Kerry presses China over N Korea crisis

US Secretary of State John Kerry says North Korea's rhetoric is "unacceptable by any standards." Source: AAP

THE world is facing a "critical time", top US diplomat John Kerry has told China's President Xi Jinping, citing tensions on the Korean peninsula, Iran's nuclear program and the conflict in Syria.

"Mr President, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues," Kerry told Xi in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday.

"Issues on the Korean peninsula, the challenge of Iran and nuclear weapons, Syria and the Middle East, and economies around the world that are in need of a boost."

Kerry arrived from South Korea earlier to press Beijing to help defuse soaring nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula ahead of an expected missile launch by the North, which conducted a nuclear test in February and a rocket test last December.

Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally and its key provider of aid and trade, and is seen as having unique leverage over the government of Kim Jong-Un, which has issued repeated threats of nuclear war.

But Xi did not refer to the Korean peninsula or other issues raised by Kerry in his opening remarks at the meeting, instead saying that the US-China relationship was "at a new historical stage and has got off to a good start".

China and the US are both members of the P5+1 nations - the five veto-wielding permanent UN Security Council members and Germany - pressing Iran to give up its what they see as its ambitions to develop nuclear weapons.

The world powers suspect Tehran of developing a covert program aimed at having the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran denies this and says its work is being conducted for energy and medical purposes.

China, however, is a key trade partner for the Middle Eastern country and has spoken out against US and European Union sanctions targeting its oil exports.

Washington and Beijing have also been at odds over the conflict in Syria.

China, along with Russia, has vetoed UN Security Council resolutions to introduce sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria as a two-year conflict has ravaged the country.

As the world's two biggest economies the US and China are major trade partners, while China is the single biggest buyer of US Treasuries.

But the relationship is also characterised by trade disputes and other tensions, most recently regarding allegations of computer hacking.

A report in February from US security firm Mandiant said a unit of China's People's Liberation Army had stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 companies, government agencies and other organisations, mostly based in the US.

Beijing has steadfastly denied the allegations and says it is itself a regular victim of cyberattacks.

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Snorkeller dies at Sydney beach

A snorkeller has died after getting into difficulty at Maroubra Beach, police say. Source: AAP

A SNORKELLER has died after getting into difficulty at Maroubra Beach.

The man was at snorkelling at the beach on Saturday afternoon and had to be pulled out of the water, say police.

He died shortly after arriving at hospital and is yet to be formally identified.

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Bomb blast on bus kills nine in Pakistan

A BOMB has exploded on a bus in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least nine people and wounding seven others.

"At least nine passengers have been killed and seven injured. Bomb disposal officials told me that it was a timed device," Fazal Wahid, a senior police official, told AFP on Saturday.

Shafi Ullah Khan, another police official, confirmed the attack which occurred as the was bus passing through the city's Matani suburb.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which came hours after militants blew up the election office of an independent candidate in the same region, adding to security fears ahead of historic national polls next month.

A recent wave of terror attacks has fuelled concerns that violence will mar general elections on May 11, which will mark the country's first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has served a full term in office.

Pakistan says more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

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Pell appointed to Pope advisory group

Archbishop of Sydney George Pell has been appointed by Pope Francis to a permanent advisory group. Source: AAP

VATICAN CITY/SYDNEY April 13 AP/AAP - Archbishop of Sydney George Pell has been appointed by Pope Francis to a permanent advisory group to help him run the Catholic Church and study a reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

Cardinal Pell is one of eight cardinals and one monsignor - the others are from Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia - who have been appointed to the group.

The panel is a clear indication that Francis wants to reflect the universal nature of the church in its governance and core decision-making, particularly given the church is growing and counts most of the world's Catholics in the southern hemisphere.

In the run-up to the conclave that elected Francis pope one month ago, a reform of the Vatican bureaucracy was a constant drumbeat, as were calls to make the Vatican itself more responsive to the needs of bishops around the world.

Including representatives from each continent in a permanent advisory panel to the pope would seem to go a long way toward answering those calls.

In its bombshell announcement on Saturday, the Vatican said that Francis got the idea to form the advisory body from the pre-conclave meetings.

"He has formed a group of cardinals to advise him in the governing of the universal church and to study a revision of the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman Curia," the statement said.

Pope John Paul II issued Pastor Bonus in 1988, and it functions effectively as the blueprint for the administration of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, meting out the work and jurisdictions of the congregations, pontifical councils and other offices that make up the governance of the Catholic Church, known as the Roman Curia.

Pastor Bonus itself was a revision of the 1967 document that marked the last major reform of the Vatican bureaucracy undertaken by Pope Paul VI.

A reform of the Vatican bureaucracy has been demanded for decades, given both John Paul and Benedict XVI essentially neglected in-house administration of the Holy See in favour of other priorities.

But the calls for change grew deafening last year after the leaks of papal documents exposed petty turf battles within the Vatican bureaucracy, allegations of corruption in the running of the Vatican city state and even a purported plot by senior Vatican officials to out a prominent Catholic as gay.

Francis' advisory group will meet in its inaugural session October 1-3, the Vatican said in a statement.

Cardinal Pell, aged 71, is the eighth Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001.

The non-Vatican officials, apart from Cardinal Pell, include cardinals Francisco Javier Errzuriz Ossa, the retired archbishop of Santiago, Chile; Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; Sean Patrick O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston; and Oscar Andrs Rodrguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Monsignor Marcello Semeraro, bishop of Albano, will be secretary.

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Suu Kyi arrives in Japan after 27 years

Myanmar's democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Japan after 27 years. Source: AAP

MYANMAR'S (Burma's) democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Japan, her first visit to the country where she spent time as a university researcher nearly three decades ago.

A group of well-wishers including Burmese gathered at Tokyo's Narita airport to greet Suu Kyi, now her country's opposition leader, but were denied the chance to meet her as she left through a backdoor.

"I respect her like my mother," one of Burmese women said in an interview with public broadcaster NHK.

"I want to tell her that I support her strongly."

During her six-day trip, the Nobel laureate is expected to have meetings with some of the approximately 10,000 Burmese who live in Japan, as well as with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

It is Suu Kyi's first visit to Japan since spending time as a researcher at Kyoto University in 1985-86.

But a leader of about 200 of Myanmar's Muslim minority Rohingya in Japan has expressed disappointment after being told his community was not wanted at events welcoming Suu Kyi.

The Rohingya have been described by the UN as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.

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Sydney man charged over child porn

A MAN allegedly caught filming up the skirt of a young girl at Sydney train station has been charged after police found child pornography on his mobile phone.

The 35-year-old man was arrested at Sutherland train station about 10am (AEST) Friday when officers found "a number of child abuse and up-skirting images" on his mobile, police said.

His Sutherland home was raided shortly after with police seizing CDs, DVDs, recording devices, computers, an iPad, two mobile phones and a small amount of steroids.

He was charged with producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material, filming a person's private parts without consent and possessing a prescribed restricted substance.

Conditional bail was granted and he's due before Sutherland Local Court on May 2.

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South African cop filmed beating woman

SOUTH Africa's under-fire police force faced a fresh scandal after footage emerged of an off-duty officer hitting and kicking an unarmed woman.

The security footage, broadcast by the eNCA television channel, shows the man striking the woman to the ground on a petrol station forecourt before launching a sustained assault.

Two uniformed officers are also filmed at the scene, making modest, and ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to restrain their colleague.

But the solidly built man strikes again and chases the woman, kicking her.

As she falls to the ground he stamps on her head.

The two uniformed officers allow the man to leave the scene without arrest.

The assault on the woman was filmed at a gas station on April 5 shortly after 9:00pm local time.

The man was identified as a warrant officer in Smithfield, a small town in the Free State province.

He was in civilian clothes and arrived at the station in a sedan car.

The incident is being probed by the country's police watchdog.

"We are investigating it," Moses Dlamini, spokesman for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate told AFP.

It is the latest incident of South African police brutality captured on film.

In February explosive footage emerged of a Mozambican migrant taxi driver being dragged down a road while handcuffed behind a police van.

He later died in police custody.

Last year, police shot dead 34 striking platinum mine workers, with some of the deaths caught on camera.

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Eurozone approves Cyprus bailout terms

Large bank depositors in Cyprus are facing more cuts as the cost of the EU-IMP bailout increased. Source: AAP

EUROZONE finance ministers have formally approved the terms of a Cyprus debt bailout, after some confusion, saying it could now go ahead once cleared by national parliaments.

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the 17-nation Eurogroup, said the ministers "welcomed the staff level agreement achieved between Cyprus" and its international creditors, with the terms "fully in line with" a March 25 accord.

Earlier Friday, it had appeared that Cyprus wanted additional aid after the overall bailout cost increased to 23 billion euros ($A29 billion) from the 17 billion euros ($A21 billion) agreed last month.

Cypriot officials clarified that Nicosia was instead hoping to get other funding from the European Commission, such as in grants for infrastructure or other projects so as to support a besieged economy expected to shrink by 12.5 per cent - or even 15 per cent - in the next two years.

Under last month's accord, Cyprus had to cough up 7 billion euros and its creditors - the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - 10 billion euros.

However, because the economy is now expected to fare so badly, another 6 billion euros will be needed which Cyprus aims to find via an even more radical and painful restructuring of its bloated banking sector.

A Eurogroup statement said the approved bailout "is fully in line with the parameters and key objectives" agreed with Nicosia last month.

The Eurogroup noted with satisfaction moves to "address the fragile and unique situation of Cyprus' financial sector," while the overall agreement should allow the economy to "return to a sustainable path," it said.

The first aid payment should thus be possible in May, it added.

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Five die after asylum-seeker boat sinks

AT least five asylum seekers are believed to have drowned after their boat sank in the Sunda Strait while on the way from Indonesia to Australia.

Details of the tragedy emerged after authorities in Indonesia spent the day scrambling for information following reports that an asylum seeker vessel had sunk earlier on Friday.

But Habibullah Hashimi, one of 14 men plucked from the water by fishermen off the coast of Sukabumi in West Java, has told AAP that he was on a boat that sank on Wednesday morning.

The 29-year-old confirmed that at least five other passengers had drowned, adding that he had been in the water for about 24 hours before help finally came.

There were 72 people aboard the vessel, he said.

All were ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan.

"The ship just broke," Mr Hashimi said.

"We saw about five people dead. They were in the water."

Mr Hashimi's group had linked arms as they struggled to survive.

"The sea kept moving us around," he said.

Mr Hashimi, who was recuperating in Bogor, about two hours drive from Jakarta, said that the boat he was on sank at about 11am local time (2pm AEST) on Wednesday, about nine hours after setting off for Christmas Island.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) had earlier reported having received information that a boat may have sunk in the Sunda Strait at about midnight (3am AEST) on Friday.

"Some passengers may have been rescued by a fishing vessel," an AMSA spokeswoman said.

The information was in turn passed on to the Indonesian national search and rescue agency BASARNAS.

But BASARNAS was unable to locate the area where the incident was believed to have occurred, prompting a scramble for information.

Provincial search and rescue offices in Jakarta and Lampung on the island of Sumatra also had little idea of what had happened, or where to look for survivors.

"We don't have the coordinates for the area where we could search. Do you have that information? Please share it with us," an officer with the Jakarta search and rescue office said when contacted by AAP.

"We only received information from BASARNAS that it's in the south of Sunda Strait and they've been rescued by local fishermen. But where is it? We're now contacting local ports and others if they have such information."

Indonesian authorities on Friday evening had not yet dispatched any helicopters or search and rescue vessels to look for survivors.

In August last year, BASARNAS was criticised over their response to the sinking of an asylum seeker vessel in the same patch of water.

More than 100 asylum seekers drowned on that occasion but it was later revealed that an aerial search was not launched until six hours after the vessel first made a distress call.

It was almost 24 hours before the first survivors were pulled from the water.

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First womb transplant woman is pregnant

THE first woman ever to receive a uterus from a deceased donor, is two-weeks pregnant following a successful embryo transplant, her doctors say.

Twenty-two-year-old Derya Sert was revealed to be almost two-weeks pregnant in preliminary results after in vitro fertilisation at Akdeniz University Hospital in Turkey's southern province of Antalya, her doctor Mustafa Unal said in a written statement.

"She is doing just fine at the moment," Unal said.

Sert was described as a "medical miracle" when she became the first woman in the world to have a successful womb transplant from a dead donor in August 2011 at the same Antalya hospital.

The groundbreaking news of her pregnancy will rekindle hopes for thousands of childless women across the world who are unable to bear their own babies.

Sert was born without a uterus, like one in every 5,000 women around the world, and her doctors waited 18 months before implanting the embryo to make sure the foreign organ was still functioning.

Hers was the second womb transplant to be performed in the world, the first being in Saudi Arabia in 2000 from a living donor, which failed after 99 days due to heavy clotting. Doctors had to remove the organ.

The baby is expected to be delivered via C-section and the uterus to be removed from Sert in the months following the birth to avoid further complications and the risk of rejection.

The young woman had started to menstruate after the transplant, which her doctors had said was an important signal that the womb was functional.

Experts however warn the pregnancy carries several health risks to the patient as well as to the baby, including birth defects due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs as well as preterm delivery.

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