Millions missing in sport club fraud

Sporting clubs in Queensland are losing millions of dollars to fraud, with police investigating several cases. PIC: Mark Calleja Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

SPORTING groups across Queensland are losing millions of dollars in fraud and financial mismanagement.

As tens of thousands of junior players sign on this weekend for the next season of league, rugby, soccer, AFL and netball, senior police are warning that tough economic times make clubs tempting targets for fraudsters.

And an expert in policies and procedures for sporting and community organisations says fraud and financial mismanagement is rife.

Detectives are investigating several cases in Queensland, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The biggest include the Emerald Junior Soccer Association in central Queensland and the Western District Netball Association in Brisbane.

Police confirmed that a 31-year-old woman was charged on Monday with stealing $177,385 from the Soccer Association and would appear in the Emerald Magistrates Court on March 12.

Barry Morssinkhof, president of the Western District Netball Association, confirmed police had been called in to investigate "an alleged fraud".

The Sunday Mail understands up to $250,000 is involved in the complaint.

Meanwhile, Brisbane City Council is negotiating with Cannon Hill Netball Association over the repayment of a $38,000 grant for court repairs that were not done.

President Vicki Raine said the incoming committee called in police to investigate finance concerns two years ago but no charges resulted.

And Wynnum "Bugs" rugby club on Brisbane's bayside has revamped its financial mechanisms after the disappearance of $95,000 two seasons ago.

Police inquiries ended when a former club official died.

Queensland Police fraud and corporate crime group head Detective Superintendent Brian Hay could not comment on specific cases but said a shortage of volunteers for committee roles, combined with a lack of skills and proper management and auditing mechanisms could leave groups perfect prey.

He said the risk rose in times like this.

"When you have significant economic stress, people sometimes take desperate actions . . . Someone might seem such a lovely person that you could never imagine them doing something like that. But fraudsters are called conmen for a reason - they can be skilled communicators and very personable and win your confidence."

He urged all non-profit groups to tighten financial controls.

"Don't worry about hurting someone's feelings that you are going to have their books audited. All organisations should have good due-diligence procedures and people in those roles should welcome those processes."

Vicky Roofayel, director of RSC Solutions which provides consultancy and training to non-profit groups, said: "There's no doubt there is fraud in sports and community organisations. Some clubs have been badly burnt. I've been doing this for close on 29 years and I've done a lot of crisis management in the last five years. Clubs are seriously struggling. I know of a club ripped off twice, eight years apart, in north Queensland."

Ms Roofayel said some fraud was planned but "in some cases they are just doing what they think they're entitled to. They can't afford the extra costs involved in the role - phone bills, petrol and so on - and recompense themselves".

But she said 99 per cent of club problems were mismanagement caused by a lack of skill and controls.

Books were sometimes in such a mess it was impossible to work out if money had been stolen. "One organisation is $280,000 in the red - no-one even knows if there is fraud involved."

She said "0.01 per cent" of organisations had good selection processes for appointing volunteers and more should look at buying in such services.

"They are lucky to get three people to go on a committee, let alone finding someone with the right skills.

"Committees are elected by popular vote - if you are the only applicant the club has, the club has to take you unless you have a criminal background and clubs usually would not know that."

Wynnum Bugs president Damien Cleary said the sense of betrayal created by allegations of theft from within was a big blow for any club, but they could get through it with a loyal membership.

"It's been a roller-coaster ride. There was a lot of anger at the start and then there was suspicion but we've been able to rebuild.

"The big lesson is to have a good strong committee and we were lucky to get (financial) help from a member. Lots of financial procedures have been improved to ensure we do not go through this again."

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$20m fraudster had everyone fooled

Damian O'Carrigan's double life was a complete shock to his wife Julie. Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

DAMIAN O'Carrigan was outwardly a devoted husband, father and a trusted manager with one of the nation's biggest firms.

He had also siphoned $20 million from his employer over more than a decade, while having secret affairs and building his own property and racing empire.

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Speaking about the incredible double life for the first time, the wife of the knockabout finance manager this week lifted the lid on one of the state's biggest frauds.

"You've got to remember that my husband was my hero," Julie O'Carrigan told The Sunday Mail, insisting she had no knowledge of the crimes.

"I knew him like the back of my hand. When this first broke I thought you've got to be joking, you've all made a tremendous mistake."

His wife also said O'Carrigan:

Former Leighton manager Damian O'Carrigan with former Queensland premier Peter Beattie. Pic SUPPLIED

ADMITTED he had several affairs.

LAVISHED gifts on at least one former lover and friends.

USED a "sugar daddies" dating website to meet young women.

Mrs O'Carrigan said the family was now paying the price after the unravelling of his years of deception.

She said she faced being left penniless after her husband's arrest and will be forced to apply for public housing and a disability pension.

She said the bank had threatened to foreclose on her west Brisbane home and other properties and she had until March 4 to pay.

Auctioneers scoured her home looking for oil paintings and expensive jewellery but found only animal prints and a few gifts to his wife over the years.

She said she was not involved in paying bills and had no knowledge of the number of O'Carrigan's assets.

Barred from her husband's home office before his arrest, Mrs O'Carrigan has since been through his paperwork and found transaction histories that took her breath away.

"I had never seen so many noughts in all my life. Then they would disappear," she said.

Hidden in the study, which includes a pinball machine and jukebox, Mrs O'Carrigan also found receipts for a diamond necklace and silver earrings that were not hers.

Then this week four boxes of O'Carrigan's belongings arrived from his employer Leighton including statements from several linked credit cards she didn't know existed.

In the month before O'Carrigan's arrest, one card was used by a third party to withdraw thousands of dollars and pay for a gym membership, groceries and animal supplies.

On O'Carrigan's iPad, his wife found he was using the website sugardaddies.com which he said was just talk and a bit of fun.

"I said 'who else is there mate'? He said 'there's been a few'."

In a shockingly simple fraud, O'Carrigan apparently created fake invoices for Leighton from entity Acorn Cottage for services that were never provided.

Acorn Cottage was also the name of a Tasmanian farmhouse to which O'Carrigan and his wife planned to retire.

"Damian was going to leave Leighton and he was going to work down there with me," she said.

"We were going to grow herbs and our dogs were going to be raised in cold climates."

The move never happened, with O'Carrigan continuing the fraud despite stealing enough money to live the high life several times over.

O'Carrigan was a finance officer when the fraud started and progressed to finance and administration manager in 2006 with authority to approve payments of up to $5 million, signing off on his own faked invoices. He also used the money to help buy millions of dollars in properties and started breeding and training dozens of racehorses.

One horse has won more than $155,000 in prizemoney and another has won more than $35,000.

O'Carrigan did legal work in NSW before moving to Clermont in central Queensland to work with Leighton as a junior site clerk 30 years ago.

He worked from demountable bush buildings and lived in a caravan park with his wife and young daughter, their only child, before rising in the ranks.

"They used to say he had more orange blood (Leighton's corporate colour) than anyone," his wife said.

A justice of the peace, he rubbed shoulders with business and political chiefs in corporate boxes and at charity events.

He built a Harley Davidson from scratch and would go on charity motorbike runs to raise money for sick children and animals.

At the same time he was involved in relentless theft from his firm, signing off on almost 300 payments between May 2000 and October 2012.

In 2000, about the same time the fraud started, the O'Carrigans bought the acreage at Moggill and began building a new home.

O'Carrigan took his wife to Germany in the same year to buy german shepherds to bring home and breed.

When arrested, O'Carrigan owned in his name units at Auchenflower and Fortitude Valley.

Only O'Carrigan knows why he kept the fraud going for so long when he would likely never have been caught if he quit.

Leighton, which trades on the Australian Stock Exchange and is the world's largest contract miner, belatedly caught up with him when a cost-cutting team noticed unusual transactions last October.

When confronted by Leighton, O'Carrigan admitted to the fraud and was charged. In the quickest major criminal case legal observers can recall, he pleaded guilty in the District Court on November 23.

The fraud had been detected only weeks earlier and everyone, including his wife, was stunned at how swiftly it was all over.

"I had morning tea ready because I thought he was coming home on bail," she said.

"I am embarrassed, I am ashamed and I am disgusted. I am wearing the brunt of this.

"My husband has a roof over his head and he has three meals a day and he's not allowed to be upset by phone calls or harassed.

"Everyone thought because I'm Damian's wife that I was complicit in this and knew everything.

"I had to defend myself first against the general public, against solicitors and then against even my own family and friends.

"Damian is a very likeable man. There are a lot of people who still say it must be a mistake or a set-up. I have since learnt it is not a mistake."

The first she knew of the fraud allegations was when O'Carrigan came home on October 31, Halloween, and said he had been stood down.

He gave little away before seven police officers arrived at their Moggill home and arrested him.

Mrs O'Carrigan says her husband handled the finances and did not like to be questioned over how they were affording their lifestyle.

"I would say 'how are we doing' and he would say 'excellent'. I would always say let me know if there's a problem, if the horses are too much, if the bills are too much. You'd look at them and think that adds up to a bit of money. Then Damian would produce his bonus cheque of $25,000, his tax cheque of $37,000."

About three years ago her husband said he was earning $200,000 a year.

"For the hours, the time, the big company, the recognition, sitting in with board members, taking clients to different corporate boxes . . . no way in the world did it seem to me to be over the top."

david.murray@news.com.au

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Bates facing new pressure over register

EMBATTLED Newman Government Arts and IT Minister Ros Bates is facing fresh calls to quit after a lobbyist lunch was left off her official contact register.

Ms Bates' diary, released under Right to Information laws, has revealed she attended a lunch last year with a major lobbying firm and its clients with interests in the minister's portfolio areas.

However, the lunch was not recorded in Ms Bates' Contact with Lobbyists Register, including the updated version she was forced to release after admitting the initial copy was inadequate.

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The diary details were released to the Opposition on Tuesday last week, which coincides with Ms Bates' decision to sack her chief-of-staff Digby McLeay.

Ms Bates' spokeswoman confirmed the minister attended the lobbyist's lunch but insisted there was no reason to record it in the register.

"There was no lobbying at this event and therefore it wasn't applicable for the lobbyist register," she said.

Opposition arts spokeswoman Jackie Trad rejected the minister's claim and called on her to quit or be sacked.

"It is now up to the Premier to declare if he accepts such sloppy standards and explain why the minister is still in Cabinet with such a string of disasters behind her," she said.

"The Premier's first loyalty should be to Queenslanders and Queenslanders deserve better than Ros Bates."

The diary entry from August 7 shows the lunch at the exclusive Brisbane Club was organised by lobbying firm Barton Deakin with between 15 and 25 of the firm's "clients and friends" attending.

While the firms that attended are not known, the diary entry shows they had "expertise in IT, communications and innovation", all areas related to Ms Bates' responsibilities.

Former Liberal lord mayor of Brisbane Sallyanne Atkinson, a lobbyist with Barton Deakin, co-hosted the event.

While the latest version of Ms Bates' Contact with Lobbyists Register makes no mention of the lunch, contacts between the firm and the minister's office to organise her attendance were recorded, including an email checking on any dietary requirements.

The absence of the lunch from the official record is just the latest in a long line of issues that have beset Ms Bates.

The minister last year blamed an assistant for failing give her the complete contact register after initially tabling in Parliament an inaccurate version.

The meetings missing from the original version included three with with lobbyist and close factional friend, Santo Santoro.

Ms Bates has also been under fire for holidaying in Bali after taking extended sick leave, reading a copy-cat speech in Parliament and opening an elephant statue that she had previously lambasted.

Mr Newman last week defended Ms Bates, insisting the sacking of her chief of staff showed she was cleaning up her act.

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Dying sailor in desperate compo battle

Former sailor Kurt MacKenzie is fighting for compensation after he was accidentally gassed aboard a Navy vessel. Picture: Quinn Stuart Source: The Sunday Telegraph

A 44-YEAR-OLD former senior sailor has accused Defence of delaying his compensation claim as he battles against a slow and painful death.

Kurt MacKenzie was a fit 37-year-old member of the navy's elite "green team" training outfit when he was accidentally gassed with

lethal Hydrogen Sulphide

on board a poorly designed Armidale Class patrol boat off Darwin in August 2006.

After the gassing he was prematurely released from hospital and his treatment was so poor that he now has just 37 per cent lung capacity.

He also suffers from numerous other ailments, including curvature of the spine, narrowing of the oesophagus and post traumatic stress disorder. He is not eligible for a lung transplant.

Mr MacKenzie, who lives in Brisbane, is permanently on oxygen and will never work again.

He was earning $100,000-a-year at the time of his gassing and today is paid a pension of $1900-a-fortnight.

He has waited six-a-half years and doesn't want to finish up like Navy sailors from the HMAS Voyager disaster who had to wait 35 years for justice and compensation.

Mr MacKenzie has a Veterans gold health card so his health care is free, but the Navy and the government have refused to pay him compensation.

"All I want is to be able to pay my mortgage and protect my family," he said.

His wife Sue and his two sons have been provided compensation payments, but Mr MacKenzie has been told for years that his claim was "on the chief of navy's desk" or "on the minister's desk".

News Limited has discovered that it is actually in the hands of lawyers and bureaucrats in the Defence Legal Department.

Senior Navy officers are frustrated by the delay and the minister's office says it has not even seen a claim.

A former navy officer said authorities should make a decision so Mr MacKenzie could move on.

His father John MacKenzie describes his son's treatment as "disgusting". He said Kurt loved the navy and all he ever wanted as a boy was to go to sea with the senior service.

"We gave him to the navy as a healthy, A1 fit 17-year-old and we got him back a total wreck," he said.

"They are waiting for him to die but while ever I've got breath I will fight the bastards."

The MacKenzie family demanded a board of inquiry into the gassing incident, but the navy refused and produced two "secret" internal reports that have not been given to the family. The latest report was handed to Navy chief Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs in December.

In typical bureaucratic fashion Defence refused to say what, if any, recommendations defence legal would make to government on the MacKenzie claim and two other high-profile Navy compensation cases.

"As these applications are currently under consideration, it is not appropriate to disclose what recommendations have been made in respect of the applications," it said.

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Hundreds of Vic firefighters kept busy

VICTORIAN firefighters have been kept busy battling two major fires in the state's east and a number of smaller blazes closer to Melbourne.

A control centre spokesman said 195 firefighters battled the 81,000-hectare Aberfeldy fire in Gippsland in Victoria's east on Saturday.

"It's burning in steep difficult terrain," the spokesman said.

Closer to Melbourne, a watch and act alert was downgraded to an advice warning for communities near an out-of-control fire at Kerrie, northwest of Melbourne.

There are 22 trucks at the scene.

"That's likely to burn into the night and probably won't be brought under control till morning," the spokesman said.

"There's a lot of smoke and activity but it's not threatening houses or property."

A fire at Arthurs Creek, northeast of Melbourne, is under control.

Conditions at a second major fire at Harrietville in alpine country in the northeast had eased, the spokesman said.

A watch and act alert has also been downgraded to an advice warning for the Hotham Heights and Dinner Plain areas, but all residents are believed to have been evacuated.

Wind gusts and spot fires were still a worry in the area as 312 firefighters, 11 aircraft and 60 vehicles worked on the fire on Saturday.

The spokesman said wind gusts were making the fire difficult to predict.

A watch and act warning is in place for Dargo at the southern side of the Harrietville fire that has so far burned around 16,000 hectares.

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Third death linked to Vic cheese company

A THIRD person has died following a listeria outbreak linked to soft cheeses produced in Victoria.

Victoria's acting chief health officer, Dr Michael Ackland, has confirmed the death of a 68-year-old New South Wales man in late January was linked to the listeria contamination of Jindi cheese products, Fairfax reported on Sunday.

An 84-year-old Victorian man and a 44-year-old Tasmanian man have also died of listeria infection. A pregnant NSW woman miscarried. More than 20 other cases have been reported.

Jindi has voluntarily recalled all batches of cheese manufactured up to January 6.

Listeria, a bacterial infection, has a long incubation period and more people could become ill.

The Victoria health department says it acted promptly to contain the outbreak, but has warned there could be more cases.

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Australia and NZ cement ties in Queenstown

THIRTY years of close economic ties between Australia and New Zealand have been cemented with a series of new agreements, but NZ's prime minister is the first to admit they're not on an even footing.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard took part in bilateral discussions with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in Queenstown on Saturday, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Closer Economic Relations trade deal, signed in March 1983.

That deal has paved the way for several new announcements, including a crackdown on exorbitant mobile roaming rates in both countries, further streamlining trans-Tasman travel through SmartGate, simplifying investment in each other's country, and recovering student debt.

Ms Gillard and Mr Key also announced greater co-operation on people smuggling, with New Zealand allocating 150 places in its annual refugee quota of 750 to refugees processed in Australian detention centres, from 2014.

While the leaders talked up the mutual benefits of the new arrangements, Mr Key openly admits it's an "asymmetrical" relationship.

"There's an argument that we need them more than they need us, given they're our largest source of tourists, our biggest export market, our largest investor," he said.

"We do have to work hard with that relationship, because there's lots of options for Australia and they could just choose to ignore us if they wanted to."

Ms Gillard was saying nothing of the sort during her time in the picturesque South Island's town, describing the relationship as "one of family" - a point she first made when in 2011 she became the first foreign leader to address New Zealand's parliament.

"There is a bond between Australia and New Zealand that is different to any bond that we share in any other part of the world," she says.

"The very fact that it's fundamental to our soul and how we perceive ourselves - the legend of ANZAC is part of us and it's part of New Zealand forged in history, here in contemporary times, and always here for the future."

It was fitting, then, that Ms Gillard on Saturday announced a new Australian memorial at New Zealand's National War Memorial, currently under construction in Wellington, ahead of the Anzac centenary in 2015.

Ms Gillard flies back to Australia on Sunday morning.

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Stab victim left with punctured lung

A YOUNG man is recovering in hospital after suffering a punctured lung when he was stabbed at a house in Southport last night.

Another man, 21, has been arrested over the incident but it is understood charges are yet to be laid against him.

A police spokesman said the men both live at the Eugaree Street address, but clarified the pair are not related.

Officers were called to the home about 8.10pm Thursday after reports a fight had erupted between the men.

The victim, 19, was left with a minor puncture wound to his left lower back after he was attacked with a small knife.

Police media said he was taken to the Gold Coast hospital for lung surgery.

The injuries were not life-threatening.

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Pilot rescued as Tas fire threat lowered

A PILOT has been rescued after his helicopter crashed while fighting a bushfire in Tasmania, where emergency bushfire warnings have been downgraded.

Strong wind gusts earlier fanned a fire burning at Molesworth in the Derwent Valley, with the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) issuing an emergency alert for the area, warning residents it was likely too late to leave and to activate their bushfire survival plan.

The TFS warned the fire danger rating in Molesworth, in the state's south, was still very high but had downgraded the emergency warning to a watch and act alert on Thursday night.

The Molesworth fire terrain has made parts of it inaccessible to the crews working in the area, with four helicopters being used as water-bombers.

One of the firefighting pilots, a 52-year-old Hobart man, crashed into a clearing near the bushfire before being rescued about 5pm (AEDT).

Police said the man was airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital for assessment and was shaken by the incident but not seriously hurt.

Two schools in the area, Collinsvale and Molesworth Primary Schools, will remain closed on Friday.

The TFS said the fire had impacted on Suhrs Road, Fehlbergs Road, Valley Road and Collins Cap Road to Springdale Road and may impact on the areas of Myrtle Forest Road and Old Springdale Road within the next six to 12 hours.

The TFS says there may be embers, smoke and ash falling on Molesworth, Glenlusk and Collinsvale.

A watch and act alert is also in place for an out-of-control blaze near Franklin in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart, with the area on a high fire danger rating.

A watch and act alert had also previously been put in place for a fire at Lefroy near George Town, in the state's north, with the area on a low to moderate fire danger rating.

A total fire ban has been declared for the northern and southern regions of Tasmania for Friday.

The fire ban covers Break O'Day, Dorset Flinders, George Town, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands, West Tamar, Brighton, Central Highlands, Clarence City, Derwent Valley, Glamorgan, Spring Bay, Glenorchy, Hobart, Huon Valley, Kingborough, Sorell, Southern Midlands and Tasman.

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Minister sings her vision for the arts

EMBATTLED Arts Minister Ros Bates has used her expertise at playing Chopsticks on the piano as evidence she is qualified for the job.

Ms Bates yesterday addressed the arts industry in an attempt to bring the focus back to her portfolio and away from the controversy that has dogged her since the election.

She told the audience: "I actually studied pianoforte to grade 8. It has been a long time since I played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata but I am sure I could do a pretty good duet on Chopsticks with any of you."

Ms Bates went on to share that she sang descant - or counter-melody - in her school choir. But she admitted her skills in that department had also lapsed.

Ms Bates was speaking at a so-called State of the Arts Forum to reiterate the Newman Government's commitment to the arts.

But she failed to share any new information about additional support, instead speaking broadly of her vision and plans for the arts industry.

She did reveal the members of the new Arts Investment Advisory Board that is responsible for allocating grant funding and guiding the minister on policy decision.

The board will include Queensland art impresario Phillip Bacon, Queensland Art Gallery chair Sue Street, Hutchinson Builders' Scott Hutchinson, Industrea CEO Robin Levison, lawyer and strategic adviser David Thomas and company director Dr Jane Wilson. The chair will be Mark Fenton from RACQ.

The address was followed by a question-and-answer session in which interested parties were invited to submit questions in the lead-up to the event.

The event's MC, former arts minister Joan Sheldon, said the minister would only answer a selection of questions from those submitted ahead of time, and would not take any questions from the floor.

Several of the questions on notice that were asked of her related to the funding of small to medium arts organisations such as Expressions Dance Company and La Boite Theatre Company.

The minister assured that funding was secure.

Later she said she intended to find more money for the small to medium organisations.

"It is the grassroots, it is where innovation begins."

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Stressed out Facebook users to cut back

STATUS updates, friend requests, profile pictures and pokes.

An American study has found the intricacies of the most used social network in the world are stressing out its users to the point of no return.

Almost a billion people around the world use Facebook, but a Pew Research Centre's Internet and American Life Project study now says 27 per cent of American adults plan to reduce their Facebook use this year, and only 3 per cent plan to spend more time on the site. It also found 61 per cent have taken a self-imposed Facebook ban in the past.

Users who aim to cut their Facebook time say that it is producing "too much drama", even to the point of hurting relationships.

However the number one reason for turning away from the site was that users were too busy and just didn't have the time to maintain what they considered an appropriate level of Facebook interaction.

While this may look like the beginning of the end for our most prevalent social network, University of Queensland social media expert Dr Sean Rintel says Facebook is far from going away.

"There are two things to consider here - the first being that there has been nothing like Facebook before; there are nearly a billion people on the site, so it fluctuates in usage," Dr Rintel said.

"Secondly, that people probably do get Facebook fatigue, there's an information overload and people get overwhelmed."

Yet people are becoming disillusioned with the site, as evidenced by initiatives like "Facebook Free February", launched by Brisbane student Jenny King who has taken a month away from the site and is encouraging others to do so too.

She cites privacy settings and increased ads being major concerns.

Dr Rintel admits that the site isn't bulletproof.

"It's not too big to fail; who knows what is around the corner."

But does this mean the end for Facebook?

"I doubt it," he said.

"There is too much involved with Facebook, it's the worlds biggest picture sharing network for one and secondly there are so many other sites linked into it."

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ICC demands Libya hand over Gaddafi ex-spy

INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court judges have demanded Libya hand over Muammar Gaddafi's former spy chief Abdullah Senoussi to face charges of crimes against humanity.

The latest broadside in the legal tug-of-war between The Hague-based ICC and Tripoli over where Senoussi and Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam should be tried repeated a demand for Senoussi to be handed over.

The ICC "orders the Libyan authorities to proceed to the immediate surrender of Mr Senoussi to the court", said a ruling issued on Wednesday and made public on Thursday.

The ICC has the option of calling on the United Nations Security Council to take action.

The ICC is mulling a Libyan request to put Senoussi and Gaddafi on trial there, while the ICC itself wants to try them on charges of crimes against humanity committed in the conflict that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The ICC, which was mandated by the UN Security Council to investigate the Libyan conflict, issued arrest warrants in June 2011 for both Gaddafi and Senoussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Lawyers for the two accused have said they will not get a fair trial in Libya.

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Union wants risky mothers-to-be locked up

THE Queensland police union is calling for tougher laws to send risk-taking pregnant women into safe houses in an effort to monitor their behaviour.

In a submission to the Queensland Child Protection Inquiry, the union says the rights of an unborn child should be considered ahead of the mother, The Australian reports.

Union president Ian Leavers says the state should be able to intervene in cases where children are at risk of foetal alcohol syndrome and drug addictions.

"Those children also deserve the right to a full life and health and should not be disadvantaged simply because of the actions or inaction of their birth mother," he says in the submission.

"The state must have the ability to intervene and protect the unborn child when its mother refuses, or is incapable or unwilling to do so."

Mr Leavers said tougher laws would complement the criminal code, which provides for a charge of killing an unborn child or grievous bodily harm for any person who violently kills or harms an unborn child.

The submission expresses views of frontline police who work in child protection, Mr Leavers says in the document.

The inquiry is headed by former Family Court judge Tim Carmody, who is expected to release his final report in April.

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Man charged over NSW south coast shooting

A MAN has been charged after he allegedly shot into a home on the NSW south coast.

The 26-year-old man was arrested at a house in Nowra on Thursday, after he allegedly fired several rounds into a home on McKay Street, Nowra in December last year.

No one was injured in the shooting.

Police seized a rifle, double shortened double barrel shotgun and Taser, which had all been stolen, while also locating a shotgun and ammunition.

The man has been charged with two counts of possess unauthorised firearm and one count of possess shortened firearm.

He has been refused bail and will face Nowra Local Court on Friday.

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Germany's 'Cookie Monster' returns biscuit

A SELF-STYLED Cookie Monster thief who took a large golden biscuit from outside a renowned German baked good maker to demand goodies for sick children appears to have returned the emblem.

A large golden biscuit wrapped up in a red ribbon mysteriously appeared on a monument in front of Hanover University in northern Germany and police said they were checking if it was indeed the missing company symbol.

The removal last month of the 20-kilo golden biscuit from the front of the Bahlsen firm headquarters, which among other things produces Leibniz butter cookies, has made headlines since a ransom letter emerged.

As well as demanding biscuits for children in a hospital, the letter called for a 1000 euro ($A1305)- reward that Bahlsen had offered for the emblem's return to be donated to an animal shelter.

A photo of an unidentified person in a Cookie Monster costume, a character from the children's television series Sesame Street, was attached. The costumed culprit reappeared again in a second letter sent to the regional Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday.

That letter, made up of newspaper clippings, announced the return of the golden biscuit, stating: "Because Werni, like me, so loves the biscuit, and is now always crying and misses the biscuit so much, I'm giving it back."

The message was apparently referring to Werner Bahlsen, head of the company, which last week called for the golden biscuit's return and said it was ready to give 1000 Leibniz cookies to 52 social institutions.

The golden emblem, which resembles one of the biscuits, had hung outside the company, established in 1889, for around 100 years and reappeared on Tuesday hanging around the neck of a horse monument.

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Car crash kills man in state's far north

A MAN has been killed after he lost control of the car he was driving and it smashed into a tree.

Police said the man, 57, was driving a ute on Coolamon Scene Drive at Mullumbimby, about 1.50pm on Tuesday.

They said he lost control of the car, which veered off the road and ploughed into a tree.

The man died at the scene.

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Ear chopper gunman to face court

A MAN will face court on Wednesday after he allegedly cut off part of a teenager's ear in a bizarre robbery attempt on the Gold Coast.

A 16-year-old boy and his male friend, 15, were walking at Varsity Lakes late on Monday night, when a man approached them, produced a gun, and demanded they hand over property.

The man then used a pair of scissors to cut off the bottom half of the 16-year-old's ear lobe before fleeing the scene, police allege.

On Tuesday night, police said they had charged an 18-year-old man with armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, common assault and one count of an act intended to cause grievous bodily harm, in relation to the incident.

The alleged attacker remains in custody, and will front Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

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Egypt foreign reserves drop dramatically

EGYPT'S foreign reserves fell by almost 10 per cent to $US13.6 billion ($A13.10 billion) in January, the Central Bank of Egypt said in a statement on Tuesday published by the official MENA news agency.

The bank said "foreign reserves fell heavily by $1.4 billion to $13.61 billion in January, from $15 billion in December," the agency reported. The statement gave no reason for the fall.

Despite an influx of $5 billion in aid from Qatar in the form of grants and loans over the past year, the reserves have continued to drop.

MENA quoted an economics expert saying the decrease since December was partly due to Egypt paying interest on foreign loans and a drop in tourism revenues due to continuing political unrest.

The bank had also made dollars available to the government to import food and oil products, and sold dollars to banks in auctions in a controlled devaluation of the Egyptian pound.

The bank had warned last month that its reserves had reached critical levels as political turmoil forced the government to postpone subsidy cuts and finalising a deal with the IMF for $4.8 billion in aid.

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US shares rebound, but Dell falls on deal

US shares have rebounded in opening trade after the previous day's sharp correction, but Dell sank 2.6 per cent after the company announced a plan to take itself private and de-list from the Nasdaq.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 75.55 points (0.54 per cent) to 13,955.63.

The S&P 500 index gained 9.28 (0.62 per cent) to 1504.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite picked up 10.44 points (0.33 per cent) to 3141.61.

Dell shares dropped 2.64 per cent to $13.27 after announcing a $24.4 billion deal to go private, valuing the company at $13.65 a share.

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Dell to be bought by founder and Microsoft

SLUMPING personal computer maker Dell is selling itself for $US24.4 billion ($A23.51 billion) to its founder and a group of investors that includes Microsoft. It's the largest deal of its kind since the Great Recession dried up financing for risky manoeuvres like this.

The complex agreement announced on Tuesday will end Dell Inc's nearly 25-year history as a publicly traded company. Shareholders are receiving $13.65 per share for their stock.

The deal reflects Dell's desire to engineer a turnaround attempt away from the glare and financial pressures of Wall Street.

Founder Michael Dell will remain the company's CEO and largest shareholder. He already owned a nearly 16 per cent stake in the company, which is based in Round Rock, Texas.

Microsoft Corp is taking part in the deal with a $2.0 billion loan.

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Somalia jails alleged rape victim, journo

SOMALIA has jailed for one year a woman who said she was raped by security forces and a journalist who interviewed her, saying they were guilty of insulting the state in a case that has alarmed rights groups.

"We sentence her for offending state institutions by claiming she was raped," judge Ahmed Adan told the court in the capital Mogadishu. "She will spend one year in prison after finishing the breast feeding of her baby."

Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur, 25, who is already in detention, was to begin serving his sentence immediately.

"The court finds that he offended state institutions by making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present," the judge added.

Rights groups have condemned the case as "politically motivated", and defence lawyers have said they will appeal against the decision.

Three other defendants, including the husband of the alleged victim, and a man and woman who helped introduce her to the journalist, were found not guilty and released.

The reporter, who works for several Somali radio stations as well as international media, was detained on January 10 after researching rampant sexual violence in Somalia.

He did not air or print any report after interviewing the woman.

"The decision of the court was contrary to Somali laws as well as international laws," defence lawyer Mohamed Mohamud Afrah told reporters, adding both the woman and Abdinur would appeal.

"There was sufficient evidence to free the prisoners who were unlawfully detained...I wasn't given the opportunity to legally defend the accused."

Mohamed Ibrahim, head of Somali's journalist union, said the sentencing was a "miscarriage of justice, and an attack on the freedom of the press."

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have said in a joint statement that the case is "linked to increasing media attention given to the high levels of rape... including attacks allegedly committed by security forces".

UN Special Representative on sexual violence, Zainab Hawa Bangura, last month condemned the case, saying it "does not serve the interest of justice; it only serves to criminalise victims and undermine freedom of expression for the press."

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Shot Pakistani schoolgirl in video message

MALALA Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, says she is getting better in her first public statement.

"Today you can see that I am alive. I can speak, I can see you, I can see everyone and I am getting better day by day," said the 15-year-old in a video message made before she underwent surgery on her skull on Saturday.

Speaking clearly in English, she said: "It's just because of the prayers of people. Because all people - men, women, children - all of them have prayed for me.

"And because of all these prayers God has given me this new life - a second life. And I want to serve. I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated. For that reason, we have organised the Malala Fund."

In an attack that drew worldwide condemnation, a Taliban gunman shot Malala at point-blank range as her school bus travelled through Pakistan's Swat Valley on October 9.

Surgeons in Pakistan saved her life with an initial operation to relieve the pressure on her brain before she was flown to Britain to be treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England.

Doctors say the bullet grazed Malala's brain and travelled through her head and neck before lodging in her left shoulder.

In the surgery this weekend, she had a titanium plate fitted to replace part of her skull and surgeons inserted an implant to help restore her hearing in her left ear.

The Malala Fund is a charity set up in late 2012 to promote education for girls.

Malala first rose to prominence aged 11 with a blog for the BBC's Urdu-language service charting her life under the Taliban.

Since her attempted murder, millions of people have signed petitions supporting her cause, while the United Nations declared a global Malala Day last November.

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Ahmadinejad ready to go into space

PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he's ready "to be the first man in space" under Iran's ambitious program that aims to send a human being into orbit by 2020.

"Our youth are determined to send a man into space within the next four, five years and I'm sure that will happen," he said during a ceremony in Tehran where two new Iranian-made satellites were unveiled, according to ISNA news agency.

"I'm ready to be the first Iranian to be sacrificed by the scientists of my country and go into space, even though I know there are a lot of candidates," Ahmadinejad quipped.

He added to the buoyant atmosphere, saying he was willing to "auction (himself) and donate" the money to the Iran's space program, which has shrunk because of international economic sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, ISNA reported.

Iran, which last week announced it had successfully sent a small monkey into space, has said it wants to send a man into orbit by 2020.

Ahmadinejad unveiled on Monday two small satellites, named Nahid and Zohreh (Venus in Farsi and Arabic, respectively).

Nahid, an observation satellite equipped with solar panels, is intended to orbit at an altitude of between 250 and 370 kilometres. Iran has put three other small satellites into the same orbit since 2009.

Zohreh is a geostationary communications satellite that will be placed at an altitude of 36,000 kilometres, something Iran has never tried before.

No launch date was given.

Iran's space program deeply unsettles Western nations, which fear it could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads they suspect are being developed in secret, despite denials from Tehran.

The technology used in space rockets can also be used in ballistic missiles. The Security Council has imposed an almost total embargo on the export of nuclear and space technology to Iran since 2007.

Tehran denies its space program has any link with its alleged nuclear ambitions.

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Celebrity protester wedding stuns Russia

RUSSIA'S glamorous protest leader, Ksenia Sobchak, has surprised Russians by secretly marrying a popular actor who shares her anti-Putin views, just months after declaring her love for a radical protest leader in Hello! magazine.

Sobchak held a surprise party at which she appeared in a white dress and veil with her new husband - actor Maxim Vitorgan, 40, who has starred in a string of popular comedies, the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid revealed at the weekend.

She announced her marriage publicly in characteristic style - on Twitter. "Thank you everyone for the good wishes!" she wrote, posting a photograph of the couple's rings.

Sobchak, 31, became a household name in Russia after first entering the limelight as a blonde party girl with close ties to Vladimir Putin, the protege of her late father Anatoly Sobchak.

She then hosted a popular reality show, before becoming the most prominent celebrity to last year join the mass protest movement and turning against Putin over fraud-tainted elections.

She would drop in at sit-ins - sometimes in full studio make-up - speak at rallies and was detained by police several times.

Her romance with radical protest leader Ilya Yashin - a member of the Solidarity movement led by chess champion Garry Kasparov - began after she invited him onto her MTV Russia show.

To many they seemed an incongruous couple: Sobchak was a millionaire television host who had launched her own perfume, while Yashin was a dapper but ascetic revolutionary who disapproved of her handbag collection.

Their romance was made public last June when investigators made an early-morning raid of her apartment allegedly over her participation in protests, and found Yashin there, which they duly published in their official report.

Hello! magazine published a photo-shoot of the couple in Marrakesh in November. Sobchak said she fell for Yashin when he gallantly let her take the stage before him at a freezing cold rally.

But Yashin appeared somewhat uncomfortable with his new celebrity profile and did not participate in the Hello! interview. The couple did not publicly announce a separation.

Vitorgan is an actor at a popular Moscow theatre and has starred in mildly satirical comedy films including one called Election Day about rough-and-ready spin doctoring methods of the 1990s. He has spoken during at least one anti-Putin protest in Moscow.

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US stocks retreat after big Friday rally

US stocks have retreated in early trading after Friday's dramatic surge, which took the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 14,000 points.

Leading analysts had predicted the Dow would struggle in the immediate aftermath of Friday's rally, when the Dow closed at levels not seen since 2007.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow was down 98.54 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 13,911.25.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 9.02 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 1,504.15.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.85 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 3,163.24.

Schaeffer's Investment Research options strategist Tony Venosa predicted trading would see the "psychologically" important 14,000 level tested.

"Continue to watch this round number, as there could be an increase in volatility as the mainstream public becomes aware. Meanwhile, earnings season begins to wind down," Venosa said.

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Afghan, Pakistani leaders want peace deal

THE leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan say they will work to reach a peace deal within six months, while throwing their weight behind moves for the Taliban to open an office in Doha.

Following talks hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari also urged the Islamists to join the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

But with no Taliban representative at the tripartite talks and with the militants still refusing to talk to Kabul, analysts said the commitment by the three leaders risked being one-sided.

They had a private dinner on Sunday and then full talks on Monday at Cameron's Chequers country retreat near London, amid growing fears that a civil war could erupt when international troops leave Afghanistan in 2014.

"All sides agreed on the urgency of this work and committed themselves to take all necessary measures to achieve the goal of a peace settlement over the next six months," they said in a joint statement issued by Cameron's office.

"They supported the opening of an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the Taliban and the High Peace Council of Afghanistan as part of an Afghan-led peace process," the statement said.

Karzai had previously shunned the idea of a Taliban office in Doha because of fears that it would lead to the Kabul government being frozen out of talks between the United States and the Taliban.

The joint statement also said that the Afghan and Pakistani leaders had agreed arrangements to "strengthen coordination" of the release of Taliban detainees from Pakistani custody.

Cameron, whose country is the second biggest contributor of troops to Afghanistan with 9000 troops still in the country, appealed directly to the Taliban to join the reconciliation process.

"Now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful, political process in Afghanistan," he told a news conference after the talks.

Karzai said he hoped in future to have "very close, brotherly and good neighbourly" relations with Pakistan, which has been regularly accused by both Kabul and Washington of helping to destabilise Afghanistan.

Zardari said it was in Islamabad's interests to support the initiative.

"Peace in Afghanistan is peace in Pakistan. We feel that we can only survive together," he said. "We cannot change our neighbourhood or our neighbours."

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UK politician admits obstructing justice

IT started with a traffic penalty. It ended in political exile.

Former British cabinet minister Chris Huhne - once one of the country's leading politicians - has pleaded guilty to the charge of obstruction of justice over a career-wrecking attempt to pin a speeding penalty on his wife.

Prosecutors say Huhne in 2003 persuaded economist Vicky Pryce to say she had been driving the car, so he could avoid a driving ban. Huhne repeatedly denied wrongdoing, but he was forced to step down as a minister after being charged.

His career in shambles, Huhne changed his plea from innocent to guilty at London's Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

He later emerged from court to tell reporters he was resigning from his parliamentary seat as well.

Before the scandal broke, Huhne was seen as one of the nation's top politicians, only narrowly losing to Nick Clegg for the leadership of Britain's third place Liberal Democrats Party in 2007.

The Liberal Democrats went on to form a coalition with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party, handing Clegg the position of deputy prime minister. At that point, many still thought of the 58-year-old Huhne as Clegg's likely successor.

Huhne now faces the prospect of a prison term. Obstruction of justice carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, although the penalty generally averages around a year.

Pryce's willingness to take the heat for her husband did not save their marriage. The pair split in 2010 after it was revealed he had an affair with his public relations adviser. She faces a separate trial, due to begin on Tuesday.

In a statement, Clegg said he was "shocked and saddened" by Huhne's guilty plea but said he had "taken the right decision" by resigning.

Cameron's spokesman declined to comment on Huhne's guilty plea or resignation.

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Key to raise visa rules for New Zealanders

NEW Zealand Prime Minister John Key will raise the treatment of New Zealanders in Australia when he meets Prime Minister Julia Gillard at annual talks.

The pair will hold annual trans-Tasman prime ministerial talks in Queenstown on Friday and Saturday.

The meeting also marks 30 years of the Closer Economic Relations trade deal, which Mr Key says has made Australia and New Zealand two of the most integrated economies in the world.

Despite such strong ties and paying tax to the Australian government for years, an estimated 280,000 New Zealand residents who have arrived in Australia since 2001 are on temporary or special category visas, meaning they are denied voting rights, access to welfare benefits and student loans.

A joint productivity commission report last year said Australia's selection criteria and quotas for permanent residence may prevent more than 100,000 "temporary resident" New Zealanders ever getting it, recommending the Australian government make changes.

According to internal Australian immigration documents, one potential change is allowing New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for eight years or more to gain permanent residency.

Mr Key says he's raised the issue of Kiwis' rights with Ms Gillard previously, and Australian lawmakers have given it some consideration.

He has no doubt it will be on the agenda again this weekend.

"There are a number of factors they need to consider. One of them is obviously the financial implications but then there is whether they think there is fairness in the system as it currently sits," he said.

"We always encourage a situation where New Zealanders are treated well and fairly, but that can have different definitions in different places."

Ultimately, any decision rests with the Australian government, Mr Key said, adding that New Zealanders heading across the Tasman to live need to be aware of their obligations and entitlements.

Mr Key said New Zealand's treatment of Australians living here is clearly different, and his government has no plans to change that.

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Israel implicitly confirms Syria raid

ISRAEL has implicitly confirmed it staged an air strike on Syria last week, as President Bashar al-Assad accused the Jewish state of trying to "destabilise" the strife-torn country.

The foreign minister of Damascus ally Iran, meanwhile, said he welcomed Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib's stated readiness to hold talks with representatives of Assad's regime.

Four days after an air raid which Damascus said targeted a military complex near the capital, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak spoke to reporters in Munich but refrained from directly confirming that Israel staged the strike.

Barak told the Munich Security Conference on Sunday it was "another proof that when we say something we mean it".

He added: "We say that we don't think that it should be allowable to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon, the Hezbollah from Syria, when Assad falls."

Wednesday's air strike targeted surface-to-air missiles and an adjacent military complex believed to house chemical agents, according to a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Damascus has threatened to retaliate, further fuelling fears of a regional spillover of the country's 22-month conflict, which the UN says has already left more than 60,000 people dead.

Forty-eight hours after the reported strike, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told AFP Washington was increasingly concerned that "chaos" in Syria could allow Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah Shi'ite movement to obtain sophisticated weapons from Damascus.

Ahead of the air raid, Israeli officials cranked up the rhetoric about Syria's arsenal, which includes chemical agents, warning of dire consequences if they end up in the hands of the Iran-allied Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating war in 2006.

In Damascus, Assad on Sunday accused Israel of seeking to "destabilise" Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The raid "unmasked the true role Israel is playing, in collaboration with foreign enemy forces and their agents on Syrian soil, to destabilise and weaken Syria", he told Saeed Jalili, who heads Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

But key Damascus and Hezbollah backer Tehran also said on Sunday it welcomed opposition chief Khatib's recent overture for talks with regime representatives.

"It's a good step forward," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said at the Munich Security Conference, where he said he had held a "very good meeting" with Khatib.

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Girl shot by Taliban has more surgery

THE British hospital treating a Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban says she has undergone two successful operations and is making good progress in her recovery.

Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital says 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai had skull reconstruction and a cochlear implant surgery to restore her hearing on Saturday.

The two operations lasted a total of five hours, and doctors are said to be "very pleased" with her progress.

Malala was shot on October 9 on the way home from school by Taliban angered at her objection to the group's interpretation of Islam, which limits girls' access to education.

The hospital said on Sunday she was awake and talking to hospital and her family members.

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Iran announces new nuclear talks

IRAN has announced fresh talks with world powers on its nuclear drive and says it is open to a US offer for two-way discussions if Washington's intention is "authentic".

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said the six world powers planned to resume talks in Kazakhstan on February 25 and he insisted Iran had never pulled back from the negotiations.

"I have good news, I've heard yesterday that 5+1 or EU3+3 will be meeting in Kazakhstan 25th of February," Salehi said during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.

Iran and six world powers - the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany - held three rounds of talks last year aimed at easing the standoff over Iran's nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are peaceful.

The six, known as the P5+1 or EU3+3, called on Iran to scale back its program but stopped short of meeting Tehran's demands to scale back sanctions and the last round ended in stalemate in June in Moscow.

Since then, talks have been held up over disagreements on their location.

The new date for talks has not been confirmed by the office of the EU foreign policy chief, leading the negotiations.

"It was not us who has stepped back. But anyway we still are very hopeful," Salehi said.

He added that Iran took comments by US officials, including Vice-resident Joe Biden who said in Munich on Saturday that Washington was ready to hold talks with Iran on its nuclear program, "with positive consideration".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking just before the formal start of talks to build Israel's new ruling coalition, said the most important mission facing the new government was preventing a nuclear Iran.

"It is a mission which has become more complicated because Iran has equipped itself with new centrifuges which reduce the enrichment time," he said.

"We cannot live with this process."

It was the first official reaction since it emerged that Tehran was planning to install more modern equipment at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran.

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Myanmar rebels, government to hold talks

MYANMAR'S government and ethnic Kachin rebels in the country's north will hold talks in China this week after some of the worst fighting in the country in years, even as fresh shelling boomed across the frontline.

The talks will begin on Monday in the Chinese border town of Ruili, officials on both sides said on Sunday.

The meeting comes after the army captured several strategic guerrilla-held hilltops this month in the hills around Laiza, which serves as a headquarters for the rebel movement.

The army used fighter jets, helicopter gunships and intense artillery barrages to seize the rebel outposts during its offensive, and there has been speculation that the government launched the assault to strengthen its hand at the negotiating table.

Laiza has been largely quiet since Myanmar's army took control of Hka Ya Bhum, the highest hill in the area, on January 26.

However, Kachin Independence Army officers say government troops still sporadically shell rebel posts, some of which have been newly dug as the guerrillas retreated. The rebels say fighting is still occurring in other parts of Kachin state.

The Kachin, like Myanmar's other ethnic minorities, have long sought greater autonomy from the central government.

They are the only major ethnic rebel group that has not reached a truce with President Thein Sein's administration, which has been praised by world powers for making political and economic strides toward democratic rule over the past two years.

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Paraguay presidential hopeful Oviedo dies

PARAGUAYAN presidential candidate Lino Cesar Oviedo has been killed in a helicopter crash, authorities say.

Oviedo was returning with his bodyguard from a political rally on Saturday night in northern Paraguay when his pilot encountered bad weather.

All three were killed in the crash, said Johnny Villalba, a spokesman for Paraguay's airport authority.

"The causes of the accident and other details are being investigated by experts from the Center for Investigations and Prevention of Air Accidents," he said, an agency that is part of Paraguay's airport authority.

Oviedo, 69, was running in April's elections as leader of Paraguay's third-largest opposition party, the National Union of Ethical Citizens.

A retired general and former army chief, Oviedo had tried for years to lead his nation, and not always through democratic means.

A populist with support among Paraguay's poor indigenous majority, Oviedo was convicted of plotting to overthrow President Juan Carlos Wasmosy in a short-lived rebellion in April 1996, and served half of a 10-year sentence before being released.

The Supreme Court later exonerated Oviedo after military officers denied there had been a coup attempt, freeing him to run for president in 2008.

He came in third, splitting the vote that gave former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo the presidency and ended 60 years of one-party rule by the Colorado party.

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Etch A Sketch creator dies

ANDRE Cassagnes, the French inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a toy beloved of children around the world, has died at the age of 86.

His death in France in mid-January was announced by the Ohio Art Company, which has been making the Etch a Sketch since 1960, according to media reports.

The Etch A Sketch, a grey screen with bold red frame, allows children to draw a picture using a stylus and then erase it with the turn of two buttons.

It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.

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Fiat boss eyes Chrysler merger in 2014

FIAT boss Sergio Marchionne says he expects the merger of the Italian car giant and its US partner Chrysler will take place in 2014.

"We will succeed in doing it," he said in an interview with the editor of the Repubblica newspaper. "We and VEBA (the United Auto Workers pension fund - a Chrysler shareholder) have different opinions on the value of Chrysler but we will resolve the problem in 2014."

Macchione, who heads both companies, had said on January 30 that the ties between the two automakers were "irreversible" and would merge "as soon as I can afford it" but did not put a date on the merger.

Asked on Sunday if Fiat would keep its Turin headquarters, Macchione said: "We are a big group presence throughout the world; it will depend on access to financial markets and the choices of the Agnelli family" who founded Fiat.

He had "not thought" about the future name of the new entity, he said.

The deal will ultimately give Fiat a 65 per cent stake in Chrysler and full ownership by 2015.

Boosted by increased sales at Chrysler, the Italian giant on Wednesday reported a profitable 2012, announcing a fourth quarter net profit that rose to 388 million euros ($A508 million) from 265 million euros the year before.

The company said it was aiming for profits of between 1.2 and 1.5 billion euros this year.

Fiat took a 20 per cent stake in Chrysler in 2009 as the third largest US automaker emerged from a government-financed restructuring under bankruptcy protection.

It has since steadily expanded its stake by purchasing shares owned by the US government and the VEBA fund.

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