China manufacturing shrinks for 4th month

CHINA'S manufacturing contracted in April for the fourth straight month but the pace of decline was less severe, suggesting the downturn in the world's number two economy is bottoming.

HSBC's purchasing managers' index released on Monday ticked up to 48.1 from 48.0 in March on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

The reading is slightly lower than 48.3 in a preliminary version of the report last month. But it's the first time the index has risen since it started falling from 50.9 in October.

The report said new export orders contracted in April although the decrease was slight and outpaced by a faster decline in new orders overall, indicating that weak domestic demand was mainly to blame for weakness in manufacturing.

Employment at factories declined for the sixth month in a row.

"The latest data implied that domestic demand contracted at a slower pace, but remained sluggish," said HSBC's chief China economist, Qu Hongbin.

The numbers "indicate that the manufacturing sector, and the broader economy as a whole, continues to lose momentum."

HSBC's report was more pessimistic than a manufacturing index released last week by the state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which hovered above the no-change level at 50.4.

The official survey gives more weight to China's big state companies while HSBC's focuses more on small private enterprises, and the difference indicates the latter are under more pressure amid the slowdown.

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Target CEO Steinhafel resigns

TARGET says Chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel is out, nearly five months after the retailer disclosed a massive data breach that hurt its reputation.

The US's third-largest retailer said on Monday Steinhafel had agreed to step down as the company's chairman, president and CEO, effective immediately.

He has also resigned from its board of directors.

Target, based in Minneapolis, says Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan has been appointed interim president and CEO.

Roxanne S. Austin, a member of Target's board, has been named as interim nonexecutive chair of the board.

Steinhafel, a 35-year veteran of Target, will serve in an advisory capacity during the transition.

Target said in December hackers stole credit and debit card information on tens of millions of customers.

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Forrest hands $12m to uranium explorer

Iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest has injected $12 million into a WA uranium exploration company. Source: AAP

MINING magnate Andrew Forrest has invested $12 million in a prospective West Australian uranium miner aiming to be in production by the end of 2016.

Mr Forrest has paid Energy and Minerals Australia (EMA) $12 million for a 28 per cent stake in the company, which owns land in central Western Australia containing four deposits of uranium.

The company has also reached agreement with its lenders to remove $24.5 million of debt, and it says the two deals will help set it up to get its Mulga Rock project underway.

EMA is run by Julian Tapp, a former executive at Mr Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group, and former BC Iron boss Mike Young.

"My investment is a strong vote of confidence in the executive management team of Mike Young and Julian Tapp with whom I have had a long and successful working relationship," Mr Forrest said.

Mr Forrest, who has a net worth of an estimated $5.7 billion, last week paid $40 million for Harvey Beef, which processes beef for local and overseas markets.

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Greece-bound migrant boats sink, two dead

AT least two people drowned and about 30 are missing after two boats crammed with immigrants bound for Greece sank in the eastern Aegean Sea before dawn Monday in the third fatal accident of the sort this year, authorities said.

The vessels with immigrants seeking to enter Greece illegally foundered about 4 miles north of the island of Samos near the Turkish coast, the Greek coast guard said. It said 36 people were rescued from the sea.

According to survivors, up to 65 people were on the two vessels, the coast guard said.

It said the circumstances of the twin sinking were unclear as weather conditions in the area were not severe.

Coast guard vessels, fishing boats and two search and rescue helicopters were combing the area for more survivors. A cruise ship that participated for several hours in the operation was later cleared to continue its journey.

The nationalities of the migrants were unknown.

Greece is a major entry point for people from poor or war-torn parts of Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the European Union. Fatal accidents are frequent as migrants risk the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey.

Another 21 people have drowned in two accidents since the beginning of the year. Over the weekend Greek coastguards rescued about 250 immigrants from the sea.

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Son of IRA victim in 'backlash' claim

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams (pic) says his arrest over the murder of Jean McConville is wrong. Source: AAP

A SON of IRA murder victim Jean McConville says Gerry Adams threatened him with a "backlash" if he released the names of those he believed responsible.

Michael McConville has said his family's fight for justice will go on after the Sinn Fein president was freed, but has maintained he could be shot if he disclosed the identities of suspects to police.

Mr Adams, 65, was released from Antrim police station, pending a report being sent to prosecutors, after four days of questioning about the notorious 1972 killing of the mother-of-10 and other alleged links with the IRA.

Mr McConville told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Gerry Adams says to me 'Michael, you are getting a letter of support from the republican people'. He says 'if you release the names I hope you are ready for the backlash'.

"I took it as a threat."

Mr Adams has vehemently rejected allegations made by former republican colleagues that he ordered the abduction and killing under investigation - denials he repeated again last night.

The decision whether to charge him with any offence will be made by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) at a later date after reviewing evidence presented by police.

Mr McConville alleged the "threat" was made around the time a report being drawn up by Northern Ireland's then police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, into claims that his mother was an informer was close to being finalised.

The Sinn Fein president had brokered a series of meetings between him and members of the IRA.

Mr McConville said he used to tell Mr Adams what had happened in the meetings and warned him that he would release the names of those involved if Ms O'Loan's report was disputed.

At that point he said the backlash was mentioned.

Mr McConville said that "could" have meant a backlash against the peace process but said he took it to mean the "backlash from republican people".

Mr Adams will refocus on election campaigning today as the political fall-out from his release from police custody continues to reverberate around Stormont and beyond.

The republican party is holding a European election rally in Belfast, with a similar event planned in Dublin, as Mr Adams resumes the canvassing activities he claims his detention was designed to thwart.

The rapturous welcome Mr Adams received in a west Belfast hotel on his first public appearance was in marked contrast to the angry scenes outside the police station as loyalists protested at the decision to free him.

There was disorder in the loyalist Sandy Row area of Belfast, with petrol bombs and stones thrown, though no one was injured.

The former MP for west Belfast and now representative for Co Louth in the Irish Dail criticised the police's handling of his arrest but moved to dispel any suggestion that Sinn Fein's commitment to policing had wavered in the wake of the affair.

His arrest on Wednesday triggered a bitter political row at Stormont, with Sinn Fein accusing an "anti-peace process rump" within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) of orchestrating the detention with the aim of damaging the party ahead of the European and local government elections.

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Male survival gene under threat in UK

MANKIND has come a long way since the days of hunters and gatherers - but the modern British man's survival gene could be in danger of becoming extinct.

According to a new television survey, ready meals and toiletries are the luxuries more than a quarter of UK men couldn't live without on a remote island, above taking a hunting knife or fishing line.

Some 26 per cent named toiletries as a must-have item and 29 per cent said they couldn't do without their pre-prepared tucker, the Channel 4 survey of 2000 British men found.

And 62 per cent said they wouldn't be able to start a fire without the aid of a lighter - so they may have trouble heating up their TV dinner anyway.

When asked to rate their practical DIY skills, Welsh men were the least-educated in the UK, with 83 per cent claiming they were never taught the skills.

The survey found just one in 10 spend their spare time playing sport, only nine per cent pursue outdoor activities and 15 per cent tend to their house or car.

The top recreation was lazing around and watching TV, with more than a third admitting to spending their free time in this way.

The survey findings come as Channel 4 launches the five-part series, The Island with Bear Grylls, featuring the real-life experiences of a group of men struggling to survive on a remote island.

Grylls said: "What happens when you strip man of all the luxury and conveniences of modern living and then force them to fight for their very existence?

"When pushed to the extreme do they still have what it takes to survive? I believe the spirit is still there and in us all.

"It's not until it's squeezed and put under pressure that we find that spirit of resourcefulness and courage again."

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Man dead after NSW highway smash

A man has been hit and killed by a bus that veered onto a footpath in Sydney, police say. Source: AAP

A PASSENGER has been killed after the vehicle he was in veered onto the wrong side of the road on the NSW south coast.

Police have been told the Honda was headed south on the Princes Highway, north of Gerringong, when it crossed to the other side, crashing into a Porsche four wheel drive.

The passenger in the Honda, a man in his 50's died at the scene.

The driver and the man behind the wheel of the Porsche were taken to hospital.

The death follows that of a man hit by a bus which witnesses say mounted a footpath in Sydney's Haymarket.

Emergency services were called to Hay Street in the inner city about noon following reports of a pedestrian struck by a coach.

Witnesses have told police the bus was travelling west when it veered to the opposite side of the road, mounted the footpath and hit the awning of a restaurant on the corner of Hay Street and Dixon Street.

They say the man was hit by and pinned underneath the bus.

He also died at the scene.

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Firefighter bravery recognised

NSW firefighters have been awarded for their actions at a major fuel spill that threatened Sydney. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS who attended a fuel spill with the potential to ignite and threaten a Sydney peninsula faced a choice.

Leave the two million litre tank to leak, evacuate the peninsula around Banksmeadow on Botany Bay and wait for a catastrophic explosion.

Or volunteer to wade through the fuel pool and repair the leaking valve.

NSW Fire and Rescue (NSWFR) station officer Ron Morasso looked at his colleagues and made his choice.

"I said to him, 'what was going through your mind'?" NSWFR commissioner Greg Mullins told AAP after presenting Mr Morasso with the fire service's highest bravery award.

"[Mr Morasso] said to me, 'I looked at my crew and thought - he has two young kids, his wife is pregnant, he is only young...it's got to be me'."

Mr Mullins said even a spark from a car passing the Caltex fuel terminal would have risked an explosion with enough ferocity to close Sydney airport and any subsequent fire might have taken days to extinguish.

Mr Morasso, who has since retired, was presented with the NSWFR medal for conspicuous bravery on Saturday.

Other crew members who responded to the spill in July 2013 also received commendations.

Meanwhile, two firefighters who rushed to the aid of a man on fire after a petrol tanker crash on Sydney's northern beaches were also recognised.

Mosman crew members Lloyd Mulder and George Cheeke stayed with the man, who crawled from his car after it burst into flames, until he died at the roadside last October.

Witnesses Andrew Cochran and Maria Tosone also received commendations for trying to pull the man and another person from the car on Mona Vale Road.

And 12 firefighters who responded to a fire at a unit complex in Bankstown in the city's west, where two women attempted to escape by jumping from a fifth floor window, were also among commendation recipients.

Mr Mullins said the blaze was so intense that firefighters' uniforms caught fire and helmets melted.

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Cancer tot’s siblings shame adults

Diagnosed with cancer when aged two ... Nicholas Forwood with sister Charlotte, 10, and brother Luke, 12. Source: News Corp Australia

THREE-year-old Nicholas Forwood's cancer treatment left him so radioactive he had to be isolated in a lead-lined room and his carers had to wear Geiger counters when treating him.

The toddler, from Turramurra in Sydney, has spent most of the last 11 months in hospital battling the killer childhood cancer neuroblastoma and his bravery has inspired his siblings to raise $90,000 for medical research.

Nicholas' ten-year-old sister Charlotte and his 12-year-old brother Luke are aiming to raise $120,000 to pay for the clinical trial of a promising new treatment for neuroblastoma being developed by Australian company Novogen but it may come too late for Nicholas.

Doctors say there is just a one-in-five chance Nicholas will be alive in a year's time when trials of the drug begin.

This week he begins a painful experimental immunotherapy treatment his parents hope will send his cancer into remission but it carries a rare risk it could stop his heart, liver and kidneys working and leave him blind.

NOVOGEN CHIEF: Cancer treatment drug will be affordable

Beginning a painful experimental immunotherapy treatment ... Nicholas Forwood's parents hope it will send his cancer into remission. Source: News Corp Australia

Nicholas' father Tom Forwood said by the time doctors diagnosed his cancer in May last year it was a stage-four high-risk disease that had spread throughout his body.

He had five cycles of chemotherapy and surgery to remove a large tumour from his abdomen but the cancer was still there.

In late January doctors injected Nicholas with a chemical called MIBG and high-dose radioactive iodine in an attempt to track down remaining cancer cells and burn them away.

The treatment left Nicholas so radioactive he was dangerous to others.

"He was too toxic to be exposed to anyone, he was put in a lead-lined room for five days and ICU nurses were only allowed brief visits and they had to have Geiger counters on them," Tom Forwood says.

Another harrowing high-dose chemotherapy treatment followed that left Nicholas with ulcers through his mouth and internal organs. He was so sore he did not open his mouth for weeks.

When he is not in hospital Nicholas runs and plays and laughs like any three year old.

Tom Forwood says the frustration of watching his little boy endure so much often makes him angry at the world but the way his other children are striving to raise funds for the Kids Cancer Project teaches adults how they should behave.

"I get angry at the world, they are trying to change things," he said.

Luke, Charlotte and Tom Forwood and nine of Mr Forwood's friends and colleagues shaved their heads to raise over $90,000 for the clinical trial of a new neuroblastoma therapy in the last few months.

Charlotte wants to push the donations to $120 000 because that is the most a single family would have ever raised for the Kids Cancer Project.

"We're not doing this for Nicholas, we're trying to get these funds in his honour," says Mr Forwood.

Today, a new research alliance called the Child Oncology Drug Alliance will be launched in Sydney combining the Kids Cancer Project, University of NSW, NewSouth Innovations and Novogen to fast track the development of the new anti-cancer medicine anti-tropomysin pioneered by Australian researchers.

"The Holy Grail of childhood cancer therapy is a medicine that is effective against a tumour such as neuroblastoma, but doesn't leave the sort of damage that the child then has to deal with for the rest of their life," says Novogen chief Graham Kelly.

"We believe the anti-tropomyosins we have developed have the potency, selectivity and safety profile to meet the special needs of children."

You can make a donation to Luke and Charlotte's fundraiser by going to https://give.everydayhero.com/au/luke-charlotte-forwood

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18 dead in India train accident

A passenger train has derailed in western India, killing at least eight people and injuring 57. Source: AAP

A PASSENGER train has derailed in western India, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 as rescue workers race to free those still trapped.

The train's engine and four of its carriages jumped the tracks in the western state of Maharashtra 110 kilometres south of Mumbai, police control room official Ramchandra Kamre told reporters on Sunday in Raigad district, where the accident occurred.

"So far we have 18 reported deaths and 112 injured, who have been rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment," Kamre said.

Rescuers were trying to pull out passengers still trapped in overturned carriages, with cranes and teams of workers at the site.

Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge ordered an investigation into the accident, which occurred in the mid-morning as the train was travelling from Diwa on the outskirts of Mumbai to the city of Sawantwadi in Maharashtra.

India's underfunded rail network - one of the world's largest - has a notoriously bad safety record but remains the main form of long-distance travel in the huge country despite fierce competition from private airlines.

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