Man almost safe before Vic rescue death

A bushwalker has fallen to his death during a rescue operation in bushland northeast of Melbourne. Source: AAP

AN injured Victorian bushwalker was at the door of a rescue helicopter after being winched almost 30 metres when things went wrong and he fell to his death.

The man had been hiking through a heavily bushed part of Victoria northeast of Melbourne when he broke his ankle on Saturday morning.

An air ambulance was dispatched, but the man never made it on board.

The incident has prompted a suspension of winching operations by Ambulance Victoria helicopters while an investigation is carried out.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella said the man was at the door of the helicopter and the crew were attempting to get him inside when he fell.

The helicopter was hovering almost 30 metres off the ground during what was considered to be "a fairly standard winch," he said.

"The flight crew and the paramedic winched back down to the scene to attempt to resuscitate the patient but unfortunately he was beyond help."

He said that while it was very difficult to have a person extricated from the type of bush the man and his fellow bushwalkers were in, flying conditions were good.

"Once we understand what occurred and whether there's equipment involved or not, that suspension may be lifted," Mr Sassella said.

"It is a high risk environment and we must make sure that we understand what happened before we resume winching again."

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Sri Lankan customs make big heroin haul

SRI Lankan customs agents have seized 250 kilograms of heroin worth $US19 million ($A21.42 million) from a container sent from Pakistan, in the largest-ever seizure of the drug in South Asia, an official says.

The heroin, concealed inside 17,500 small grease cans packed into a large container sent from the Pakistani city of Karachi, was found on Friday at a customs terminal in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, said Mali Piyasena, a customs director on Saturday.

A Pakistani national and three Sri Lankans were arrested in connection to the seizure and will be handed over to the police narcotics division after the completion of a customs investigation, Piyasena said.

He said customs agents received a tipoff about the heroin in July and were "waiting till the importer came to clear it."

Piyasena said it was the largest-ever haul of heroin seized in South Asia.

A police official involved in the investigation said Pakistanis are known to operate a narcotics ring that supplies heroin for Sri Lankan drug dealers and for shipment to European countries. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said authorities received information that part of this stock was for Sri Lanka, and the rest was to be shipped to Europe.

Sri Lankan authorities have seized large quantities of heroin and other drugs shipped from Pakistan in recent years, including 55 kilograms of heroin concealed in fake potatoes in 2010.

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Thousands protest at two Sydney events

THOUSANDS of people have protested at two events across Sydney calling on whoever wins the election to increase foreign aid and drop "xenophobic" refugee policy.

More than 3000 people converged on Manly Beach in Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's northern Sydney electorate on Saturday.

They want the man polls indicate will be prime minister after next Saturday's election to increase aid spending to 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI), or 70 cents in every $100, by 2020, organiser Vikki Howorth told AAP.

Presently Australia spends 0.37 per cent of GNI on aid, she added.

But she said this must be increased if Australia wanted to meet the UN's Millennium Development goals of halving poverty by 2015.

"Whist we've got one of the strongest economies amongst developed nations we're actually ranked just thirteenth out of 23 developed country aid donors," she told AAP.

"Is that really giving our fair share?"

Sweden, which gives 1.4 per cent of it's GNI away as aid is the world's most generous donor, Ms Howorth said.

Across the harbour about 400 protesters marched on Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's inner west office.

Spokesman Ian Rintoul told AAP they were protesting the immigration policies of the Labor and Liberal parties.

"We're absolutely opposed to the PNG solution, we're absolutely opposed to offshore processing and temporary protection visas," he said.

"We need a welcome refugee policy under which asylum seekers are welcomed into Australia, processed in Australia and settled in Australia."

Winning an election predicated on "xenophobia and refugee bashing... is not a victory worth having," he added.

Another Sydney protest against immigration policy is planned for September 29, Mr Rintoul said.

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Man, dog recovering after Sydney shooting

A MAN shot in a daylight attack on a south Sydney freeway is in a stable condition in hospital.

The 36-year-old's dog was also shot and has been taken to a veterinary hospital, police say.

Police found the man with a bullet wound to his leg after they were called to the Princes Highway at Tempe on Saturday afternoon on reports of gunshots.

He was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

A crime scene has been established and police are looking for a dark-coloured sedan or hatchback seen in the area around the time of the shooting.

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Rudd press conference not quite to plan

A young girl collapsed and a reporter fell sick at Kevin Rudd's press conference in Perth on Friday. Source: AAP

IT was the press conference from hell.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was addressing the media shortly after speaking at a union event.

About 15 people from different age groups stood behind him - presumably to reflect Labor's appeal to all Australians - at the Unions WA office in Perth on Friday.

But the room was hot and lacked air flow and sweat began to bead on Mr Rudd's forehead.

For most of the 45-minute press conference Mr Rudd was defending his claim the coalition's $31.6 billion worth of interim budget savings underestimated the impact of its policies by $10 billion.

"I can see no higher political fraud committed against the Australian people," Mr Rudd said.

He believes the coalition won't release its full costings until a day or two before the September 7 election, leaving it little time to respond.

Then a young girl, aged about 10, who had been standing for most of his remarks, collapsed.

She was given first aid, and once recovered, offered a seat.

One journalist also began to buckle under the heat and walked away as Mr Rudd spoke.

Mr Rudd, looking annoyed, reminded the reporter he was answering his question. The journalist said he was feeling unwell.

To make matters worse, a Labor staffer accidentally turned off the lights in the room, leading the prime minister to briefly pause the press conference.

If that wasn't enough, a radio microphone fell off the lectern Mr Rudd was using.

Mr Rudd had earlier announced a returned Labor government would appoint Australia's first Minister for Cities.

The new position would support his commitment to set up a taskforce to examine ways to boost jobs and economic growth in outer city suburbs and improve infrastructure and travel issues.

"The Labor government will ensure more of the jobs of the future are based in the suburbs of the future, improving the livability of our outer suburban regions," he said.

Earlier, Mr Rudd told union members Labor had a vision for Australia's future and described the opposition's plan for the government's national broadband network as "positively Paleolithic".

The coalition believes it can deliver the NBN earlier and for less money but taking optic fibre to the street corner, rather than all the way to premises.

Later, Mr Rudd inspected a road extension project in Rockingham with Labor minister Gary Gray, who holds the seat of Brand with a margin of three per cent.

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Fergie gives birth to baby boy

Fergie and her husband, Josh Duhamel, have welcomed their first child, a baby boy called Axl Jack. Source: AAP

SINGER Fergie has given birth to a 3.46kg boy called Axl Jack Duhamel.

Axl Jack, Fergie and actor Josh Duhamel's first child, was born on Thursday. The 38-year-old singer married the 40-year-old actor in 2009.

She officially changed her name from Stacy Ann Ferguson to Fergie Duhamel this month.

In a TV interview to promote his new film Scenic Route a few days ago, the Transformers star revealed he was getting a little nervous about the birth.

"I thought that I was going to be good. I thought that I was ready for this. And I'm a little terrified. I'm excited and I'm terrified because I am responsible for this little thing forever.

"We're just eagerly anticipating the arrival.... I'm really excited to meet this little dude. I can't wait."

Fergie is one-fourth of the Black Eyed Peas. She released her solo debut, The Dutchess, in 2006. The album launched five big hits, including Fergalicious and Big Girls Don't Cry.

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Cane fields to be set ablaze in Cairns

A practice of burning off cane fields before harvest is being demonstrated at the Cairns Festival. Source: AAP

FARMER Jeff Pezzutti remembers watching raging fires rip through cane fields in far north Queensland as a child.

"Those flames could jump anywhere up to 15 metres or more," the 76-year-old told AAP.

"You'd see the rats and snakes coming out of the fields trying to get away.

"It was spectacular and generated a lot of heat."

As the practice is rarely used these days, Mr Pezzutti is looking forward to watching the spectacle on Saturday evening when a cane field at Yorkeys Knob, north of Cairns, is burned as part of the Cairns Festival.

Burning cane fields was a common sight from the 1930s when Mr Pezzutti's father worked as a cane cutter in Innisfail, south of Cairns.

"My father cut cane in the old days when you had to cut cane by hand and load it by shoulder," he said.

"It was a very difficult job, back-breaking work."

The cane fields were set alight to burn off the plant's exterior, making it easier for farmers to cut the cane.

With many cane cutters off fighting in the war, burning the fields also meant harvesting required fewer men.

Cutting green cane (plants that hadn't been burned) was also becoming less popular because cane cutters were dying from disease they caught by coming into contact with rat urine in the cane fields.

Mr Pezzutti says burning the cane was a tricky task and only those who were specially trained light the fires.

"Wind is a major factor... people have died during cane fires," he said.

In the 1980s to 1990s the practice was no longer necessary with the introduction of machinery that could slice through the green plants.

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Labor's credibility is shot, says Hockey

Treasurer Chris Bowen (R) is standing by his claim there is a hole in the coalition's savings. Source: AAP

SHADOW treasurer Joe Hockey says Labor's credibility has been blown after the government claimed there's a $10 billion shortfall in the coalition's proposed budget savings.

With just over a week to go before the election, Treasurer Chris Bowen was standing by his statement there was a "black hole" in the coalition's $31.6 billion savings plan.

"We stand by every word," Mr Bowen told the Seven Network on Friday.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Mr Bowen on Thursday accused the coalition of mounting a "$10 billion fraud" on the Australian people.

This was based on previous advice to the government from the departments of Treasury and Finance, and the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

Labor found fault with the savings the coalition expects from shedding 12,000 public servants, ending the low income superannuation contribution and from abolishing the carbon tax.

But in an extraordinary move, the heads of Treasury and Finance distanced their departments from Labor's statements, saying they had never assessed any coalition policies.

"At no stage prior to the caretaker period has either department costed opposition policies," Treasury's Martin Parkinson and Finance's David Tune said in a joint statement.

PBO head Phil Bowen also issued a statement, saying when a party chooses to publicly release a PBO costing prepared on a confidential basis "it is inappropriate to claim that the PBO has costed the policy of any other parliamentarian or political party".

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told ABC radio Mr Rudd's claims had blown up in his face.

Asked on Friday if Labor had lied about the black hole, Mr Bowen said: "Absolutely not".

Mr Hockey should "come clean" and release the coalition's full costings if he was so sure Labor was wrong, Mr Bowen added.

Mr Hockey said the government had been lying in the weeks and months before the September 7 election.

"What they've done is they've blown an absolute hole in Kevin Rudd and Chris Bowen's credibility and honesty," he told the Seven Network.

Opposition campaign spokesman Christopher Pyne said Mr Rudd's re-election campaign was in "tatters".

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello described it as an attempted knockout that had badly missed.

"Kevin Rudd's gone for a big haymaker and hit the referee on the way through, and the referee has said foul," Mr Costello told the Nine Network.

But Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected this.

"The way this can be solved is for the opposition to have all of its policies costed. We have put dozens of policies into the Treasury and Finance in accordance with the Charter of Budget Honesty," he told the Nine Network.

Mr Rudd is in Perth on Friday to announce a returned Labor government will have a new cities minister.

Mr Abbott is in Melbourne, spruiking his $100 million program to allow more people from Asian countries to study in Australia, and vice versa.

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Tas forest peace deal stays alive

TASMANIA'S forest peace deal remains alive after the state's upper house finally passed legislation enabling the creation of reserves.

Three years of negotiations between environmentalists and the timber industry will be actioned following the Legislative Council debate on whether the agreement was working.

Under the deal, 500,000 hectares of forest will be protected in return for the state and federal governments funding the struggling industry's restructure.

Around $97 million of government money will be unlocked by the decision.

Crucially, the agreement has passed through the upper house before the September 7 federal election which could deliver a coalition government opposed to it.

The Legislative Council is not scheduled to sit again until September 17.

It survived a move by anti-deal MLC Paul Harriss to instigate another parliamentary inquiry into how the agreement was working.

Protests by fringe green groups and continuing wood supply are among the challenges the deal faces.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings welcomed the passage of the reserve order as she prepared to fly to Asia at the weekend to talk up the industry.

"This industry has been calling for certainty and the community has told us very clearly that they just want to move on," Ms Giddings said.

But state opposition leader Will Hodgman, who has promised to rip up the deal if elected next March, slammed the 9-5 vote.

"Despite the forest deal being rammed through parliament, Tasmanians will still get to have their say on the Labor-Green experiment, and this disastrous deal, on 7 September," he said.

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Labor's credibility dented: Hockey

SHADOW Treasurer Joe Hockey says Labor's credibility has taken a massive blow after Treasury and Finance denied costing coalition policies.

Labor said on Thursday that an analysis, using previous advice from Treasury, Finance and the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), of the costings released by the coalition on Wednesday showed a $10 billion "black hole".

But the secretaries of Treasury and Finance later took the unusual step of releasing a joint statement clarifying their role.

"At no stage prior to the caretaker period has either Department costed opposition policies," they said.

They also pointed out that different costing assumptions would "inevitably" result in different financial outcomes.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Phil Bowen also issued a statement, saying all confidential PBO costings were prepared on the basis of policy specifications provided by the person requesting the costing.

"Unless all of the policy specifications were identical, the financial implications of the policy could vary markedly," he said.

He also said that when a political party chose to publicly release a PBO costing that has been prepared on a confidential basis for them "it is inappropriate to claim that the PBO has costed the policy of any other parliamentarian or political party."

Mr Hockey said the departments were so concerned they are trying to distance themselves from the government.

"This is a massive blow to the government's credibility," Mr Hockey said.

He earlier had called Labor's claims "even more lies" from a desperate party that has nothing positive to say ahead of the September 7 election.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the figures were produced by the PBO for the coalition and validated by three distinguished public finance experts - Geoff Carmody, co-founder of Access Economics, Len Scanlan, former Queensland auditor-general and Professor Peter Shergold, former secretary of the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

"Let's be very clear, Mr Rudd has got all of his own figures wrong, now he is getting our figures wrong too," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.

"When it comes to budget figures, when Mr Rudd's lips are moving you know he is not telling the truth."

Later, Treasurer Chris Bowen said the whole situation could be resolved by the coalition releasing its costings in full.

"Federal Labor asked Treasury and Finance for specific costings," he said in a statement.

"Our requests were based on the best publicly available information about opposition policies.

"We took this step because Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey refuse to submit their policies for costing consistent with Peter Costello's charter of budget honesty."

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Seven defends PNG corruption story

The Seven Network is standing by a story linking Australian aid to corruption on Papua New Guinea. Source: AAP

THE Seven Network has defended a story which linked Australian aid to corruption in Papua New Guinea, after Prime Minister Peter O'Neill called for the network to apologise and a reporter to be sacked.

In a statement, Seven said it did not not allege $A1.7 billion in Australian aid money had been stolen in PNG in a story aired on current affairs program Today Tonight on Monday.

"Rather, the story stated that about half of PNG's total budget - $1.7 billion - is lost to corruption every year, and that some of this stolen money is laundered in Australia by corrupt officials," the network said in a statement on Thursday.

"The allegations were based on interviews with the head of PNG's Anti-Corruption Task Force, Mr Sam Koim - who was appointed by Prime Minister O'Neill himself - and Professor Jason Sharman from Griffith University, one the world's foremost experts on corruption and money laundering."

Prime Minister O'Neill on Wednesday night issued a statement calling for an apology from Seven, and said journalist James Thomas should be sacked.

"I can say without fear or favour that the Channel 7 TV report alleging $A1.7 billion of Australian aid money being stolen from PNG's budget annually is the Australian media's most ill-researched, mischievous and misinformed piece of journalism coverage on PNG affairs," Mr O'Neill said.

"No one has stolen Australian taxpayers' precious $A1.7 billion because that amount of Australian money has never featured in any of our national budgets to date."

Mr Koim told Radio Australia the next day that PNG loses about 40 per cent of its national budget annually to corruption, waste and mismanagement.

In the report, Prof Sharman suggested the amount of money being stolen from PNG could cause the country to collapse, sparking a refugee crisis with direct implications for Australia.

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Abbott campaign trail hit by unexpected

A school website overshadowed an education policy announcement on an unexpected day for Tony Abbott. Source: AAP

PHOTO shoots and funding announcements for sport and schools should have meant a smooth day on the election campaign trail for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

Visiting Penrith Christian School in the western Sydney Labor seat of Lindsay on Thursday, Mr Abbott talked about the "great" 700-student facility as he unveiled the coalition's schools policy.

But as he promised a coalition government would deliver $120 million more than Labor over the next four years, there was a distraction.

The Penrith school's online religious charter revealed a stance of which Liberal organisers say they were unaware.

"We believe that homosexuality and specific acts of homosexuality are an abomination unto God, a perversion of the natural order," the school's website reads.

When questioned about it, Mr Abbott was quick to disassociate himself.

"Obviously I don't agree with that statement," he told reporters, adding that both Liberal and Labor representatives have visited the school in recent times.

But the situation created an awkward atmosphere in the school auditorium where a handful of teachers and students had remained to hear Mr Abbott's press conference.

Earlier in the day Mr Abbott was joined by wife Margie at Sydney Olympic Park to pledge $6 million to boost netball facilities and aid preparations for the 2015 Netball World Cup to be hosted by Sydney.

Mingling with young netball players, Mr Abbott scrummed down for a few on court happy snaps.

He was also presented with a bright yellow female "body suit" netball outfit, prompting an eye-popping reaction from the Abbott duo.

Mrs Abbott stepped in to save the day, graciously accepting the gift.

Mr Abbott was also reluctant to accept news that online betting agency sportsbet.com.au has paid out $1.5 million in wagers backing the coalition to win the September 7 poll, deeming team Abbott a certainty.

"More fool them ... there is no such thing as an un-losable election," Mr Abbott said of the bookie, casting his mind back to the federal election of 1993 when the opposition flopped after being hot favourites throughout the campaign.

The Liberal team is due to begin Friday's campaigning in Melbourne.

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Man charged over attack on AFL star

Victorian police have charged a man over the alleged assault on West Coast player Will Schofield. Source: AAP

A MAN has been charged with recklessly causing injury to West Coast AFL player Will Schofield, who was king hit in Geelong last weekend.

Victoria Police said a 25-year-old Bell Post Hill man had been charged with intentionally causing injury and recklessly causing injury to the Eagles defender, who was left with a broken cheekbone.

The man has been bailed to appear in Geelong Magistrates Court on October 1.

The Eagles released a statement on Monday saying the attack was unprovoked, and that Schofield was set upon while walking to his vehicle with friends after a night out.

The 24-year-old, who has played 94 games for the Eagles, was among a group of players who were granted permission to stay over after the club's loss to Collingwood in Melbourne on Friday night.

Schofield has been ruled out of the last game of the AFL season this weekend.

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Murdered Aust baseballer to be farewelled

The former baseball teammates of Australian Chris Lane will form a guard of honour at his funeral. Source: AAP

THE former baseball teammates of murdered Melbourne man Chris Lane will form a guard of honour at his funeral.

The baseball players will join Mr Lane's old school mates and loved ones to farewell the 22-year-old at St Therese's Church in Essendon on Wednesday.

Tim Sullivan, who played with Mr Lane at the Essendon Baseball Club, says the idea for the guard of honour was warmly embraced by Mr Lane's family.

"It's an acknowledgement of what Chris meant to the mates that he played with and we're there with him and will never forget him and he's close to us," he told AAP.

Mr Sullivan says the mark of respect also recognises that the players will be there to offer support to those touched by the untimely death of Mr Lane, whom he describes as the "up-and-coming junior that we took under our wing".

Up to 70 people from the club alone are expected to attend the 11.30am service.

"Most of the club will be there," club president Tony Cornish said.

Mr Lane, from Melbourne's Oak Park, was jogging alone in Duncan, Oklahoma, on August 16 when he was shot in the back during a random attack.

He was attending a college in Oklahoma where he had a baseball scholarship.

Tony Paatsch, principal at St Bernard's College from where Mr Lane graduated in 2008, says a number of staff will attend his funeral.

"We've been in contact with the family as have a number of staff, current and past, to pass on their condolences," he said.

Bernie Cronin, representing the school's Old Collegians, will attend and he expects a large turnout of Mr Lane's classmates.

Mr Cronin says the school community has been numbed by the tragedy.

"He was developing his natural talents as an athlete, as a baseball player, doing something very constructive in life, so the sudden and the tragic nature of it leaves people fairly numb," he said.

The collegians have set up a donation fund for a permanent memorial, possibly a sports scholarship.

Mr Lane's girlfriend of four years, Sarah Harper, has travelled to Melbourne from the US with her family.

The funeral will be followed by a private burial.

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Leahy-Arnold case could still go to trial

A Supreme Court judge has overturned a decision to commit Alan Leahy to stand trial for murder. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND man Alan Leahy could still stand trial over the 1991 deaths of his wife and her friend, despite the Supreme Court overturning a coroner's ruling that he face trial.

Cairns Supreme Court Justice James Henry on Tuesday overturned the state coroner's decision.

However, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) can still commit Mr Leahy to stand trial.

Earlier this year, former state coroner Michael Barnes committed Mr Leahy to stand trial over the deaths in a case previously deemed to be a murder-suicide.

Mr Leahy was accused of the shooting murders of his wife Julie-Anne Leahy and her friend Vicki Arnold, but he denied any wrongdoing.

The women's bodies were found in a four-wheel drive in remote bushland in the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns on August 9, 1991.

Mr Leahy applied in the Supreme Court to have the coroner's ruling overturned.

Justice Henry upheld his appeal on Tuesday afternoon, saying in his written judgment that the coroner erred in committing Mr Leahy to trial.

He found that the coroner didn't apply the "correct test of admissibility" when considering allegations that Mr Leahy had lied during police interviews.

"His findings suggest he elevated his adverse opinion of Mr Leahy's credibility to providing evidence going to guilt rather than merely credibility," his judgment said.

"This is the very mischief which the correct test is calculated at avoiding."

The coroner's other finding that the deaths weren't a murder-suicide still stand.

Despite the coroner's ruling being overturned it will be up to the DPP to decide whether a trial takes place.

This decision was due about six months after the coroner's ruling - September 22 - but it's understood this deadline no longer stands following the Supreme Court ruling.

University of Queensland legal expert Heather Douglas has said the DPP can still commit Mr Leahy to stand trial, even though the coroner's decision has been overturned.

Last week she told AAP that if the ruling was thrown out it could make it difficult for prosecutors to justify committing Mr Leahy to trial.

"But it doesn't constrain them," Ms Douglas said.

"The coroner is not making criminal law findings beyond reasonable doubt, so it's a different process that's going on in the coroner's court."

In deciding to charge Mr Leahy over the deaths, Mr Barnes overturned previous coronial findings that Ms Arnold, 27, had shot and killed her 26-year-old friend before turning the gun on herself.

Mr Barnes said the evidence indicated the gun, which was found near Ms Arnold's hand, was planted.

The shooter would have had to have been a third person.

Mr Barnes was able to commit Mr Leahy to stand trial under laws covering inquests that are heard for cases that arose before 2003.

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Aussie celebs shocked by Miley Cyrus dance

Australian celebrities have reacted on social media to Miley Cyrus' performance at the MTV VMAs. Source: AAP

MILEY Cyrus' performance at the MTV Video Music Awards has left many Australian celebrities bewildered, with some criticising the former teen idol for promoting "unnecessary" images.

Cyrus has received widespread condemnation for her provocative and raunchy live rendition of her song We Can't Stop at the awards night on Monday.

Stripping down to a latex bikini, the 20-year-old twerked, stripped and gyrated on stage as social media exploded with shocked reactions.

Cyrus's performance was mentioned 4.5 million times on Twitter, with many Australian celebrities expressing their disgust on the social networking site.

Singer Emma Birdsall, a 2012 finalist on hit reality show The Voice, criticised Cyrus for promoting a negative role model for young women.

"It made me incredibly sad thinking that young women will watch that and think that's how you have to dress/dance/sing/act to become a superstar," Birdsall wrote on Twitter on Monday.

"It's not. Don't care what anyone says, it's completely unnecessary."

The Voice host Darren McMullen called the performance "disturbing", while models Jesinta Campbell, Megan Gale and Pia Miller all had similar reactions.

"Just watched Miley's VMA's performance. I feel much better about myself on DWTS. Nothing could b (sic) more shameful.... Cheers Miley," Campbell tweeted, referring to her appearance on the TV dance competition, Dancing With The Stars.

"What the hell was that?!?! #weirdcrazytongueaction ??" Gale wrote.

"Can't sleep. Scared I'm gonna have Miley Cyrus Nightmares. #Gross," Miller tweeted.

Comedian Wil Anderson also weighed in with a cheeky comment.

"I feel like twerking may have some side-effects that haven't been explored properly by medical science."

However, one notable Australian celebrity has remained silent on the performance.

Cyrus's Aussie fiance, Liam Hemsworth, has kept out of the commentary, choosing instead to focus his Twitter presence on promoting his new movie.

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Clashes in India over march ban

Hundreds of Hindu nationalists have clashed with police outside India's parliament. Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of Hindu nationalists have clashed with police outside India's parliament after being barred from conducting a religious march at a disputed holy site at the heart of deadly clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

Police used water cannons and bamboo batons on Monday to disperse 500 members and supporters of the World Hindu Council as they broke security barriers near the parliament building.

The city of Ayodhya, 550 kilometres east of New Delhi, has been under heavy security since last week, when the local government banned the march fearing communal violence.

Muslims say the site is the location of a former medieval mosque, while Hindus say it is the birthplace of their god Rama and that a temple stood there before the mosque was built.

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Moody's downgrades NAB's UK bank

RATINGS agency Moody's has downgraded the credit rating of National Australia Bank's troubled UK subsidiary Clydesdale Bank.

Moody's downgraded the long term bank deposit and senior debt rating of Clydesdale to Baa2, from A2.

That means the loss-making bank is labelled a higher risk investment, going from upper-medium grade to a more speculative and moderate but still medium-grade credit risk.

NAB chief executive Cameron Clyne said he was disappointed by the downgrade, as he believed a restructure of the UK operations was driving improvements in its balance sheet.

"Clydesdale has a smaller and stronger balance sheet following the transfer of the vast majority of its commercial real estate portfolio to National Australia Bank Ltd in October 2012, materially improving Clydesdale Bank's risk profile," he said.

The ratings agency cited a deterioration in the business loan portfolio in the last year, with bad debts increasing 30 per cent over the period amid falling property values.

NAB took over Clydesdale's STG5.6 billion ($A9.73 billion) commercial loan book last October.

Moody's said the lowering of the rating reflected its view that Clydesdale faced longer-term structural challenges from its weakened franchise and past risk-management-control weaknesses.

The fact that NAB was also trying to sell Clydesdale left it in an uncertain position, it said.

The bank has started shedding jobs, with 1,400 to go in total.

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NSW road toll hits seven in under 12 hours

A man and a woman have died after a motor scooter collided with a truck on a major Sydney road. Source: AAP

A MAN and a woman have died after the motor scooter they were riding on collided with a truck in Sydney's CBD.

The pair, believed to be the rider and pillion passenger, died at the scene on the City Westlink Road, about 200 metres from the intersection of Wattle Street.

The scooter collided with a truck about 9.45am (AEST) on Monday, police said.

A crime scene has been established and motorists are being urged to avoid the area due to heavy traffic conditions and road closures.

A report will be prepared for coroner.

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Peace talks off over deaths in Palestine

PEACE talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been cancelled after Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinians during clashes in the West Bank, a Palestinian official said.

"The meeting that was to take place in Jericho ... today (Monday) was cancelled because of the Israeli crime committed in Qalandiya today," the official said, referring to the refugee camp where the clashes erupted before dawn.

He did not set a new date.

"What happened today in Qalandiya shows the real intentions of the Israeli government," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, told AFP as reports of the shooting started to emerge.

He called on the US administration to "take serious and quick steps" to prevent the collapse of peace efforts.

Medics earlier reported three Palestinians shot dead and 19 wounded by Israeli security forces in Qalandiya camp, between Ramallah and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, very early Monday.

They named the dead as Rubeen Abed Fares, 30, and Yunis Jahjouh, 22, both shot in the chest, and Jihad Aslan, 20, who died of brain damage.

The hospital officials said all the casualties had been hit by live ammunition.

An Israeli police spokeswoman said that border police used "riot dispersal means" to disperse a stone-throwing crowd of 1,500 people, but she did confirm the use of live fire.

"In the early hours of the morning a border police team went into Qalandiya camp to arrest a hostile terrorist activist," spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP.

"After his arrest a mob of about 1,500 residents began a disturbance, throwing petrol bombs and stones, endangering the lives of force members, who responded with riot dispersal means," she said.

She said that three border policemen were lightly injured by stones.

The peace talks formally resumed this month after a hiatus of nearly three years, thanks to an intense bout of shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, had at the weekend said they expected a new round of talks to be held Monday in the West Bank town of Jericho, but there had been no official confirmation from either side, in accordance with a US-imposed news blackout.

The talks have been overshadowed by Israeli plans to build more than 2,000 new homes for Jewish settlers on occupied Palestinian territory.

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Man bitten by police dog during chase

UPDATE: A man has been taken to hospital after being bitten by a police dog at Logan this afternoon.

Earlier, the man had been involved in car crash at Woodridge and fled from the scene, prompting a police chase.

He was taken to Logan Hospital in an unknown condition.

EARLIER, two people were in police custody after fleeing from a car crash in Logan this afternoon.

A police spokesman said the pair was taken into custody a short time later and was assisting police with their inquiries.

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Indian oil refinery fire toll rises to 10

THE death toll in a fire at a state-owned oil refinery in southern India has risen to 10 after six bodies were recovered from the accident site.

The fire broke out on Friday at a refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, in the southern city of Vishakhapatnam, after an explosion at a distillery unit where expansion work was taking place.

Two bodies were recovered from the accident site on Friday while two injured died later the same night.

Six charred bodies were found on Saturday, Vishakhapatnam Police Commissioner B Shivadhar Reddy said.

At least 30 people, most of them contract workers, are being treated for burn injuries.

The condition of six is said to be serious. The dead included one employee of the company.

The cause of the explosion was not yet clear but the fire was brought under control late Friday, Reddy said, adding that no one else was trapped in the debris.

Federal Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily said an official of the Oil India Safety Directorate had been asked to inquire into the incident and submit a report within 15 days. Local police are also investigating.

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NSW man axes window in family fight

A MAN has been arrested after a fight with family southwest of Sydney.

Police were responding to reports someone had been attacked with an axe when they attended a Tahmoor house, near Camden, about 3.10pm (AEST) on Sunday.

When they arrived they discovered the axe had actually been used to smash a window during an alleged family dispute.

A 52-year-old man was taken to Liverpool Hospital for treatment.

A 24-year-old was arrested and taken to Narellan Police Station where he is being questioned.

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Lawyer slams asylum seeker policies

A PROMINENT human rights lawyer has compared the major political parties to the Taliban as he endorsed the re-election of Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young as an alternative voice on refugees.

Speaking to reporters alongside Senator Hanson-Young in Adelaide on Sunday, Julian Burnside QC said it was the first time in his life he had publicly supported a political party.

"I'm doing it because this is the first time in Australia's history that we've seen both major parties promising to outdo each other in cruelty to one group of human beings," he said.

His comments came as Senator Hanson-Young launched the Greens' refugee policy.

She said analysis from the parliamentary budget office showed taxpayers could save $3.2 billion if all offshore detentions centres were shut down, as well as some onshore centres.

The money could instead be used to give asylum seekers work rights so they could contribute to the economy and the community, she said.

"Many Australians want a new way, a more human way, and what we've shown today is that (this) is cost-effective as well as being the right thing to do."

Mr Burnside said Australia's asylum seeker policy had hurt the country in the eyes of civilised nations and it was now regarded as selfish and cruel overseas.

More than half the boat refugees who had arrived in the last 15 years were ethnic Hazara fleeing the Taliban, he said.

"We make ourselves look even nastier than the Taliban so that people won't try to come here," he said.

"Is that the Australia you want to live in?"

The Greens would also put a 30-day limit on the length of time asylum seekers could be kept in detention for health and security checks before being released into the community on bridging visas.

They would also increase Australia's humanitarian intake from 20,000 a year to 30,000.

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