Kids swallow the darnedest things

BAD EATING: The X-ray of Cairns youngster Hazel Mansell showed she swallowed a 5c coin. Source: The Courier-Mail

KIDS swallow everything from Barbie doll shoes to Lego, bugs, and coins.

X-rays of young children reveal objects as random as jewellery, toy soldiers and lost marbles.

But latest research, in analysis of hospital emergency wards, has uncovered a new silent but deadly epidemic.

Ruth Barker, an emergency pediatrician at Brisbane's Mater Children's Hospital, said about eight children a week in Australia are treated for swallowing button batteries and magnets.

"Kids swallow many things," Dr Barker said.

"Coins are common and usually not life-threatening. But any episode can be very dramatic for parents. Most have a story to tell."

Dr Barker, who is also director of Queensland's Injury Surveillance Unit, said coin-shaped lithium batteries and earth magnets could dissolve internal tissue if swallowed.

"Sometimes it is misdiagnosed as a coin. This can often be to devastating effect with severe and sometimes fatal bleeding," she said.

BAD EATING: Among the other bizarre objects ingested by kids are (clockwise from left) a fishing sinker; an Olympic pin; a watch; and a toy fairy.

She cited the case of a Sydney boy, now aged three, who has had 10 operations, 23 X-rays and two-thirds of his oesophagus removed after eating a battery two years ago.

Australia introduced a nationwide ban on small, powerful magnets late last year. "It is a silent but deadly epidemic. Parents need to treat batteries like a poison and keep them out of reach of kids," Dr Barker said.

Five-year-old Hazel Mansell was rushed to Mater Children's Hospital last week after her tummy turned into a piggy bank. Doctors initially thought by the coin's size it was a 20c piece, but when it passed through it turned out to be just 5c.

"That's inflation for you," said mum Meg Mansell. "Hazel was in bed. She put a coin in her mouth, almost choked and ended up swallowing it," said the mother-of-two. "She is fine, but a little embarrassed."

Kidsafe Queensland's Susan Teerds said many children, mostly aged between one and six, ended up in hospital after swallowing a random object, some needing to be anaesthetised and operated on for it to be removed.

"Sometimes they choke and sometimes they swallow," Mrs Teerds said. "And sometimes they die or suffer severe brain damage as a result of being oxygen-deprived."

One of the latest heartbreaking cases is that of a six-year-old Gold Coast boy who swallowed a toy block, Mrs Teerds said.

It became lodged in his throat and, despite his dad performing CPR, he went into a coma and is now severely brain-damaged.

-- Peter Michael, North Queensland correspondent

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Hundreds protest in Delhi over sex assault

HUNDREDS of protesters have clashed with police outside a New Delhi hospital where a seven-year-old victim of sexual assault was admitted earlier in the day.

Angry youths hurled stones at buses and police, who then used batons to break up the demonstration outside the hospital which is located in a low-income neighbourhood, India's NDTV channel reported.

"The protesters were angry over the assault on the little girl and were demanding that police act against the culprit," the police official told AFP on Friday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the second-grader was sexually assaulted on Friday morning while at school.

After police were called, the child was taken to hospital and later discharged.

"The crowds have dispersed and the situation is normal," the official said.

Police are investigating the case, he added.

Three men - two school-teachers and a security guard - have been detained for questioning, local media reports said.

India has seen a surge in anti-rape demonstrations in recent weeks after thousands took to the streets to protest against police inaction following the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus in December.

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Benedict starts new life with TV, snooze

BENEDICT XVI has begun his life of retirement by watching a bit of television, getting a good night's sleep and reciting the rosary, the Vatican says, a day after his resignation.

After bidding the faithful a final emotional farewell on Thursday, the Pope had dinner and then watched television news broadcasts about his departure.

"He really appreciated the coverage," spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Friday, adding: "A Pope can also appreciate good media work in his heart".

Afterwards, the Pope Emeritus paced up and down a long reception room, the Hall of the Swiss, overlooking Albano Lake in his new temporary residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome in the final moments of his eight-year pontificate.

"He then retired for prayer and rest," said Lombardi, who still referred to the ex-pontiff as "Pope" on the first day of a popeless interim for the Catholic Church ahead of a conclave this month to elect a successor.

Lombardi said the Pope had brought a few books with him on theological and historical themes including one titled Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics: A Model for Post-Critical Biblical Interpretation.

The Vatican spokesman also revealed that Benedict - an accomplished pianist - has been playing the piano more frequently in the run-up to the resignation although the piano remained silent on the night of his departure.

"The Pope slept really well. This morning he celebrated mass," Lombardi said, adding that later in the day Benedict would probably have lunch and recite the rosary on a quiet walk in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo palace.

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Eight S.Africa cops arrested over killing

SOUTH Africa's police watchdog has arrested eight policemen on murder charges linked to the death of a Mozambican taxi driver who died in custody after being dragged by a police van.

"Eight policemen have been arrested by IPID at Benoni police station," Moses Dlamini, spokesman for the Independent Police Investigation Directorate, told AFP on Friday.

Twenty-seven-year-old Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia was filmed being manhandled, handcuffed and dragged by a police van through the streets to a police station east of Johannesburg.

Just over two hours later he was found dead in custody.

A post mortem examination found the cause of death was head injuries with internal bleeding.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) then opened its murder investigation.

South African President Jacob Zuma earlier condemned the killing as "horrific, disturbing and unacceptable".

Footage of the incident spread quickly online and sent shockwaves through the country, shining a spotlight yet again on the conduct of South Africa's much maligned police force.

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US stocks drop as budget cuts loom

US stocks have opened lower as Washington appeared headed for sharp mandatory spending cuts that could slow the economy in the wake of failed budget talks in Washington.

Five minutes into trade on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.42 points (0.53 per cent) to 13,980.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 declined by 9.32 points (0.62 per cent) to 1505.36, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite declined 20.07 (0.64 per cent) to 3140.12.

US markets are bracing for $US85 billion ($A83 billion) in spending cuts after President Obama and congressional Republicans failed to compromise on a less austere deficit reduction program.

Also, the Eurostat data agency said unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone rose to 11.9 per cent in January. An EU official called the results "unacceptable" and "a tragedy for Europe."

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Death of Mali's al-Qaeda chief 'credible'

THE United States finds reports that one of the most notorious leaders of al-Qaeda's North African wing has been killed in fighting with French troops "very credible", an official says.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because the report has not been formally confirmed, the US official said that if Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was indeed slain in Mali "it would be a significant blow to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb".

"We find the reports very credible," he said.

Algeria's independent Ennahar TV reported this week that Abou Zeid, a senior leader among the Islamist fighters of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had been killed in northern Mali along with 40 other Islamist militants.

France has deployed troops to the area, backed by Chadian and Malian government forces, and has carried out airstrikes.

But French officials reacted with caution to the report, which is still being investigated by the military on the ground.

Algeria's El Khabar newspaper reported on Friday that authorities there had carried out DNA tests to try to confirm Abou Zeid's death.

"The security services are comparing DNA taken from two close relatives of Abou Zeid with samples taken from the remains of a body supplied by French forces," it said.

But French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem warned that reports of his death were so far unconfirmed.

French and African troops are hunting rebels they dislodged from northern Mali's main cities in a rapid campaign over recent weeks.

Abou Zeid, a 46-year-old whose real name is Mohamed Ghedir, was seen in the cities of Timbuktu and Gao after the Islamists took control last year and his presence stoked fears the region could become a haven for extremists.

An Algerian born near the border with Libya, Abou Zeid is a former smuggler who embraced radical Islam in the 1990s and became one of AQIM's key leaders.

He is suspected of being behind a series of kidnappings, including of British national Edwin Dyer, who was abducted in Niger and executed in 2009, and of 78-year-old French aid worker Michel Germaneau, killed in 2010.

Abou Zeid was also believed to be holding a number of Western hostages, including four French citizens kidnapped in Niger in 2010.

He is thought to have about 200 seasoned fighters under his command.

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New life starts with TV, snooze

Pope Benedict XVI blesses faithful during his weekly general audience at the Vatican. Source: AFP

Faithful watch a giant screen showing Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter's Square on the day of his last public appearance as pontiff. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Source: AP

BENEDICT XVI has begun his life of retirement by watching some television, getting a good night's sleep and reciting the rosary, the Vatican says.

After bidding the faithful a final emotional farewell on Thursday, the Pope had dinner and then watched television news broadcasts about his departure.

"He really appreciated the coverage," spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Friday, adding: "A Pope can also appreciate good media work in his heart".

Afterwards, the Pope Emeritus paced up and down a long reception room, the Hall of the Swiss, overlooking Albano Lake in his new temporary residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome in the final moments of his eight-year pontificate.

"He then retired for prayer and rest," said Mr Lombardi, who still referred to the ex-pontiff as "Pope" on the first day of a popeless interim for the Catholic Church ahead of a conclave this month to elect a successor.

Mr Lombardi said the Pope had brought a few books with him on theological and historical themes including one titled Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics: A Model for Post-Critical Biblical Interpretation.

The Vatican spokesman also revealed that Benedict - an accomplished pianist - has been playing the piano more frequently in the run-up to the resignation although the piano remained silent on the night of his departure.

"The Pope slept really well. This morning he celebrated mass," Mr Lombardi said, adding that later in the day Benedict would probably have lunch and recite the rosary on a quiet walk in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo palace.

While Benedict rested Catholic cardinals from around the world begun preparing for a conclave to elect a new pope.

Letters were due to be sent inviting the cardinals to take part in meetings next week that will set the date for a conclave under Michelangelo's frescos in the Sistine Chapel.

The meetings - known as "general congregations" - will also be a way of vetting possible candidates to be leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics at a difficult time for the Church.

The conclave is to start in the first half of March.

After an emotional final day as pope on Thursday, world newspapers paid tribute to the 85-year-old German pope's historic decision, which could set a precedent for ageing popes in the future.

"Farewells made with courage, humility and grace," ran a headline on an editorial in the German conservative daily Die Welt, while top-selling tabloid Bild said: "Our pope has retired."

"This is how great popes go," said Italian daily Il Messaggero, hailing the "greatness of his humility, the simple step of a pilgrim".

La Repubblica daily said the 85-year-old Benedict's troubled eight-year reign had ended abruptly "not with an apocalypse, but with the sigh or relief of a man who became man again."

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, at centre with red skull cap, officially takes over the vacant See as camerlengo, chamberlain, before sealing Pope Benedict XVI's apartment, after Benedict left the Vatican. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho) Source: AP

Benedict's final hours as pope were filled with ritual and emotion, from the pealing bells of St Peter's Basilica to the Swiss Guards who shut the giant doors of his new temporary residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome to mark the moment that Benedict was no longer pope.

The Vatican flag flying over the palace was lowered as the Swiss Guards - the papacy's military corps since the 15th century - formally completed their mission to protect the pope.

"Long live the pope!" a crowd outside chanted as a clock chimed the hour that Benedict said he would step down in an announcement earlier this month that stunned the world.

"I will no longer be pope but a simple pilgrim," the pope told supporters earlier after arriving at Castel Gandolfo from the Vatican in a helicopter that flew as the bells of St Peter's rang out.

A placard in Rome pays tribute to the papcy of Benedict XVI. AFP HOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS Source: AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a mass in Berlin to mark the pope's last day in office and at a special mass in New York's Saint Patrick's Cathedral hundreds of worshippers paid homage.

Many ordinary Catholics hope the next pope will breathe new life into a Church hit hard by rising secularism in the West and discrimination against Christians in some developing countries.

The former pope Benedict will now be known as "Roman pontiff emeritus" - a completely new title created especially for this new situation.

He will still be addressed as "Your Holiness".

In a last tweet sent from his @pontifex Twitter account as he left the Vatican, the pope said: "Thank you for your love and support."

"May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

Benedict is only the second pope to resign in the Church's 2000-year history, and in his final hours as pontiff he took the highly unusual step of pledging allegiance to his successor.

"Among you there is also the future pope to whom I promise my unconditional obedience and reverence," the pope said to 144 cardinals in the ornate Clementine Hall in the Vatican.

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Unions knock on WA premier's door

THOUSANDS of angry unionists knocked on WA Premier Colin Barnett's office door to voice their frustration at overseas recruitment - only to find he was out campaigning thousands of kilometres away.

The massed ranks of Western Australia's union movement marched through Perth's main business district on Thursday, continuing a long-term protest against mining and construction companies using guest workers over Australians.

"We are a state that relies on trade, so we will not mandate local content," WA Commerce Minister Simon O'Brien said in response to Thursday's well-attended rally, which was led by construction and maritime union members.

Mr Barnett was campaigning in Esperance as the Liberals again concentrated on the Kimberley as an environmental selling point.

In their fourth announcement about the Kimberley in a month, the Liberals laid out a plan to create one of Australia's biggest national parks in the state's north.

The Class A Wanjina National Park, stretching from Walcott Inlet in the south to the Lawley River in the north, would provide the highest level of protection to the internationally recognised environment, rock art and cultural values, including those of the Wanjina people.

The park could cover up to 20,000 sq km - 2000 sq km bigger than Kakadu.

Planning Minister John Day said on Thursday that if re-elected at the March 9 poll, the government would build 500 affordable homes on big state-owned blocks within three years and loosen laws on granny flats to address WA's housing crisis.

Families and social welfare remained the focus for WA Labor, with a promise of more childcare services at schools and a new mental health facility north of Perth.

Leader Mark McGowan revealed a 10-point plan to tackle mental health, providing 50 extra community liaison officers and building a $95 million mental health facility at Joondalup Health Campus.

Mr McGowan claimed some of WA's most vulnerable had been let down by the government.

"Our mental health system is not working and too many patients are falling through the cracks," he said.

Labor also promised childcare facilities at all new primary schools and help for schools to set up out-of-school care.

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Abbott govt would consider IR reform

THE Productivity Commission would be called on to review the Fair Work Act if Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wins power, under a plan being considered by the federal coalition.

Senior coalition figures have told The Australian newspaper the proposal was designed to neutralise a looming multimillion-dollar campaign by Labor and the unions to convince voters the opposition leader would reintroduce aspects of John Howard's Work Choices regime, if Mr Abbott won the September 14 election.

Under the plan, a coalition government would appoint the Productivity Commission to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the Fair Work Act.

Any major changes would be delayed until after the 2016 election.

The coalition would also undertake months of stakeholder consultation on the commission's recommendations before seeking a "mandate" for any proposed changes.

Coalition sources told The Australian the plan was under "active and serious" consideration, but a final decision on whether to proceed had not been made.

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China says US-based hackers attack it

HACKERS mainly based in the United States attacked two Chinese military websites including the Defence Ministry page an average of 144,000 times a month last year, the ministry says.

China's first report of attacks on its websites steps up a war of words between the powers, after a US security company said last week that a Chinese military unit was behind a series of hacking attacks on US firms.

"The Defence Ministry and China Military Online websites were hacked from overseas on average 144,000 times a month in 2012," ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said on the ministry's website.

China Military Online is a People's Liberation Army news website.

Some 62 per cent of the attacks came from the United States, he said, adding that the number of hacking assaults on military websites "has risen steadily in recent years".

He did not specify any entities from which the alleged attacks originated.

A report 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 organisations, mostly based in the United States.

China's defence ministry had said the report had "no factual basis".

Geng called on US officials to "explain and clarify" what he said were recent US media reports that Washington would carry out "pre-emptive" cyber attacks and expand its online warfare capabilities.

He added: "At present, China's military has no cyber warfare units."

Last month the New York Times and other American media outlets reported they had come under hacking attacks from China, and a US congressional report last year named the country as "the most threatening actor in cyberspace".

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Kabul demands control of Afghan militia

PRESIDENT Hamid Karzai has given US-led foreign forces three months to transfer control over armed Afghan militias to his government, following allegations of abuse by the militiamen.

The move appeared to be a further sign of Kabul's determination to take control of the 11-year war against the Taliban, and in particular of militias reportedly trained by the Americans and operating without Kabul's control.

With the bulk of NATO's 100,000 combat soldiers due to leave next year, Karzai has several times sought to set the pace of the transition to full Afghan government control, scheduled by the end of 2014.

A presidential order released by the Afghan council of ministers said Karzai had appointed a delegation assigned "to ask coalition forces to hand over within three months the mentioned armed groups to Afghan security institutions".

It said security chiefs decided on February 17 "to identify and merge those armed groups which have been established by international coalition forces and are operating out of the structure of Afghanistan's national security institutions".

On Sunday Karzai ordered US special forces to pull out of Wardak, a strategic province on the doorstep of Kabul troubled by Taliban violence, in two weeks after accusing the Afghan militias they work with of torture and murder.

An Afghan official told AFP Thursday's move was precipitated by the allegations of abuse.

US officials have said they were unaware of any incident that could have precipitated the order. A spokesman for the US-led NATO mission said while the allegations were being investigated, no evidence had yet been found.

On February 16 Karzai restricted Afghan forces from calling in NATO air strikes - an important weapon in the fight against insurgents - amid concern over civilian casualties.

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US weekly jobless claims rise

NEW claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to 344,000, in line with the recent trend after the previous week's spike higher, government figures show.

Claims, an indicator of the pace of layoffs across the country, fell by 22,000 in the week to February 23 from the previous week's revised 366,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

The four-week moving average fell by 6,750 claims to 355,000.

Concerns were mounting on Thursday that the "sequester" federal spending cuts expected to come into effect on Friday will cause a spike in layoffs by government contractors and temporary government employees.

Unemployment remains the biggest challenge to the US economy, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress this week.

According to the latest official data, the US unemployment rate was 7.9 per cent in January.

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US economy grew slightly at end of 2012

THE US economy grew slightly in the fourth quarter last year, the government says, revising its prior estimate of a small contraction.

Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 0.1 per cent in the October-December period, the Commerce Department said in its second official estimate. In its initial estimate in January, GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent.

"While today's release has revised the direction of change in real GDP, the general picture of the economy for the fourth quarter remains largely the same as what was presented last month," the department said.

The revision did not change the growth rate for all of 2012 of 2.2 per cent, helped by a solid 3.1 per cent pace in the third quarter.

Scott Hoyt of Moody's Analytics said the scant growth in the revised reading "highlights the impact the budget negotiations in Washington and weakness of overseas economies have had on the US economy".

The slowdown reflected sharp drops in inventory building and federal government spending ahead of the January 1 "fiscal cliff" of across-the-board automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

Private inventories and government spending each fell roughly 1.5 per cent.

A drop in exports, by 0.6 per cent, also contributed to the slower GDP growth.

Consumer spending, which drives about 70 per cent of US economic activity, was revised down a notch, to 2.1 per cent from 2.2 per cent.

Most analysts expected a stronger GDP reading of 0.5 per cent growth for the final quarter amid signs the economy was picking up in the first quarter.

"While not negative any more, the weakness in Q4 GDP still looks grossly exaggerated; other data, such as employment growth and the ISM indexes, suggest that the trend is at least 2.0 per cent, perhaps better than that," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday, warned economic growth remained uneven and could be further hurt by the government's steep budget cuts, or sequester, slated to take effect on Friday.

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US stocks dip on disappointing growth

US stocks have edged mostly lower after a fresh government estimate on economic growth in the fourth quarter came in lower than expected.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.11 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 14,058.26.

The broad-based S&P 500 retreated by 0.65 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 1,515.34.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index nudged higher by 0.11 points to 3,162.36.

The trading came as the Commerce Department revised the fourth-quarter growth rate to a positive 0.1 per cent, instead of a contraction of 0.1 per cent. Economists had forecast a revision to 0.5 per cent.

Trade was also negatively affected by some disappointing results from JC Penney and other retailers.

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Balcony collapses as 11 tuck in to dinner

EIGHT people are in hospital after a balcony collapse in Sydney sent them hurtling up to seven metres.

Police, rescue crews and paramedics were called to a duplex on the Pacific Highway, in the leafy north shore suburb of Lane Cove, just after 10pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.

NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman Ian Krimmer told AAP 11 people had been dining on the balcony when it collapsed.

Some 30 emergency services personnel helped manoeuvre the injured out of the rubble during a long rescue operation.

"The cause of the incident is yet to be investigated," Superintendent Krimmer said.

Eight people were taken to hospital, including five with serious injuries.

Engineers are expected to begin examining the site at daybreak.

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Beijing restaurant sign triggers fury

A SIGN at a Beijing restaurant barring citizens of nations involved in maritime disputes with China - along with dogs - has triggered a wave of online outrage among Vietnamese and Filipinos.

The Beijing Snacks restaurant near the Forbidden City, a popular tourist spot, has posted a sign on its door reading "This shop does not receive the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)."

Photographs of the controversial sign have gone viral in Vietnamese-language forums and featured heavily in Philippine newspapers and websites on Wednesday.

Vietnam's state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper ran a story saying the sign had "ignited online fury". It claimed many Vietnamese feel this is another example of Chinese "extreme nationalism that deserves to be condemned".

"It's not patriotism, it's stupid extremism," Sy Van wrote in Vietnamese in a comment under the story, published on the paper's website.

The sign provoked thousands of posts on Vietnamese social networking sites and newspaper comment threads.

"This is teaching hate to the younger generation," Facebook user Andrea Wanderer wrote in Vietnamese. "The owner of the restaurant has obviously been brainwashed by their government," added Facebook user Chung Pham.

Filipinos greeted the photo with a mixture of fury and amusement.

"Blatant racism at Beijing Restaurant," journalist Veronica Pedrosa wrote in one widely-shared tweet, while Facebook user Rey Garcia used a comment thread on a news site to retort: "Who cares, they almost cook everything, even foetus and fingernails."

Vietnam and the Philippines are locked in a longstanding territorial row with China over islands in the South China Sea. China and Japan have a separate acrimonious dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

The sign's wording is particularly inflammatory as it recalls China's colonial era, when British-owned establishments barred Chinese from entering.

A sign supposedly reading "No Dogs and Chinese allowed" became part of Communist propaganda after it was said to have hung outside a park in Shanghai when Western powers controlled parts of China.

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South Africa unveils tough budget

SOUTH Africa finance minister Pravin Gordhan has unveiled a bootstraps budget of spending curbs and increased "sin taxes" for Africa's largest economy, predicting slow growth and a swollen budget deficit.

Gordhan told parliament that growth would be a modest 2.7 per cent this year and the government's budget deficit would hit 5.2 per cent amid "enormous" challenges facing the country.

"South Africa's economic outlook is improving but it requires that we take a different trajectory to move it forward," said Gordhan.

Growth had previously been forecast to hit 3.0 per cent this year.

The minister said that a growing economy - and widening the tax base - was the best way to address the budget shortfall.

"All of you must pay a little more tax thank you very much," he said to mixed reactions from MPs.

But he admitted, "the growth outlook for the next three years has weakened, and government's net debt is now expected to stabilise marginally higher than 40 per cent of" gross domestic product.

To close the 16.3 billion rand ($A1.77 billion) gap in tax revenue versus previous estimates, in the short term he announced cuts to planned spending of 10.4 billion rand over three years.

He also announced an increase in fuel levies as well as taxes on beer, wines, spirits and tobacco, while announcing some tax incentives for consumers and youth employment.

A carbon tax will be increased from 2015.

More tax increases may well be on the way.

"There will be significant adjustments in revenue, which means that taxes may go up later," he said.

Gordhan presented his 2013 budget under pressure to provide assurance on South Africa's path after credit rating downgrades from all three major agencies in recent months.

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3 dead, 7 hurt in Swiss factory shooting

A GUNMAN has killed two people and wounded seven others when he opened fire in a Swiss factory, police say, adding the shooter also died.

"There are three dead and seven wounded, a number of them seriously," a police spokesman in the central canton of Lucerne told AFP.

The gunman was among the dead, the spokesman added, without saying whether he had committed suicide or been shot by police.

Three helicopters from the Swiss emergency service REGA evacuated four seriously wounded people from the scene of the shooting at the Kronospan wood panel plant in Menznau, near Lucerne, a spokesman told AFP.

Some Swiss media claimed the gunman was a disgruntled Kronospan employee, but police declined to elaborate.

Local newspaper Willisauerer Bote said the company had just announced it was cutting production after a poor logging season.

Witnesses quoted by local media said the shooting started in the factory canteen around 9:00 am (1900 AEST), as workers on an early shift took their lunch break.

"We're all in shock. We'll do everything we can to help the victims' loved ones and support them financially," Urs Fluder, a member of Kronospan's board, told local station Radio Pilatus.

"The company will keep going as normally as possible," he added.

Owned by Austrian group Kronospan, the factory is the top employer in Menznau, giving jobs to about 400 people in the community of almost 2,600.

"This is a tragedy," Menznau's mayor, Adrian Duss, told AFP.

Switzerland has a longstanding tradition of gun ownership, rooted in the fact that the bulk of its military are reservists, rather than professionals.

The country ranks third in the world for the number of guns per inhabitant, after the United States and Yemen.

On January 2, a 33-year-old drifter wielding two weapons killed three women and wounded two men in the village of Daillon in southern Switzerland.

The biggest gun massacre in recent Swiss history occurred in September 2001 in the central city of Zug, claiming 15 lives including that of the shooter.

A local man with a history of legal clashes with the authorities dressed in a fake police uniform attacked the regional parliament armed with several weapons including an assault rifle.

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Sausages containing horsemeat in Russia

RUSSIA says it has found horsemeat in a shipment of sausages imported from Europe, its first known case of horsemeat contamination.

Alexei Alexeyenko, an aide to Sergei Dankvert, the head of Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, said that tests on sausages imported from the city of Linz in Austria found horse DNA.

"It came two days ago from Austria," Alexeyenko told AFP. "The shipment is over 20 tonnes," he said, adding that the enterprise that supplied the meat had been struck off the list of suppliers.

The contaminated meat will either be destroyed or returned to the supplier, he added.

Horsemeat is a traditional delicacy in Russia and can be found in many restaurants and stores across the country.

Alexeyenko said the problem with the contaminated meat was that it was not clear what it was made of.

"We are talking about adulterated meat products containing horsemeat," he said. "The source of this meat is unknown," he noted, adding that old ill animals could have been used to make it.

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Wiener sausages withdrawn by Ikea

FURNITURE giant Ikea is withdrawing wiener sausages in the UK after tests found "indications" of horsemeat, just days after it withdrew a batch of its traditional meatballs.

The Swedish company said it was removing the sausages from sale in Britain, France, Spain, Ireland and Portugal after tests confirmed "a few indications of horsemeat".

An Ikea spokeswoman said: "Based on some hundred test results that we have received so far, there are a few indications of horse meat. Together with the Swedish supplier in question we have decided to withdraw from sales also the wiener sausages ... from that supplier."

The move comes two days after it withdrew Swedish meatballs from stores across Europe and a handful of countries in Asia and the Caribbean after horse meat was discovered by Czech authorities.

But it said the move affected just one batch as a precaution pending further tests, and meatballs would still be available to buy in its stores.

A spokesman said on Monday: "Ikea is committed to serving and selling high quality food that is safe, healthy and produced with care for the environment and the people who produce it.

"We do not tolerate any other ingredients than the ones stipulated in our recipes or specifications, secured through set standards, certifications and product analysis by accredited laboratories."

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UK's deputy PM admits 'serious mistakes'

BRITISH Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has admitted that "very serious mistakes" were made over a sex scandal which has rocked his Liberal Democrat party ahead of a crucial by-election.

Clegg repeated his insistence that he was unaware of allegations of sexual harassment by several female party workers against former Lib Dem chief executive Lord Chris Rennard until they emerged last week.

But he conceded that rumours about the behaviour of Rennard - who strongly denies groping the women - had been "in the background" of the peer's resignation due to ill-health in 2009.

The Lib Dems, the junior coalition partners in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led government, have launched two internal inquiries into the allegations and the police are also investigating whether crimes were committed.

"There were some very serious mistakes and the women were not listened to and were let down," Clegg said during his weekly phone-in on a London radio station.

He said that "clearly something went seriously wrong" in the Liberal Democrats because they failed to act upon complaints dating back several years, but insisted: "My party has nothing to hide, I have nothing to hide."

The Lib Dems have struggled to contain the media storm over the allegations and Clegg's leadership has been called into question following claim and counterclaim about what he knew and when.

The affair could not come at a worse time as the Lib Dems battle to retain their parliamentary seat in Eastleigh, southern England, in a by-election on Thursday which itself was sparked by another scandal.

The seat was vacated by Chris Huhne, a former Lib Dem energy minister who is likely to receive a jail sentence after pleading guilty to asking his wife to take speeding points on his behalf a decade ago, and then lying about it.

It is unclear how much of an impact the Rennard affair will have on the vote in Eastleigh, where the Lib Dems are in a tight race with the Tories.

But commentators say the scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Clegg's leadership and the structures of Britain's third political party which until the 2010 general election was a party of protest that had never before held power.

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EU MPs vote to suspend airline carbon tax

EU politicians have backed plans to exempt some airline carbon emissions from a controversial tax pending an international accord on an issue which has pitted Europe against the United States and China.

The Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted through a proposal to suspend the EU's CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for intercontinental flights, as announced, for a year in November by the European Commission.

MEPs stressed that their support was conditional on progress at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to agree worldwide measures to tackle the carbon dioxide emissions many blame for global warming.

"Today's vote is a clear signal that the European Union wants an international solution," said MEP Peter Liese, who oversees the issue in parliament.

EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard suspended the carbon tax plan last year for flights to and from non-European nations after Washington and Beijing led a chorus of opposition. The EU unilaterally introduced the carbon tax scheme on January 1, 2012 but 26 of the ICAO's 36 members opposed the move, saying the levy violated international law.

Under the ETS, airlines operating within the EU have to buy pollution credits to cover some 15 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions.

Liese said there was now "no more excuses for third countries not to engage in the issue.

"Third countries have given the impression that it is the European Union that stands in the way but we shall see if they have enough commitment," he added.

The ICAO is due to take up the issue again at its next general assembly in September 2013.

The committee recommendation now goes to a full parliament vote in April.

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Germany lays down rules for 'fracking'

THE German government has drawn up rules for the controversial oil and gas technique of "fracking" to be carried out in the country, according to a ministry paper obtained by AFP.

Under a draft proposal by the economy and environment ministries, fracking - the subject of fierce debate - would be banned in areas where there are water reserves and mineral springs.

This is a concession to public opinion amid serious concerns about safety, as well as the environmental and health effects of the technology.

In addition, rigorous studies into the environmental impact would be undertaken at each proposed site, the paper said.

The technology of "hydraulic fracturing" has unlocked immense gas and oil resources and changed the geopolitics of energy.

But it remains highly controversial, with widespread, serious worries for the environment and the health of people living near the "fracking" locations.

It has been banned in France since 2011.

German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier has promised to introduce legislation on the topic before federal elections on September 22.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recently expressed caution about the technology, pointing out that, unlike large areas of the United States where fracking is carried out, Germany is a very densely populated country.

Since its invention in 2007, "fracking" has become the gold rush of the 21st century, bringing with it tens of billions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

Environment minister Altmaier said in a statement the proposals represented "an important breakthrough to contain the dangers of fracking."

"Safety and environmental protection have priority over economic interests," the minister said.

"It's a signal that we're serious about protecting the environment and people."

Nevertheless the untapped underground oil and gas reserves - for gas alone they are estimated at as much as 2.3 trillion cubic metres - represent a "significant" source of energy for the future, the ministries pointed out.

"Domestic oil and gas production will continue to make a substantial contribution to the security of supply and price stability in Germany," as the country has pledged to abandon nuclear energy entirely by 2022, the ministries said.

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Battles erupt at Aleppo's historic mosque

FIERCE fighting has erupted around the historic Umayyad Mosque in Syria's second city Aleppo, as rebels battle troops on the grounds of a police academy elsewhere in the province, a watchdog says.

Explosions and gunfire shook the area around the mosque, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A military source also reported heavy fighting and said rebels had detonated an explosive near the southern outer wall of the mosque in an attempt to break into the courtyard.

The army has full control of the mosque itself, but rebels hold positions around the southern entrance.

In October, the mosque was heavily damaged when a fire broke out amid clashes and charred several antique furnishings and one of its intricately sculpted colonnades.

At the time, thieves stole three hairs and part of a tooth said to have been from the Muslim Prophet Mohammed that were among the mosque's most renowned, an AFP reporter learned.

The site has been a place of Muslim worship since the 8th century, but the original building was razed by the Mongols in the 13th century, from when the current structure dates.

Today it is again in danger, as fighting has raged in Aleppo since mid-July, including in its UNESCO-listed Old City which embraces the ancient citadel and historic covered market and the mosque.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, rebels pushed into the grounds of a major police academy and seized one of its buildings after a fierce two-day siege in which more than 70 combatants were killed, the Observatory said.

The academy, located near the town of Khan Assal, is one of the last regime bastions in the province.

Air strikes were also reported in the southern province of Daraa, the eastern outskirts of Damascus, the northwestern province of Idlib and the northern province of Raqa.

The latest violence came after 154 people were killed nationwide on Monday - 54 civilians, 41 rebels and 59 regime troops, eight of whom were killed in a suicide car bombing on their checkpoint in Damascus, the Observatory said.

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Poachers threatening African rhino species

RHINO poaching soared by nearly half last year and appears to be increasing this year, conservationists say, warning that the small population of animals will soon begin to shrink.

Poaching of the animals jumped by 43 per cent between 2011 and 2012, and so far this year one rhino had been killed by poachers every 11 hours, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said.

Last year at least 745 rhinos were poached across Africa, with 668 of the animals killed in South Africa alone, it said in a statement.

And since 2006 nearly 2400 rhinos have been killed across Africa, slowing the population growth to its lowest levels since 1995, it said.

"Well-organised and well-funded crime syndicates are continuing to feed the growing black market with rhino horn," said Mike Knight, who heads the IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group.

"Over the past few years, consumers' use of rhino horn has shifted from traditional Asian medicine practices to new uses, such as to convey status," he explained, pointing out that demand in Vietnam was especially escalating.

There are currently 5055 Black Rhinoceros and 20,405 White Rhinoceros in Africa, according to the organisation.

While the populations are continuing to grow slightly, they will begin declining in less than two years if the poaching continues to increase, IUCN said.

The organisation called on the international community, and especially the main rhino horn markets Vietnam and China, as well as transit hub Mozambique, "to urgently address the crisis by strengthening and enforcing regional and international trade laws, particularly in relation to rhino horn."

The plight of rhinos and African elephants, which are increasingly being poached for their ivory, will be among the top issues discussed at a summit on endangered species in Bangkok next month, organised by UN wildlife trade regulator CITES.

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UNICEF seeks $45 million for Mali children

UNICEF says it urgently needs $US45 million ($A43.95 million) to help children in conflict-stricken Mali, where the threat of violence and trafficking has spiralled, compounding a long-running food crisis.

The money was needed to meet basic needs such as health care, nutrition, education and protection over the next three months, UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado told reporters.

Hundreds of thousands of Malians fled their homes in the wake of last year's seizure of a swathe of the north by Islamists who took advantage of a rebellion by the country's Tuareg community.

The number of fleeing Malians has risen during a French-led offensive against the militants launched by the Malian army in January.

"The impact on children has been particularly acute," said Mercado.

"Displacement has put children at increased risk of sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, trafficking, separation, recruitment into armed groups, as well as exposure to mines and unexploded or abandoned war ordinance," she added.

The conflict came on top of years of drought in Mali and other nations in the Sahel region of northern Africa, where millions face famine as a result.

"The region as a whole is experiencing a continuing nutrition crisis and children affected by the Mali crisis are at particular risk and in urgent need of assistance," said Mercado.

In Mali an estimated 660,000 children under the age of five are expected to face malnutrition this year, according to UNICEF.

The crisis has disrupted schooling for some 700,000 children.

There have also been concerns about human rights violations by both the Islamists and the Malian army.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, France's deputy foreign minister Yamina Benguigui called for a resolution that would pave the way for an investigation into rights abuses.

She said the Malian authorities must respect international rights treaties and watch for violations.

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'Heavy fighting' in strategic Sudan border

HEAVY fighting has occurred between government and rebel forces in a strategic Sudanese border town, a source familiar with the situation says, giving the first independent confirmation of the key battle.

The fight for El Kurmuk - which Sudan's army has denied - is the most serious for more than a year in Blue Nile state, which has been largely sealed from the outside world.

"There has been heavy fighting since the start of this week," said the source, who cannot be identified.

Rebels claimed on Sunday to have pushed into Kurmuk's southwest.

Kurmuk, an important trading centre on the Ethiopian border, is the third-largest town in Blue Nile state and has been in government hands since November 2011.

Sudan's government severely restricts access to Blue Nile and South Kordofan, two states where the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North have been fighting since 2011.

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of backing the SPLM-N but the South denies involvement.

The fighting has led to "truly appalling" conditions for civilians trapped in the region, UN humanitarian operations director John Ging said in January.

More than 200,000 people have fled as refugees to South Sudan and Ethiopia, the UN says.

An additional one million have been affected inside Blue Nile and South Kordofan, according to figures from the humanitarian wing of the rebels and data from the government's aid agency.

Ging said there are stories of "people having to rely on roots and leaves" to survive, and that those who escape the area are in an emaciated state.

International concerns are rising over tensions between Khartoum and the South Sudanese government in Juba. The two countries failed to implement agreements, including a demilitarised border zone, which they hailed in September as ending a cross-border conflict.

SPLM-N fighters were allies of southern rebels during the civil war that led to South Sudan's independence two years ago under a 2005 peace agreement.

That deal failed to settle the role of ethnically diverse Blue Nile and South Kordofan within Sudan.

Kurmuk was a key battleground during Sudan's 22-year civil war.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) retook the town in November 2011, two months after fighting began with the SPLM-N.

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Europe in shock after Italian election

ITALY is at an impasse after an election seen as crucial for the eurozone failed to produce a clear winner and provided a shock debut for a populist anti-austerity party, rattling world markets and setting off alarm bells across Europe.

Italian stocks plunged and borrowing rates jumped after centre-left Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani scraped a razor-thin victory in the lower house of parliament and the Senate ended up with no political force winning a majority.

Bersani warned Italy was in "a very delicate situation" as the political gridlock became clear late on Monday and he was due to address the growing sense of crisis later on Tuesday.

Stock markets in Europe, Asia and the United States also fell on fears of instability in the eurozone's third biggest economy as political analysts predicted either an unsteady coalition government or fresh elections within months.

A majority in both chambers of parliament is required to form a government, leaving Italy in a state of limbo with a hung parliament that is unprecedented in its post-war history.

Under the constitution, parliament has to meet 20 days after an election at the latest, after which formal negotiations begin with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on forming a government.

European capitals were quick to voice concern.

"It's a leap into the unknown, which bodes poorly both for Italy and for the rest of Europe," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said.

The European Commission said it had heard "the message of concern" from Italian voters but expected the country to stick to its pledges of budget cuts and economic reforms.

"Italy has made commitments," Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said at a news conference. "As far as we are concerned these commitments remain."

Silvio Berlusconi's coalition came a close second in the vote for the lower house, winning 29.18 per cent of the vote to 29.54 per cent for Bersani.

A third force - the populist, anti-government Five Star Movement (M5S) of former comic Beppe Grillo - won big, reaping a resounding protest vote from an electorate fed up with austerity policies and a grinding recession to score 25.5 per cent in the lower house.

"We're not against the world," Grillo told reporters on Tuesday.

"We'll see reform by reform, law by law. If there are proposals that are compatible with our programme, we will evaluate them," he said.

European powerhouse Germany, as well as France, also reacted nervously, with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle calling for a new government to be formed "as quickly as possible".

"The politicians in Rome know that Italy still needs a policy of reform, a policy of (budgetary) consolidation," he said.

But analysts had a mostly pessimistic outlook.

"The country which most needs stability will not have a government that lasts for more than a few months," said James Walston, professor of international relations at the American University in Rome.

The big loser was outgoing prime minister Mario Monti, who was drafted to run a technocratic government in the debt-strapped country after Berlusconi was ousted at the height of the financial crisis in 2011.

In contrast to Grillo's shock success, Monti won just 10.56 per cent in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. While he won praise in Europe, he was increasingly criticised at home for his austerity measures.

"The real Italy has expressed all its malaise and in this vote can be heard the voices and the stories of those who cannot find work, who cannot retire... those who think they have no future and flee abroad," wrote the daily La Stampa.

"Boom for Grillo, Italy Ungovernable", screamed the headline in the leftist La Repubblica daily.

Berlusconi defied all expectations that he would suffer defeat, winning votes on a promise to refund an unpopular property tax to Italians - out of his own pocket if needed.

The 76-year-old media tycoon will therefore continue to play a key role in politics and incredibly may be called on by the left to form an emergency coalition, analysts said.

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Ikea pulls meatballs over horsemeat fears

SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn some of its meatballs from sale in at least 15 European countries after horsemeat was found in the product by Czech authorities.

"We take this very seriously and have withdrawn one-kilo bags of frozen meatballs from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland," in addition to Sweden, said company spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson.

The product had also been removed from shelves in Denmark, according to Dorte Hjorth Harder, spokeswoman for Ikea Denmark.

"We have today been informed that our meatballs could contain traces of horsemeat, based on a test done in the Czech Republic," Ikea said in a statement.

"Our own tests haven't shown any traces of horsemeat. We now obviously have to study this further," it added.

The batch of 1kg frozen meatballs had been pulled from shelves due to "customer concerns", Ikea said.

Sweden's National Food Agency said it had been informed of the tests by Dafgaard, the company that produces the meatballs sold by Ikea in most European countries.

"It's the authorities in the Czech Republic that found traces of horsemeat in one of three tests they performed," said Karin Cerenius, head of food control for the agency in the western region of Vaestra Goetaland.

"They still don't know the amount (of horsemeat) involved," she said.

Dafgaard said in a statement it was performing its own DNA tests on the batch and that the meatballs had been "blocked" from distribution.

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Lost Sydney boy found, one still missing

ONE of two boys who went missing from school in Sydney's southwest has returned home but police continue to search for his friend.

Jaydan Patterson, 13, and Tyler Rolani, 11, were last seen leaving their school at Warwick Farm about 10.35am (AEDT) on Monday.

Police were seriously concerned for their welfare as they both had intellectual disabilities and could be easily disoriented.

Tyler had since returned home to his family in Macquarie Fields and was safe and well.

They said they were following a number of inquiries to locate his friend Jaydan.

He has dark hair and freckles and is believed to be wearing three-quarter length shorts, a dark coloured collared shirt and black runners.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should immediately call triple-zero.

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US stocks rise on promise of more stimulus

US stocks have opened solidly higher on expectations of continued economic stimulus measures by central banks.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.27 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 14,053.84.

The broad-based S&P 500 increased 7.74 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,523.34.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 20.09 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 3,181.90.

The increases followed comments on Friday by St Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard that the US easy-money policy would continue.

On Monday, news surfaced that Japan's prime minister plans to appoint as central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda, the president of the Asian Development Bank, who is viewed as favouring economic stimulus measures.

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Philips drops 'Electronics' name

DUTCH manufacturing giant Philips says it intends to drop the word Electronics from its name as it shifts away from consumer-based entertainment towards health, well-being and lighting products.

Based in Eindhoven in the southern Netherlands, Philips announced in late January it was selling its lifestyle entertainment branch, which makes audio, video and multimedia products to Japanese company Funai in a 150 million euro ($A194 million) deal.

The proposal to drop the word Electronics to rename the company Royal Philips will be put to shareholders at the annual general meeting in Amsterdam on May 3, Philips said in a statement.

"Philips is a diversified technology company focused on delivering meaningful innovation in healthcare, energy-efficient lighting and consumer health and well-being," its chief executive Frans van Houten said.

"We believe having Royal Philips as our new company name will position us well in our endeavour to make the world healthier and more sustainable," he added.

Founded in 1891, the company specialised for years in making lightbulbs and later televisions. In the past decade however, it has diversified into manufacturing medical equipment such as resonance scanners.

It has been operating under the name Philips Electronics since 1991 and Royal Philips Electronics since 1998.

"We believe the new name better reflects that consumer electronics is not our priority anymore," Philips spokesman Steve Klink told AFP.

"The name change is a step in a process that we began several years ago," he said.

Last year, Philips finalised the sale of its television-making arm - a victim of competition from Asia - and the Funai deal in January saw Philips stop manufacturing products such as stereos and DVD players.

The company however will continue to make small appliances such as razors, electronic toothbrushes and coffee makers.

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Spain's Caixabank to cut about 3,000 jobs

CAIXABANK, Spain's biggest bank as measured by assets under management, plans to slash around 3,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.

The Barcelona-based bank said the restructuring was needed following the purchase of smaller rivals Banca Civica and Banco de Valencia, which has caused its staffing levels to soar.

"The implementation of this restructuring will affect some 3,000 employees," it said in a statement.

CaixaBank bought Banca Civica and rescued lender Banco de Valencia last year, although the latter has not yet been fully integrated.

It had 32,625 employees at the end of 2012, compared with nearly 27,000 a year earlier, while its network grew by more than 1,000 branches.

Caixabank's net profit plunged 78.2 per cent to 230 million euros ($A297 million) in 2012 over the previous year as a result of having to make greater provisions to cover potential real estate losses.

Spain's real estate market crashed in 2008, which left lenders awash with bad loans and prompted a wave of consolidation and hefty job losses in the sector.

Last month Spanish bank workers staged nationwide protests over the tens of thousands layoffs in the industry and against top executives they hold responsible.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last year secured an agreement for a European Union rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros to fix the banks' balance sheets, and a first slice of 37 billion euros has already been pumped into stricken banks.

CaixaBank was born July 1, 2011, when Caixa savings bank group listed its retail banking activities.

Banca Civica also made its debut in July 2011 after it was formed from the merger in 2010 of the regional savings banks Caja Navarra, Cajasol, Caja de Burgos and CajaCanarias.

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Italy's centre-left poised to win election

ITALY'S centre-left is poised to win against Silvio Berlusconi in a key election for the eurozone, but a new anti-austerity party is also set to make major gains, exit polls show.

The main Democratic Party led by Pier Luigi Bersani and its smaller leftist allies are ahead with between 34.5 and 37 per cent, beating the 29 to 31 per cent for a coalition led by the scandal-tainted former prime minister Berlusconi.

A projection by the SkyTG24 news channel said the left would manage to win a majority in both chambers of parliament, following fears it would fail to snag a majority in the upper house Senate.

The newcomer Five Star Movement led by former-comedian-turned-activist Beppe Grillo, who has channelled growing disenchantment with traditional politicians and rising social discontent, was given around 20 per cent in the exit polls.

European capitals and the financial markets have been concerned that no clear winner would emerge and stocks in Milan jumped by more than 3.5 per cent immediately after the exit polls were released on Monday.

A lacklustre turnout however reflected widespread frustration among voters fed up with austerity cuts and a grinding recession.

In the first day of voting on Sunday, turnout was 55 per cent - seven percentage points lower than at the same time in the last elections in 2008.

Outgoing prime minister Mario Monti was slated for fourth place, according to the exit polls, with only around 10 per cent of the vote.

The wild card in the election has been Grillo, who has called for Italy's debts to be cancelled and for a referendum on whether to stay in the euro.

Critics have said his party's candidates are too inexperienced, while supporters say they could bring a much-needed breath of fresh air.

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Silencer plan for NSW park hunting

HUNTERS will be allowed to use silencers on guns when shooting feral animals in NSW national parks to minimise disturbance to other users under proposals being considered by the government.

The proposal in a leaked draft assessment report would require loosening the state's prohibition on silencers, a ban designed to stop them falling into criminal hands, Fairfax newspapers reported on Tuesday.

But Police Minister Mike Gallacher, who was not consulted about the plan, says he does not want existing restrictions to change.

The Game Council of NSW has been pushing for hunters to be allowed to use silencers.

But National Parks Association of NSW campaign co-ordinator Justin McKee said silencers were a safety risk as they removed people's awareness that hunting was taking place nearby, Fairfax reported.

Environment Minister Robyn Parker is overseeing preparation of the risk assessment before declaring 77 national parks and reserves open for amateur hunting of feral animals from May.

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Flooding rain to add damage, delay repairs

FLOOD-weary Queenslanders have been warned to steel themselves for another "kick in the ribs" by Mother Nature.

Authorities already struggling to repair hundreds of millions of dollars of damaged roads and bridges will have a fresh onslaught of heavy rainfall to deal with across the state's southeast today.

There are fears that damaged roads from the January floods will not survive another drenching as some regions brace for up to 400mm of rain over the next 48 hours, based on weather bureau predictions.

The heavy rain is set to ease on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Flood-ravaged Bundaberg, still mopping up after one of its worst floods on record, is among those in the firing line.

The damage bill from January's flooding has already reached $1.1 billion, with another $1 billion of state assets yet to be assessed.

South-East Queensland is again bracing for flash flooding as another weather system batters the state's coast.

There are now fears the bill - which threatens to outstrip that of the 2011-12 floods - could rise again.

Minister for Local Government, Community Recovery and Resilience David Crisafulli said

the longer a road stayed wet, the higher the chance it would incur structural damage.

"At a time when people really want to get on with the rebuild it is another swift kick in the ribs," Mr Crisafulli said.

"I want people to understand that while it is terrible timing, the moment this goes we must continue the great effort that has been there," he said.

THE state's southeast has been warned the next few days will bring rainfall levels similar to the dumping that caused major damage during ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald a month ago. Burnett Heads lifesaver Erin Gibson, 17, yesterday patrolled a sparsely populated beach where a yacht has been stranded for a month.

"We just have to treat this for what it is and that is another speed bump thrown at us by Mother Nature.

"We can't let it destroy our resolve. There has been some really good progress."

Transport Minister Scott Emerson said he was concerned about the impact of the latest weather system on the road network, with 3642km open to motorists under either a reduced speed limit or other restriction and 109km of roads still closed to traffic.

The Burnett Highway, near Mt Morgan, remains closed due to 35 landslips, as does Mt Sylvia Rd near Laidley.

Roads still open but with restrictions include the Capricorn, Warrego, Cunningham, Gore and Leichhardt highways.

Six waterspouts formed off the Queensland coast on Sunday amid wild weather warnings. One twisted across the beach and caused damage to the Bundaberg Surf Lifesaving Club building. SEE VIDEO AND MORE PICTURES

The weather bureau's Richard Wardle said the 400mm of rainfall would be spaced over days rather than during one day as it was in January during ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

But he predicted falls of 100-200mm over 24 hours and up to 400mm over a broad area over the next 48 hours.

"For Monday and Tuesday we're looking at a large area receiving quite heavy rainfalls along the coast.

"Heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding are our main concerns," Mr Wardle said.

Seqwater yesterday began preparing for the wet by releasing water from dams.

Beach erosion in the Main Beach and Narrowneck area's of the Gold Coast.

Corporate and community relations manager Mike Foster said the releases, from North Pine Dam and Wivenhoe Dam, were low-level.

Water was being released from Wivenhoe Dam at 280 cubic metres a second, compared to 1500 cubic metres a second on Australian Day weekend.

The temporary full supply level for North Pine Dam was being drawn down to 88 per cent, similar to the temporary full supply of Wivenhoe.

"It's very much a precautionary decision that has been taken," Mr Foster said.

The wet weather had already begun for Bundaberg yesterday, with 20mm of rain as of 5pm and more on the way.

Wivenhoe Dam releases doubled ahead of expected deluge. Picture: Channel Ten News

Logan City had 26mm by 3pm yesterday, while Gladstone, Gympie, Kingaroy, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast are also in for heavy falls today and tomorrow as a slow-moving upper trough and associated upper low crosses the state.

Bundaberg authorities also reported six waterspouts off Bargara, causing the evacuation of beaches and minor damage to the Bundaberg Surf Life Saving Club building.

-- additional reporting Tom Chamberlin, Kathleen Donaghey

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One killed in fierce Syria-Lebanon clash

FIERCE fighting erupted during the night on the Syria-Lebanon border between Syrian troops and unknown gunmen, leaving a Lebanese man dead and four wounded, a Lebanese security source says.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman demanded on Sunday that Syria "refrain from firing towards Lebanese territory".

He also stressed, in a statement, the need to "respect the neutral position of (Lebanon) which means not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, notably Syria".

The violence was triggered by the death hours earlier of another Lebanese man, who was killed on Saturday in gunfire coming from the Syria side of the border near a river separating the two countries, the security source said.

Members of his clan took part in the clashes against Syrian troops during the night in the Bukayaa region of northern Lebanon, a Lebanese official told AFP.

The Syrian army used artillery, mortars and automatic weapons fired from the Syrian village of Mcherfe as they clashed with the gunmen, according to the security source, who said a Lebanese man was killed and at least four others wounded in the fighting.

He was unable to say whether the gunmen were Lebanese or Syrians opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Beirut has officially adopted a neutral policy towards the Syria conflict, but it has deepened divisions in the country, with the Sunni-led March 14 movement supporting the revolt and the Shi'ite Hezbollah and its allies backing the Assad regime.

The violence has raised fears of the kind of sectarian strife that rocked Lebanon during its 1975-1990 civil war.

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Explosions at house in Vietnam kill 10

VIETNAMESE state media say 10 people, including a family of seven, were killed in twin explosions at a house used to store materials for creating smoke and fire effects in film production.

Tuoi Tre news says the blasts took place on Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's commercial capital.

The report says the house was owned by a pyrotechnician who worked in films, and that materials he was storing there were suspected in the blasts.

The man, known as "Phoung of Smoke and Fire", was among the 10 people killed.

According to the report, neighbours said they heard two blasts five minutes apart. They said the explosions broke the windows of nearby houses.

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Newspoll shows NSW Labor down

THE latest Newspoll shows support for NSW Labor is at its lowest point for six months as a corruption scandal dims the party's prospects at a state level and federally.

The poll conducted for The Australian newspaper in January and February shows primary support for state Labor at 27 per cent, two points down on a poll conducted in November and December last year.

Labor was last at 27 per cent in a poll conducted in July-August last year after dipping to only 24 per cent in March-April.

Support for the O'Farrell coalition government is up one percentage point, at 46 per cent, indicating a 60-40 split in favour of the coalition in two-party preferred terms.

The poll, published on Monday, is bad news for federal Labor, with half of the party's 20 most marginal federal seats in NSW, and big swings against it widely tipped in western Sydney and on the NSW Central Coast.

Polls have shown support for Labor has been slipping since NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption began hearing last year into allegedly corrupt conduct by three former state Labor ministers.

Monday's poll result is also bad news for state Opposition Leader John Robertson whose support as preferred premier has slipped back two points to 19 per cent.

Premier Barry O'Farrell's support has risen four points to 48 per cent.

He has 43 per cent of voters satisfied with his performance and 38 per cent dissatisfied compared with 28 per cent satisfied with Mr Robertson and 35 per cent not satisfied.

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Joan Child, first female Speaker, dies

JOAN Child, the first female Speaker of federal parliament, has died at the age of 91.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has paid tribute to Ms Child, saying she is deeply saddened by her death on the weekend and she will remain a source of inspiration.

"With Joan Child's passing, Australia has lost one of its pioneering female political leaders, and I have lost a role model," Ms Gillard said.

Ms Child was elected to the Melbourne seat of Henty in 1974, when she became the first female Labor member of the House of Representatives and only the fourth woman ever elected to the House.

She was Speaker from 1986 to 1989 under the Hawke government, and retired from parliament the following year.

Until the election of Labor's Anna Burke last October, Ms Child had been the only female Speaker.

Ms Gillard said in a statement that Ms Child came to politics later in life, bringing "remarkable gifts of common sense, good humour and persistence against the odds".

Widowed at a young age, she had brought up five boys on her own and for a time worked as a cleaner to make ends meet.

"Though she attained high office, Joan always retained a sense of perspective. Her hobbies - gardening, reading detective fiction, listening to her idol Elvis - kept her firmly grounded," Ms Gillard said.

She said Ms Child was one of Labor's 'true believers' and was a powerful voice for the needs and rights of women, especially working women and women doing it tough.

Ms Child also set an example that led the way for women's participation in the Labor Party.

The prime minister said Ms Child's family had accepted the offer of a state funeral.

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Police praise heavy rock concert goers

POLICE have uncovered drugs and ejected more than 80 revellers from the Soundwave heavy rock concert in Sydney but say the majority of the crowd was well behaved.

More than 200 officers were on patrol at Sunday's concert at Olympic Park at Homebush that was attended by around 75,000 people.

Police said officers and drug detection dogs conducted 252 person searches and identified 54 people allegedly in possession of illicit drugs.

They were dealt with by way of Field Court Attendance Notices or cannabis cautions.

Illicit drugs seized include cannabis, ecstasy, ice and amphetamines.

Throughout the day, 82 revellers were ejected from the event by police and security staff - many of them for being intoxicated.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Lennon said the majority of the crowd was well behaved with only a small number letting the rest down.

"While one person is too many, we were pleased to see far fewer people in possession of and affected by drugs at this festival."

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Bond's Aston Martin up for sale

JAMES Bond's famous Aston Martin car, complete with hidden machine guns and a smoke screen, is up for grabs for a cool STG3 million ($A4.5 million).

Swiss millionaire Thomas Straumann put the vehicle up for sale in Britain with the price tag, the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag said.

Straumann, a shareholder in a dental implant firm, bought the Aston Martin DB5 in 2006 and spent three years restoring the car driven by Sean Connery as the fictional British spy in Goldfinger and Thunderball.

After buying the car for $US2.7 million ($A2.65 million) at a US auction, Straumann had 3000 hours of work put into its overhaul, according to NZZ am Sonntag.

Its famous JB007 licence plate aside, the Aston Martin boasts machine guns hidden behind retractable headlights, a smoke screen and a bullet-proof shield.

But one notable absence is a gadget Straumann chose to eliminate during the makeover: the ejector seat.

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