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel needs a barrier like a new Egyptian border fence that he says has stemmed the flow of African migrants.

He said the Syrian regime was "unstable" and Israel was concerned about the country's chemical weapons. He told his Cabinet Sunday that across the frontier "the Syrian army has moved away, and in its place, Global Jihad forces have moved in."

Global Jihad is the term Israel uses for forces influenced by al-Qaeda.

Syria's rebels include some al-Qaeda-allied fighters.

Israel has largely stayed out of the conflict, though several mortar rounds have landed in the Israel-held Golan Heights.

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Assad outlines new Syria peace plan

SYRIAN President Bashar Assad has outlined a new peace initiative that includes a national reconciliation conference and a new government and constitution but has demanded regional and Western countries stop funding and arming rebels first.

Assad ignored international demands for him to step down and said he is ready to hold a dialogue with those "who have not betrayed Syria".

Syrian opposition forces, including rebels on the ground, are likely to reject Assad's proposal.

They have repeatedly said they will accept nothing less than the president's departure, dismissing any kind of settlement that leaves him in the picture.

"We are in a state of war. We are fighting an external aggression that is more dangerous than any others, because they use us to kill each other," he said.

He stressed the presence of religious extremists and jihadi elements among those fighting in Syria, calling them "terrorists who carry the ideology of al-Qaeda" and "servants who know nothing but the language of slaughter."

Assad was speaking on Sunday in a rare address to the nation, his first since June. He spoke to a packed hall at the Opera House in central Damascus, and the audience frequently often broke out in cheers and applause.

Wearing a suit and tie, the president spoke before a collage of pictures of what appeared to be Syrians who have been killed since March 2011.

The internet was cut in many parts of Damascus ahead of the address, apparently for security reasons.

As in previous speeches, Assad said his forces were fighting groups of "murderous criminals" and jihadi elements and denied that there was an uprising against his family's decades-long rule.

He struck a defiant tone, saying Syria will not take dictates from anyone but urged Syrians to unite to save the country.

"The first part of a political solution would require regional powers to stop funding and arming (the rebels), an end to terrorism and controlling the borders," he said.

He said this would then be followed by dialogue and a national reconciliation conference and the formation of a wide representative government which would then oversee new elections, a new constitution and general amnesty.

However, Assad made clear his offer to hold a dialogue is not open to those whom he considers extremists or carrying out a foreign agenda.

"We never rejected a political solution ... but with whom should we talk? With those who have extremist ideology who only understand the language of terrorism?" he said.

"Or should we with negotiate puppets whom the West brought. ... We negotiate with the master not with the slave."

As in previous speeches and interviews, he clung to the view that the crisis in Syria was a foreign-backed agenda and said it was not an uprising against his rule.

"Is this a revolution and are these revolutionaries? By God I say they are a bunch of criminals," he said.

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Shots fired in Sydney's southwest

AN investigation is under way after shots were fired in Sydney's southwest on Sunday.

Police were called to Clunes Lane, Canterbury, about 2.15pm (AEDT) on Sunday after a resident reported hearing gun shots.

At the scene, officers were told the shots were fired by two men in a blue sedan. There were no reports of injury or damage to property.

The vehicle is described as being a dark blue sedan similar to a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon.

The car occupants are described as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance, aged in their mid 20s, with a stocky build, and unshaven.

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Suspected body in bag washes up in WA

POLICE in Western Australia are investigating the discovery of what appears to be human remains stuffed into a plastic bag that washed up on a beach on Rottnest Island.

The grim discovery was made on late on Sunday afternoon at Porpoise Bay, on the southeast of the island, with police immediately called in to investigate fears the bag contained a body.

A WA police spokesman said officers are "fairly convinced" the remains in the bag are human, with a pathologist due to be called in to confirm the find.

The pathologist will examine the contents of the bag either late on Sunday night, or first thing on Monday.

Rottnest Island, situated 18km off the coast of Perth, has been a popular holiday spot for West Australians for generations.

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