S Sudanese flee into Darfur

Refugees from violence in South Sudan are so desperate they are fleeing to Sudan's Darfur region. Source: AAP

THE civil war in South Sudan has left people so hungry and desperate for relief that they are even fleeing across the border into Darfur, a long-troubled region of famine and suffering in neighbouring Sudan, the UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan says.

Some 900,000 South Sudanese are homeless since the war erupted in December, and about 195,000 of them have fled as refugees to Uganda, Ethiopia and even into Darfur, Tony Lanzer said on Tuesday.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan to become independent in 2011. Sudan's western Darfur region has been gripped by violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government.

"I never thought I would see people fleeing into Darfur," Lanzer said.

"It's a very painful thing for the world's youngest country if your people are fleeing."

South Sudan's civil war broke out in December between supporters of ousted Vice President Riek Machar, from the Nuer ethnic group, and the forces of President Salva Kiir, who is an ethnic Dinka. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in January, but that agreement does not appear to be holding.

A total of 3.7 million South Sudanese are "food insecure," or unsure of where their next meal will come from, Lanzer said, out of a population of about 11 million.

Lanzer is organising donations for international relief aid in the coming weeks during the dry season, when roads are passable. The World Food Program hopes to pre-position 146,000 tons of food. By June, during the wet season, supplies would have to be airlifted at far greater cost.

"Now, 90 per cent of funds go toward relief, and 10 per cent to delivery," Lanzer said. By June, that ratio will have flipped.

Adding to the urgency, people need to sow crops before June but are afraid to go into the fields.

"There will not be a harvest if people do not cultivate," Lanzer said.

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Leave scheme to go ahead: Hockey

The government will go ahead with its planned paid parental leave scheme, Treasurer Joe Hockey says. Source: AAP

THE federal government will push ahead with its planned paid parental leave scheme even if a commission of audit deems it too generous in the current budgetary environment.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said the coalition will keep its promise to deliver the scheme, which is planned to begin in July 2015 and cost about $5.5 billion a year.

"The paid parental leave scheme will be fully funded and it is fully funded," Mr Hockey told the ABC on Wednesday.

He did not reject an assertion that an interim report from the commission found the scheme too generous in light of the budget's unhealthy position.

He also flagged that the government could overlook other commission of audit recommendations in its May budget.

"We won't accept every recommendation of the report," he said.

"It is a report to the government ... all the commission of audit reports that have been around previously, I don't think any government has accepted all the recommendations."

In his signature paid parental leave policy, Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants to give working women their regular wage for six months, capped at $75,000, after they give birth.

Labor is opposed to the scheme and in late February Nationals senator John Williams said he will only back the plan if there is a significant economic turnaround.

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Greens slam Tasmanian ALP, Liberals

Tasmania's Greens have slammed the Labor party for the progressive vote at the state election. Source: AAP

TASMANIA'S Greens have described the Labor party they shared power with for four years as a "shambles" in a pitch for the progressive vote at the state election.

Greens leader Nick McKim had already declared his party could be the official opposition in the island state after the March 15 poll with the ALP languishing in the polls.

He has used the Greens' official campaign launch to slam Labor and to warn Liberal voters of a "Hodgman/Abetz" government.

Mr McKim attacked Labor over rogue backbencher Brenton Best, who has called for Premier Lara Giddings to step down over the party's power-sharing arrangement with the Greens.

Mr Best renewed his attack on Ms Giddings on social media this week, referring to the premier as "La La".

"I say to progressive Labor voters your party is at war with itself," Mr McKim told Greens supporters in Hobart.

He accused opposition leader Will Hodgman of subservience to Tasmanian Liberal senator and federal employment minister Eric Abetz.

"I'd say this to some Liberal voters, particularly conservative people who hold traditional conservative values, that a vote for Will Hodgman is a vote for Eric Abetz and Tony Abbott," Mr McKim said.

The Greens have released a brochure declaring they stand for "real liberal values" more akin to Malcolm Turnbull's than Mr Abbott's.

It claims Tasmania's Liberals are controlled by "right-wing hardliners" such as Senator Abetz.

"Their policies are a mix of hard right-wing morality and old-fashioned corporate welfare," it says.

Mr McKim promised to create 10,000 jobs over the next decade by better marketing of Tasmanian products and produce.

He said the Greens would push a light rail proposal linking the city to the state's number one tourist attraction, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

The Greens would also make Tasmania Australia's healthiest state by 2030 with a $13 million preventative health policy.

Mr McKim was introduced by the party's former federal leader Bob Brown.

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Australian tells of detainment in N Korea

An Australian man detained in North Korea has recounted "long and gruelling" interrogation sessions. Source: AAP

TWO hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

Australian missionary John Short has revealed detail of his "long and gruelling" interrogation while detained in North Korea for breaches of the country's religious laws.

The 75-year-old was held for 13 days in the capital Pyongyang after being picked up en route to the airport on February 18.

In a statement issued on Wednesday Mr Short said recounting scripture helped him endure the "long and gruelling investigation".

"There were two-hour sessions each morning, which were repeated again in the afternoons," he said.

The keen walker who clocks up an average 5kms a day said his seated confinement was challenging.

"This I found to be most painful physically as an active senior person."

It was also stressful being under constant guard, he added.

When first detained Mr Short said he insisted he was not a spy and did not intend bringing hostilities to North Korea.

He was told that by distributing religious pamphlets at a Buddhist temple and in a crowded train he violated local laws which prohibit the dissemination of religious material, and faced 15 years in prison.

"I confessed that I had knowingly broken the law in what I believed is my God directed duty and as I do in every place and country I visit," Mr Short said.

The non-denominational Christian Evangelist, originally from South Australia, who has lived with his wife in Hong Kong since 1964, thanked his family along with consular officials who helped publicise his case and facilitate his release.

North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, reported that the decision to expel Mr Short without penalty was partly in consideration of his age.

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Speaker should be neutral, Burke says

A Labor frontbencher has hinted a level of dissatisfaction with the federal parliamentary Speaker. Source: AAP

A FEDERAL Labor frontbencher has hinted there is community disquiet about the objectivity of parliamentary Speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

Clashes between the manager of opposition business Tony Burke and "madam speaker", as Ms Bishop is referred to in the lower house, have become a common fixture during question time.

Asked about Ms Bishop's style on Wednesday, Mr Burke said there are rules which limit what he can say outside of parliament.

"As a principle I guess the best way to describe it from my end, is: on the sporting field I don't think the referee ought to get involved in the sledging," he told Sky News.

"I think that's the sort of view I hear throughout the community a fair bit too."

Ms Bishop was appointed Speaker when the coalition came into power for the 44th parliament.

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UN court sets date for whaling judgement

AFTER years of diplomatic wrangling and clashes in the Southern Ocean, the UN's top court is set to rule on the heated whaling dispute between Australia and Japan.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will deliver its binding judgment on March 31.

Canberra has asked the 16-judge panel to ban Japan's annual hunt on the basis it's not "for purposes of scientific research" as allowed under Article 8 of the 1946 whaling convention.

During a three-week hearing in the Netherlands in mid-2013, Australia - supported by New Zealand - argued Tokyo's program was actually a commercial operation in disguise.

However, Japan countered that the court didn't have the authority to decide what was, or wasn't, science.

Japan insisted lethal research was both lawful and necessary.

In announcing the March 31 judgment date on Tuesday, the ICJ stated: "It is recalled that the judgments of the court have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned."

The decision will come seven years after then opposition leader Kevin Rudd first pledged a future Labor government would take legal action against Tokyo.

Rudd was duly elected prime minister in November 2007 but it took another 18 months before Labor instituted proceedings in mid-2010.

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Egypt cops jailed for killing of activist

An Egyptian court has sentenced two policemen to 10 years in jail for the killing of an activist. Source: AAP

AN Egyptian court has sentenced two policemen to 10 years in prison each for the 2010 killing of a political activist whose slaying was one of the sparks that led to the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak the following year.

The sentencing was the result of a retrial in the landmark case of the beating to death in the port city of Alexandria of 28-year-old Khaled Said.

Photographs of the dead Said's severely beaten face were posted on the internet and became a rallying cry against rampant police brutality under Mubarak.

The two policemen - Awad Suliman and Mahmoud Salah - had previously been convicted and handed sentences of seven years but that conviction was later overturned and a new trial was ordered.

In a separate development, prosecutors released the son of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi - Mubarak's successor - after he agreed to give samples for a drug test.

According to the state MENA news agency, 20-year-old university freshman Abdullah Morsi was freed late on Sunday after agreeing to give blood and urine samples for the test.

The young Morsi was detained on Saturday on suspicion of drug possession. He was with a friend in a parked car that was searched by a police patrol east of Cairo. Officers reportedly found two rolled hashish cigarettes in the vehicle.

Abdullah's older brother, Osama, had rejected the accusations, calling them fabricated.

Morsi was ousted in July last year by the military and faces a multitude of trials on charges that carry the death penalty.

He was in office for a year when he was removed by military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Mubarak himself faces two trials: a retrial over the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that toppled his 29-year rule and a second one, on charges that he and his two sons took for personal use state funds set aside for the upkeep and maintenance of presidential palaces.

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PM welcomes foresters to Canberra

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has opened parliament's doors to the "frowned upon" forestry industry. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has opened parliament's doors to the "frowned upon" forestry industry, saluting them as the nation's "ultimate conservationists".

Mr Abbott announced on Tuesday the government would establish a forestry industry advisory council to be co-chaired by Rob de Fegely, the president of the Institute of Foresters of Australia.

The council was necessary because too little is known about the industry, Mr Abbott told a forestry industry dinner in parliament house in Canberra.

The prime minister was "pleased" foresters were able to attend parliament after many years without feeling like they were in "hostile territory".

"For three years you were officially frowned upon in Canberra because we had a government that was over-influenced by the Greens," Mr Abbott told the 600-strong gathering, which was also attended by Labor ministers.

"I look around and I don't see people who are environmental vandals, I see people who are the ultimate conservationists.

"I want to salute you as people who love the natural world."

Mr Abbott defended the Coalition's decision to remove world heritage listing for 74,000 hectare area of Tasmanian forest earlier this year.

"We have quite enough national parks, quite enough locked-up forests," he said.

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Senate votes to stop dumping in reef park

THE Senate has passed a motion calling for the reversal of a coal port terminal expansion approval allowing dredge dumping in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Greens senator Larissa Waters, a Queenslander, moved the motion on Monday calling on federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to revoke the government's approval of the Abbot Point coal port extension.

In January, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) approved a proposal from the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation to dump three million cubic metres of dredge spoil in the marine park over several years.

Mr Hunt had earlier given approval to the dredging in Queensland's north, which will turn Abbot Point into one of the world's largest coal terminals.

But Senator Waters argued that new documents, obtained by Greenpeace, showed that GBRMPA had initially wanted to reject that plan to dump dredge spoil on a sand bed in the marine park, 25km from the port and 20km from the nearest coral reef.

"The Senate and the community are sending a strong message to the Abbott Government that dumping millions of tonnes of sludge in the Great Barrier Reef is unacceptable," Senator Waters, the Greens' environment spokeswoman, said.

"Minister Hunt has been telling us that the damage from the Abbot Point dumping can be offset but documents released under freedom of information this week show that's simply not the case.

"The documents show the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority found that it would be impossible to offset the damage because it was too great."

On Tuesday, Senator Waters' motion passed on the voices with support from Labor and the Greens.

GBRMPA chairman Russell Reichelt this week said the documents cited by Greenpeace were "preliminary working drafts which were never submitted" to the authority's senior management, with that draft assessment occurring before strict conditions were imposed on the dumping.

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RadioShack to close up to 1100 US stores

RADIOSHACK plans to close up to 1,100 of its underperforming stores in the US and has reported a wider loss for its fourth quarter as traffic slowed during the critical holiday season.

The stock tumbled more than 24 per cent in Tuesday premarket trading.

The store closings would leave RadioShack with more than 4,000 stores.

For the period ended December 31, the electronics retailer lost $US191.4 million ($A215.09 million), or $US1.90 per share.

That compares with a loss of $US63.3 million, or 63 UScents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, RadioShack Corp lost $US1.29 per share. Analysts expected a loss of 16 US cents per share.

Revenue declined to $US935.4 million from $US1.17 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 19 per cent on weaker traffic and the soft performance of its mobility business.

Analysts expected revenue of $US1.12 billion.

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Interpol issue notice for Australian woman

INTERPOL has issued a wanted notice for an Australian woman suspected of murder and kidnapping offences in South Africa.

Monique Naiana Neeteson-Lemkes, 36, is named on the international police website, which states she is wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

The order is reported to relate to the death of a restaurant worker - Thandiwe "Betty" Ketani - in South Africa in 1999.

Three men standing trial for the killing have cut a deal with authorities, implicating others including Neeteson-Lemkes, the ABC reports.

The victim allegedly worked for a business owned by Neeteson-Lemkes' father when she disappeared.

Neeteson-Lemkes denies the allegations and told the Seven Network she would not return to South Africa because she would not receive a fair trial.

Interpol has also issued a notice for Mark Lennox Lister, 37, a South African man believed to be living in Australia.

He too faces murder and kidnapping charges over Ms Ketani's death.

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Hundreds protest outside Russian embassy

Members of Sydney's Ukrainian community are protesting outside a Russian embassy tonight. Source: AAP

ABOUT 200 members of Sydney's Ukrainian community have staged a loud protests outside a Russian embassy, calling on Russia's president to "keep his hands" off the troubled European country.

Ukranian, Georgian and European Union flags were waived as the eclectic crowd yelled at the Russian embassy for President Vladimir Putin to "get out" and "keep his hands off Ukraine" on Monday evening.

Banners depicting the ex-KGB hard man with Adolf Hitler's hair and moustache were shaken angrily at the Woolhara unit housing the Russian embassy, after prayers and songs of national pride.

Protester Yuri Mencinsky, who was involved at demonstrations outside the same embassy 40 years ago, told reporters the crowd was shouting "kacapy" - a derogatory Ukranian term for Russians.

Peter Shmigel, the public affairs director for the Australia Federation of Ukrainian Organisations said the international community needed to act, not just talk.

"Action like removal of Russia from the G8 so that it feels the economic consequences of breaking international law," he told reporters at the protest.

"Why should Russian be at the international table if it's operating in an outlaw manner?"

He added that Ukraine was a untied country and that there was no divide between Russian and Ukrainian speaking-citizens.

"That's a mythology," he said.

"Ukraine has been independent for 20 years. During that time there have been virtually no recorded instances of internecine violence between Russian communities and Ukrainian communities."

Russia's annexation of Georgian land in 2008, he added, should serve as a strong warning.

"Mr Putin looks at the world differently than the world looks at him," he said.

"We look at him as a political leader. He looks at us through the lens of a former colonel of the KGB, someone who swore an oath to uphold the USSR."

The protesters said further actions were planned outside the Russian embassy in Canberra.

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Pistorius witness 'heard screams'

A WITNESS in the Oscar Pistorius trial has described hearing "bloodcurdling screams" on the night the Paralympian shot his girlfriend dead.

Michell Burger, who lived on the neighbouring estate to the Silverwoods Estate in Pretoria where Pistorius lived, described hearing a woman screaming followed by four gunshots on the night of model Reeva Steenkamp's death.

Her evidence came on the first day of Pistorius's highly-anticipated trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today, where the six-times sprint champion formally pleaded not guilty to four charges including the murder of Steenkamp.

Prosecutors allege the 27-year-old shot model and reality TV star Steenkamp, 29, through the bathroom door of his home.

Burger, a neighbour of Pistorius who lives in the Silver Stream Estate, described waking up at around 3am to a woman's "terrible screams".

Speaking through an interpreter, she said: "We woke up from the screams. My husband jumped up and went to the balcony."

Ms Burger told the court it had been traumatic to hear the "bloodcurdling screams", adding: "It leaves you cold."

She said she also heard a man screaming for help, adding: "Three times he yelled for help."

Burger said she and her husband called security at their estate to report the screams and what they thought was a break-in.

She added: "I heard her screams again, it was worse, it was more intense. Just after her screams, I heard four shots, it was four gunshots that I heard."

Asked to describe the successive shots, she said there was a pause between the first and second which was longer between the second and third shots and the third and fourth.

She said: "I told my husband that I do not hope that that woman saw her husband being shot in front of her because after he screamed for help we didn't hear him again."

The start of the trial - which is being watched by the world - was delayed by an hour and a half today as the court waited for Afrikaans interpreters.

The double amputee is charged with the murder of Ms Steenkamp, whom he shot dead at his home on Valentine's Day last year.

Asked how he pleaded, he said: "Not guilty, my lady."

The Paralympic star, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and dark tie, entered not guilty pleas to four charges.

Pistorius, dubbed the "Blade Runner" for his prosthetic legs, admits shooting Miss Steenkamp dead at his home but claims he thought she was an intruder.

In court today, Pistorius, who was supported by family members including siblings Carl and Aimee and his uncle Arnold, came face to face with Steenkamp's mother June, who is attending the trial.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court: "They were the only two people in the house. There were no eyewitnesses.

"The state's case is based on circumstantial evidence."

He said evidence included what neighbours heard, and prosecutors would argue that "a certain inference" could be drawn from the scene.

"We argue that the accused's version in the bail application and today could not reasonably possibly be true, should be rejected," he said, adding: "The only inference from the circumstantial evidence would be that the accused shot and killed the deceased."

The court was read a statement from Pistorius in which he claimed he mistakenly thought there was an intruder in his home, leading him to open fire in an attempt to protect himself and Steenkamp.

The statement, read by Pistorius's defence lawyer while the athlete remained standing, said the scene had been contaminated and disturbed.

In it, the Paralympian said he did not intend to kill his then-girlfriend that night and they had not argued that night.

He said: "I deny this allegation in the strongest terms because there was no argument. The allegation that I wanted to shoot (or kill) Reeva cannot be further from the truth."

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Wind fears for Vic coal mine fire

WINDIER conditions are expected to test firefighters battling Victoria's Morwell fire over the next two days.

Authorities have at least two extra strike teams on standby on Tuesday in case expected higher winds aggravate the fire that has been burning in the mine since February 9.

Incident controller Bob Barry says the fire fight in recent days has been successful in reducing fire activity in the mine.

However, provisions had been made to battle the challenging conditions expected for Tuesday and Wednesday.

This also includes plans to bring two additional aircraft to support the fire fight and extra ground crews are on standby to protect infrastructure outside the mine.

"The additional strike teams will be there to stop fires that escape from the mine - as occurred last week - so we don't have to divert resources from the mine," Mr Barry said.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, who visited Morwell on Monday, announced a $2 million assistance package for small businesses financially hurt by the coal mine fire that has seen many temporarily leave the smoke-choked Victorian town.

"When I have visited small businesses in Morwell one of the things they have emphasised to me whether they are the local coffee ship, the local hair dresser ... their turn over has gone down significantly," he said.

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Thai man nabbed with fake $US10,000 notes

TOURIST police have arrested a man attempting to exchange counterfeit $US10,000 notes - not printed in the US since the 1930s - for baht currency in the Thai beach resort of Phuket.

Thai national Wachirawich Janjaroenchaisin, 40, was arrested on Sunday night in a sting operation after police were tipped off about someone trying to exchange $US10,000 ($A11,265) notes on the island, 700 kilometres south of Bangkok, the Phuket Gazette reported.

The officers, pretending to be exchange brokers, arrested Wachirawich after he tried to offload 482 fake bills on them, said Deputy National Commander Supaset Chokchai of the Tourist Police.

Police noticed that the bills read "Nan Francisco," instead of San Francisco as the city of origin.

"The (US) embassy confirmed that the notes were counterfeit and that the $US10,000 bill had not been produced for public use since 1936," Supaset said.

"This is the first time we have found $US10,000 bills in Thailand," he added.

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Researchers reveal slang explosion

A new study by linguistic researchers in Britain say the use of slang words is "running wild." Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of newly invented slang words have been uncovered by linguistic researchers.

Experts have found that slang is flourishing across all social groups, including 57 words for a remote control such as blabber, zapper, melly and dawicki.

The prevalence of slang has been put down to the global domination of the English language and its exposure to foreign influences.

Tony Thorne of King's College London, author of the Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, told The Sunday Times: "Once associated with enclosed communities such as the prison, the army barracks, the factory floor and the older public schools, more recently slang has escaped its boundaries and is running wild."

The latest edition of the dictionary features so-called kitchen table lingo, a category of informal words and phrases used by families that was first noted by the English Project at the University of Winchester.

These slang terms include floordrobe for the place where clothes are stored in a teenager's bedroom, grooglums for the bits of food left in the sink after washing the dishes and gruds for underpants.

Bill Lucas, professor of learning at the University of Winchester, explained that the words are often formed from the physical properties of an object or the attitudes held towards it.

"A lot of these words are inspired by the sound or the look of a thing, or are driven by an emotional response to that being described," he told The Sunday Times.

The new dictionary celebrates abbreviations used in text messages, such as YOLO, meaning you only live once, and TBDL for too boring, didn't listen.

Multi-ethnic vernacular to feature in the publication includes merk, which has evolved from describing murder to mean a verb to humiliate, and blud for friend.

Meanwhile teenagers have adopted gran slang - words previously associated with their grandparents - such as galavanting, rapscallion and reek.

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Call for caution amid fracking uncertainty

AUSTRALIA should view the relatively new practice of fracking for gas with as much caution as the introduction of a new drug, says an essay in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

"The uncertainty over the health implications is greater than that surrounding any other energy choice, write Dr Alicia Coram and her colleagues.

"The absence of concrete evidence of harm does not equate to evidence of its absence."

They say the current evidence does not provide a clear picture, which is a good reason to put the brakes on.

They say the biggest public concerns include contamination of drinking and irrigation water.

However, wastewater and community disruption are also major issues.

"Natural contaminants present in wastewater can include heavy metals and radioactive materials, which have serious and well known health effects."

Fracking involves injecting large quantities of water and chemicals into gas reservoirs. Materials like sand are pumped in to keep the fractures open and allow the gas to flow.

The authors argue that it is incorrect to compare the process with the environmental impact of coal, because the damage caused by coal makes it a poor benchmark.

The comparison also obscures renewable energy options like solar and wind energy.

The uncertainties, including doubts about the greenhouse profile, weigh heavily against proceeding with proposed future developments, they write.

"Additionally, the burden of potential health hazards from gas extraction would fall on the most vulnerable children, the elderly, the poor, those living in rural, agricultural and indigenous communities, and future generations."

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Journalists shortlisted for top accolade

TOP work by three Australian journalists has landed them on the shortlist for the 2013 Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award.

The winner of the 38th annual Perkin award will win a $20,000 cash prize, supplied by The Age, for a single piece of journalistic work that is excellent and memorable.

The shortlisted candidates include: Caroline Wilson of The Age, for her coverage of the Essendon drugs scandal, The Australian's Amanda Hodge for coverage of Pakistan and gang rape in India and The Herald Sun's James Campbell for his work on the tapes scandal that led to Ted Baillieu's demise as Victorian premier.

Judges for the 2013 award include Laura Tingle, Laurie Oakes and Jill Baker.

The winner will be announced on March 21 at the Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards.

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Baby wipes cause rash of skin complaints

A PRESERVATIVE used in baby wipes is causing a rash of skin complaints.

The problem is an increasingly common allergic reaction to a preservative used in some brands.

But it's parents' hands, not babies' bottoms, that are breaking out, according to a research letter published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

But the rashes could also appear on other parts of the body because the preservative, Methylisothiazolinone (MI), is also used in make-up removal wipes, shampoos, conditioners, body washes, moisturisers, sunscreens and deodorants.

"MI is now the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis among our patient population," write dermatologist Dr Jennifer Cahill and her colleagues.

"The most common source of MI is disposable wet wipes, now commonly used in nappy changing."

She and her colleagues at the Skin and Cancer Foundation in Melbourne routinely test people with rashes for the allergy.

The proportion of positive tests has soared from 3.5 per cent in 2011 to 11.3 per cent in 2013.

"Ironically it is the parents who are consulting doctors with rashes on their hands," co-author Associate Professor Rosemary Nixon told AAP.

But there could be under-diagnosis among babies, partly because nappy rash is common and partly because they are unlikely to be tested.

People with concerns should look for MI among the ingredients on their product, she said.

The best thing was to try determine the cause of a rash through a process of elimination.

If it failed to go away or returned, people should see a GP.

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Teenage detainees on run in NSW

FOUR male teenage detainees have threatened security officers with a knife before fleeing in a prison van on the NSW north coast.

At 4.30pm on Sunday police were called to North Street in Grafton where the teens allegedly threatened two security officers with a knife.

The security officers and another detainee got out of the van.

Police say four detainees, three aged 18 and one 15-year-old, then allegedly took off with the juvenile justice van.

The vehicle was found on Redgum Road shortly after.

However the detainees are still on the run.

The 18-year-olds are described as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander appearance, with black hair, medium builds and between 150 and 170cm tall. The fourth teen is described as being of Caucasian appearance, approximately 150cm to 155cm tall, with a thin build and brown hair.

Police have urged people not to approach the young men but to call 000 immediately.

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