At least six dead in Kenyan mall attack

Gunmen have opened fire inside an upmarket mall in Kenya's capital of Nairobi. Source: AAP

AT least six people have been killed and dozens wounded after black-clad masked gunmen attacked an upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, according to witnesses.

An AFP television journalist saw three bodies laid out in front of Nairobi's Westgate mall, and two more bodies inside.

An eyewitness who survived the assault by gunmen said he saw the body of a child being taken out of the mall.

"The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. At least 50 people were shot. There are definitely many casualties," a mall employee, Sudjar Singh, told AFP.

"I saw a young boy carried out on a shopping cart, it looked like he was about 5 or 6. It looked like he was gone, he was not moving or making any noise."

Three bodies were laid out in front of the mall, their heads covered, according to an AFPTV reporter. Two more bodies were laid inside the mall.

Heavy gunfire could also be heard inside the mall as armed police moved in.

The area is surrounded by police and ambulances.

Shocked and terrified people ran from the area, some of them wounded, while cars with bullet holes were abandoned outside, according to another AFP reporter on the scene.

"I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles," said a witness and survivor who identified herself as Annette.

Kenneth Kerich, who was shopping when the attack happened, described scenes of panic.

"I suddenly heard gunshots and saw everyone running around so we lied down. I saw two people who were lying down and bleeding, I think they were hit by bullets. The gunfire went on from ground floor and the upper floors," he said.

"Initially we thought it is police fighting thugs. But we could not leave until when officers walked in, shot in the air and told us to get out."

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Yoga Guru 'detained at Heathrow'

A SPIRITUAL leader who was due to lead a 1,500-strong yoga class has been stopped from entering the UK, his supporters say.

Swami Ramdevji, 47, was expected to lead the class in Glasgow on Monday night.

But his supporters said he was stopped at Heathrow Airport on Friday night and detained for eight hours.

Ramdevji, who is also known as Baba Ramdev and reportedly has an 85-million strong worldwide following, was given a 24-hour visa and instructed to return to Terminal Five at Heathrow on Saturday afternoon, when his supporters fear he will be thrown out of the country.

The organisers of his visit said they have contacted Hindu temples throughout the UK asking for supporters to protest at the airport against the move.

A trust run by Ramdevji, who has his own television channel in India, bought the island of Little Cumbrae just off the coast of Largs in south west Scotland and established it as a yoga centre two years ago.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We would not comment on individual cases."

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Pope keeps cleric who leads US crackdown

POPE Francis is keeping in place the German prelate who leads the crackdown on US nuns and who also helps craft the Catholic Church's sex-abuse response.

After six months in the job, Francis made several key appointments Saturday in the Vatican's curia, or bureaucracy.

Francis renewed Archbishop Gerhard Mueller in the powerful role of prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Mueller, originally appointed by Benedict XVI, directs the Holy See's crackdown on nuns suspected of undermining Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality.

His office also shapes policy dealing with clergy who sexually abuse minors.

The pope replaced an Italian cardinal with an Italian prelate as head of the clergy department, another crucial office as the worldwide Roman Catholic Church grapples with a priest shortage.

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Greek man who stabbed rapper jailed

GREEK authorities say a man with ties to an extreme right party accused of fatally stabbing an anti-fascist rapper has been jailed after testifying to an examining magistrate and a prosecutor.

Court officials say the 45-year-old suspect, whose name hasn't been officially released, has said he was being attacked by a group of people and acting in self-defence when he stabbed 34-year-old Pavlos Fyssas in the chest Wednesday.

Police officials said on Saturday the suspect has acknowledged "loose" ties with extreme right party Golden Dawn, saying he has only helped in distributing food to the poor.

Authorities are examining mobile phone records to find whether the attack on Fyssas was coordinated. The suspect denies having talked to any Golden Dawn officials before the attack.

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Russia 'could drop' support to Assad

RUSSIA'S Interfax news agency is quoting a top Kremlin official as saying the government could drop its support for Bashar Assad if the Syrian president reneges on his commitments to give up chemical weapons.

Interfax on Saturday quoted Sergei Ivanov, President Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, as saying Russia's position "could change" if it was "certain that Assad is cheating" on giving up chemical weapons.

Ivanov emphasised that he was speaking "theoretically and hypothetically." While speaking at a conference on Thursday, Putin said he was confident that Assad's government would be quick to comply.

Russia has been the biggest international backer of the Assad regime and a long-time ally of Syria, continuing a history of cooperation and exchange from Soviet times.

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Cooking fire claims Qld toddler's life

A TODDLER has died in a house fire west of Brisbane after his 15-year-old aunt accidentally started the blaze during a cooking mishap while babysitting.

The single-storey house in Toowoomba was well alight when emergency services arrived on Thursday about 6pm (AEST).

Firefighters searched the burning house and found a two-year-old boy's body.

Two other boys and two girls aged between seven and 15 were taken to Toowoomba Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

It's been widely reported a 15-year-old girl was babysitting her siblings and nephew and had left cooking oil unattended on the stove, which caught alight.

She attempted to put it out with water, which only exacerbated the problem.

Detective acting Senior Sergeant Scott Stahlhut did not dispute the cause when it was put to him by reporters, but was reluctant to confirm or elaborate.

"Police are preparing a report now which will be provided to the coroner," Sen-Sgt Stahlhut told reporters on the scene.

"Full details of how this terrible event unfolded will be made known in that report, so I can't comment at this stage (about) what's transpired."

Neighbours tried to rescue the toddler, but the blaze, which had entirely engulfed the house within minutes, was too strong.

"A girl came out saying her nephew was still inside and as I went to break through the window to see if I could try to rescue him, I just thought 'nah', because the smoke was too big," neighbour Terrance Mann told reporters.

"At that moment we realised there was just nothing we could have done."

Police also wouldn't confirm the children were left at home unsupervised.

Fire investigators remain at the scene on Friday.

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NT government wants GST to remain at 10%

The Northern Territory treasurer says he's happy for the GST to stay at 10 per cent. Source: AAP

A HIKE in the GST would be detrimental to Australia's competitiveness in the long run, the Northern Territory treasurer says.

Dave Tollner, of the Country Liberals, says the NT is happy for the GST to remain at 10 per cent, and does not support Western Australian Liberal Premier Colin Barnett in his calls to increase it to 12.5 per cent.

"(It) certainly might help some short term problems but I think in the long run would harm our international competitiveness and be detrimental," Mr Tollner told the ABC on Friday.

"We're taking a position that we want to tighten our belts, we want to reduce spending, at the same time try and maintain services but to get to a position where we live within our means."

But he did call for the federal government to review a Commonwealth Grants Commission decision last year to take $100 million in funding from the NT, saying it was the equivalent to stripping $6 billion from NSW or Victoria.

The decision was based on census data that showed more people in the eastern states identifying as Aboriginal and therefore receiving more federal funding, but a spokesman for the treasurer's office said it didn't consider the unique issue of the NT's vast geography.

"The way it was formulated didn't factor in the huge issue of remoteness, and how socially disadvantaged Aboriginal people are by living in remote areas," the spokesman told AAP.

Otherwise, Mr Tollner said, he was happy with how the GST was being allocated.

Around 80 per cent of the NT's budget comes from the GST.

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Raise a glass, Newton-John clinic opens

Olivia Newton-John has opened the final stage of her Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne. Source: AAP

OLIVIA Newton-John says her completed cancer centre in Melbourne should be a place where everybody knows your name, and has a drink waiting for you too - if that's what you want.

Newton-John recently lost her sister to cancer and says the experience taught her how important "loving care and support" is for someone who is dying.

On Friday, after a decade in the making, budget shortfalls and many fundraising campaigns, the star finally opened the final stage of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in the city's north.

The opening brings online more palliative care beds, more treatment beds and additional research laboratories.

But the cancer survivor says the centre needs to also be about enabling patients to be surrounded by people who know them and care about them.

"(People who) give you all the food you want, that give you a vodka if you want one," she said.

Newton-John said the marriage of the words "cancer" and "wellness" are important too.

"When you see that you think, 'I can go from cancer to wellness,'" she said.

Her big dream is that, one day, she can erase "cancer" from the centre's logo.

"It will be a wellness centre only because we'll find a cure for cancer."

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Woman holds up pizza shop near Ipswich

A WOMAN has allegedly attempted to rob a pizza shop south of Brisbane armed with a knife.

The 33-year-old is accused of entering the Redbank Plains store in Ipswich on Friday afternoon and demanding cash at knifepoint.

The restaurant's employees refused and the woman left only to be arrested a short time later.

She has been charged with attempted armed robbery and will appear at Ipswich Magistrates court on Saturday.

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Man stalks girl on Sydney's north shore

POLICE are looking for a man who followed a girl in his car and then stalked her into a park on Sydney's north shore.

The 14-year-old was walking in Hunters Hill on Thursday afternoon when she noticed a grey 4WD with roof racks and black and white number plates trailing her.

She ran to a nearby park, and the male driver got out and followed her on foot.

The girl managed to alert a passer by who called police.

The man left the park and drove away.

He is described as being Caucasian in appearance, about 55 years old, with blond shoulder-length dreadlocks.

He was wearing a bright-coloured Hawaiian shirt and jeans, and is about 190cm tall and thin.

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Coppola, Domingo win Japanese arts prize

FILMMAKER Francis Ford Coppola and opera singer Placido Domingo are among five winners of a lucrative arts prize that has been dubbed the "Nobel Prize of the arts".

The Godfather director and the Spanish tenor are recipients of the Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale Awards, which come with a Y15 million ($A163,043) purse.

The awards are open to visual and performing artists - and architects - of any nationality. This year's other recipients, announced on Tuesday in London, are British sculptor Antony Gormley; British architect David Chipperfield; and Italian painter Michelangelo Pistoletto.

The winners will receive their awards from Japan's Prince Hitachi at a ceremony in Japan in October.

Previous winners of the prize, founded in 1989, include Italian screen star Sophia Loren and British actress Judi Dench.

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China opens world's highest airport

THE world's highest civilian airport has opened at an altitude of 4411 metres on the Tibetan plateau in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, state media say.

The Daocheng Yading airport in Ganzi prefecture's Daocheng county, or Dapba in Tibetan, launched its first commercial flights on Monday, shortening the travel time from the provincial capital of Chengdu from two days by road to about an hour by plane.

Built in two years at a cost of 1.58 billion yuan ($A275.13 million), the single-runway airport is expected to boost the local economy by promoting tourism to the Yading nature reserve and other nearby sights, said Yexe Dawa, the governor of Ganzi, on Tuesday.

Daily flights will initially operate between Daocheng and Chengdu, but the government plans to open routes to major Chinese cities such as Chongqing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Yexe Dawa as saying at the opening ceremony.

The airport is 77 metres higher than the previous record holder, the 4334-metre Bangda airport in Qamdo in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

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UN probe exposes Nth Korea rights abuses

A UN-MANDATED investigator has spotlighted "unspeakable atrocities" inflicted on political camp prisoners in North Korea, citing testimony from survivors who saw babies drowned or had to survive by eating lizards.

Retired Australian judge Michael Kirby challenged the secretive Stalinist country to come clean about its record, telling the UN Human Rights Council he aimed to draw up a list of violators within North Korea's regime.

Mr Kirby is at the helm of a landmark commission of inquiry on North Korea set up in March by the council, the UN's top human rights watchdog.

North Korea has refused to co-operate with the commission, which has spent recent months gathering evidence in South Korea and Japan from North Korean defectors and other victims.

"Testimony heard thus far points to widespread and serious violations in all areas," Mr Kirby told the council on Tuesday, to which he is due to deliver a full report next year.

He said the evidence, both sobering and heart-rending, had "given a face and voice to great human suffering".

"The commission listened to political prison camp survivors who suffered through childhoods of starvation and unspeakable atrocities, as a product of the 'guilt by association' practice, punishing other generations for a family member's perceived political views or affiliation," he said.

Among the stark testimony was that from a man imprisoned from birth, who lived on rodents, lizards and grass, and witnessed the public execution of his mother and brother; from a woman who saw a fellow inmate forced to drown her own baby in a bucket; and from a man obliged to burn the corpses of starved inmates and scatter their ashes on fields.

Mr Kirby also spotlighted torture and sexual violence, detention for watching foreign soap operas or having religious beliefs, kidnapping citizens of South Korea and Japan, massive malnutrition, and the total control by the regime's propaganda apparatus.

North Korean diplomat Kim Yong-ho hit back, telling the council the evidence was "fabricated and invented by forces hostile" to his country, singling out Washington, Tokyo and Brussels.

North Korea has claimed such testimony is slander from "human scum", but Mr Kirby shot that down.

"An ounce of evidence is worth far more than many pounds of insults and baseless attacks. So far, however, the evidence we have heard has largely pointed in one direction - and evidence to the contrary is lacking," he said.

North Korea has long been subject to international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Mr Kirby said it was also essential to ensure full accountability for human rights violations.

"We will seek to determine which state institutions and officials carry responsibility for gross human rights violations proved to have been committed," he said.

But he cautioned that his commission was "neither prosecutor nor judge" and responsibility for action lay with the international community.

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ALP members show strong support for Albo

Anthony Albanese received a standing ovation as he launched his bid for the Labor party leadership. Source: AAP

The cheer from the outgoing deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese's supporters belted through the trade union hall in Sydney as he entered.

The member for Grayndler was there on Tuesday evening to launch his bid for the leadership of the federal Australian Labor Party.

Mr Albanese is competing against outgoing minister and Right faction powerbroker Bill Shorten for the job, the winner to be decided by a vote of rank-and-file members and caucus.

If he wins, Mr ALbanese reckons he can oust the newly-elected Coalition government in one term.

From the eruption of support in the room, it seems a couple of hundred NSW rank and file members and several senior current and former ALP MPs agree.

Outgoing health minister Tanya Plibersek, former NSW premier Nathan Rees, ALP national president Jenny McAllister and retiring former cabinet minister Greg Combet were among the members at the launch.

Mr Combet, who studied economics with Mr Albanese at Sydney University in the 1980s, told the crowd "he's the right leader for the Labor party in these times."

"When you've just lost an election, you really need to look for ... someone steeped in Labor tradition, someone true to Labor values, someone who'll fight," he said.

"Where else can you look but Anthony Albanese?"

The room lit up as Mr Albanese took the podium, praising the reformed leadership selection process as "opening up... the most significant decision that a political party can make."

He backed himself as being "up for this job", referring to the many portfolios he's held and his challenging role as leader of the House of Representatives in a minority government.

"I have the capacity, I had to deliver Bob Katter and Adam Bandt on the same platter."

Mr Albanese was careful to stick to a "civil debate about ideas, not personalities," agreed to by himself and Mr Shorten.

"(Bill Shorten's) a very good candidate and would make a very good leader of the Labor party," he told the crowd.

Mr Albanese is embarking on a three-city tour over the next three days and will be taking along his three word slogan "Vision. Unity. Strength." as he seeks wider support for his tilt at the ALP's top job.

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Limos for a Gay time on OS trade mission

AN eight-day trip to the United Arab Emirates and Asia cost NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay more than $51,000 of taxpayers' money, the opposition claims.

But the minister insists there were "no stretch limos for us".

Mr Gay, his chief of staff and Roads and Maritime Services chief executive Peter Duncan went on a trade mission to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong in July this year.

Labor MP Walt Secord asked him in upper house question time on Tuesday how much of the $1000 plus spent on ground transport went on "limousines and other chauffeured vehicles".

Mr Gay replied that, to the best of his knowledge, they hadn't travelled anywhere in limousines.

"I attended 20 business meetings, two functions and several government meetings," he said.

"On the period we were away, we spent three nights sleeping in planes."

While in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, he said they used the consul-generals car, while in Hong Kong and Dubai they used hire cars.

"(There were) no stretch limos for us."

In a statement, Mr Secord later said My Gay owed it to country families to explain why he was undertaking expensive overseas travel when his government was slashing services in rural and regional areas.

He said the trip cost a total of $51,240.

"While I support official trade missions and study tours, this trip is clearly extravagant - and goes beyond what is expected from the NSW taxpayer," he said.

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Qld police reopen murder investigation

QUEENSLAND police have reopened a 20-year-old murder investigation believing one of the suspected killers, who was thought to be dead, is still alive.

In March 1992, Ronald Henry Thomas was arrested in NSW and charged over the murder of a man and a woman at a Surfers Paradise apartment in December 1991.

Thomas was later given a double life sentence.

Police believe two people were responsible for the "premeditated attack" and issued a warrant for their second suspect, John Victor Bobak.

"For some time there was a theory Mr Bobak may be deceased, however, we believe this not to be the case," Detective Superintendent Steve Holahan of the homicide group said in a statement.

"Bobak may still be in Queensland or interstate."

The suspected murderer, who's now 63, may still be identifiable by his "fairly distinctive tattoos", Supt Holahan said.

Former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson approved a $250,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of Bobak.

Police would also recommend "an appropriate indemnity from prosecution" for anyone prepared to come forward.

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Joyce's views won't be a problem: NFF

The National Farmers Federation is confident it can work well with Barnaby Joyce. Source: AAP

THE National Farmers Federation (NFF) is confident it can work well with new agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, despite some differences of opinion around foreign investment.

Mr Joyce was handed the agriculture portfolio and promoted to the coalition cabinet by Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott on Monday.

It's another win for the high-profile Nationals MP, who quit the Senate to successfully run for the rural seat of New England before being elevated by his party to deputy leader.

But he's stepped on a few toes in his career over his views on foreign investment in Australian farmland and agriculture companies.

He was a vocal critic of the Chinese-led buyout of cotton farm Cubbie Station and the takeover of grains handler GrainCorp, and has lobbied for the Foreign Investment Review Board to be toughened up.

Last week, Mr Joyce raised concerns over a proposal to sell a million hectares of farmland to Indonesia, despite farmers largely embracing the idea.

NFF chief executive Matt Linnegar believes the proposal is in the national interest, but isn't worried about working with the incoming minister if differences in opinion arise.

"Whilst we don't expect him to change his views with the drop of a hat, he'll no doubt take a much broader view in coming into the ministry," he told AAP on Monday.

"But obviously we will want to sit down with him at some length and just walk through all of those issues and see where he's at."

The coalition has vowed to introduce a national register of foreign-owned farming land, and to apply a national interest test to all proposals worth $15 million or more, down from $248 million.

The NFF has concerns about lowering the threshold before the register is in place and the actual levels of foreign investment in agriculture are known.

Mr Linnegar believes Mr Joyce's passion for agriculture will work wonders for the industry.

"I'm sure most would agree that Barnaby will fit the bill in terms of creating a higher profile for those issues," he said.

Mr Abbott is confident Mr Joyce's farming pedigree will serve him well in his new role.

"Barnaby knows country Australia like the back of his hand," he told reporters on Monday.

The federation also welcomed the appointment of senior Liberal Andrew Robb - a former NFF boss - to the trade portfolio, and Richard Colbeck as parliamentary secretary to agriculture.

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NSW govt changing CSG to bluff people: LTG

A ROSE by any other name ... but what about a gas well?

The NSW government is trying to hoodwink communities by changing the name of the controversial coal seam gas (CGS) industry to "natural gas from coal seams," activists say.

President of the anti-CSG group Lock The Gate (LTG), Drew Hutton, says he has a document addressed to NSW resources minister Chris Hartcher recommending various bodies "refer to natural gas from coal seams in the first reference" and "where possible remove coal seam gas or CSG references."

A spokeswoman for Mr Hartcher confirmed resources ministers from across Australia had spoken about altering references to CSG "as part of a national harmonisation program across all states."

Basically, "to make sure everyone was referring to it consistently," she told AAP on Monday.

The NSW government will now use CSG's new name.

And its old name.

But, she added, "the Land and Water Commissioner and Office of the Chief Scientist are independent agencies and free to use any terminology."

She was unable to say whether there was a problem with the name "CSG" or "coal seam gas" and denied it was a "NSW conspiracy".

Mr Hutton says it will take more than a name change to end opposition to CSG.

"It's not the word that's the problem, it's the industry and the damage it causes," he said.

"If they think that avoiding the name 'coal seam gas' is going to end the opposition from the people of NSW, they will find themselves sadly disappointed."

Mr Hutton said the coal seam gas industry differs greatly to the natural gas industry and "to attempt to conflate the two is clearly an attempt at deception."

Further comment and a copy of the document are being sought from Mr Hutton.

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Palmer swipes at ex-military in AEC

BILLIONAIRE businessman and political hopeful Clive Palmer has taken a swipe at ex-military personnel as part of his suspicions involving the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

As his race for the Queensland seat of Fairfax enters the closing phases, Mr Palmer said that despite the outcome, and a stalled Federal Court injunction, he planned to pursue legal avenues probing the polling process.

"One of the things I'm concerned about in Australia is all our divisional returning officers are ex-military officers of the Australian armed forces," Mr Palmer said on ABC TV.

"I think the military shouldn't be involved in a democracy."

Mr Palmer has questioned why 760 more lower house ballot papers than Senate ballot papers were returned from a polling booth at Coolum Beach in his electorate, pointing at security lapses.

"I think our AEC officers should represent the community. We don't want a whole class of one people that have got links together," Mr Palmer said.

"What I'm saying not is that one person is in the military, I'm saying there's multiple people who have served in the military as officers, (who are) in this role."

In a statement obtained by News Corp Australia, the AEC said the Federal Court reserved judgment on Mr Palmer's injunction on Monday.

"The AEC further notes there is a proper, transparent and evidence-based process for dealing with allegations of illegal practice - through the High Court of Australia sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns," the statement said.

"This is the only way in which the Electoral Act provides for a dispute to be dealt and allows any candidate, political party or member of the public to petition the CDR to have a particular electoral result examined."

Mr Palmer said evidence was mounting to suggest vote tampering.

On Monday evening, Mr Palmer was 362 votes ahead of Liberal candidate for Fairfax Ted O'Brien with more than 89 per cent of the count complete.

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Indian kids sick from wrong medicine

AT least 57 children, all under five years of age, were taken to a hospital in eastern India after they were mistakenly given hepatitis vaccines instead of polio immunisation drops, officials say.

Authorities have ordered a probe and suspended four health workers after the incident on Sunday in Arambagh in West Bengal state.

Hepatitis B vaccine, which is normally injected, was administered orally to children at state-run clinics, causing children to start vomiting and sweat profusely.

"Fifty-seven children who were administered the wrong vaccine were admitted to a local hospital," Biswaranjan Satpathy, director of state health services said.

"They were later discharged but we are getting reports of panic-stricken parents still getting children to the hospital for checkups," he said from the state capital Kolkata.

"There is definite medical negligence as those in charge did not even check what they were administering to children," he said.

Broadcaster NDTV said a total of 114 children had been given the wrong vaccines in the region, some 80 kilometres north of Kolkata.

The hepatitis B vaccine should not cause any long-term harm to the health of the children, Apurva Ghose, director of the Kolkata-based Child Health Institute told the network.

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London mayor Johnson backs UK fracking

London Mayor Boris Johnson says wind farms are a "disease" and the UK should embrace nuclear power. Source: AAP

WIND farms are a "disease" which have blighted Britain's countryside and the country should embrace nuclear power and fracking to meet its energy needs, London Mayor Boris Johnson says.

Johnson accused the energy companies of "ruthlessly exploiting" a shortage of supply as he insisted the UK must stop "pussy-footing around" and start exploiting shale gas reserves.

The senior Tory said turning to a new generation of nuclear plants and fracking would cut energy bills and boost the economy.

Writing in The Sun on Sunday he said he was shocked by the number of wind turbines he saw on a recent drive to Scotland.

"It is a good 20 years since I last drove all the way to Scotland, and in the interim something unbelievable has been done - in our name - to our green, pleasant and precious countryside," he said.

"I mean the windmills, the turbines - whatever they are called. I mean the things that look like some hideous Venusian invasion, marching over the moors and destroying the dales; the colossal seaside toys plonked erratically across our ancient landscape; the endless parade of waving white-armed old lunatics, gesticulating feebly at each other across the fields and the glens.

"They seemed to be everywhere, and I asked myself, when were we consulted? Was there a referendum? Did someone ever warn the British people that these moaning seagull slicers were going to be erected on some of the most sensational scenery that God ever called into being?

"The answer is that no one warned us, because no one really took the decision to do it. It just sort of happened. We have contracted these mills like a disease, because of our pathetic apology for an energy policy."

Claiming that the turbines would not meet the UK's needs he blamed the last Labour administration for failing to get to grips with the issue, leaving the UK facing an energy crisis.

"It is time to take the fight to the energy companies, who have been ruthlessly exploiting their position - and the best answer is an enormous increase in supply. We can do it, and we can do it in a way that is as clean and green as any technology on earth," he said.

"First we need to grow some collective cojones and launch the nuclear energy programme that this country has too long delayed. Do you know how much of their juice the French get from their nuclear programme? Almost 80%. They are laughing at us - us, the nation that split the atom!"

He added: "Next, we must stop pussy-footing around, and get fracking. Even if we have 100s of fracking pads, they are nothing like as ugly as windmills, and they can be dismantled as soon as the gas is extracted."

Mr Johnson said shale was "clean and green" and would help the UK secure its own energy supply without relying on gas from countries such as Russia.

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Trekkers' attackers captured in PNG

FOUR men suspected in the ambush and murder of two guides leading a group of Australian trekkers in Papua New Guinea have been captured by villagers, police say.

The four were captured on Sunday morning near the town of Wau, a five-and-a-half-hour walk from the Black Cat Track in PNG's Morobe province, where local guides Kuia Kerry and Matthew Lasong were killed when they were attacked by six armed men.

Several Australians and six PNG men were injured in the attack.

Police said on Sunday one suspect was caught in the town of Salamaua while the other three were caught in Wau.

"I believe it is only a matter of time before the other two are captured and brought in," Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga said in a statement.

"Whilst I encourage the local community to continue to assist police capture the remaining attackers, I urge you not to take the law into your own hands.

"Let the law deal with them."

Mr Kulunga also confirmed reports a man was attacked and killed by relatives of one of the two murdered porters.

He said the relatives accused the man of harbouring the six criminals and attacked him.

Police intervened and flew him to the nearest health centre but he died from loss of blood.

"There will be an investigation and the persons responsible for this recent death will be arrested. No one has the right to take anyone's life," Mr Kulunga said.

Police have sent 30 additional personnel to the area to capture the remaining fugitives.

"The commitment of the villagers in helping police bring in the four suspects speaks volumes for our people's genuineness and hospitality as well," he said.

"The attack was an isolated and one-off incident and not a reflection of the generally friendly people of the Morobe Province."

Meanwhile the survivors of Tuesday's machete attack have set up a trust fund for the local porters who were injured in the ambush.

Mackay man Nick Bennett was injured when he was hit on the head with a gun.

On Sunday, he told ABC radio all the trekkers had returned home and were coming to terms with the horrific experience.

But he says while the trekkers are traumatised, their injuries are insignificant compared with what had happened to the porters, some of whom had limbs hacked off and would never walk again.

"We've set up a trust fund and we're asking people ... just to provide a few dollars into an account that we've got set up to help them get the services that they need," he said.

"We've made a commitment to ensuring that we support those porters and their families who've absolutely been devastated by this.

"We really need help and we're appealing to people to be generous. Anything - a peso, a dollar, a pound - would be helpful right now for these guys."

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Colorado floods leave hundreds missing

EMERGENCY workers involved in a massive effort to rescue stranded flood victims in Colorado, where more than 500 people are still unaccounted for, are bracing for a fresh pounding from storms.

Officials said efforts to locate those in need of help were hampered by flood damage to many mobile phone towers.

New flash floods were expected to inundate the area, which thousands were forced to evacuate.

Raging floodwaters in the city of Boulder, already confirmed to have killed at least four people, apparently claimed the life of a fifth on Saturday - a 60-year-old woman swept away in the torrent.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that the woman was "missing presumed dead", after floodwaters destroyed her house, and officials warned the toll will likely climb further.

"There might be further loss of life," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told reporters on Sunday. "It's certainly a high probability.... With an army of folks and an air show, we're hoping to reach everyone as soon as possible."

But some additional help was on the way, with President Barack Obama declaring a major disaster in Colorado and ordering federal aid to support state and local efforts.

"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the White House said.

And the Wyoming National Guard was helping the evacuation effort after Governor Matt Mead activated five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and 20 crew members, the state's military department said.

In the disaster zone, helicopters circled above submerged houses in a search for survivors in the western US state, with hundreds still missing.

About 350 people were unaccounted for in Larimer County alone, from where about 475 people were evacuated, according to the sheriff's office.

In neighbouring Boulder County, 231 people were unaccounted for, according to CNN, though authorities cautioned that the numbers were fluctuating.

"It is no doubt an epic event," Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway told The Denver Post. "It is a once in 500 years or 1000 years situation."

Search and rescue teams are being deployed to assess the situation and contact stranded residents.

The US National Guard provided seven helicopters to help get people out of danger.

About 1200 residents were pulled out of the Pinewood Springs area by the National Guard and Fort Carson personnel, state authorities said on Twitter.

But many others are still awaiting rescue, which authorities said could take days for some.

Impassable roads forced authorities to use a helicopter to evacuate 200 residents from Jamestown, northwest of Boulder, according to news reports.

Residents' furry friends were also stranded by the torrential rains.

"Our victims' advocates told me tonight there were almost as many pets as people getting off the evacuation helicopters today," the Larimer County Sheriff's Office tweeted.

Officials said there were widespread power outages as streets became raging rivers after the state received months' worth of rain in just a few days.

Rain began pelting the state earlier this week, in Boulder, which saw 18.3 centimetres of precipitation in about 15 hours beginning from Wednesday night, with more downpours likely over the weekend.

Pictures from helicopter cameras showed heavy rain had reduced the towns of Jamestown, Lyons and Longmont to little more than islands, with ready-to-eat meals being dropped to stranded, anxious residents below.

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Bolshoi director ready to return to work

THE artistic director of Moscow's world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet has told a Russian television station that he feels fit to return to work, eight months after an acid attack that nearly blinded him.

"I see enough now to feel comfortable," Sergei Filin, 42, who still wears sunglasses to protect his eyes after months of treatments in Aachen, Germany, said on Sunday.

Now that he's back in Moscow, he said he was prepared to return to work, just as the ballet prepares to start its new season on Monday.

Filin suffered injuries to his face, particularly his eyes, when an assailant threw acid at him on January 17. But he says his vision is now good enough to recognise what is happening on the stage. However, he says he still has multiple surgeries and long-term treatment ahead of him.

The clinic that treated Filin said he had 80 per cent vision capacity in his left eye, but that the healing process was ongoing in the right eye.

Three people have been arrested for the assault: the accused perpetrator and two alleged accomplices, one of whom is Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko.

Investigators said Dmitrichenko masterminded the attack. Media reports suggested the 29-year old dancer wanted to avenge his girlfriend, who had been passed over by Filin for important roles.

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LeBron James weds girlfriend in San Diego

THE Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James has married in San Diego, according to two people familiar with the details of the ceremony.

About 200 guests were present for his wedding to Savannah Brinson on Saturday, said one of the people.

James and Brinson, 27, have been together since high school and have two sons. James, 28, proposed just after midnight on January 1, 2012 in Miami Beach, flanked then by many of his teammates - just as he was again Saturday night for his wedding.

Intense security measures surrounded the wedding, and even some of the invited guests were unclear on some specific details in the days leading up to the long-awaited event that came less than three months after James and the Heat won their second straight NBA title.

Guests were ushered into the wedding areas under the cover of tents, and television footage taken by news helicopters showed that even umbrellas were used to protect the identity of those arriving. Heat owner Micky Arison, coach Erik Spoelstra and many of James's teammates including Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were on the guest list.

And while some with ties to James, such as Wade and his actress girlfriend Gabrielle Union, tweeted that they were in the San Diego area for a wedding, none released any details on Saturday night - since one of the many rules of the wedding was believed to be that no phones would be allowed.

Brinson spoke briefly with AP about the wedding last spring, saying she was both excited and nervous.

James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and the Heat will open training camp next month. In June, they outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in seven games to capture the championship.

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