Aust mum seeks truth about Thai death

THE Australian mother of a 24-year-old man who died after a five-storey fall in Thailand hopes police reports provide fresh evidence into his death, which she believes followed an assault.

Karen Edwards, whose son Nathan died at the Hilton Arcadia Hotel in Phuket on Valentine's Day in 2010, says any new evidence will be passed on to the South Australian coroner and investigators.

Mr Edwards had been working as a flight attendant for V Australia at the time of his death and was scheduled to stay in Phuket for two nights.

Mrs Edwards, accompanied by Senator Nick Xenophon, travelled to Thailand recently to receive the Phuket police files, which will enable the South Australian coroner to review the evidence.

Doubts have been raised over the official version of events into Mr Edward's death: that he plunged from a balcony after attempting to enter the wrong room at the hotel from a night out with friends at the nearby Patong entertainment area.

Thai police reports said the guests in the room he attempted to enter called security but by the time it arrived he was dead.

Mrs Edwards told AAP that receiving the police file marked a major breakthrough.

"We have fought for three and a half years to have the file released," she said.

Mrs Edwards stands by her view that her son was assaulted before his fatal plunge.

Questions were also raised over hotel security when authorities later said CCTV footage had been accidentally erased.

The Thai police files are being translated at the Australian embassy in Bangkok before being sent to South Australia where the state's coroner and crime investigation unit will "sift through for any new information that comes to light".

"It's been a long journey," Mrs Edwards said.

"I hope (the file) will give us a few more answers. I have done all I can as a mother to get the file.

"All I hope is to get some answers."

Mrs Edwards hopes other people who might have evidence will come forward with information.

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Case of burned woman baffles NSW cops

A severely burnt woman discovered in Sydney bushland claimed she was a victim of a chemical attack. Source: AAP

POLICE are mystified as to how a woman who was critically burned in an apparent chemical attack survived for days on the streets of western Sydney with little more than basic first aid.

A resident on Ferraro Crescent at West Hoxton heard cries from nearby bushland on Friday night and called triple zero.

When police arrived they found Monika "Nikki" Chetty, who has reportedly been sleeping rough in the area for months, with extensive burns to her face and body.

The 39-year-old told police she was attacked about a week ago in a Liverpool park but she did not seek help at hospital.

"In my 41 years in the police, this is most baffling - I cannot fathom the circumstances leading up to this," Green Valley Police Detective Superintendent James Johnson told reporters on Saturday.

"She is covered in black marks. It's full-thickness burns.

"She would have been in absolute agony, in my opinion, and to survive this long is amazing."

Ferraro Crescent resident Gavin O'Brien reportedly found Ms Chetty washing her wounds around the side of his house on Boxing Day.

"I couldn't tell it was a woman, the person was that disfigured," he told Network Ten.

"Had bandages on their head, didn't look too well. I asked if they were OK, they didn't want to talk, they were quite distressed."

It has been reported the woman is a mother of three who occasionally slept in bushland near where she was found by emergency services.

"She's been hanging up bedsheets and clothes along the park fence," neighbour Frank Ravese told the Seven Network.

Ms Chetty is in the Concord hospital burns unit in critical condition and police have asked for anyone with information to come forward.

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Chinese man gets death for child deaths

A CHINESE man who hacked three children to death and injured 13 others at a daycare centre in southern China has been sentenced to death.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday that Wu Yechang was convicted of intentional homicide in the Guigang Intermediate People's Court in China's Guangxi region for the September 2012 attack that horrified the country.

It was one of several violent attacks on children in China in recent years that have resulted in tighter security at schools and kindergartens.

The attacks also have led to calls for more attention to mental illnesses and prompted concern over rising stress in Chinese society.

Wu suffered from illness and loneliness when he targeted the children at the Red Apple daycare centre in Guangxi's Pingnan county, Xinhua said.

He told police in 2012 he initially wanted to kill himself but decided to do something bigger.

Reports say the jobless man bought an axe and was wandering when he saw the daycare centre.

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Emergency alert for Stradbroke Island fire

A watch and act alert has been issued for a bushfire on Queensland's North Stradbroke Island. Source: AAP

AN emergency bushfire alert has been issued for a blaze on Queensland's North Stradbroke Island, with warnings that homes may be lost.

Queensland police say the Public Safety Preservation Act has been invoked.

The act was declared at 7.30pm (AEST) and is in force for the area bounded by Trans Island Road - also known as Tazi Road - to the east, north along North Stradbroke Island Track - also known as Tripod Track - to the intersection of Beehive and East Coast roads, then west to the shoreline at Moreton Bay, south to the water taxi jetty in Dunwich and then east along Junner and Mallon streets back to Trans Island Road.

Police have urged those within the boundaries to follow directions from emergency service agencies.

Residents were strongly advised to leave if they were able.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) says the fire is moving quickly and is uncontrolled.

Spot fires are likely to start up to four kilometres ahead of the fire front and embers are also being thrown from the fire.

It's feared some property may be lost, and authorities said power and water supplies as well as mobile phone reception could be lost in the area during the night.

The QFES warned that conditions on the island would be very hot and windy on Saturday night, and as the fire approached people would find it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Officials say well-prepared homes can offer safety during the fire and may be defendable, but residents are advised to call triple zero if their property is threatened.

"Multiple fire crews are working to contain the blaze but firefighters will not be able to protect every affected property and residents should not expect a firefighter at their door," the QFES said in a statement.

Meanwhile, residents on the mainland and Southern Moreton Bay Islands were being asked to conserve water on Saturday morning after a treatment plant was damaged on North Stradbroke Island.

The treatment plant is one of two that service the region.

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Two dead in Vic road tragedy

THE drivers of two cars described to police as racing erratically and side-by-side on a Victorian highway before a fatal crash are aged in their 50s and 60s.

Victorian police say concerned witnesses called them about a high-speed car race on Saturday on the Calder Highway at Glenalbyn, near Bendigo, moments before two of three vehicles involved collided.

Emergency services were called to the crash about 12.40pm (AEDT).

Two of the vehicles, a blue Ford station wagon and a light brown Ford Falcon, crashed and ran off the road.

The station wagon struck a tree, killing two men inside the vehicle.

The 67-year-old male driver of the Falcon was taken to Bendigo Hospital in a serious condition.

His 35-year-old female passenger was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition.

Both have serious head injuries and remain in hospital under police guard.

The occupants of all three vehicles are known to each other, police say.

The driver of the third vehicle, a 51-year-old Wedderburn man, is in custody.

Police are investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash.

The highway remains closed while the crash scene is examined.

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Replacement party cancelled at Wet n Wild

A replacement for a cancelled New Year's Eve festival at Sydney's Wet 'n' Wild has been cancelled. Source: AAP

THE recently opened Wet 'n' Wild theme park in Sydney won't be hired out for big events in the near future following the last-minute cancellation of a New Year's Eve music festival.

Thousands of people who bought tickets to ring in the new year at the western Sydney theme park were let down at the last minute when the organisers, One Cube Entertainment, cancelled the event six hours beforehand, citing technical issues.

After announcing the cancellation on Facebook, One Cube Entertainment promised an "even better" festival would take place on Australia Day.

However, Wet 'n' Wild owners, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, on Friday said that event would not go ahead.

Ticket-holders are being refunded, with One Cube Entertainment working with promoters to ensure they are processed as quickly as possible.

Village Roadshow Theme Parks spokesman Darrin Davies said they were extremely disappointed at the cancellation.

He could not comment on media reports One Cube Entertainment was vastly inexperienced for such an event, having been set up four months ago.

"We entered into a commercial agreement with them to hire a venue and that's all it was," Mr Davies told AAP on Friday.

"From our point of view we are not currently entertaining more requests for hiring the venue."

Mr Davies said the decision was not linked directly to the New Year's Eve incident.

"We've had this event cancelled and we're focusing now on what we do best, which is running a theme park," he said.

Annual music festival the Big Day Out takes place in Sydney on Australia Day, which also played a role in the decision not to host the festival, he added.

Mr Davies said while the park had no current booking requests, it would take any on their merits.

About 8700 people bought tickets for the event, described by One Cube Entertainment as a "world first", "new and fresh" way for Sydneysiders to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe assured all ticket holders they would receive full refunds.

Mr Davies said Village Roadshow Theme Parks returned the hiring fee to One Cube Entertainment on the grounds that refunds would take place.

The Fair Trading hotline is 1800 213 428.

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NSW nursing home resident found safe

Police are concerned about a 63-year-old man who was last seen at a Sydney aged care home on Sunday. Source: AAP

A 63-YEAR-OLD man who went missing in Sydney's inner west for five days has come home.

Police had appealed for help finding Reginald Bates, last seen leaving an aged care home on Albert Street, Campsie, on Sunday.

But about 8pm (AEDT) on Friday he returned to the nursing home safe and well, police said.

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Briton, New Zealander shot dead in Libya

LIBYAN troops have found the bodies of a British man and a New Zealand woman shot dead southwest of Tripoli, a security source says.

"The bodies of a British man and a New Zealand woman who had been killed by bullets were found on the beach in Mellitah on Thursday afternoon," the source told AFP on Friday.

The bodies had been moved to Tripoli, the source added, without giving any details on the circumstances of the deaths.

"We are aware of the tragic death of a British national in Libya and we stand ready to provide consular assistance," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office told AFP on Friday.

New Zealand's foreign ministry said it was aware of the report and was "working with the relevant authorities to confirm this".

It added that "the bodies have not yet been formally identified and the next of kin have not yet been informed".

The Mellitah area houses a major gas complex run by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint enterprise of Italy's ENI and Libya's state-owned National Oil Company, which exports natural gas to Italy through the Greenstream pipeline.

Libya has seen growing unrest following the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country is awash in weapons looted from the slain dictator's arsenals, and many former rebel brigades have refused to disarm or join the new security forces.

Last month a young American teacher was gunned down while on his morning jog in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 revolt which has since seen scores of attacks on security forces and foreign missions.

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Nurses to join medicare protest in Sydney

Nurses and midwives are to join a protest in Sydney against proposed changes to Medicare. Source: AAP

NURSES and midwives are to join a protest in Sydney against proposed changes to Medicare.

Acting General Secretary of the NSW Nurses' and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA), Judith Kiejda, says nurses will turn out in numbers to a rally in defence of Medicare at the Sydney Town Hall at 1pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

A National Commission of Audit in late December received a proposal for a co-payment scheme for GP consultations.

Doctor groups and political parties have criticised such a move, claiming it would destroy Medicare and limit access to GPs for some community groups.

"Wage and salary earners pay the Medicare levy to make that possible - so anyone can get treatment whether they are rich or poor," Ms Kiejda said in a statement.

"Money should never be a barrier to medical care in Australia."

Ms Kiejda likened the move to the Howard government's unpopular Workchoices legislation.

"That cost them the very next election," she said.

"An attack on Medicare, forcing pensioners and everyone else to pay to see a doctor when they have already paid a levy for years, that will have exactly the same result."

Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton said he would not comment on "speculation around what the Commission of Audit may or may not recommend".

"The commission's work is still being compiled and will be provided to the government in 2014," he said in a statement last week.

"The government will be able to consider any recommendations and respond after that time."

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European lending lags

NEW figures show that European banks are lending less to companies - another sign the continent's economic upswing remains less than robust.

The European Central Bank reported on Friday that loans to companies slipped by 3.1 per cent in November from a year earlier.

The drop was sharper than the previous month's 3.0 per cent.

Analysts say banks can be reluctant to lend given uncertain growth prospects that mean increased risk they won't be repaid.

Some companies, meanwhile, may not want to risk borrowing, and others don't need credit because they are sitting on adequate cash reserves - but don't yet see a reason to invest that cash in new production.

The economy of the euro currency union - a bloc that grew from 17 to 18 members in the new year with Latvia's accession - expanded by only 0.1 per cent in the third quarter last year, with unemployment at 12.1 per cent.

Governments' efforts to reduce debt by cutting spending and raising taxes have weighed on growth.

Analyst Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said the weak figures increased pressure on the ECB to add stimulus to the economy in the coming months.

He said the ECB could offer cheap, long-term loans to banks on the condition the money is used for lending.

Analyst Michael Schubert at Commerzbank said that providing such loans could be complex, noting some ECB officials have expressed concern about interfering in banks' market-based decision-making.

Those considerations "suggest that for now the ECB council will remain in wait-and-see mode", he said in a note to investors.

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