US position on Japan island dispute a 'bet

VEILED US warnings to Beijing not to challenge Japan's control of disputed islands encouraged Tokyo's "dangerously right-leaning" government and "betrayed" Washington's vow of neutrality, Chinese state media has reported.

The comments came as Japan's coastguard said three Chinese government ships had entered Japanese territorial waters around the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said the area around the islands in the East China Sea was under Japan's control and therefore protected under a US security treaty with Tokyo.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, and without mentioning Beijing directly, she said the US opposed "any unilateral actions" to undermine Japanese authority over the islands.

But in a commentary piece, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua criticised Washington's position, saying it "cast doubts on (US) credibility as a responsible power in the region".

It was "unwise" for Washington "to throw support behind Japan in Tokyo's islands dispute with Beijing", Xinhua said, adding: "This unbalanced position has betrayed its declared intention to stay neutral on the issue."

The US proposal for "tighter military alliance with Japan will only encourage Tokyo's dangerously right-leaning tendency", Xinhua said.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted by the agency as saying that Beijing "has always advocated to resolve issues between relevant countries through bilateral dialogue and by peaceful means".

Three Chinese government surveillance vessels sailed in waters around the disputed islands on Saturday for nearly five hours but had all left Japanese waters by 1.52 pm (1552 AEDT), the Japan coastguard said.

China has repeatedly sailed into the waters since Japan nationalised the chain in September, a move that triggered anger and demonstrations in China.

The United States insists it is neutral on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands.

"We want to see China and Japan resolve this matter peacefully through dialogue," Clinton said on Friday.

"We do not want to see any action taken by anyone that could raise tensions or result in miscalculation that would undermine the peace, security and economic growth in this region."

China has persistently criticised the US position and the sending of maritime surveillance ships to the potentially gas-rich area is seen by experts as a way to contest the notion that Japan holds effective control.

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Record high radiation level found in fish

A FISH contaminated with radiation levels more than 2500 times the legal limit has been caught near Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, its operator says.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said caesium equivalent to 254,000 becquerels per kilogram - or 2540 times more than the government seafood limit - was detected in a "murasoi" fish.

The fish, similar to rockfish, was caught at a port inside the Fukushima plant, a TEPCO spokesman said.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was battered by a towering tsunami following a huge earthquake on March 11, 2011, causing reactor meltdowns which spewed radioactive contamination into the atmosphere.

Fishing around Fukushima was halted and the government banned beef, milk, mushrooms and vegetables from being produced in surrounding areas.

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India tightens surrogacy laws

INDIA has issued new rules barring foreign gay couples and single people from using surrogate mothers to become parents, according to a notice on the home ministry website.

Commercial surrogacy is a booming industry in India and in recent years the ranks of childless foreign couples have been swelled by gay partners and single people looking for a low-cost, legally easy route to parenthood.

The rules, circulated to Indian embassies late last year, say foreign couples seeking to enter into a surrogacy arrangement in India must be a "man and women (who) are duly married and the marriage should be sustained at least two years".

The directive adds the visa application must also state whether the couple's home country recognises surrogacy and give an assurance that the country will permit the entry of the child born from an Indian surrogate.

There have been several publicised cases of babies born out of cross-border surrogacy in recent years who have been trapped in citizenship limbo because their parents' countries refused to grant them passports.

Applicants seeking a surrogacy arrangement must also apply for a medical visa instead of a tourist visa, according to the rules posted on the home affairs ministry website.

"Entering into surrogacy arrangement under any other visa not sought for surrogacy is punishable under the Indian law," added a notice on the websites of Indian consulates abroad.

The changes were not publicly highlighted and only came to light in the Indian media on Friday. While the rules were drawn up last year, they were circulated to Indian missions abroad late in the year.

In recent years, India has become a popular destination for gay couples seeking children even though it remains a largely conservative country and only decriminalised consensual sex between homosexuals in 2011.

Accurate estimates of the turnover generated by surrogacy services are almost impossible to come by, but doctors and experts agree demand is growing rapidly.

The new visa rules come as draft legislation to regulate the industry has yet to be passed by parliament.

Critics have said lack of legislation governing surrogacy encourages "rent-a-womb" exploitation of young, poor Indian women.

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UN bracing for surge in displaced people

SOME 700,000 more Malians are expected to be displaced by the new wave of fighting in the restive country in the coming months, the UN refugee agency says.

"We believe that in the near future there could be up to 300,000 people additionally displaced inside Mali, and over 400,000 additionally displaced in the neighbouring countries," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Those numbers came in addition to the existing 229,000 people already displaced inside the country and 147,000 refugees already in neighbouring nations, she said.

France launched an assault on January 11 to help the Malian army stop the advance of Islamist rebels who have been occupying northern Mali since April.

Since then the numbers of displaced people had been rising steadily, Fleming said, adding that her agency was urgently reinforcing its staff in and around the country to handle the situation.

Since the fighting and airstrikes began, 2744 Malian refugees had fled the country, with 1,411 entering Mauritania, 848 going to Burkina Faso and 485 arriving in Niger.

Many more are unable to leave Mali due to the high costs, Fleming said, pointing out that taking public transportation to Burkina Faso, for instance, cost around $US50 ($A47.64) - "for many equivalent to more than a month's earnings."

Even though the Malian army announced progress in fighting back the Islamist rebels' advance beyond their stronghold in the north, Fleming said it seemed unlikely the number of people uprooted by the conflict would subside any time soon.

"Nobody thinks this is going to be over tomorrow," she said, pointing to pre-existing differences and reports of growing ethnic tensions in the country.

It was important to secure funding and a plan for the expected surge in displaced Malians, she told AFP, although she acknowledged the numbers could turn out to be smaller and the displacement for many might be brief.

"We've been hearing horrific accounts" from refugees, she said, pointing out many had reported seeing Islamists impose strict Sharia punishments like executions and amputations.

The UN human rights office also listed a long line of abuses in the country dating back to the first fighting a year ago, including stonings, amputations, widespread rape and forced marriages of girls as young as 12 to Islamist rebels.

Children as young as 10 were being used as soldiers by extremist groups, OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters, citing details from a recent report.

The UN's World Food Program meanwhile said on Friday that its distribution of food aid in northern Mali was still suspended because of a lack of security, but that it was managing to get aid to the capital Bamako.

Some 1.8 million people live in the affected northern areas and that a third of them are already "food-insecure".

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Swan warns against 'endless pessimism'

FEDERAL Treasurer Wayne Swan is determined to have a "positive debate" about the economy in the 2013 election year.

Mr Swan will tell a financial services forum in New York on Saturday (AEDT) that "endless pessimism" is a risk to the global recovery, "just as it weighs on business and consumer sentiment in Australia's economy".

"I am determined to have a positive debate in Australia in 2013 about how we lock in the gains we've made in the last five years, and set our economy and our community up for the next five years," the treasurer says, adding "the future of our region is remarkably bright".

Mr Swan's vow comes after the government and opposition appeared to blame each other for weak jobs data released on Thursday.

Acting Employment Minister Kate Ellis took the chance to score a political point by blaming the rise in the national unemployment rate on Queensland's conservative government, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott linked the numbers to Labor's decision to back away from a budget surplus in 2012/13.

Mr Swan says turbulence in the world economy during the second half of 2012 forced Australia to write down in just four months the revenue losses it had expected over a full year.

Despite this, the government is still delivering one of the biggest fiscal consolidations in Australia's history.

"We'll continue our fiscal discipline despite the big revenue write-downs which have made a surplus unlikely this year," the treasurer says.

While the government's previously promised surplus is not likely to eventuate in 2012/13, the budget outcome will have "no bearing at all on our determination to make room for our medium-term priorities like the Gonski education reforms and the National Disability Insurance Scheme", Mr Swan says.

He reiterates that "savage cuts" to public spending would be detrimental to the economy.

"We'll keep doing what's right for our economy, protecting the jobs and livelihoods of the most vulnerable in our community, while making room for our priorities and investing for the nation's future," Mr Swan says.

The government plans to make a "thorough assessment" of its budget in early 2013, "methodically working through the facts to ensure we continue to manage the economy responsibly and support employment".

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'Very, very challenging' fire day in NSW

TWO properties have been destroyed, a property owner hospitalised and several firefighters have collapsed after a "very, very challenging" day of bushfires in NSW.

Despite plummeting temperatures bringing a cool change across the state on Friday night, firefighters were warning the battle against the blazes is far from over.

The number of total fires burning in NSW rose to 120 on Friday after a day of intense heat and gusts of up to 90km/h fanned the flames of existing fires and sparked new blazes.

Twenty-six of those were uncontained as of 11pm (AEDT) on Friday.

"It's been a really, really challenging day for firefighters across the state," an RFS spokeswoman told AAP.

"It didn't get into catastrophic, but it was up at the high end of extreme in a number of places.

"And while the cool change will certainly provide some relief, we've got many large bushfires burning that are not going to be wrapped up just because the temperatures drop."

Disaster struck in the Bega Valley on Friday evening after a new bushfire west of Merimbula destroyed two properties and two sheds in the Millingandi area.

It brings to 53 the number of properties destroyed in the devastating NSW fires this year.

That fire crossed the Princes Highway on Friday afternoon and was threatening more properties between Wolumla and Millingandi, with firefighters working desperately thorough the night to contain it, the RFS said.

At Nowra, a rural property owner was taken to hospital after an "erratic" fire at Barringella Creek swept through a farm and destroyed a shed on the town's outskirts.

The bushfire, burning 12km southwest of Nowra, was downgraded to 'watch and act' on Friday, but there were still concerns some properties could be at risk if the wind changed.

Temperatures across the state were well into the 40s, sparking a number of blazes, including a fast moving grassfire at Boorowa, east of Young.

Fears the town of 1000 people would come under threat were assuaged when the fire line closest to it was contained.

However, it then changed direction and was threatening properties at Douglas Gap and Campbellfields roads.

In Sydney, which recorded its hottest-ever temperature of 45.8C, a fire broke out in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, sending smoke and burning embers across the northern suburbs.

Firefighters were expected to work through the night to protect properties in the area.

Meanwhile, fires in Campbelltown and Marsden Park in the west were contained relatively quickly.

The state's most damaging blaze in the Warrumbungle National Park west of Coonabarabran continued unabated throughout the day, with more than 170 firefighters battling the 46,000-hectare fire.

Also of concern was a fire started by a torched car near Cessnock, in the Hunter region, which caused the evacuation of some residents.

Rain brought some relief to conditions there on Friday night, but it also put paid to firefighters' backburning efforts.

A number of firefighters collapsed as they worked to protect homes from blazes in "furnace-like" conditions.

"We're having fires popping up all over the state," Rural Fire Service (RFS) Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

"We've had a number of firefighters collapse with heat exhaustion.

"It's been incredibly hot for them."

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) was predicting a cool change for much of NSW over the weekend, bringing much lower temperatures and a strong chance of rain.

"It's going to bring the fire danger ratings right down," a BoM spokesman said.

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Melbourne grassfire deemed suspicious

A GRASSFIRE that burnt through 10 hectares of land and threatened homes in the outer Melbourne suburb of Pakenham is being treated as suspicious, police say.

The CFA issued an emergency warning for Pakenham and Pakenham Upper as the blaze put homes in the area under direct threat on Thursday afternoon.

Residents near Army Road and Reynolds Road were told to implement their fire plans before the blaze was contained later on Thursday.

Police say they are investigating the blaze and are treating it as suspicious.

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Granville anniversary sparks funding call

ON the 36th anniversary of the Granville rail disaster, the rail workers' union is calling on the NSW government to reverse the underfunding of rail maintenance.

A ceremony will be held at Granville town hall on Friday to mark the anniversary of Australia's worst rail disaster, which left 83 dead.

The Sydney-bound train from Mount Victoria derailed and crashed into the Bold Street overpass at Granville in Sydney's west, on January 18, 1977.

Eighty-three people were killed and over 210 were injured after the bridge collapsed and crushed two passenger carriages.

A report into the crash concluded "derailment of some vehicle was almost inevitable so long as the poor condition of the track remained uncorrected".

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) national secretary, Bob Nanva, on Friday said the lessons of Granville must never be forgotten.

"The Granville rail disaster will live in our memories forever," Mr Nanva said in a statement.

"We must ensure we never see another disaster on the same scale."

Mr Nanva referred to media reports that RailCorp senior executives warned the state government that continued cuts to maintenance funding would jeopardise the safety of the network.

Despite the warning, maintenance funding was cut in real terms in the first year of the O'Farrell government, he said.

"The anniversary of Granville is an appropriate moment for all of us to pause and commemorate the lives of the rail workers and commuters who died," Mr Nanva said.

"It is also an opportunity for the state government to reverse the underfunding of rail maintenance that we have seen in the last few years."

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Road rage may have sparked shooting

A MAN has been shot in a car park after an altercation with another man which may have been sparked by a road rage incident.

Paramedics were called to a supermarket car park on High Street, Lalor, in Melbourne's north, around 10pm (AEDT) where a 30-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.

Police were told the the man had been standing in the car park when he was approached by another man driving a black BMW and who produced a firearm and shot him after an argument.

The wounded man was taken to the Northern Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Investigators want to talk to anyone who may have seen a black BMW driving erratically or involved in a road rage incident prior to the shooting.

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TV campaign to tackle sugary drinks

HEALTH organisations are trying to take the fizz out of Australians' love of soft drinks.

Along with the launch of a new TV campaign to warn of the dangers of sugary beverages, they've also proposed a tax on drinks with high sugar levels.

The campaign, Rethink Sugary Drink, launched on Thursday, will encourage Australians to give up the soft drink habit and switch to water and reduced-fat milk.

The TV ad, borrowed from a similar New York campaign, is part of a call to action by the Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation to stem obesity rates.

They have called for a government tax on sugary drinks and asked schools and non-government organisations to limit their sale and availability.

Cancer Council Australia public health committee chair Craig Sinclair said a regular 600ml soft drink contains about 16 packs of sugar.

"Soft drinks seem innocuous and consumed occasionally they're fine, but soft drink companies have made it so they're seen as part of an everyday diet," Mr Sinclair said in a statement.

"They're often cheaper than bottled water and are advertised relentlessly to teenagers."

Sugary drinks including energy, fruit and sports drinks can cause weight gain and obesity, which are risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, the groups say.

"They're being consumed at levels that can lead to serious health issues for the population," said Mr Sinclair.

In additions to taxes, the group also recommends restricting the sale and marketing of sugary drinks to children at schools and limiting their availability in workplaces and public places.

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