Search for bodies begins in Tas fires

Bushfires in southern Tasmania may have claimed a number of lives, police say. Source: AAP

UP to 100 people remain unaccounted for as devastating bushfires that have ravaged southern Tasmania continue to burn.

Police are conducting painstaking property-to-property searches in the worst hit towns of Dunalley, Boomer Bay and Marion Bay as they fear lives may have been lost.

More than 100 buildings have been destroyed by the fires, which continue to burn out of control in several areas of the state but no deaths have yet been confirmed.

Acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said there were grave fears for many people yet to make contact with family or authorities.

"It's not to say those people have necessarily come to harm, but we can't totally eliminate that until we have contact with those individuals," Mr Tilyard told reporters.

"But we have to brace ourselves for the fact we may locate one or more deceased people.

"There are a lot of premises that need to be checked. Until we've had the opportunity to check every one of those locations we won't be in a position to confirm there has been no deaths."

He said those yet to notify family or authorities should contact the National Registration and Inquiry Service or the Red Cross.

Up to 2500 people have been evacuated from the Tasman Peninsula by boat, and another 400 were due to arrive in Hobart on Sunday night with the Arthur Highway still closed.

At a refuge centre in Hobart's City Hall, Dunalley resident Patricia McCauley said she was relieved to get her 92-year-old mother-in-law out but had lost everything.

"We didn't have time to get frightened," she told AAP.

"We just had to get out without anything."

Most praised the efforts of emergency workers after thousands lined up on the beach at Nubeena to catch ferries at late as 2am (AEDT) on Sunday.

"It got a little bit chaotic because everyone was getting a bit cranky about who had been there the longest," a Sydney woman who wished only to be known as Kathy said.

"Naturally they said women, children and elderly first."

Mr Tilyard said police were investigating whether an escorted convoy of cars could be brought out of the peninsula on the highway before dark on Sunday.

Interstate fire crews had begun arriving in Tasmania as four fires which have burnt out around 60,000 hectares continued to cause concern.

The Tasman Peninsula's Forcett blaze was upgraded again to the highest level on Sunday evening, with the community of Taranna being told to evacuate.

Two fires in the Derwent Valley and one on the east coast were at the watch and act level.

Another massive fire had burnt out a further 60,000 hectares in the state's remote southwest, where several bushwalkers had been airlifted to safety.

The state government announced financial assistance and premier Lara Giddings was cutting short an overseas visit to return.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was expected to visit Tasmania on Monday and Prince Charles sent a statement of support.

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) chief fire officer Mike Brown said crews were having trouble accessing parts of the Tasman Peninsula and there was no time frame on when the fire would be brought under control. "That's really the $6 million question because it's going to take quite some time," he said.

"Our predictions over the next week is that temperatures will warm up a bit."

Dunalley was the worst hit, with around 65 homes and the town's school destroyed, while dozens more buildings were razed at Connellys Marsh, Eaglehawk Neck, Murdunna, Copping and Primrose Sands.

Mr Brown said a bushfire near Bicheno had destroyed between 10 and 15 homes.

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Depardieu gets Russian passport

FRENCH actor Gerard Depardieu has received a Russian passport and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Putin's spokesman says.

Putin earlier granted citizenship to Depardieu after the French movie star said he was quitting his homeland to avoid paying a new millionaires' tax.

Depardieu "was handed his passport," the Russian leader's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP on Sunday.

But Putin did not personally hand over the document to the actor when the two met briefly on Saturday at Putin's residence in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, Peskov said.

"There was a short meeting," he said, declining to give further details.

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Govt to support bushfire communities: PM

DISASTER assistance to fire-stricken communities in Tasmania will start flowing in coming days, the federal government has announced.

The support will be available to help recovery in the Sorell and Tasman local government areas in the state's southeast.

The needs of other areas will be closely monitored, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Emergency Management Nicola Roxon announced in a joint statement released on Saturday.

The Australian government is working with local authorities to support affected communities, they said.

"This is a tragic time for those who have suffered loss in the devastating Tasmanian bushfires," they said in the statement.

Assistance grants will be made available through the Tasmanian department of health and human services and will be jointly funded by the commonwealth and state government under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Three fires are threatening communities along the east coast and in central Tasmania, with thousands of people stranded as roads are cut off.

Ms Gillard said there were clear arrangements for how local authorities, state authorities and federal authorities work together.

"Unfortunately ... our world has given us the opportunity to test all of this, time and time again ... so we'll keep working to support communities," she told the Nine Network.

She said the focus at the moment was "still fighting the fires".

Ms Gillard said she would like to visit bushfire-ravaged communities but needed to ensure she would not disrupt any emergency efforts.

"I do like to go and visit communities that have been affected by disasters, but you've got to judge the right time ... and you are not in any way disrupting what are immediate efforts to deal with the emergency."

She said it broke her heart when she saw footage of the damage caused by bushfires.

"I'm obviously from Victoria. We saw that huge loss of life in the Victorian bushfires. The destructive power of fires is just so awesome.

"So whenever you see those pictures, whenever you see that kind of loss, it really does touch a chord in you."

Ms Gillard reminded people the extreme heat was widespread across Australia.

"That means there are risks in more areas than Tasmania.

"The best thing people can do is stay in touch with local authorities" and heed local community warnings, she said.

Information on assistance that is available is at www.disasterassist.gov.au or www.dhhs.tas.gov.au.

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Suu Kyi 'should' help with Kachin

MEDIATORS trying to broker a peace deal between the military and ethnic minority rebels in northern Myanmar have appealed to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the bloody conflict.

The military's use of air strikes against the rebels has stoked international concerns about a civil war that has overshadowed widely praised political reforms seen since the end of junta rule in 2011.

"Aung San Suu Kyi also has responsibility to implement ethnic peace," Yup Zaw Hkaung, a local businessman and peace negotiator in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, told AFP by telephone on Saturday.

"When she came to Kachin State to campaign for votes, she talked about peace. She cannot abandon Kachin," he said, adding that neither the opposition leader nor President Thein Sein had replied to letters asking for help.

Civil war has plagued parts of the country formerly known as Burma since it won independence from Britain in 1948.

Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner turned lawmaker, used her maiden speech to parliament in July last year to call for greater protection of ethnic minority rights.

But the veteran activist has disappointed rights campaigners by not speaking out more vocally in support of another minority group, the Rohingya, in the violence-torn western state of Rakhine.

In northern Kachin, tens of thousands of people have been displaced since June 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down.

The number of casualties is unknown. The Kachin accuse the government of pushing dialogue only on the basis of a ceasefire and troop withdrawals, neglecting to address longstanding demands for greater political rights.

Myanmar has reached tentative ceasefires with most of the other major ethnic rebel groups, but several rounds of talks with the Kachin have shown little tangible progress.

"The fighting has been escalating," Yup Zaw Hkaung said.

"We are urging dialogue as soon as possible. People are in big trouble."

He said his Peace Creation Group, a mediation team formed with three other local businessmen, wanted to meet Thein Sein face-to-face to discuss the conflict with the former general, whose office said in December 2011 he had ordered an end to military offensives against the rebels.

"As air strikes with jets have been used in the attacks, hatred between the two sides could be growing," Yup Zaw Hkaung said. "We assume that the military is fighting based on the decision of the union government."

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Govt agency oversimplifed gender pay data

A FEDERAL government agency has oversimplified data about graduate pay, resulting in the misrepresentation of gender pay differences, Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) says.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) said the gender pay gap for young university graduates had more than doubled last year, from $2000 to $5000 a year. However, there was in fact no change and the gap remains at three per cent.

GCA policy and strategy adviser Bruce Guthrie said the agency had read data from its annual Australian Graduate Survey in a "overly simplistic" way.

"The researcher in question has missed some vital paragraphs in this fairly short document which would have explained a lot of the stuff we have had to clarify.

"It does happen. It's happened before, it will happen again with various data sets. People get the wrong handle and think the story is simpler than it actually is," Mr Guthrie told AAP.

Mr Guthrie was concerned the misrepresentation could cloud the thinking of school leavers as they make career choices.

He said a factor that contributed to the misrepresentation was that men tended to be over-represented in fields such as engineering.

"In addition, some of the larger wage gaps are observed in fields with relatively low response numbers, for example dentistry and optometry, which could make them unreliable."

The gender equality agency identified a disparity of $14,000, or 15.7 per cent, between female and male dentistry graduates.

"I think it's really unlikely there is any responsible graduate recruiter in Australia who is paying a different salary to males and females," Mr Guthrie said.

"I don't believe that would be the case."

Mr Guthrie said GCA was entirely supportive of the need for workplace equality and the misreading of the information had painted employers as discriminatory.

The GCA figures that were used are based on the responses of new bachelor-degree graduates younger than 25 in their first full-time employment and do not represent the wider Australian workforce.

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Heatwave here to stay, warns bureau

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned high temperatures will continue "unabated" well into next week. Source: AAP

MUCH of Australia will be on high bushfire alert this weekend as a prolonged heatwave pushes across the country, with record temperatures already experienced in some centres.

A number of bushfires are being fought in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Authorities in those states are urging people to prepare themselves and their properties in case of fire.

Firefighters in Tasmania fear some houses have been lost at the township of Dunnalley near Hobart.

Health bodies are urging people to drink plenty of water and stay out of the heat.

The Bureau of Meteorology's acting regional director in South Australia, John Nairn, says while heatwaves are a normal part of the Australian summer, the current blast is unusual for the large area it is covering.

"More than 70 per cent of the continent is currently experiencing heatwave conditions," he said.

"Severe heatwave conditions across the interior of Australia are set to continue for a while yet."

Among the hottest parts of the country on Friday were Wudinna, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, which hit 48.2C. Adelaide reached 45C and Hobart reached a record 41.8C - one degree hotter than the record set in 1976.

Tasmania Fire Service chief officer Mike Brown said conditions at times on Friday reached the catastrophic level developed after the Black Saturday fires in Victoria, with up to 40 fires burning around the state.

"We reached catastrophic fire danger ratings at times during this afternoon," Chief Officer Brown told reporters.

"I don't think we're quite out of the woods yet."

But it is the Dunnalley and Forcett fires, which the 100 fire crews fighting them say they can't contain, that are causing most concern ahead of a mild southerly change due in Hobart around midnight.

On South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, three farming properties were under threat on Friday, while fires were also being fought near Currency Creek, on the Yorke Peninsula, in the Clare Valley, and at Truro, north of Adelaide.

Country Fire Service spokesman Mal Watts said while a cooler change was expected to bring temporary relief to coastal areas of the state on Saturday, fire fighters would remain on high alert.

"We are throwing everything that we are able to at incidents as they occur," he said.

"We've got to get through today, then we get a bit of a lull and then we're back into it again next week.

Victoria's Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said Saturday would be a fire day of significance in northeastern Victoria.

Temperatures across the state have tipped past 40C in many communities with extreme fire danger ratings.

A fire in a pine plantation at Mt Richmond in the state's southwest is a "major concern".

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) issued an emergency warning for the fire, which could affect the Lake Monbeong and Swan Lake camp grounds.

He said the fire had no major settlement in its path. However, farming communities could be threatened, and people considering leaving should head for Portland.

The bureau of meteorology says the scorching heat bearing down across many states will continue "unabated" well into next week.

The National Heart Foundation is advising those with heart disease to take it easy during the next few days, with studies showing an increase in heart attacks and death from extreme heat.

The foundation says people most at risk are those with a chronic disease, such as heart disease, and the elderly, children, people on certain medications and those engaged in strenuous outdoor activity.

Police have also warned that leaving children, elderly people or pets unattended in cars could prove fatal in hot weather.

Surf lifesavers are expecting to have to rescue hundreds of beachgoers this weekend as swimmers escape the heatwave in NSW.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called on people to be careful.

"Take care and stay safe as we face extreme heat around our nation. Listen to warnings on the high bushfire risk. JG," she tweeted on Friday.

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Obama signs sweeping US defence bill

US President Barack Obama has signed into law a $A605.71 billion defence spending bill. Source: AAP

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has signed into law a $US633 billion ($A605.71 billion) US defence spending bill that funds the war in Afghanistan and boosts security at US missions worldwide.

"I have approved this annual defence authorisation legislation, as I have in previous years, because it authorises essential support for service members and their families, renews vital national security programs, and helps ensure that the United States will continue to have the strongest military in the world," Obama said in a statement early on Thursday after signing the measure.

Obama said he signed the bill despite reservations.

"In a time when all public servants recognise the need to eliminate wasteful or duplicative spending, various sections in the Act limit the Defense Department's ability to direct scarce resources towards the highest priorities for our national security," the president said.

"Even though I support the vast majority of the provisions contained in this Act... I do not agree with them all," he said in his statement, adding that he did not have the constitutional authority to approve piecemeal items within the sprawling bill.

"I am empowered either to sign the bill, or reject it, as a whole," he said.

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Snow in NZ as Australia faces heatwave

AS Australians swelter in a heatwave, it's been snowing in New Zealand's South Island.

For the second summer in a row, snow has fallen in Central Otago in January. But forecasters say the winter woollies will not be needed for long.

Kids were pictured making snowmen, the Gimmerburn range near Ranfurly looked like a winter postcard and travellers near the summit of Lindis Pass abandoned vehicles on Wednesday night.

"There was quite a lot of snow but it's not landing on the town. It's on the hills surrounding," Misha Wilkinson of Misha's Vineyard near Cromwell told AAP.

She said the snow did not damage the vineyard, which was about two weeks behind a normal season due to cooler weather.

She said unseasonably hot temperatures are predicted for a wine and food festival in the Old Cromwell town precinct on Saturday.

A hailstorm was also reported in Oamaru late on Thursday afternoon.

The snow came after heavy rain and gales disrupted travellers on the West Coast of the South Island from Wednesday but the MetService says a ridge of high pressure will bring fine weather on Friday.

"The weekend is likely to be warm just about everywhere," MetService Chief Forecaster Peter Kreft says.

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Safety fears see Vic ambos abandon post

SAFETY concerns at an ambulance branch in Melbourne's west have prompted paramedics to abandon the post and work from elsewhere.

Ambulance Employees Australia Victoria general secretary Steve McGhie said 19 paramedics and one clinic transport officer had agreed not to return to the 35-year-old building in Sunshine until their concerns were addressed.

Mr McGhie said the paramedics had decided to work from nearby St Albans. This followed a meeting with WorkSafe on Wednesday over health and safety issues at the site.

About 80 paramedics from across Melbourne attended the meeting in a show of support.

Mr McGhie said an engineer's report 12 months ago found the building should be demolished. There were issues with asbestos and the foundations as well as the rest facilities for paramedics working long shifts.

There were concerns about security, with paramedics confronted by burglars on Boxing Day and cars broken into on several occasions, he said.

Mr McGhie said the issue had been raised with Ambulance Victoria, which had agreed major works were needed but required Victorian government funding.

He said paramedics would agree to return to the building if "fatigue management" and security issues were addressed.

Mr McGhie said any agreement with Ambulance Victoria would have to be passed by the members, which was not likely to happen until Thursday.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman later said a meeting between WorkSafe, health and safety officials, the union and Ambulance Victoria saw everyone agree to further safety and security measures to be put in place in the coming weeks.

This included improved lighting, while higher fences had already been implemented at the site, and paramedics were offered rest accommodation or taxi vouchers.

The spokeswoman said the ban had been lifted and paramedics would continue to work out of the Sunshine branch.

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Bali pool death at private home not club

Bali police are investigating the suspicious death of a Qld woman who was found dead in a pool. Source: AAP

A QUEENSLAND woman found dead in Bali was found at her home, not the beach club where she worked, her employers say.

Indonesian police are investigating the death of 33-year-old Denni North, who was found facedown in a pool on the resort island on December 30.

She had been working as a guest relations consultant at the Cocoon Beach Club and her death is reportedly being treated as suspicious.

The club released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday saying Ms North had been found dead in a swimming pool at her home, not at the club as has been reported.

"We cannot comment on any details of her death but would like to confirm the incident did not occur at Cocoon but at her private residence, we do not believe it to be suspicious but the police are investigating," it said.

Ms North, from Deception Bay north of Brisbane, reportedly frequented the beach club as a customer and was later offered a job there.

The club has offered assistance to her family, the police and the Australian consulate.

"She was a vivacious and beautiful young woman and we are incredibly saddened by her death and send our deepest condolences to her family and many friends," the statement said.

Meanwhile, tributes are flowing to the Facebook page RIP Denni North, created as an online memorial.

"You are an angel that was taken from us to soon .. RIP Beautiful xx," wrote friend Samantha Knight.

Leanne Forbes posted a Youtube link to the Sarah McLachlan hit Angel, while friend Jackie Blake posted a photo of herself and Denni at a costume party.

"Ever the Rock star .... Lost count of the times you made me almost spurt wine from my nose with laughter! God we will miss you and your hilarious story telling funny girl xoxo," Ms Blake wrote.

A recent guest at the club, Veronica Bulline, said she was very sad to hear about the death of the "beautiful and bubbly young girl".

"RIP Denni, you made the Cocoon such a wonderful place to be for all us Australians. My thoughts go out to her family," the post said.

Ms North's father Dennis said he wanted to know what happened to his "bubbly daughter".

"She was always bubbly, alive, and beautiful. She lived for life. I want answers," Mr North told Channel 7's Today Tonight program.

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Five face murder charges in gang-rape case

INDIAN police expect to formally charge five of six suspects with murder in the death of a 23-year-old woman who was raped on a moving bus in New Delhi. The sixth suspect in the case that has outraged the country is under 18 and a juvenile.

Police have ordered a bone test for the sixth accused to confirm his age, according to a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to reporters. Under Indian law, a juvenile cannot be prosecuted for murder.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said on Tuesday a charge-sheet in the case would be filed in court on Thursday. The suspects face the death penalty if convicted.

The physiotherapy student died last week in a Singapore hospital where she had been sent for emergency treatment after the crime in India's capital on December 16.

The case has triggered protests across India and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.

Protesters and politicians from across the spectrum called for a special session of Parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists - including possible chemical castration - and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.

Thousands of Indians have lit candles, held prayer meetings and marched through various cities and towns to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment.

On Monday, the Indian army and navy cancelled their New Year's celebrations, as did Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress Party. Several hotels and clubs across the capital also did not hold their usual parties.

Women face daily harassment across India, including catcalls on the streets and groping and touching on public transport.

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Injured man winched from NSW cave

A MAN who fell inside the Wombeyan Caves in the NSW Southern Highlands has been winched aboard a rescue helicopter and taken to hospital with suspected spinal injuries.

Ambulance Service of NSW crews were called to the caves just after 2pm (AEDT) on Tuesday after the man fell onto a riverbed in the cave and was unable to move, an ambulance spokeswoman said.

She said he may have had existing medical conditions.

The man, aged in his 20s, was winched aboard a medical rescue helicopter and taken to hospital.

The caves, about 50 kilometres north of Goulburn, are popular with tourists.

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Car bombing kills two south of Baghdad

TWO people have been killed in a car bombing outside provincial government offices south of Baghdad, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Iraqi officials nationwide.

The blast at 8.30am on Monday local time in the city of Hilla, 95km south of the capital, also wounded 17 people and badly damaged shops and cars, according to police.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and there are no details available on the victims.

But Sunni militants such as al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq regularly target officials and security forces in a bid to destabilise the government and push Iraq back towards the brutal communal bloodshed of 2005 to 2008.

Monday's violence came a day after three attacks on government officials north of the capital.

The deputy governor of Kirkuk province and the head of a city council in the province escaped separate assassination attempts, but the unrest still left one senior municipal official dead and eight people wounded.

Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks still occur almost every day.

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Person killed in head-on crash

A PERSON has died in a head-on collision between two cars on Tasmania's east coast.

Police said one person was killed, while another two were trapped in a vehicle as a result of the crash, which occurred on Gardens Road, The Gardens, near the tourist town of St Helens on Monday.

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