Death toll in Canada rail crash up to 28

The death toll from the Canada rail disaster has risen to 28 after four more bodies were discovered. Source: AAP

THE death toll from the Lac-Megantic train disaster has risen to 28 after four more bodies were pulled from rubble of the devastated Canadian town.

A further 22 people remain missing and presumed dead after the rail disaster, Quebec police said on Friday, as accident investigators continue to comb through the destruction.

A spokesman from the coroner's office added they have now identified eight of the 28 bodies, up from just one earlier.

Part of a train made up of 72 tank cars loaded with crude oil derailed in the early hours of Saturday, July 6, in Lac-Megantic, near the Quebec-Maine border, igniting a huge explosion that laid waste to the centre of the lakeside town.

Police working in the disaster zone have had "a great deal of difficulty" because of strong petrol fumes, Quebec provincial police spokesman Michel Forget said.

"These are the places where there is a much denser concentration of oil. So, when we lift pieces, these fumes" reach insupportable limits for the investigators, he said.

"We have had therefore to review our strategy and deploy to other spots," Forget explained, emphasising that "the ground is contaminated with oil in some places."

Police are examining "different measures to ensure ventilation to make sure the work can continue" as efficiently as possible.

The approximately 200 police on the scene, including 60 investigators, will be reinforced in the coming days by crime scene technicians from Montreal and Quebec City "in order to accelerate the work," he added.

Earlier, investigation official Jean Laporte said the Lac-Megantic crash was "extremely likely the most devastating rail accident in the history of Canada."

The US transportation safety agency would also work with the investigators, Laporte added.

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Local ballots for Labor preselection

LABOR will hold local ballots for preselection in five seats vacated by former prime minister Julia Gillard and several of her senior ministers.

The national executive decided on Saturday the rank and file process would apply for preselecting candidates for Ms Gillard's Melbourne seat of Lalor, as well as Rankin (Queensland), Kingsford-Smith and Charlton (NSW) and Hotham (Victoria).

Under special arrangements, all the preselections will be finished by Saturday, July 27.

The national executive also ruled to remove any obstacles for eligibility for Joanne Ryan, Lisa Clutterham and Julie Ann Evans to contest the preselection in Lalor.

However, Ms Clutterham announced earlier on Saturday she had withdrawn her preselection nomination.

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NGOs in dilemma over rescuing N Koreans

SOUTH Korean NGOs face a dilemma over how to rescue 64 North Koreans held by Myanmar rebels and forced to work on a drug farm, an activist says.

The North Koreans have been taken to a rebel camp northeast of Tachilek, a town along the border between Myanmar and Thailand, over the past nine years, Pastor Kim Hee-Tae said on Saturday.

The refugees were caught while attempting to travel on their own through rebel-held territory to Thailand in order to defect to South Korea after fleeing their poverty-stricken homeland.

"We're in a great dilemma over how to rescue them", Kim said, adding the rebels were asking for $US5,000 ($A5,475) ransom for each of the hostages.

He said NGOs were unable to launch a campaign to raise the money or to ask for Seoul to intervene as the hostage takers were extremely publicity shy.

"We need very quiet negotiations to pull it through", he said.

About 80 per cent of the North Koreans were women and were forced to work at alcohol manufacturing or drug processing plants. "Some of them are forced into prostitution", he said.

Male captives were used to grow poppies.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said the ministry was investigating the case.

Myanmar (also known as Burma) is the world's second largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient for heroin - after Afghanistan, accounting for 10 per cent of global production, according to UN data.

Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, some 25,000 North Korean refugees have escaped and settled in the South.

Most begin their journey by crossing into China, where they face repatriation if caught.

They then try to reach a second country, with Thailand the most popular choice, from where they generally seek permission to resettle in South Korea.

Those who are caught and deported back to the North face severe punishment, including being sent to a labour camp, rights groups say.

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China ready to negotiate investment treaty

CHINA has agreed to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with the United States, a move hailed by Washington as a significant step in the Asian giant's economic reforms that could level the playing field for American businesses.

China made the concession during annual US-China security and economic talks in Washington. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng told reporters that negotiations on substantive parts of a treaty would start "as soon as possible".

The US has been pushing for such a treaty for years, and American businesses had been looking for progress in this week's talks, saying it would facilitate more protections and market access for American investors in China, where state-owned company enjoy many competitive advantages.

China's new leader, Xi Jinping, who met President Barack Obama last month in California, has signalled he intends to shift toward an economy driven more by domestic consumption and less by exports - changes that would benefit US companies wanting to sell products and services to China's fast-growing middle class.

"A high-standard US-China Bilateral Investment Treaty is a priority for the United States and would work to level the playing field for American workers and businesses by opening markets for fair competition," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.

"The commitment made today stands to be a significant breakthrough and marks the first time China has agreed to negotiate a Bilateral Investment Treaty, to include all sectors and stages of investment, with another country," he said.

Treasury officials view it as significant that China has agreed to negotiate on the basis of openness, rather than adopt its traditional approach of barring foreign investment in most sectors or requiring cumbersome administrative processes. As such, it holds promise for American service providers seeking to compete in China.

No officials from either side specified when the negotiations would begin.

According to Treasury officials, China also committed to improve access to its government procurement market and stronger protection of intellectual property rights and trade secrets, amid growing US concern of cyber-enabled theft.

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Abbott ventures into Rudd homeland

TONY Abbott has nudged a kid out of the way during a schoolyard game of footy.

The federal opposition leader, who's known for his competitive streak, visited a Catholic college in Kevin Rudd's electorate on Friday.

He spent time on the field with students and had just retired to the sidelines when the ball again caught his eye.

As he charged off again in quick pursuit, a skinny young kid in a wide-brimmed hat got in the way.

With a sidestep to rival Benji Marshall, Mr Abbott nudged the boy aside leaving the student with his hands on his hips and looking slightly miffed.

The visit was marked by another amusing moment as the would-be prime minister posed for photos with students at the library.

Behind the press pack, one of his staffers locked his eyes and fervently pointed to her brilliant smile, like a stage-mum trying to elicit a winning grin from her offspring.

Mr Abbott's own media antics didn't stop him from taking a dig at Mr Rudd's.

"It's all about managing the media, it's not about running the country," he said.

"That's the whole point with Mr Rudd. He's not interested in governing, he's interested in celebrity."

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Body found in SA backyard

Woman survives highway rock-throwing

A 54-YEAR-old woman miraculously escaped injury last night when a rock was hurled at her car from an overpass in Perth's northern suburbs.

Agar the 'Orrible melts UK hearts

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Agar's Ashes debut for the ages

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Sandler attacked by cheetah on safari

He might be laughing now, but Adam Sandler revealed he came close to becoming cat food when a cheetah attacked him on safari.

Man jailed over wheel-brace death

A BIPOLAR alcoholic smashed a woman's head in with a wheel brace in what he claimed was an act to protect his family, a Perth court has heard.

Farmers rejoice at crop-saving rain

HEAVY rain has brought relief to some farmers in parched Wheatbelt areas and flooded Brookton Highway east of Kondinin.

Toddler buys dad a car on eBay

BE careful letting your children play with your mobile phone. You might end up with a car you don't want or need. That's what happened to this new father.

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Virgin/Air NZ partnership set to continue

The ACCC says it is planning to reauthorise Virgin Australia's partnership with Air New Zealand. Source: AAP

VIRGIN Australia's trans-Tasman alliance with Air New Zealand is set to continue after the consumer watchdog said it intended to re-authorise the partnership.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it is proposing to grant conditional authorisation for the two airlines to continue their partnership for another three years.

It will make a final decision on the partnership after receiving submissions from interested parties.

Virgin and Air New Zealand formed their alliance in 2010, allowing them to coordinate schedules and pricing and offer reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge access.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ACCC said the alliance benefited consumers and generally helped boost competition on trans-Tasman routes.

"Combining the networks of the two airlines allows them to offer enhanced products and services, such as new frequencies and increased access to loyalty program benefits and lounges," ACCC Commissioner Dr Jill Walker said.

"This in turn is likely to promote competition on trans-Tasman routes."

Dr Walker also said two airlines would be at a competitive disadvantage against their rivals, particularly Qantas, which owns Jetstar and has formed a partnership with Dubai-based Emirates, if the alliance was not allowed to continue.

But Dr Walker said the re-authorisation for the partnership was conditional on the two airlines maintaining current capacity on a number of routes, including Christchurch-Melbourne, Wellington-Brisbane and Dunedin-Sydney.

"The ACCC notes that the weighing up of likely public benefit and detriment was finely balanced and it was only with the proposed conditions that the ACCC reached the preliminary view that the alliance is likely to result in a net public benefit," Dr Walker said.

The ACCC's announcement comes just two days after Virgin completed its partial takeover of Australian budget carrier, Tigerair.

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Night shift 'ups miscarriage risk': study

WOMEN who work night shifts are at greater risk of suffering miscarriages than those who work regular office hours, according to new research.

The study, led by Dr Linden Stocker and Dr Ying Cheong, also shows those who work alternate and changing shifts - not just nights - are more likely to take longer to conceive a child and suffer from menstrual disruption.

The team, based at Southampton's Princess Anne Hospital, assessed the impact of non-standard working schedules, which included night and mixed shifts, on the reproductive outcomes of 119,345 women.

They found almost a third of women (29 per cent) who worked night shifts only had an increased rate of miscarriage, while a similar number (22 per cent) who worked alternate or changing shifts suffered menstrual disruption, which can cause fertility problems.

Additionally, shift workers had an 80 per cent increased rate of subfertility, the term used to describe prolonged inability to conceive.

"Many women work, and we already know that working shifts is a risk factor for health and social wellbeing as shift workers adopt poor sleep hygiene, suffer sleep deprivation and develop activity levels that are desynchronised from their daily routine," Dr Stocker said.

"But the adverse health impacts of shift work in early reproductive function is a new, additional finding and it provides strong initial evidence that women who are trying to conceive would benefit from assessing their work patterns."

Dr Cheong, clinical director of the Princess Anne Hospital's Complete Fertility Centre Southampton and a senior lecturer at the University of Southampton, said the findings may have implications for women attempting to become pregnant as well as employers.

"But women will want to know how they can enhance their reproductive potential, not just decrease their risk of fertility problems, so we are now looking to discover the medical explanation for this in order to improve outcomes."

The study was presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

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NASA's Mars rover to up hunt for life

THE next robotic rover to explore Mars in 2020 should scour the red planet's surface more closely than ever for signs of past life, a NASA team says.

The US space agency's science definition team has released a 154-page document containing its proposals for the next Mars rover, after five months of work.

The mission would use microscopic analysis for the first time, collect the first rock samples for possible return to Earth and test ways to use natural resources on site for a future human trip, it says.

The Mars 2020 mission would build on the work being done by NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the red planet since August 2012 and has already found evidence of potentially habitable environments.

The mission would present "a major step toward seeking signs of life", said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters.

The next step is for NASA to analyse the recommendations and issue a call for scientific instruments, which could include higher resolution imaging devices, microscopes, fine scale mineralogy, chemistry and organic carbon detection tools to scan for biosignatures on Mars.

"To combine this suite of instruments would be incredibly powerful," said Jack Mustard, SDT chair and professor of geological sciences at Brown University.

The rover would collect about 31 samples that might some day be returned to Earth, representing "a legacy for understanding the development of habitability on the planet," he told reporters.

The US space agency has not yet devised the technology to bring the cache back to Earth without disturbing its contents and no plans have been set for any potential sample-return.

The next NASA mission to Mars is a November launch of MAVEN, an orbiter that will study how Mars interacted with the solar wind and lost its atmosphere.

The European Space Agency will follow in 2018 with its ExoMars rover.

John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science, said the 2020 Mars rover would get the space agency to the next step in the "quest to answer the grand questions", before a planned human mission in the 2030s.

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Qld shooting victim's family shocked

THE brother of a Gold Coast man shot dead in his bed says the family is shocked that anyone could do it to him.

Shyam Dhody, also known as Sam, was found dead by his partner when she arrived at their Sunbird Court home at Gilston just before 5pm (AEST) on Friday.

His brother Sanjeev described his brother as a generous man who liked to make donations.

"The family is shattered and obviously devastated by our loss," he said.

"It's really shocking. How a person like him could be shot."

Mr Dhody's two brothers Sanjeev and Vivek and parents Kavinda and Sushma flew into the Gold Coast on Monday night from their home in India.

They addressed media on Tuesday afternoon, appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Sanjeev repeatedly described his brother as "too generous".

"He would not leave any stone unattended in helping others," he said.

He said his brother loved Australia and never spoke about problems.

"He was very happy. He was excited about getting his children back," he said.

Mr Dhody has a daughter, 8, and son, 5, who were living with their mother in India.

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Michael Hill increases sales

MICHAEL Hill International increased sales by 6.8 per cent last year as it opened more jewellery stores in a challenging environment.

Sales climbed to $NZ541.5 million ($A467.62 million) in the 12 months ended June 30, from $NZ507.3 million a year earlier when sales rose at a 4.6 per cent pace, the Brisbane-based retailer said.

Sales at stores open more than 12 months edged up 0.4 per cent to $NZ492.7 million ($A425.47 million), compared with a 0.3 per cent decline the year earlier.

Sales in the three months ended June were difficult for the jeweller, with flat sales growth in its largest market of Australia and declining sales in its other three markets, chairman Michael Hill said.

"The directors are satisfied with the performance over the past 12 months, especially given the ongoing challenging environment," he said.

In Australia, which accounts for two thirds of sales, total revenue rose 7.3 per cent to $NZ355.1 million ($A306.65 million) from the year earlier.

In the company's second-largest market of New Zealand, sales rose 1.3 per cent to $NZ110.5 million ($A95.42 million), while revenue climbed 15.4 per cent to $NZ63.6 million ($A54.92 million) in Canada and inched up 2.8 per cent to $NZ12.3 million ($A10.62 million) in the US.

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Yancoal privatisation faces FIRB hurdle

CHINESE giant Yanzhou Coal Mining's plans to take full control of its Australian offshoot Yancoal could face a potential roadblock from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Yanzhou, which already owns 78 per cent of the local miner, has approached Yancoal with a proposal to fully privatise the company.

RBS Morgans senior analyst Tom Sartor said the full takeover may be the best move for Yancoal, which has seen its share price slide significantly since its listing last year, in line with falling coal prices.

But the privatisation would need FIRB approval which, Mr Sartor says, could be problematic, given the board previously insisted Yancoal list in Australia.

FIRB approved Yanzhou's 2009 takeover of Felix Resources, which led to the establishment of Yancoal, on the condition the company list on the ASX.

"It (the full takeover) is probably the neatest solution but whether or not FIRB will allow them to do it is another story," Mr Sartor said.

Yancoal became Australia's largest listed coal company when it debuted on the ASX in June 2012, following its takeover of Gloucester Coal.

But the company has seen its shares slide from a listing price of $1.50 to as low as 63 cents in May.

Yancoal shares were trading at 74 cents on Tuesday afternoon, up four cents since before the privatisation proposal was announced.

Mr Sartor said that while the fall in the coal price had hurt the company's stock price, local investors were also turned off by its debt levels.

"It's gearing levels are off the charts. It holds $3.6 billion worth of debt, which is almost the equivalent value of its assets."

In a statement on Tuesday, Yancoal's board of directors said they were considering the non-binding proposal.

"The Yancoal Independent Board Committee is undertaking appropriate due diligence investigations to enable it to assess the proposed terms of the proposal and will engage in discussions with Yanzhou before making a recommendation to shareholders," it said.

Yancoal operates a number of coal mines across the Hunter Valley, the NSW central west and Queensland's Bowen Basin.

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Five killed in India building collapse

FIVE restaurant workers have been killed and others injured when a two-storey hotel collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad, a local police official told AFP.

"Five people have died and 15 more have been injured when the City Light Hotel collapsed early this morning," local police official B Surender said on Monday.

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Fiji sends more UN peacekeepers to Israel

FIJI has announced it will send a further 380 troops to join a UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, lifting the Pacific nation's contribution to 562.

The move comes after several countries withdrew from the peacekeeping force because of escalating violence stemming from the Syrian conflict.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says the additional soldiers will leave for the tense border between Syria and Israel in the next few weeks, the Fiji Sun reported.

"They'll leave before the end of this month," Bainimarama said during a state visit to the Solomon Islands, the newspaper reported.

Japan and Croatia have already pulled out their contingents and Austria, previously the top contributor with almost 380 soldiers, is in the process of doing the same.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week said he was "seriously concerned" about the force's dwindling numbers.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force has been monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan since 1974, but violence has escalated as the Syrian conflict spills over into the area.

Fiji's military has a long history of contributing to UN peacekeeping forces but Bainimarama said last month that the Golan Heights deployment was potentially the most dangerous mission they had faced.

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Kiwis push for more rights in Australia

TWELVE years after laws were passed thwarting New Zealanders crossing the Tasman from becoming Australian citizens, momentum is gathering to overturn the "bizarre" imbalance in rights between the two countries.

More than 100,000 New Zealanders have moved across the ditch since 2001, only to find that if they fall on hard times they can't get state support such as sickness or unemployment benefits, student allowances and a raft of other assistance packages.

That's despite New Zealanders paying an estimated $A2.5 billion in tax each year.

Those behind the www.ozkiwi2001.org website say it is an injustice, when the 68,000 Australians living in NZ can qualify for citizenship and corresponding support relatively easily.

An online petition, calling for law changes to allow Kiwis "a fair pathway to citizenship in Australia", has raised nearly 15,000 signatures in less than two months.

Petition co-founder, Adelaide school teacher Erina Anderson, warns the situation could create a huge social problem for Australia with the number of homeless New Zealanders rising.

"There's no safety net and it has destroyed many lives and many people are in the throes of losing everything," she told AAP.

Anderson, who moved across in 2007, had initially believed she would be able to become a citizen eventually, only to find it was impossible after a lot of digging.

"It seemed really bizarre... 12 years after people are very confused. People are coming to Australia thinking they will be treated fairly and equally."

The lobby started off in May as a Facebook page to discuss the issue, driven by frustration at finding accurate information. The Facebook page has more than 11,000 followers, but has been overtaken in numbers by the petition.

"Lots of people have tried over the years but this is the first time we have united as a people and it's snowballing."

Organisers hope to hold a national awareness day on February 26 next year, building up to pressuring the government to change the laws in 2015.

NZ Prime Minister John Key tried to raise the matter with his then counterpart Julia Gillard in February, but Gillard rejected the idea of changing the law.

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Girl threatened in Sydney chemist hold-up

A 16-YEAR-OLD girl has been threatened with a knife during an armed robbery at a chemist in Sydney's south.

Two men entered the Caringbah pharmacy about 8.15pm on Saturday night.

One stole cash from an unattended counter while the other forced a 16-year-old female employee at knifepoint to open a second cash register.

The girl threw the cash tray on the floor and as the man gathered up the money, another employee raised the alarm.

The girl was uninjured.

AAP a

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Change law for gay school kids: NSW MP

INDEPENDENT Sydney MP Alex Greenwich is pushing for changes to state laws that he says allow private schools to discriminate against gay students.

Mr Greenwich says the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act contains exemptions that mean private schools can refuse entry to or expel students based on their sexuality.

He plans to introduce a private member's bill into parliament to remove the exemptions.

"Currently in NSW students can cruelly be expelled for being gay. This is wrong and my bill will end this," Mr Greenwich said in a statement on Sunday.

He said the issue was a big concern for many constituents in his inner-city seat, particularly with high school spots already extremely limited.

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Vic footy spectator's wheelchair taken

A footy spectator had his wheelchair stolen while watching a match at the MCG, police say. Source: AAP

A FOOTY spectator had his wheelchair stolen while watching a match at the MCG.

The man, 60, left his wheelchair near the Medallist Bar while he watched the Geelong versus Hawthorn AFL game from his seat on Saturday night, police said.

The wheelchair was believed stolen between 7pm and 10.30pm (AEST).

It is described as a light-blue Karma Econ 800 model, standard folding wheelchair.

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