Mourners gather for Heaney funeral

The body of Irish poet Seamus Heaney has been taken to a Dublin church ahead of a funeral service. Source: AAP

FAMILY and friends of Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney have gathered with his contemporaries and dignitaries to pay last respects to one of Ireland's literary greats.

The internationally acclaimed 74-year-old writer died unexpectedly in hospital on Friday after a short illness.

Mourners at his funeral at the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook, south of Dublin - near where the Northern Ireland-born poet made his home - were led by his widow Marie and children Michael, Christopher and Catherine Ann.

Irish President Michael D Higgins, himself a published poet, attended along with Taoiseach Enda Kenny and former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin.

Heaney will be buried this evening in his native Bellaghy in Co Derry - a village that inspired so much of his work.

His lifelong friend and poetry contemporary Michael Longley was among the mourners, along with musician Paul Brady and U2 stars Bono - with his wife Ali Hewson - Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton.

Heaney has been hailed as the greatest poet Ireland has produced since William Butler Yeats.

Former US president Bill Clinton has been among those paying tribute, describing Heaney as "our finest poet of the rhythms of ordinary lives" and a "powerful voice for peace".

A hastily arranged celebration of the poet's life in Belfast's Lyric theatre on Saturday night was packed to capacity as the audience was treated to poignant recitals of his best known works.

Books of condolences are open in Derry, Belfast and Dublin.

Kenny has said it would take Heaney himself to describe the depth of loss Ireland felt over his death.

The 1995 Nobel prize-winner was born in April 1939, the eldest of nine children, on a small farm called Mossbawn near Bellaghy and his upbringing often played out in the poetry he wrote in later years.

The citation for the award praised Heaney "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past".

Chief celebrant of the Mass, Monsignor Brendan Devlin, opened the service with the remark that Heaney might have liked to have his funeral celebrated by someone with a Northern accent.

He summed up why the poet was held in such high regard by people from all walks of life.

"He could speak to the King of Sweden, an Oxford don or a south Derry neighbour with the directness of a common and shared humanity," he said.

Monsignor Devlin, a family friend, celebrated the Mass with Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Eamonn Walsh, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson and Mark Patrick Hederman from Glenstal Abbey.

He told the mourners that the island of Ireland felt the deprivation and the loss of Heaney.

A posy of flowers from the garden of the Heaney family home in Sandymount and a book of some of Heaney's works were offered as gifts during the service.

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Man 'deliberately hit' by car in NSW

A FATHER has suffered head injuries after being hit by a car on the NSW Central Coast in what police say was a deliberate attack.

The 37-year-old was walking with his wife, two children and family dog in Woy Woy on Monday afternoon when he exchanged words with a driver of a passing hatchback.

The driver then allegedly turned around, deliberately drove into him and drove away, police said.

The father was treated for head injuries before being taken to Gosford Hospital.

Police are now looking for a silver Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback which is likely to have a damaged bonnet and windscreen.

Investigators have been told there were up to three people in the hatchback and that it may have been displaying a P-plate.

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Germany tries man, 92, for Nazi war crimes

GERMANY has put a 92-year-old former member of the Nazi Waffen SS on trial on charges that he executed a Dutch resistance fighter in 1944.

Dutch-born Siert Bruins, who is now German, volunteered for the SS after the Nazis conquered The Netherlands in 1941. Bruins served as a member of the Sicherheitspolizei, or Security Police, in a unit looking for resistance fighters and Jews.

No pleas are made in the German legal system and Bruins made no statement on Monday about the accusations against him. His lawyer said Bruins would answer questions during the trial but not about the charges.

"Our tactic will definitely be to keep silent with regard to the charges," lawyer Klaus-Peter Kniffka said earlier.

Despite his advanced age, Bruins was found medically fit to stand trial, though Kniffka said the stress of the proceedings against him has weakened him.

Bruins, who already served time in prison in the 1980s for his role in the slaying of two Dutch Jews, is accused of killing resistance fighter Aldert Klaas Dijkema in September 1944 in the town of Appingedam, near the German border in the northern Netherlands.

If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.

Dijkema, whose sister has joined the trial as a co-plaintiff, which is allowed under German law, was apprehended by the Nazis on September 9, 1944, on suspicion he was involved in the Dutch resistance.

According to prosecutors, Bruins and alleged accomplice August Neuhaeuser, who has since died, drove Dijkema a short time later to an isolated industrial area where they stopped and told him to "go take a leak."

As he walked away from the car, they fired at least four shots into him, including into the back of his head, killing him instantly, according to the indictment.

Bruins and Neuhaeuser reported that Dijkema was shot while trying to escape.

Because of Bruins' age, daily trial sessions are limited to three hours.

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Coronation Street actor denies sex charges

BRITISH television actor Michael Le Vell has appeared in court accused of raping a young girl.

The actor stood in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on Monday as the charges were read out to him before the start of his trial.

Le Vell, 48, who plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, is facing 12 charges in all - five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

A slightly different indictment, or list of charges, had been drawn up after a previous hearing, when Le Vell pleaded not guilty to 19 charges.

Before the trial began the new indictment had to be put to Le Vell.

The actor, who is charged under his real name of Michael Turner, was asked to stand in the dock. He shook his head and repeated "not guilty" in a strong voice twelve times to each charge.

The charges span a period of nine years.

The first count alleges touching and digital penetration. Le Vell is also accused of making the child touch him indecently and of raping her.

There are further charges of digital penetration and sexual touching and further counts of vaginal and oral rape.

Le Vell's arrival at court was met by a large group of photographers, TV crews and reporters. Inside there were more than 20 reporters crammed into the press benches in court Three.

The actor, who was with his legal team and a minder, said "Good morning" to the media as he arrived at court.

Le Vell is one of British TV's most famous faces after playing Kevin Webster for the past 30 years.

ITV has said he will not be appearing in any further episodes of the soap pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

His trial before Judge Michael Henshell is scheduled to last around two weeks.

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Building approvals up, corp profits down

Home building approvals rose 10.8 per cent across Australia in July. Source: AAP

IT looks like growth in housing construction is getting stronger but other parts of the economy are still struggling.

Approvals for the construction of new homes rose 10.8 per cent across Australia in July, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show, much better than the four per cent rise the market was expecting.

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said there was a rebound in approvals for both the detached houses and higher density homes categories.

"I don't think there is anyone who is doubting that building approvals are trending up, the question is how sustainable is it?", he said.

"We're reasonably upbeat about what building approvals can do this year. In fact, we think they will be adding more to growth than they have in the last few quarters.

"The question is will they offset what we're seeing elsewhere, which is a fair bit of weakness."

The ABS also released business indicators data, which showed a 0.8 per cent fall in company gross operating profits in the June quarter.

"It's weak corporate profitability that is holding back hiring," Mr Jarman said.

"The fact that we're seeing another soft number on that front means that we are a fair way from that recovery that we need to see for firms to start the hiring cycle."

National Australia Bank senior economist David de Garis said the business indicators were mixed but would not impact NAB economists' forecasts of a 0.4 per cent rise in gross domestic product in the June quarter.

"There's plusses and minuses out of these figures today," Mr de Garis said.

"There was a slight increase in non-farm inventories in the June quarter, in other words, goods that are produced but not sold.

"But as far as the profits go, that was a somewhat different story."

ANZ chief economist Ivan Colhoun said the building approval figures were encouraging, although the data was subject to volatility caused by approvals of big apartment buildings.

"Month by month you do get quite a lot of volatility but there's a gradual trend upwards," Mr Colhoun said.

"Looking through the volatility, there is an encouraging uplift going on, particularly led by NSW.

"Housing is typically the sector that first responds to lower interest rates so it is showing its normal response to lower interest rates, although it has been a little bit more constrained than in the past."

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