Ukraine protesters expand camp after talks

Thousands of anti-government protesters continue to hold out in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Source: AAP

UKRAINIAN protesters have expanded their protest camp in Kiev closer to the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych after crisis talks to end Ukraine's worst crisis since its 1991 independence ended in deadlock.

After five days of clashes that activists say left five dead, Ukraine's three main opposition leaders held several hours of talks with Yanukovych late Thursday but the minor concessions they announced were greeted with derision by protesters.

The outcome to the crisis remains uncertain, with protesters refusing to give way after over two months of demonstrations against Yanukovych's refusal to sign a pact with the EU that have now turned into a broader movement against his four-year rule.

In a new tactic sure to rattle Yanukovych, thousands of protesters stormed local administration buildings in the west of Ukraine, seizing control or besieging governors offices in half a dozen cities.

Wearing helmets and ad-hoc body armour, the Kiev protesters worked through the night to build up their existing barricades around Independence Square using sandbags filled with snow and tyres, turning the centre of Kiev into a fortress.

In a clear warning to Yanukovych, their final barricade is now only a few dozen metres from the presidential administration located on Bankovaya Street in central Kiev.

Activists also occupied the agriculture ministry in the city centre, an AFP correspondent said, and it was not clear if its bureaucrats would be able to go to work.

Most shops and restaurants close to or in the protest zone have now closed down "for technical reasons", with Kiev's famed Khreshchatyk Avenue now an extension of the protest camp.

"I feel deceived. We waited all day for a result of the negotiations and we got nothing," said protester Yevgeny, 26, wearing a helmet.

"I have fear now but have even more fear for the future," he added.

Lyubov, a protester from Ivano-Frankivsk in west Ukraine who had travelled to Kiev, added: "We know the authorities do not want to compromise, we have known this for a long time."

Clashes that started Sunday on Grushevsky Street on the fringes of the main protest zone left five dead, according to activists. The authorities have only confirmed that two died from gunshot wounds but have claimed police were not to blame.

Opposition leader and former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said the president appeared to be turning a deaf ear to the opposition's key demand of the resignation of the government.

"I feel how tense the atmosphere is. I feel how great the hopes are," he said.

Oleg Tyagnybok, leader of the Svoboda (Freedom) party, said there was a proposal to create a buffer zone between protesters and security forces that would leave the main protest camp on Independence Square untouched by police.

But when Tyagnybok asked protesters for a show of hands about whether the talks should continue, the answer was negative. It was not clear whether the opposition would continue the negotiations ahead of an extraordinary session of parliament Tuesday.

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United Airlines posts 4Q profit of $US140m

United Airlines posted a growth in fourth quarter earnings with an increase in passenger numbers. Source: AAP

THE parent of United Airlines has earned $US140 million ($A158.60 million) in the fourth quarter, as more passengers flew and paid more for their tickets.

The airline's fuel bill also shrank.

Net income at United Continental Holdings Inc was $US140 million, or 37 US cents per share. A year earlier it lost $US620 million, or $US1.87 per share.

Not counting special charges, United would have earned 78 US cents per share - well above the 66 US cents expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue rose more than seven per cent to $US9.33 billion, also higher than analysts had expected.

Passengers paid three per cent more per mile to fly compared to a year earlier. They paid more in add-on fees, too. United said so-called ancillary revenue, which covers items such as baggage fees, rose 15 per cent in the quarter to nearly $US21 per passenger.

Fuel expenses fell four per cent to $US2.97 billion for the quarter.

United said in November that it intends to cut $US2 billion in annual costs. The company is still working to integrate Continental after their 2010 merger. Although all the paint on the planes and the signs at the ticket counters read "United," the company still has to schedule flight crews and planes separately for the two airlines, reducing the savings from the merger.

"Our goals for 2014 are to provide even more reliable operations, great customer service and materially better financial performance," chairman and chief executive Jeff Smisek said in a written statement on Thursday.

For the full year, United earned $US571 million, after losing $US723 million in 2012.

Shares of Chicago-based United Continental fell 3.4 per cent in premarket trading to $US47.50. They set a new 52-week high on Wednesday at $US49.20.

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Church official amends commission evidence

A Catholic church official has revised his evidence to the Royal Commission on Child Sex Abuse. Source: AAP

A SENIOR church official has revised his evidence to the Royal Commission on Child Sex Abuse following a flurry of late night emails with a law firm representing the Catholic Church.

Michael Salmon, director of the Catholic Church's NSW/ACT Professional Standards Office, said on Friday he wanted to submit a supplementary statement to assist the commission.

He was contacted on Thursday evening by law firm Gilbert + Tobin and asked to clarify statements he made about a mediation session with an abuse victim who had concerns the Marist Brothers knew of and did nothing about abuse at a Cairns college.

A string of emails between the law firm and Mr Salmon, which culminated in him agreeing to a revised statement at about 9pm (AEDT) on Thursday night, were examined by the commission on Friday.

During a public hearing into Towards Healing, the internal church process for dealing with abuse complaints, it became an issue whether a Marist brother lied at a mediation session for a man referred to as DK about what he knew about a brother who has since been jailed.

Mr Salmon facilitated the 2010 session with DK, who was sexually molested when he was a student at the St Augustine's Marist College in Cairns in 1976.

Evidence from Mr Salmon on Wednesday and Thursday suggested that the conversation DK had with former college principal Brother Gerald Burns and another clergy member covered what they knew of inappropriate behaviour by Ross Murrin in relation to DK and other boys.

Murrin was jailed in 2008 for offences against children at Sydney schools. He had been moved to Rome by the order in 2002 but voluntarily came back in 2007 to face charges.

In his evidence on Thursday, Br Burns told the commission DK never asked him about offences against other boys but only about his own situation.

Br Burns also said a file note from Mr Salmon written after the mediation session which suggested otherwise was inaccurate.

Commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan asked Mr Salmon if lawyers told him during the Thursday night exchanges whether there was an issue as to whether Br Burns had told DK the truth.

Mr Salmon said he had not been told that.

He said that he wracked his brains for further recollections of whether the discussion had been about just DK, or other students and could only remember the discussion was all about DK.

Justice McClellan reminded Mr Salmon that he had asked him twice during his original evidence about the context of the conversation between DK and the brothers.

"I put it to you it was beyond DK and you said 'Yes, Yes'," he said.

He said DK was also concerned that the brothers had not helped Murrin, who he saw as a sensitive person, and this was the context of his "beyond DK" responses.

Mr Salmon said he was aware DK had broader concerns about whether the brothers had knowledge of the abuse at the school but left it to him to raise it at the mediation meeting because DK had come to the session with detailed notes and was "not a shrinking violet".

DK had left the mediation happy and on good terms with the brothers, he said.

Mr Salmon told senior counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness he had taken the advice of the lawyers when they rejected his suggestions for amendments as not relevant to the statement because it did not alter what he was trying to say.

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Swastika on Austrian tombstone defies ban

Nazi symbols continue to be seen on Austrian tombstones despite laws against displaying them. Source: AAP

THE marble tombstone looks like others dotting the main cemetery of Graz, Austria's second city - but only at first glance. Carved into it are a swastika and the inscription: "He died in the struggle for a Great Germany."

Footsteps away, another gravestone is marked with the SS lightning bolts proudly worn by the elite Nazi troops who executed most of the crimes of the Holocaust.

Austrian law bans such symbols, and those displaying them face criminal charges and potential prison terms.

Yet the emblems reflecting this country's darkest chapter in history endure here, and officials appear either unable or unwilling to do away with them - despite complaints from locals.

The controversy reflects Austria's complex relationship with the Hitler era.

Annexation by Germany in 1938 enabled Austrians to claim after the war that they were Hitler's first victims.

Austria has moved since to acknowledge that it was instead a perpetrator. It has paid out millions of dollars in reparations, restored property to Jewish heirs and misses no public opportunity to ask for forgiveness for its wartime role.

Some comments by Graz city and church representatives responsible for managing the dispute suggest they see nothing wrong with graveyard Nazi displays.

While acknowledging the mayor's office was uncomfortable with the swastika, the city's spokesman, Thomas Rajakovics, called it an old "symbol in the English world that stands for the sun."

Christian Leibnitz, provost of Graz' Roman Catholic church, said "a lot" of tombstones in the city still displayed the swastika and suggested it had a right to remain in cemeteries as a "political and societal symbol" of the era, even "if I totally oppose this era."

Asked if the church was ready to put up a sign next to the grave explaining how the swastika is associated with Nazi horrors, he demurred, saying symbols displayed on other tombstones might be just as offensive to some people.

Pressed for specifics, he spoke of "anti-religious" symbols on some graves, adding without elaboration that the church was "not necessarily happy" with some of the emblems displayed on the cemetery's Jewish graves.

Austria enacted a law in 1947 banning Nazi symbols that led to the purging of such emblems from Austrian graveyards. Vienna cemeteries spokesman Florian Keusch says he believes none of the 500,000 gravestones in the Austrian capital now has such symbols, "and if we found any they would be removed."

But Rajakovics, the Graz spokesman, and Leibnitz, the church provost, say their hands are tied.

Both claim they are not aware of the grave with the SS symbol. But in the case of the swastika, they cite Graz' top prosecutor, Hans-Joerg Bacher, who ruled that the law prohibiting Nazi displays did not apply to that headstone because it was put up before the law was passed in 1947.

Under that interpretation, Graz officials say it's up to the grave's owner - a German man they refuse to identify - to voluntarily remove the emblem. But that's something they say he refuses to do.

Rajakovics says the city council criticised the headstone years ago, and the church, as the graveyard's owner, "is the only institution that can do something." Leibnitz, in turn, says the Roman Catholic church has "tried going to the politicians and to the state prosecutors" for a solution that has yet to materialise.

Meanwhile, the swastika remains - to the aggravation of its critics, including Austria's Jewish community.

Raimund Fastenbauer, who speaks for Vienna's Jews, said the problem is not with Austria's anti-Nazi laws but a reluctance to enforce them.

"This is disappointing and frustrating," he said.

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Teen charged over attempted home invasion

A TEENAGER accused of threatening a middle-aged couple with a shotgun during an alleged attempted home invasion on the NSW south coast has been charged.

The 16-year-old allegedly pointed the gun at a man, 54, and a woman, 53, when they answered his knock on their Wollongong door in the early hours of Saturday.

"The male tried to gain entry, however, the occupants managed to close the door," police said in a statement.

On Tuesday police arrested the teenager at a Wollongong home.

He was charged with offences including special aggravated break and enter.

Bail has been refused for the teenager, who is due before Port Kembla Children's Court in late February.

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UN makes 'mistake' on Iran: Russia

THE UN chief's decision to rescind the invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks was a mistake but not a catastrophe, Russia's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov said that Ban Ki-moon's decision to withdraw his last-minute offer to Iran to attend the conference set to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss resort of Montreux would have a negative impact on the United Nations image.

The invitation to Iran extended by Ban on Sunday put the talks in jeopardy, with the US pushing for rescinding the offer and the Syrian opposition threatening to skip the event entirely.

"This story hasn't helped strengthen the UN authority," Lavrov said at a news conference, adding that recalling the offer looked "unseemly."

The controversy over Iran's participation in the talks reflected deep differences over Syria between the United States and Russia, which has been a key ally of Syria, shielding Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime from the United Nations sanctions and continuing to supply it with weapons throughout the civil war that has killed more than 130,000.

He reaffirmed Russia's stance that the presence of Iran was essential for the success of the talks.

Iran has been Assad's main regional ally, supporting his regime with advisers, money and materiel since the uprising began in 2011.

Lavrov warned that spurning Iran would deepen division lines in the Islamic world and would have a negative impact on global efforts to fight terrorism.

"The absence of Iran isn't going to help strengthen the unity of the world's Muslims," he said.

Lavrov insisted that Russia is not supplying Syria with any weapons that are "banned by international agreements and could destabilise the situation in the region."

At the same time, Lavrov voiced hope for the success of the talks that would put the government and the opposition at the same table for the first time since the start of the conflict three years ago.

"There is no catastrophe, we will push for a dialogue between the Syrian parties without any preconditions," he said.

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Big issues to deal with in Aust: Buttrose

AUSTRALIA has come a long way since Federation, but there are still many important issues to resolve, outgoing Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose says.

Attitudes towards the elderly, Aborigines, refugees and those suffering dementia could be improved, as could education, social reform and opportunities for women to make Australia a better and fairer nation, Ms Buttrose said during a half-hour speech on Tuesday in Sydney.

Australia should celebrate its development as a society and "the great social policies of which we should be so proud", she told a packed auditorium at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Ms Buttrose was optimistic about the future but she also expressed some worries during the 18th Australia Day address.

"I worry that our preoccupation with balanced budgets will lead to the chipping away of the things which protect the most vulnerable."

"As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, this would be unforgivable."

Ms Buttrose, the first female editor of a major metropolitan newspaper and the first woman director of News Limited Australia, reiterated her support for a legislated "quota system" to ensure a fairer representation of women on company boards.

A law should be introduced in Australia, similar to that passed in Norway in 2003, requiring companies to have women comprise at least 40 per cent of their senior executive, she said.

A passionate advocate against ageism and discrimination against dementia sufferers, Ms Buttrose said she would continue her work despite losing the "influential platform" of being Australian of the Year.

"I've never not found a way to make my point of view heard," she told reporters after the speech.

"It's very handy if you're on television. It's also handy if you're able to write for a living."

And after a busy year with formal duties and a busy media schedule, Ms Buttrose isn't slowing down.

She's working on a new book, but wasn't letting any details slip.

"No author worth their salt reveals their book beforehand," she said.

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Indon border trespass to be reviewed

CUSTOMS and Defence have started a review into the entry of Australian vessels into Indonesian waters as part of the government's Operation Sovereign Borders.

In a joint statement Customs and Defence said "the review will assess the sequence of events and cause of Australian vessels entering into Indonesian waters in connection with Operation Sovereign Borders."

Senior officers from Defence and Customs will co-chair the review.

The report is due in a few weeks and may not be made public.

"The (Customs) chief executive officer and chief of the Defence Force will consider release of the review's findings," the statement said.

The incursions into Indonesian territory reignited tensions between Australia and its northern neighbour and Customs and Defence said the review would be conducted as a matter of urgency.

"The joint review will identify any potential procedural weaknesses or deficiencies in maritime operations and make recommendations to ensure that any immediate operational policy or procedure issues are highlighted and rectified promptly."

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Cameras found in SA Tour toilets: police

SECRET cameras have been found in the female and male toilets at the Tour Down Under village in central Adelaide.

A member of the public found what he believed to be a hidden camera in the Victoria Square male toilets late on Monday afternoon, police say.

The black device resembled a double towel hook and was mounted on the wall.

Police removed the device, which was off and not transmitting at the time.

A second device was found in the female toilets.

Police said any images captured appeared to be stored on SD cards which also have been seized.

The other toilets at Victoria Square have been checked, but no other devices have been found.

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SA fires continue, but Barossa gets Tour

Firefighters are continuing to battle SA blazes, which have destroyed 16 homes and 33 buildings. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS are still battling blazes across South Australia, which have been estimated to have caused $10 million worth of property damage.

But the Country Fire Service (CFS) says that only the Bangor fire in the Southern Flinders Ranges remains subject to a watch and act alert.

Premier Jay Weatherill on Monday afternoon visited the firegrounds at Eden Valley in the Barossa.

After being briefed by the CFS, he told journalists that property losses included 16 homes, 33 other buildings, about 18 vehicles, kilometres and kilometres of fencing and about 1700 head of stock.

Preliminary estimates put the damage loss at around $10 million, the premier said.

State forest loss in the state's mid-north was in the order of $7 million, he added.

The government was providing assistance and support to people at the 200 affected farm properties.

He repeated his thanks to the volunteer firefighters, saying their extraordinary and courageous effort meant many losses were averted in the face of a very frightening fire.

"There have been some incredible saves, but also some tragic losses," Mr Weatherill said.

Tour Down Under organisers earlier confirmed that stage one of the race would go ahead after earlier fears it might have to be cancelled due to the bushfires.

The two races are in the Barossa region and will finish at Angaston.

The premier said this was great news for people in the Barossa who had put up with a "very frightening and, in some cases, damaging experience" and who would now get to celebrate the race.

"It would have been a cruel thing if it was taken off them, just at a time when it was going to bring a lot of money into the economy," he said.

The race also would give them something happy to focus on, he added.

More than 445,000 hectares of grass, scrub, forest and bushlands has been burnt since fires started last Tuesday.

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Firefighters escape serious injury in NSW

FIREFIGHTERS in northern NSW have had a lucky escape from one of their trucks that caught alight in a sudden wind change.

Crews were protecting properties around Moree on Monday evening when a sudden wind change blew a fast-moving grass blaze towards a truck parked between homes and the fire front.

"The truck was engulfed in a matter of seconds, with firefighters quickly abandoning their vehicle and seeking refuge nearby from the fire," Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins said in a statement.

"Trucks and equipment can be replaced but people cannot and I am thankful that no one has been injured in this incident."

There have been no confirmed property losses in the area.

A replacement vehicle has been sent from the New England region.

Firefighters will continue to battle the three-hectare fire throughout Monday night.

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Accused baby-basher faces Qld court

A NORTH Queensland mother accused of punching her baby girl in the face has appeared in court.

Police say a passer-by allegedly saw the 29-year-old punch the crying baby, who was in a pram on a footpath, in the Townsville suburb of North Ward on Saturday afternoon.

The baby was taken to hospital with bruises and was in a stable condition on Monday.

The mother appeared briefly before the Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.

She was granted bail and will reappear in court on February 7.

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'Social' smokers warned of risks

Almost a quarter of British smokers say they have a social habit despite puffing up to 20 a day. Source: AAP

ALMOST a quarter of British smokers say they only have a social habit despite the fact many smoke six to 20 cigarettes a day.

A survey of 2000 smokers found 24 per cent class themselves as social smokers but more than one in three of these buy up to a packet a day.

About 60 per cent of all those questioned said they have tried giving up in the past, with women being slightly more likely than men to have attempted quitting.

One in six of those who had tried to stop smoking succeeded for over a year but then went back to their old habits.

Some 13 per cent said part of the reason they took up smoking again was because their friends smoked and they did not like being left alone on nights out.

Other reasons included the effects of alcohol, a football team losing and because the smoker did not want to miss out on socialising with work colleagues.

Of those who did go back to smoking, 47 per cent said they had initially cut down how many cigarettes they smoked.

The poll also found that 54 per cent of smokers admitted to smoking in banned areas, such as indoors in public spaces.

One in six said this was because it was too wet and cold to smoke outside, while 14 per cent took the risk because the area was not policed very well and one in 10 did so because they had never been asked to stub out their cigarette.

Catherine Cox, primary care manager at The Co-operative Pharmacy, which conducted the poll, said: "The smoking ban in public places has had a major effect on the health of the nation with a significant number of people giving up.

"But many smokers are convincing themselves they are consuming less tobacco than they actually are by classing their habit as a 'social' one.

"People see it as more acceptable to be a social smoker than admitting they regularly light up each day, even though our research shows that this is the case.

"Just smoking a few cigarettes a day has an impact on your health and the wellbeing of those around you."

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Baby panda Bao Bao makes her bow

Baby panda Bao Bao made her first public appearance at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington. Source: AAP

BABY panda Bao Bao, born in captivity a little less than five months ago, has made her first public appearance at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington.

Scores of people queued from as early as 6am to see Bao Bao, born of the giant panda Mei Xiang, which had previously made several unsuccessful attempts to conceive a cub.

Since 2005, the Washington zoo had not seen the successful birth of a panda, so now the newcomer is attracting crowds of visitors and has led to visiting hours being extended.

Bao Bao was born on August 23, now weighs 9kg and is very healthy despite the frosty temperatures in the US capital.

The artificial habitat of pandas in the National Zoo has been closed to the public for six months, and a lot of fans waited impatiently for it to reopen.

The natural habitat of giant pandas is in the mountains and leafy bamboo groves of central China, where an estimated 1600 still live. Another 300 live in captivity in zoos around the world.

Scientists believe that pandas live longer in captivity but are less fertile, making the success rate for the conception of cubs lower than it is in the wild.

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Woman in court over 3-year-old's death

A 33-YEAR-OLD woman will appear in a Scottish court after being arrested and charged in connection with the death of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular.

Police did not name the woman, although it has been widely reported that Rosdeep Kular, the mother of the missing Edinburgh boy, was being questioned by officers after a child's body was discovered in Fife, kilometres from his home.

The development was announced late Saturday (GMT) by Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham.

"During the course of today, the investigation into the disappearance of Mikaeel Kular has continued at pace," he said.

"Following formal identification, I can now confirm that a 33-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with Mikaeel's death.

"The woman is expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday."

A major police investigation was launched to trace Mikaeel after he was reported missing from his home in Edinburgh's Ferry Gait Crescent on Thursday.

More than 200 members of the public joined police and other agencies in their searches for the youngster in the Drylaw area of the capital on Friday.

Officers searching for the three-year-old found remains - now identified as those of Mikaeel - in Kirkcaldy, Fife, shortly before midnight that day.

Mr Graham expressed his thanks to all those who aided police in recent days.

More than 500 calls were made by the public to a dedicated phone line set up after Mikaeel's disappearance, he revealed.

"I would like to again recognise the overwhelming public assistance that Police Scotland have received during the course of this very complex investigation," he said.

"This includes his family and friends, with whom our thoughts remain."

Mr Graham said he would be unable to answer further questions about the investigation.

Mikaeel's body was removed from a wooded area behind a property in Dunvegan Avenue, Kirkcaldy.

Pandeep Kular, 37, Mikaeel's aunt, sobbed as she told the Sunday People newspaper: "We're devastated. I'm with the kids."

She said she had not spoken with her sister, saying: "I'm not aware of anything. I'm just with my family in the house. That's all I can say. We've just lost him."

Floral tributes, soft toys and candles have been placed at a small park in the Drylaw area, around the corner from the flat where Mikaeel lived on Ferry Gait Crescent.

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Man dies in Melbourne kayaking accident

A MAN has died in a kayaking accident on a Melbourne creek.

Police believe the man, in his 20s, got into difficulty while kayaking just before 8pm (AEDT) on Sunday, prompting a passer-by to come to his aid then attempting to revive him.

The man, who is yet to be identified, died at the scene in Kananook Creek, in Seaford in Melbourne's southeast.

The exact cause of the man's death is yet to be determined, however police say it is not suspicious.

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