Germany warns Britain against EU blackmail

GERMAN Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned Britain in a Sunday newspaper interview against "blackmailing" its EU partners in a bid to bring powers back home from Brussels.

"We want to keep Britain in the EU and not force it out," Schaeuble told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. "But I will also say that does not mean anyone can blackmail us."

Asked whether a debate raging in Britain about a possible referendum on the country's future in the 27-member bloc was "dangerous", Schaeuble said: "Our British friends are not dangerous. But a referendum would create uncertainty," he said.

He said he only got "cross" with Britons over football, adding he hoped for "more British engagement in Europe, not less".

Britain has belonged to the European Union since 1973 but has not joined the 17-nation eurozone.

Schaeuble has served as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's main ally in Berlin in plotting an austerity-driven course to resolve the eurozone debt crisis as well as greater political integration of the bloc.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, said last month that he still supports British membership of the EU but cannot accept the "status quo" and wants a "new settlement" that involves repatriating some powers.

He has so far avoided offering a clear "in-out" referendum despite strong pressure for clarity on the issue from his party.

Tensions flared last month when Cameron opposed a new trillion-euro ($A1.25 trillion) EU budget for the next seven years, saying it was unacceptable to increase spending at a time when many countries were taking austerity measures at home.

A recent poll in the UK's Observer newspaper found 56 per cent of Britons surveyed would vote to leave the EU given the chance.

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Brothers thrown from jet-ski in Sydney

TWO brothers have been hospitalised after being thrown from a jet-ski in Sydney's south.

Emergency services were called to Cape Solander in Kurnell about 2pm (AEDT) on Sunday, after the accident.

While one of the brothers, aged 30, managed to swim to nearby cliff, his 28-year-old brother was unable to swim to shore and was eventually winched to safety by a PolAir helicopter.

The younger brother had been in the water for approximately one hour and suffered hypothermia and abrasions, police said.

Both men were taken to Sutherland Hospital in a stable condition.

Detective Superintendent Mark Noakes, Commander of PolAir, is urging people to stay safe around the water this summer.

"Taking precautions, such as wearing lifejackets, could be the difference between life and death," he said in a statement.

"Had these two men not been wearing lifejackets the results could have been tragic."

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Tourists in hospital after Qld bus crash

AT least 10 people have been hospitalised after a bus rolled several times down an embankment on the Gold Coast hinterland.

Seventeen tourists and a driver were on board the 20-seater bus when it rolled down Mount Tamborine just after midday (AEST) on Sunday.

Police said 10 of the mostly Chinese tourists - aged between 26 and 60 - were taken to Gold Coast Hospital.

After the accident, authorities told AAP a 50-year-old male driver was in a critical condition with head and chest injuries and another man, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was also critical.

But later on Sunday, police said the two men aged 51 and 34 were in a serious but stable condition.

Another five passengers are still being treated for non-life threatening injures and three passengers have now been discharged.

There were also a number of passengers being treated at Robina Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Police said Henri Robert Drive, which was closed for several hours after the accident, had since re-opened.

Mount Tamborine was the scene of Queensland's worst bus crash, when 11 people were killed and 38 were injured in 1990.

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Pell says sorry to victims of clergy abuse

Cardinal George Pell, leader of the Catholic church in Australia, says he is "deeply sorry" for the pain caused by those in his organisation. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: News Limited

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic has apologised to those who have "suffered at the hands" of priests and religious teachers.

While not specifically mentioning allegations of child sex abuse by members of the clergy, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell said he was "deeply sorry" for the hurt that had occurred, calling it "completely contrary" to Christ's teachings.

"I am deeply sorry this happened," Cardinal Pell said.

"I feel too the shock and shame across the community at these revelations of wrongdoing and crimes."

In his statement, Cardinal Pell said people had "suffered at the hands" of fellow Christians, Christian officials, priests and religious teachers.

The Christmas message comes after the federal government this year announced a royal commission to investigate child abuse in Australia, including in the Catholic Church.

It follows claims abuse by clergy was covered up by Catholic Church hierarchy.

Faith in "God's goodness and love" was needed "to help those who have been hurt", Cardinal Pell said in his message.

"We need the hope that comes to us from Christ's birth with his call to conversion, to sorrow for sins and the necessity of reparation," he said.

"The light of Christ shines through this darkness."

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The original Wiggles woo Carols crowd

THOUSANDS of arms and legs waved and flailed at Sydney's Carols in the Domain, as the original members of The Wiggles celebrated their last carols bonanza.

More than 50,000 people packed into the Domain on Saturday, as the popular annual event ushered in the Christmas cheer with The Ten Tenor's rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful at 8.30pm (AEDT).

But the cheers really kicked off when Australia's most loved children's music group said their final goodbye to the event.

"Three of the members are hanging up their skivvies so tonight is their very last television performance before handing over to new band members," the Carols co-host Natalie Barr said.

"So this is it Australia, the end of an era," Matt White said.

The crowd jumped to their feet, shooting out arms and legs in unison with the original Red, Yellow, Red, Purple and Blue wiggles as they sang and danced to Fruit salad, Hot Potato and Jingle Bells.

"The Wiggles have been performing at Carols in the Domain for 20 years ... and we have always had such a wonderful time," Red Wiggle Murray Cook said, adding that next year will see the three new Wiggles perform.

Earlier in the evening candles began waving as Troy Cassar-Daley sung Have Yourself a Merry Christmas - later coming back with guitar in tow to sing Jingle Bells Rock.

Georgie Parker and Jay Laga'aia teamed up for the Christmas favourite Here Comes Santa Claus and Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer, eliciting a big cheer from the crowd.

Meanwhile The X-Factor favourites The Collective channelled the 1980s, with a rendition of the Wham! classic Last Christmas, prompting some more screams from the audience.

"Slightly popular. The Twittersphere just exploded, The Collective is in town," White quipped.

The X-Factor winner Samantha Jade, backed by a chorus, also wooed the crowd with Away in a Manger.

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Fire bans, warnings as WA set to scorch

A MID-40C scorcher will see a total fire ban for around 2600 residents on the northern WA coast, while 6000 people in the state's Pilbara region are bracing for severe fire danger.

The Shire of Exmouth, in the coastal region of Gascoyne about 1000km north of Perth, has been placed on a total fire ban on Sunday by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES).

All open air fires are banned, and hot work such as metal welding and grinding is not allowed without an exemption. The DFES has warned that those who flout the ban face fines of up $25,000 and/or up to 12 months in jail.

Residents in the inner-Pilbara's Shire of Ashburton face hot, dry, windy conditions that could see a potential bush or grass fire take hold, DFES said, announcing a severe fire warning.

The area faces overnight temperature lows in the mid to high 20Cs before daytime maximums expected in the low to mid 40Cs, with the searing weather tipped to continue until Boxing Day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

Motorists are being urged to avoid driving near the abandoned town site of Wittenoom, where a fire southwest of the area - despite posing no danger - has seen roads closed in the area due to thick smoke.

Several non-threatening fires are also burning on either side of the North West Coastal Highway in the Shire of Ashburton, causing a potential smoke hazard for motorists, DFES said in a statement.

The department has urged residents in affected areas to have bushfire plans and survival kits on standby, and to tune in to local radio and other media for updates.

"Do not wait for a warning before you act. If you see flames call triple zero," the DFES said.

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Syria's chemical weapons safe, Russia says

RUSSIA'S foreign minister says the Syrian government has consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught.

Sergey Lavrov says Russia, which has military advisers training Syria's military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal. He says the Syrian government has moved them from many arsenals to just "one or two centres" to properly safeguard them.

US intelligence says the regime may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use them. Both Israel and the US have also expressed concerns they could fall into militant hands if the regime crumbles.

Lavrov also told reporters on a flight from an EU summit late on Friday that countries in the region had asked Russia to convey an offer of safe passage to President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile Rebels have threatened to storm two predominantly Christian towns in central Syria, saying regime forces are using them to attack nearby areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that the rebels issued an ultimatum to the towns of Mahrada and Sqailbiyeh in the province of Hama.

A video released by rebels showed Rashid Abul-Fidaa, the Hama commander of the Ansar Brigade, calling on residents to "evict Assad's gangs" or be attacked. He was referring to Assad's forces in the area.

Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people.

They are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups.

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Two charged over $580,000 cigarette haul

CIGARETTES worth more than half a million dollars have been seized and two men charged following a routine police truck stop in Victoria's north, police say.

Officers pulled over a light truck north-bound on the Hume Freeway at Seymour, about 100km north of Melbourne, about 11.30am (AEDT) on Saturday.

After speaking with the driver, a search of the truck revealed three pallets of cigarettes valued at around $580,000, police said.

Two NSW men, aged 28 and 35, have been charged with two counts each of possessing proceeds of crime and one count each of handling stolen goods.

Both were bailed and will appear at Seymour Magistrates Court on March 21.

Police say they'll work with customs officials to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the find.

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List unveils top English tongue-twisters

"PHENOMENON", "remuneration" and "statistics" have topped a list of the most commonly mispronounced English words.

Speakers also have a problem getting their tongue around "ethnicity", "hereditary" and "particularly", according to the UK body charged with recording public utterances.

The British Institute Of Verbatim Reporters (BIVR) is the UK's leading organisation for professionals involved in taking down speech at court and tribunal hearings.

A poll of its members found the 10 words that Britons consistently find the most challenging to pronounce.

Completing the list are "conjugal", "specific", "processes" and "development".

Leah Willersdorf, of the BIVR, said: "We work with many different types of professionals and hear all kinds of voices during our work.

"However, when it comes to the English language it always seems to be the same few words that verbally trip people up, with the speaker having to repeat the word in order to get it right, or just abandoning their attempts and moving on."

BIVR members were quizzed by the team behind the popular word game Scrabble.

According to the words buffs, one in 10 players admit to being reluctant to producing words that they cannot pronounce.

Scrabble is a favourite with British families over the festive period, with an estimated 11 million going head to head on Boxing Day, according to its makers.

University of York sociolinguistics expert Paul Kerswill said the English language has evolved to compensate for tricky pronunciations but some words remain a challenge.

"People always find a way of simplifying words that they find difficult to get their tongues round, so that an everyday word like 'handbag' sounds like 'hambag'," Professor Kerswill said.

"Our forebears simplified 'waistcoat' to 'weskit' - but we've turned our backs on that.

"We certainly don't pronounce Worcester and Gloucester the way they are spelt any more. And 'York' used to have three syllables, not one.

"And most people talk about 'Febry' and 'Wensday'."

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Obama vows action after online petition

US President Barack Obama has vowed to take action to stop gun violence in response to online petitions signed by more than 400,000 people after last week's primary school massacre.

"In the days since the heartbreaking tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, hundreds of thousands of you, from all 50 states, signed petitions asking us to take serious steps to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country," Obama said in an online video on Friday. "We hear you."

Obama has called on Congress to pass legislation banning military-style assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips. It would would also close loopholes that allow people to purchase guns without background checks.

He has also appointed Vice President Joe Biden to head a task force to explore ways to prevent mass shootings, including by improving access to mental health care, and addressing depictions of violence in popular culture.

"I will do everything in my power as president to advance these efforts, because if there's even one thing we can do as a country to protect our children, we have a responsibility to try," Obama said in the video.

"But as I said earlier this week I can't do it alone. I need your help."

Obama called on ordinary citizens, law enforcement officials and gun owners to campaign publicly and petition Congress in support of his reforms.

Last Friday's massacre of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School - the latest in a series of mass shootings over the past two years - has galvanised support for reforms aimed at stemming gun violence.

More than 400,000 people have signed "We the People" petitions on the White House's website calling for action on gun violence, making it one of the most popular issues since the launch of the site, a White House official said.

One such petition set the record for being the fastest ever to reach 25,000 signatures, the official said.

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