Solar plane lands at night in US

A solar plane has taken off from California on its first attempt at a cross-country US trip. Source: AAP

THE first-ever manned aeroplane that can fly by day or night on solar power alone landed in the dark at a major south-western US airport, a live feed from the organiser's website showed.

Solar Impulse, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, touched down at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona at 7.30am (1730 AEST) on Saturday after leaving from California more than 18 hours earlier on the first leg of a cross-country journey.

Ground crew met the plane as it landed and pushed it to a safe area where Solar Impulse co-founder Andre Borschberg, a Swiss engineer and ex-fighter pilot, climbed up to the cockpit on a ladder to greet Piccard, who raised his arms in triumph.

"I'm happy to be here, happy to have landed in Phoenix," a visibly elated Piccard told reporters.

A small crowd assembled on the tarmac and cheered his arrival.

Piccard said he was impressed by the scenery as he flew over the south-western United States, first over California then over the Arizona desert to approach Phoenix. When he landed he said he still had three-quarters of his battery power left.

The US journey is being billed as the plane's first cross-continent flight.

The plane, which has a slim body and four electric engines attached to an enormous wingspan, flew quietly at an average speed of about 50 kilometres per hour. Energy provided by 12,000 solar cells powered the plane's propellers.

The project aims to showcase what can be accomplished without fossil fuels, and has set its "ultimate goal" as an around-the-world flight in 2015.

The plane can fly at night by reaching a high elevation of 8,230 metres and then gently gliding downward, using almost no power through the night until the sun comes up to begin recharging the aircraft's solar cells.

The US itinerary allows for up to 10 days at each stop in order to showcase the plane's technology to the public. Other stops are planned for Dallas, Texas, and the US capital Washington, before wrapping up in New York in early July.

That will allow Piccard and Borschberg to share duties and rest between flights.

A dashboard showing the live speed, direction, battery status, solar generator and engine power, along with cockpit cameras of both Piccard and his view from the plane, were online at live.solarimpulse.com.

The aircraft completed its first intercontinental journey from Europe to Africa in June on a jaunt from Madrid to Rabat.

Longer trips have already been successfully completed by the plane, which made the world's first solar 26-hour day and night trip in 2010.

However, the cockpit has room for just one pilot, so even though the plane could possibly make the entire US journey in three days, Piccard decided it would be easier to rest and exchange flight control with Borschberg at the stops.

Solar Impulse was launched in 2003.

The slim plane is particularly sensitive to turbulence and has no room for passengers but Piccard has insisted that those issues are challenges to be met in the future, rather than setbacks.

"Instead of speaking of the problems, we want to demonstrate solutions," Piccard said earlier as he was flying toward Phoenix, stressing that renewable technologies already exist and are well known to science.

"Now we need to put them on a big scale everywhere in our daily life."

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Assad makes appearance in Syria capital

SYRIAN leader Bashar al-Assad made a public appearance on Saturday, attending the unveiling of a statue to "martyrs" at Damascus University, state media and his official Facebook page say.

"President Bashar al-Assad joined thousands of students and the families of martyred students at the unveiling of a statue to the memory of the martyrs of Syria's universities at the University of Damascus," state television reported.

A photograph posted on the presidency's Facebook page showed Assad surrounded by bodyguards and well-wishers, arms extended in a bid to shake his hand.

The visit is the second time Assad has been seen in public this week, after a Wednesday trip to a Damascus electrical plant on Labour Day.

The embattled leader has made increasingly rare public appearances since the beginning of the uprising against his regime began in March 2011.

Before the May 1 visit, his last reported public appearance was to an educational centre in the capital on March 20.

Before that, he had not been seen publicly before since January 24, when he attended prayers at a mosque in a northern district of Damascus.

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Sudan miner search ends, 100 believed dead

THE search for about 100 workers believed to have died inside a collapsed gold mine in Sudan's Darfur region has ended after nine rescuers also became trapped, a colleague of the miners said on Saturday.

"Today the searching has stopped because it was too dangerous," the man said from the scene of the tragedy in Jebel Amir district, more than 200 kilometres northwest of North Darfur state capital El Fasher.

The unlicensed desert mine began to collapse on Monday and several days later the stench of death was seeping out of the baked earth.

Nine rescuers disappeared on Thursday when the earth collapsed around them, the miner said, adding that eight bodies had been recovered.

It was not clear whether they were rescuers or miners.

Nobody else had been found, alive or dead, said the miner, who asked to remain anonymous.

"According to what I got from my people here yesterday, they didn't find anybody (else)," he told AFP on Saturday.

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Karzai denies CIA cash buys off warlords

CIA cash delivered each month to Afghan President Hamid Karzai office was not used to buy the support of warlords who could tip the country back into civil war, he says.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has secretly handed over tens of millions of dollars to Karzai's office over the last decade, the New York Times said recently in a revelation that provoked anger in both Washington and Kabul.

But Karzai said the bundles of cash, allegedly packed in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags, were used for health care and scholarships and that full receipts are issued to the Americans.

"This money was not given to warlords," the president told a press conference in Kabul.

"The major part of this money was spent on government employees such as our guards... it has been paid to individuals not movements.

"It is used for different issues such as treating patients, scholarships for youths... we give receipts for all these expenditures to the US government."

The New York Times alleged that some of the funds were used to bribe warlords into supporting Karzai's US-backed government as the international coalition tries to stabilise the country before NATO troops withdraw next year.

Warlords who fought against both the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban regime retain huge influence and many have close links to Karzai's government which rose to power after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

With the NATO-led mission winding down after more than 11 years of fighting, the warlords look set to renew their battle for power in Afghanistan and the weak central government faces a tough challenge to impose stability.

Karzai, who is due to step down next year, declined to confirm how much his office received each month from the CIA and he repeated his gratitude to the US spy agency.

He said he had met on Saturday with US officials and asked them not to halt the cash despite protests in Washington and criticism from Afghan opposition groups.

"This is a valuable support to us. In Afghanistan's situation there is so much needed. It proves extremely helpful," the president said.

"This financial assistance should continue, we thank them for it."

Cash gifts fuel endemic corruption and this is a prime threat to Afghanistan establishing an effective state, critics of the government and the Americans claim.

When news of the CIA payments broke, Karzai immediately confirmed the reports and claimed they were part of the international aid effort to help his country recover from decades of war.

"This is an official deal between two governments," he said.

"I say that we should take every drop of money that comes to us so that our budget can be saved."

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Syria opposition slams Banias 'massacre'

THE Syrian opposition has denounced a "large-scale massacre" by troops and militiamen in a Sunni village in the northwest after a watchdog said at least 50 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

The Syrian National Coalition called for international action, citing witness reports of civilians being stabbed to death in Bayda, a Sunni village outside the port of Banias.

"The Coalition calls on the Arab League and the United Nations to act rapidly to save the civilians of Bayda, Banias and other villages across Syria," a statement said on Friday, accusing the regime of "war crimes and genocide."

"Several sources in the village say at least 50 people were killed in summary executions and shelling in Bayda village," a southern suburb of the Alawite-majority city, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP on Thursday.

He was speaking after fierce clashes erupted in the area.

The official SANA news agency said troops killed "terrorists" -- the regime term for insurgents -- and seized arms in an operation targeting rebels.

An Observatory statement said some people "were summarily executed, shot to death, stabbed or set on fire."

Regular forces were supported by pro-regime "shabiha" militiamen, added the statement from the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground for its information.

"Dozens of civilians from Bayda have gone missing, and we don't know whether they have been arrested, killed or fled," said Abdel Rahman.

"Many villagers have fled to Sunni districts in southern Banias, as there is no refuge for them in Alawite areas," he added.

The Banias region is predominantly Alawite, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam and the sect of President Bashar al-Assad, while the insurgents battling to topple his regime are mainly Sunni Muslims.

The region's three main coastal cities of Banias, Latakia and Tartus and their surrounding areas form the "Alawite heartland," where analysts say Assad could seek refuge if his regime falls.

"The regime will not allow the presence of combatants in this area," Abdel Rahman said, referring to rebel forces.

The Britain-based Observatory said on Friday regime forces were conducting a wave of arrests in the Sunni southern suburbs of Banias.

"Heavy gunfire has been heard, and we fear there may be a new sectarian massacre."

On Thursday, the Coalition said the soldiers and militiamen carried out "ugly crimes, including summary executions... to seek revenge... because the regime hasn't forgiven Banias and Bayda for standing alongside Daraa... at the start of the Syrian revolution."

Banias, along with Daraa in the south, the cradle of the uprising, saw some of the first demonstrations against the regime in March 2011.

The United Nations says that at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict that is now in its third year.

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Three-tonne jackhammer goes missing in Vic

A JACKHAMMER weighing three tonnes has been stolen by thieves in western Victoria.

The Indeco 3500 pneumatic rock breaker went missing from Mt Mercer, about 30km south of Ballarat, between April 28 and 30.

Investigators believe the $60,000 jackhammer was carted away using earth-moving equipment and a ute or tray truck.

It was being used at a property for a wind farm project.

Police have released an image of the unique tool, saying it will be easily identified.

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Hundreds flee as wildfire rages near LA

A MASSIVE wildfire is raging in the rugged countryside outside Los Angeles, forcing the closure of California's scenic coastal highway as hundreds of residents are evacuated.

Wind-driven flames ripped through tinder-dry brush and were soon racing towards the Pacific Ocean, incinerating more than 32 square kilometres (8000 acres) and putting about 2000 homes at risk.

Television footage showed at least one home ablaze in an isolated canyon as about 600 firefighters fanned out across the vast area to try and staunch the rapidly advancing wall of fire.

"We have conditions that are very dramatic, very dangerous for firefighters. This fire is growing," Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Tom Kruschke told NBC4 television.

"We are asking members of the public to be very aware - this is very dangerous. This is still a moving fire."

The blaze fanned by strong winds ravaged hillsides and canyons in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, threatening homes around the towns of Newbury Park and Camarillo, north of Malibu.

A 13-kilometre section of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed from about 16km west of Malibu, the California Highway Patrol said on its Twitter feed.

California State University at Channel Islands announced it was cancelling all classes and activities at its Camarillo site "due to the (fire) and heavy smoke drifting onto the campus".

Live television pictures showed flames and smoke billowing up from the tinder-dry hillside above the Dos Vientos neighbourhood of Newbury Park, where residents were ordered to evacuate.

Helicopters could be seen drawing water from a nearby lake to drop on the flames, in video shown by KTLA 5 television.

Wildfires are common across the western United States in the northern summer, and in southern California they are often fanned by strong offshore Santa Ana winds that more typically blow up in the fall and winter.

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Bollywood marks India's century of cinema

INDIA'S movie industry has toasted its 100th birthday with the release of two films celebrating its humble origins in the silent era and the influence of glamorous modern-day Bollywood.

Bombay Talkies comprises four short stories inspired by India's love of cinema, created by some of the country's leading filmmakers.

"You usually celebrate birthdays and that's what we are doing today. Indian cinema turns 100 and we are acknowledging that," said Zoya Akhtar, who directed the film along with Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee.

The acclaimed cast includes Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Rani Mukherjee, with a cameo from acting legend Amitabh Bachchan.

The film's theme song features Bollywood A-listers such as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor.

The movie will have a special gala screening at the Cannes film festival this month, where India is to be honoured as the "guest country" in its landmark year.

"The four short stories are about passion for cinema and ingredients like drama, music, dance and entertainment. All of these ingredients are a huge part of our films and culture," said co-producer Ashi Dua.

Its release comes 100 years to the day since the opening in Bombay (now Mumbai) of Raja (King) Harishchandra, the first all-Indian silent feature film, based on the tale of a virtuous king from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

It marked the birth of one of the world's most vibrant film industries, which produced almost 1500 movies in 2012 in various languages and corners of the country, with Hindi-language Bollywood leading the way.

While Bombay Talkies explores life in the present, the second film opening on Friday is the award-winning Celluloid Man, which pays tribute to the founder of the National Film Archive of India, PK Nair.

The documentary, so far only shown at festivals, showcases Nair's lifetime dedication to preserving films that date back to the silent era, and it is peppered with clips from historic black-and-white productions.

Thanks to the efforts of 80-year-old Nair, nine silent films out of 1700 made in India have been preserved, although no records remain of many others.

"Almost 70 per cent of the films made before 1950 are lost, including some real gems like the first 'talkie'," Nair told AFP, referring to the first Indian film with sound, 1931's Alam Ara (The Light of the World).

He said digital technology would help to preserve the cinematic gems that still exist for future generations.

"There are currently about 12,000 films awaiting digitisation."

Also on Friday, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee was to join stars and filmmakers at the annual National Film Awards in capital New Delhi, following a six-day festival showcasing the colourful history of Indian cinema.

Award-winners already announced include Paan Singh Tomar, a Hindi film starring Irrfan Khan about the Indian soldier and athlete who became a notorious bandit.

The ceremony also celebrates works from various regional film hubs, in languages including Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu and Bengali.

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Nathan Tinkler faces fresh legal action

Liquidators have begun legal action against Nathan Tinkler and the directors of Mulsanne Resources. Source: AAP

LIQUIDATORS and a major creditor have begun legal action against Nathan Tinkler and the directors of Mulsanne Resources over allegations of insolvent trading and breaching their duties.

The action was launched over a share placement agreement that was approved by Mulsanne Resources' shareholders at a general meeting on July 12 last year.

In February, Mr Tinkler faced two days of questioning in a NSW Supreme Court examination of his personal finances by liquidators for Mulsanne Resources.

Mulsanne was wound up over a $28.4 million debt.

The chief creditor, Blackwood Corporation, and liquidators initiated legal action on Thursday, almost three months after the liquidator conducted public examinations of Mr Tinkler, fellow director Matthew Keen and the former company secretary Aimee Hyde.

"The liquidator has formed the view that there is a case to answer for insolvent trading and breach of directors' duties," Blackwood Corporation company secretary Patrick McCole said in a statement.

He said the liquidator could seek compensation against the directors and officers if the court found them liable for insolvent trading.

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NSW neighbours win holiday rental ban

GOSFORD Council has failed its constituents by not resolving the issue of an illegal holiday house rental in Terrigal, a judge has ruled.

At the Land and Environment Court on Thursday, Justice Rachael Ann Pepper ruled that Rhonda Bennic's short-term holiday letting of her 6-bedroom house was unlawful because the property is located in a 2A residential zone.

Her next-door neighbours John and Rosemary Dobrohotoff told the court that the house, which can sleep up to a dozen people, had regularly been used for parties and bucks' nights involving strippers and escorts, with noise and anti-social behaviour continuing until the early hours.

The house has been used for short-term holiday rentals since 2006, and Ms Bennic has owned it since 2011.

Justice Pepper said Gosford Council had failed to resolve the issue locally.

"In my opinion, it amounts to an effective abrogation of the council of its duties," she said.

"By leaving it to the court to determine this important issue, the council has failed to do one of its core functions and has failed its constituents."

She said letting the house to short-term guests was prohibited under the current zoning laws.

"This decision may cause a degree of inconvenience for property owners" in the area, she said.

Mrs Dobrohotoff told the court she grew increasingly anxious as weekends and holidays drew near, and often took her family away from their home at those times to avoid the disturbance.

In her ruling, Justice Pepper said the property did not qualify as a dwelling as it was not being occupied in the same way a family or another group would live in it.

But she found that the fault was not entirely Ms Bennic's, as she had never been told by Gosford Council that it was illegal to rent out her property.

She awarded the Dobrohotoffs an injunction preventing the house from being rented out for periods of less than three months, but delayed it until the end of June so as not to impose unnecessary financial hardship on Ms Bennic.

Mr Dobrohotoff told reporters outside the court he welcomed the finding.

"We are pleased to have this outcome, which will have positive effects on the health and welfare of our family, as well as the other families in our neighbourhood," he said.

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More infrastructure funds needed: report

THE federal government must establish a department dedicated to the infrastructure needs of Australian cities to address a $500 billion backlog in urban development, building groups say.

The suggestion is among a raft of ideas in a report - New Deal for Urban Australia - outlining the key infrastructure challenges as Australia deals with a growing population.

Compiled by the Urban Coalition, a collective of key industry figures, the report calls for greater"leadership and investment from the government.

It also recommends the establishment of an Urban Infrastructure Fund to meet the cost of development.

"We need to access both national and international savings and direct them to fund ... infrastructure - such as public interchanges, removing pinch points on local road and freight networks," Property Council Chief Executive Peter Verwer said.

Julie Katz, national president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, said inadequate funding was causing congestion in cities.

"The longer distances between home and work, the greater the difficulties and congestion in our cities," she said.

Executive Officer of The National Growth Areas Alliance, Ruth Spielman, said more than 80 per cent of Australia's population lived in cities and people in fast-growing outer suburbs want to live closer to basic services.

"People need jobs and services closer to home and improved transport options," she said.

She said the proposed changes would financially realistic for the government to put into action.

"There's no doubt that the money is there, and we need collaboration among the spheres of government," she said.

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Kriss Kross rapper Chris Kelly dead at 34

Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly, who made the 90s hits Jump and Warm It Up, has died aged 34. Source: AAP

CHRIS Kelly, half of the 1990s kid rap duo Kris Kross who made one of the decade's most memorable songs with the frenetic Jump, has died, according to authorities. He was 34.

Investigator Betty Honey of the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said the 34-year-old Kelly was pronounced dead around 5pm on Wednesday at the Atlanta Medical Center in the US state of Georgia.

Honey said authorities are unsure of Kelly's cause of death and that an autopsy has yet to be performed.

However, the New York Times reported that Kelly had died of an apparent drug overdose.

"It appears it may have been a possible drug overdose," Corporal Kay Lester, a spokeswoman for the Fulton County police, is reported to have said.

This, Lester said, is based on statements received at the scene as well as evidence turned up at Kelly's home in south Atlanta, the newspaper said.

According to Lester, police were called to Kelly's home around 4.30pm on Wednesday. He was then transported to the south campus of the Atlanta Medical Center.

Kelly, known as Mac Daddy, and Chris Smith, known as Daddy Mac, were introduced to the music world in 1992 by music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri after he discovered the pair in an Atlanta mall.

The duo wore their clothes backwards as a gimmick, but they won over fans with their raps.

Their first, and by far most successful song, was Jump. The hit, off their multiplatinum 1992 debut album Totally Krossed Out, featured the two trading versus and rapping the refrain, the song's title.

The duo had surprising maturity in their rap delivery, though the song was written by Dupri. It would become a No. 1 smash in the United States and globally, and one of the most popular of that year.

Their success led to instant fame: they toured with Michael Jackson, appeared on TV shows, and even had their own video game.

The pair were never able to match the tremendous success of their first song, though they had other hits such as Warm It Up and Tonite's tha Night. Earlier this year, they performed together to celebrate the anniversary of Durpri's label, So So Def.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its website that Kelly's death was being treated as a possible drug overdose.

The rapper was found unresponsive at his home on Wednesday and rushed to Atlanta Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday.

The singer's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, said in a statement reported by several US media outlets early on Thursday: "To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music.

"But to us, he was just Chris - the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him."

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Coronation Street star held in rape claim

BRITISH police have arrested Coronation Street star William Roache, the longest-serving actor in the world's longest-running soap opera, on suspicion of rape.

Roache, 81, has played lothario Ken Barlow in the series portraying life in a fictional northern English town since its first episode on December 9, 1960.

He was arrested at his home in northwest England over an allegation of raping an under-age girl between April and July 1967.

"An 81-year-old man from Wilmslow in Cheshire has this morning, Wednesday May 1, 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape," a Lancashire Police spokesman said on Wednesday.

He said the man would be interviewed during the course of the day.

Broadcaster ITV, which makes Coronation Street, said it was not in a position to comment but reports said Roache would not not appear in the soap while investigations continue.

Roache issued an apology in March after appearing to suggest that sex abuse victims were being punished for past sins, and calling for anonymity for those accused of child sex offences.

In another interview last year Roache claimed to have slept with 1000 women.

Guinness World Records lists Coronation Street as the world's longest-running soap opera following the cancellation in September 2010 of the US show As the World Turns, which ran from 1956 on CBS.

It also lists Roache as the longest-serving soap actor.

British police have arrested a series of celebrities since sex abuse allegations against the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile emerged last year, although the allegations against Roache are unrelated to Savile.

Top British publicist Max Clifford was charged on Friday with 11 counts of indecent assault while former glam rocker and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, comedian Freddie Starr and radio presenter Dave Lee Travis have been arrested and bailed.

Veteran Australian-born entertainer Rolf Harris has been named by the British media as another of the men interviewed as part of the investigation, although police have never named him.

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Give Aussies reasons to join ALP: Faulkner

LABOR party membership is plummeting and people don't see a reason to join the party, Labor elder John Faulkner says.

"Party membership is not only declining in number but it is ageing," Mr Faulkner, who was part of a Whitlam Institute panel in the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta, said.

"The party is finding it very, very difficult to attract new members."

He said Labor needed to give the existing members a reason to stay and those considering joining a reason to join.

"I don't think those reasons exist at the moment," he said.

"They can exist.

"I would argue the way to address the problem as far as Labor is concerned is give people a real say in their political party.

"If membership can be made meaningful I believe it would make a difference."

Mr Faulkner also said the disgraced former NSW Labor ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald - both currently before the corruption watchdog - didn't represent the party.

"They are a small minority in a very big majority of decent, hardworking people," Mr Faulkner said.

"But this does not diminish the gravity of their failure to fulfil their responsibility to represent the interests and values of the Labor movement let lane their responsibilities to the people of NSW."

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Truce reached among climbers on Everest

A TRUCE has been reached between three foreign climbers and Nepalese Sherpa guides who were involved in a fistfight on Mount Everest, officials say.

Two of the foreigners, however, returned to Nepal's capital and were undecided if they would quit their climb.

Tilak Pandey of the Mountaineering Department said a truce was reached at base camp between the foreigners - an Italian, a Briton and a Swiss - and the Sherpas on Tuesday.

Nima Nuru of Cho-Oyu Trekking, who equipped the expedition, said Swiss climber Ueli Steck and British climber Jonathan Griffith flew to Katmandu by helicopter on Wednesday, and Italian Simone Moro also was planning to return.

Nepalese officials are investigating the fight, which both sides accuse the other of starting.

Steck and Griffith refused to talk to reporters in Katmandu.

Sumit Joshi, a mountain guide from Sydney, said by telephone from the Everest base camp that the argument started when the Sherpa guides, who were fixing ropes and digging a path on the snowy trail above Camp 2, asked the foreign climbers to wait until they were finished. He said the climbers ignored them and started climbing, knocking ice chunks onto the Sherpas below.

The foreign climbers yelled "foul words" during an argument, he said.

On their return to Camp 2 later in the evening, the three climbers were surrounded by 30-40 Sherpas and there was a scuffle and punches were thrown, Joshi said. Other climbers at the camp, located at 6,500 metres, were able to stop the fight and once the climbers returned to the base camp a truce was reached, he said.

Hundreds of climbers from 32 expeditions and their Sherpa guides and helpers are at the base camp waiting for the window of good weather in May to make their way to the 8,850-metre summit. Spring is considered the best season to climb.

Nepal will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the conquest of Everest next month.

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Bangladesh building collapse toll hits 500

BANGLADESH rescuers say that more than 500 people had likely died in a garment factory block that collapsed last week as the Pope condemned the use of "slave labour" in the local clothing industry.

As bulldozers and cranes worked to remove the rubble of the eight-storey building on the outskirts of Dhaka, senior army officers said the number of confirmed dead now stood at 405 but 149 people were still missing.

The country's worst industrial accident, which has focused attention on the use of factories in Bangladesh by Western clothing companies, drew tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital.

Workers holding red banners and flags chanted "Hang the killers, Hang the Factory Owners!" during a May Day rally that was largely peaceful unlike larger and more angry protests held since last Wednesday's disaster.

At the Vatican in a private mass for followers, Pope Francis weighed into the controversy, speaking out against labour conditions in Bangladesh, which are regularly decried by campaigners.

"A headline that really struck me on the day of the tragedy in Bangladesh was 'Living on 38 euros a month'. That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labour," the Pope was quoted by Vatican Radio as saying.

In fact, wages are even lower, with the legal minimum salary routinely paid to employees only $US38 ($A37) a month for a six-day week with 10-hour shifts.

The Bangladesh government faces growing foreign pressure to take credible moves to improve conditions in the garment industry, with the collapse at the Rana Plaza factory complex only the latest in a series of deadly disasters.

A fire at a textile factory last November left 111 people dead, and there have been widespread accusations that safety standards are both too lax and rarely enforced in the $US20-billion ($A19-billion) sector.

The European Union said late on Tuesday that it would look at steps to promote better practices after a host of European retailers including Primark, Benetton and Mango admitted using factories in the collapsed building.

Nearly 60 per cent of Bangladesh's garments are shipped to European Union free of duties and tariffs, giving the 27-nation bloc huge say over the country's workplace safety issues.

Anger in Bangladesh remains palpable and the demonstrations on Wednesday again saw demands for the building owner and four arrested factory bosses to face capital punishment. They have been charged with death due to negligence.

Many of the country's 4500 garment factories have been closed since last Wednesday, a major blow for the Bangladeshi economy which depends on garments for 80 per cent of its exports.

"We want the severest punishment possible for those responsible for this tragedy," said Kamrul Anam, head of the Bangladesh Textile and Garments Workers League.

"Enough is enough," said Liakot Khan, another of those taking part in the Dhaka protest, which echoed to the sound of drums and horns.

"The government should hang the building proprietor and the factory owners. We want justice for these murders."

Police put the number of protesters at the main rally in Dhaka at more than 20,000, and there were smaller-scale protests elsewhere in the capital and in other cities.

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Missing Vic schoolgirl safe and well

A 15-YEAR-OLD girl who went missing on Sunday after an argument with her parents has turned up safe and well.

Heidelberg teenager Madison Murphy disappeared after her mother told her she would not be allowed to go on a school trip to France later this year.

Police had been concerned for her because she did not have a mobile phone or access to money, but just after 9pm (AEST) on Monday she presented at the West Melbourne police station.

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UK bank Lloyds sells Spanish interests

BRITAIN'S state-rescued Lloyds bank says it has sold its loss-making Spanish retail banking activities to Spain's Banco Sabadell in a deal worth up to 100 million euros ($A127.97 million).

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) said in a statement on Monday that it would receive a 1.8 per cent stake in Sabadell, worth about 84 million euros, plus an additional sum of up to 20 million euros over the next five years.

"Lloyds Banking Group plc is today announcing that it has agreed to sell its Spanish retail banking operations, including Lloyds Bank International S.A.U and Lloyds Investment Espaa SGIIC S.A.U, to Banco Sabadell," the statement read.

"The sale comprises the group's retail and private banking business and the local investment management business in Spain."

Lloyds added that the sale of the business was expected to lead to a loss of approximately STG250 million ($A378.96 million).

The business consists mostly of retail mortgages and deposits, with a large portion of non-resident clients.

However, LBG's Spanish corporate banking operations, which serve business clients, are not included in this transaction. They will carry on operating as normal.

Lloyds is 39-per cent owned by the British government after a state bailout after the 2008 global financial crisis.

"The sale is in line with the group's strategy of rationalising its international presence and ensuring best value for shareholders," it added on Monday.

The deal remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete this year.

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Defence in crisis, says opposition

Liberal defence spokesman David Johnston says defence is in crisis following cuts of $25 billion. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S defence has reached crisis point while Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been promising funding for roads, education and much else, but not a cent for national security, the opposition says.

Opposition defence spokesman Senator David Johnston said more than $25 billion had been removed from defence, with spending now down to 1.56 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and set to fall to 1.49 per cent next year.

He said no other portfolio had endured such a financial assault.

"I really believe it has reached crisis point," he said in an address to the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

Senator Johnston said Defence Minister Stephen Smith had refused to rule out more cuts to defence in the budget next month.

"I see the prime minister traipsing across the country promising roads, education funding, NDIS plans, massive financial giveaways with not a cent to our national security," he said.

Senator Johnston said there had been funding cuts to all agencies directly and indirectly related to Australia's security and that was plainly irresponsible and dangerous.

He said the funding commitments in the 2009 Defence White Paper had never been achieved and, with the benefit of hindsight, that document was nothing less than an elaborate confidence trick.

Consequently, it would be difficult to believe anything the government might say about defence funding in the new Defence White Paper, set to be released by the end of June.

Senator Johnston said a new coalition government could commit only to not cutting defence spending any further and it would be less than honest to promise an immediate increase.

"Our aspiration is that as soon as we have come to terms and corrected the current fiscal situation, we will return to the aspiration of two per cent of GDP and three per cent real growth in the defence budget," he said.

"I don't believe for one moment that rebuilding Defence will be easy, but it will be done."

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Budget spending not sustainable: Garnaut

ALL Australians have to accept the government cannot continue to provide services that it cannot afford in the long-term, a former senior economics adviser to former Prime Minister Bob Hawke says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard told a conference on Monday that budget revenue in 2012/13 will be $12 billion less than forecast because of the continued strength of the Australian dollar.

As the end of the mining boom approached, Australians would have to deal with less revenue flowing into government coffers, Professor Ross Garnaut said.

"It depends on whether we can accept restraint all around in the interest of avoiding recession and avoiding high unemployment," he told ABC television.

Prof Garnaut, an adviser to Mr Hawke from 1983 to 1985, said federal governments had been spending the temporary largesse from the resources boom since it began in 2003.

"That has led to expenditure levels and cost levels in Australia that are substantially higher than is sustainable in the long term," he said.

Prof Garnaut said successive governments, coalition and Labor, had been spending too much since the prices of Australia's exports rose compared to imports - except for the year following the global financial crisis in 2008.

How Australia would endured the bumpy economic ride would depend on the central bank's setting of interest rates, on how governments set their spending and revenue plans, and on the community being ready to accept reforms to lift productivity in a high-wage economy, Prof Garnaut said.

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