Support for deleting gay sex convictions

POLITICIANS of all stripes have supported a call by Victorian Labor to delete historic convictions against gay men for consensual sex.

It came as thousands gathered at St Kilda to march at Melbourne's annual gay pride event on Sunday, including AFL footballers Brock McLean and Daniel Jackson.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said it was time to right a wrong and remove the black mark of a conviction for a crime that was taken off the statute books more than 30 years ago.

Mr Andrews promised he would pursue the change if Labor wins the state election.

"We'll waste no time on this," Mr Andrews told reporters at the march.

Mr Andrews said the convictions were a stigma thousands of gay men still had to live with.

"There's an element of shame, there's hurt and of course there's a whole lot of practical impacts as well in terms of visas and job applications."

Health Minister David Davis said the government was working through proposals to achieve expungement of former convictions.

"The principle is a correct one and I think the government is very aware of that," he said.

Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said the change would make a difference in people's lives and pushed for federal leaders to support marriage equality.

"The time has come to completely clear people's records ... that are really a relic of an era where discrimination was entrenched," he said.

Carlton player Brock McLean, whose sister came out recently, said he wanted to show his support for the gay community.

"There is homophobia in sport," he said.

"If we can start to get more people to talk about it ... and stand up for what's right and that's treating everyone equally, that's a win-win for everybody."

Gay Aussie rules player Jason Ball said he was honoured to lead the march.

The local Yarra-Glen footy club player made headlines when he petitioned last year for the AFL to take a stand against homophobia.

"It will be pretty hard to wipe the smile off my face today," Mr Ball said.

"The real heroes of my story are my straight teammates who will be marching with me.

"I think that really breaks down that stereotype that footy boys are a bunch of homophobic knuckleheads."

The Hamer Liberal government decriminalised homosexuality in Victoria in 1981.

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Funding cuts will affect patients: Davis

THE Victorian government denies a "blame game" between the state and federal governments over hospital funding but admits patients will be affected by cuts to the sector.

Victorian Health Minister David Davis said the state government was determined to see federal funding cuts restored.

"It will have a significant impact on patients. We're seeking to mitigate the impact as much as we can," he told journalists on Sunday.

"But inevitably there will be an impact on patients and we're concerned about that."

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek previously blamed the state government for starving hospitals of funds.

Hundreds of beds have closed and thousands of elective surgery procedures have been cancelled as each side blames the other for cutting funds.

But Mr Davis said the federal government's claim that Victoria's population is dwindling - which it uses as a basis for $107 million of health funding cuts - was "dodgy".

"I reject the concept that this is a blame game," Mr Davis told journalists on Sunday.

"I call on them to reverse that cut which is based on dodgy population estimates."

Health professionals joined community groups, patient advocates and unions to protest the cuts at Melbourne's Treasury Gardens on Sunday.

A meeting between Ms Plibersek and Mr Davis in Melbourne on Friday failed to resolve the disagreement.

Mr Davis said he was willing to meet Ms Plibersek in Canberra despite describing Friday's talks as disappointing.

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US condemns Ankara embassy bombing

The US has condemned the suicide bombing outside its Ankara embassy, calling it an "act of terror". Source: AAP

THE White House has condemned a suicide bombing outside the US embassy in Ankara as a "terrorist attack", but said it did not yet know who was behind it.

"We strongly condemn what was a suicide attack against our embassy in Ankara, which took place at the embassy's outer security perimeter," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday.

A Turkish security guard was killed and several other people were wounded in the explosion, which also damaged nearby buildings.

"A suicide bombing on the perimeter of an embassy is by definition an act of terror. It is a terrorist attack," said Carney.

"However, we do not know at this point who is responsible or the motivations behind the attack. The attack itself is clearly an act of terror."

He said the United States was working closely with Turkish authorities "to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice".

The bombing at a security roadblock near the entrance to the highly-fortified embassy in an upmarket area of the capital was the latest in a series of attacks on American missions in the Muslim world.

Vice President Joe Biden, on a visit to Germany, said the bomber was believed to be a member of an illegal "left wing terrorist organisation", without elaborating.

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Taliban attack on Pakistan checkpost

Suicide bombers have attacked a military checkpost in Pakistan, killing 8 people, officials say. Source: AAP

SUICIDE bombers attacked a military checkpost in Pakistan's troubled northwest, killing six soldiers and two civilians, officials said, in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

"Six security personnel and two civilians were killed in the attack," a security official said of the raid which happened on Saturday around 240km south of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The attack was on a joint checkpost of the Pakistan army and a paramilitary force in the Sari Norang area of Lakki Marwat district, close to the semi-autonomous tribal belt swarming with Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

"The civilian casualties include a child and a woman who were killed when one of the attackers entered their home and blew up his suicide jacket," the official said.

Another security official in Peshawar said security forces killed 12 militants.

The Taliban claimed the attack but disputed 12 militants were killed, saying they had sent only four suicide bombers.

"We sent only four suicide bombers to attack this checkpost. We attacked it to avenge the killing of two of our friends in a recent drone strike," Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said by phone.

Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants are accused of plotting attacks from the tribal belt on Pakistani, Afghan and Western targets.

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Govt moves to protect reef heritage status

THE federal government is beefing up protection of the Great Barrier Reef to prevent the United Nations from stripping it of its world heritage status.

But that's failed to please green groups, which protested in most Australian capital cities on Friday over the threats they believe the reef faces from proposed coal and gas developments.

UNESCO raised concerns about the reef last year and made a number of recommendations to the government after it sent a team to Queensland to investigate the likely impact of expanded port development and shipping along the coast.

Environment Minister Tony Burke says he's responded to UNESCO's concerns in a report presented to the world heritage committee.

Substantial progress had been made in addressing the UNESCO recommendations, including undertaking one of the most detailed strategic assessments in Australia's history, he said.

This assessment, still in its draft stage, would help determine where sustainable development could occur, what projects could proceed and what conditions they'd have to meet.

"We will not give an inch when it comes to protection of the Great Barrier Reef," the minister told reporters in Sydney.

He pledged a further $800,000 to fight the crown-of-thorns starfish, a major threat to the reef ecosystem and the $6 billion tourism industry.

A chairperson has been assigned to an independent review into developments at Queensland's Gladstone port, a major concern for UNESCO and local environment groups.

But in a scorecard published by the fight for the reef campaign on Friday, the commonwealth and Queensland governments were given the thumbs down for their efforts in managing Gladstone harbour.

The federal government was also blasted for making no progress on UNESCO recommendations relating to pollution from catchments and port developments.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) spokesman Richard Leck said Australia was still in grave danger of losing the reef's world heritage title.

The campaign to fight for the reef, formed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF, warns 45 proposed developments - including large-scale coal and gas projects - could bring thousands more ships to the reef.

The opposition's environment minister Greg Hunt reiterated the coalition's support for keeping the reef on the World Heritage List.

"If elected, we will work towards the eradication of the crown of thorns, support the protection of dugongs and turtles and provide incentives for canegrowers to reduce run-off into these pristine waters," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Australian Greens environment spokeswoman Larissa Waters said they wanted to amend environmental laws to take UNESCO's recommendations into account.

The reef was granted world heritage status in 1981 but has since faced numerous threats, including coral bleaching, cyclones, runoff, crown-of-thorns starfish and commercial activity.

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Huge crowds mourn Cambodia's beloved king

Cambodians have gathered for the start of a lavish funeral for revered former king Norodom Sihanouk. Source: AAP

A SEA of mourners filled the streets of the Cambodian capital Friday for a lavish funeral for revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who towered over six tumultuous decades in his nation's history.

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, dressed in black and white, began massing before dawn to pay their respects to the mercurial monarch, who died of a heart attack in Beijing in October, aged 89.

The legions of mourners, many weeping and holding their hands together in a mark of respect, waited by the roadside as the procession inched through the city's avenues, flanked by courtiers in white traditional costume.

A father of 14 children over six marriages, Sihanouk abdicated in 2004 after steering Cambodia through six decades marked by independence from France, civil war, the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, his own exile and finally peace.

Many elderly Cambodians credit him with overseeing a rare period of political stability in the 1950s and 1960s, following independence, until the Khmer Rouge emerged in the 1970s.

Up to two million people died under their reign of terror, including five of Sihanouk's own children. But even though the ever-changeable monarch had allied himself with the Maoist movement, he never lost his people's veneration.

"He did great things for the country. I love him very much. I'm really sad that we've lost him," said 70-year-old Suon Toch as he waited near the palace with his family, holding a portrait of the late royal.

Sihanouk's widow Monique, dabbing her teary eyes, walked behind the golden casket earlier as it was brought out of the royal palace in Phnom Penh, accompanied by their son King Norodom Sihamoni.

A 101-gun salute marked the start of the elaborate procession to honour the ex-king, who was placed on the throne by the French at the age of just 18 but swiftly developed into a canny political survivor.

With two monks riding a float shaped as a mythological bird at the head of the procession, the body of the late monarch was paraded through the capital, heading for a specially built crematorium in a city park.

Sihanouk - a self-confessed "naughty boy" who loved to direct films, write poetry and compose songs - remained hugely popular among Cambodians. But his record is not without controversy.

After being ousted by the US-backed General Lon Nol in 1970, he aligned himself with the Khmer Rouge, only to be placed under house arrest as the communist regime terrorised the nation.

Before the Vietnamese toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Sihanouk took exile in China. He regained his throne in 1993, although his influence was greatly diminished.

In stark contrast to his father, the current King Sihamoni has taken a quieter role in Cambodian life since ascending to the throne in 2004, preferring to carry out his ceremonial duties rather than engage in the political jousting that characterised Sihanouk's long reign.

For the past three months Sihanouk's body - embalmed with the help of Chinese experts - has been lying in state in the royal palace, where foreign leaders and members of the public have paid their respects.

It will be kept at the cremation site for religious ceremonies and for people to pay their respects until Monday when his wife and King Sihamoni are expected to light the pyre.

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20 hurt in train accident in South Africa

TWO passenger trains have collided in South Africa near Pretoria during the peak morning commute, injuring around 20 people, the rail authority says.

"There are two trains that have collided this morning," Lillian Mofokeng, spokeswoman for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa told AFP on Thursday.

Twenty people had been injured and one train driver was still trapped in the carriage, she told the eNCA television channel.

"At this stage, we do not have any loss of life," said Mofokeng.

The trains were on the same line heading towards the capital Pretoria when one train rear-ended the other one from behind.

"It is not a head-on collision," she told the television station.

The trains were operated by Metrorail, the country's rail system in cities.

In 2011, 857 commuters were injured in Johannesburg's Soweto township when a passenger train smashed into a stationary train during the rush hour period.

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Honda's nine-month net profit doubles

JAPANESE carmaker Honda says its net profit for the nine months to December 2012 more than doubled to $US3.2 billion ($A3.09 billion) thanks to sales gains and cost-cutting.

The company said on Thursday its net profit of Y291.4 billion ($A3.08 billion) was up from Y139.9 billion in the same period the previous year, while sales jumped 28.7 per cent to Y7.13 trillion.

Honda also trimmed its full-year to March net profit forecast to Y370 billion, down from a previous Y375 billion.

Earlier this week, Japan's three biggest carmakers - Toyota, Nissan and Honda - announced record sales for 2012, underscoring the trio's recovery after Japan's quake-tsunami disaster in 2011 devastated sales and production, and highlighting strong demand in Asian and US markets.

That helped offset weakness in debt-hit Europe and a downturn in China stemming from a diplomatic row that sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese goods in China, the world's biggest vehicle market.

In the separate data earlier this week, Honda, Japan's No.3 carmaker, said it logged sales of 3.81 million vehicles, up from 3.09 million a year, for the calendar year 2012.

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Too soon to assess flood damage to crops

WHILE it is too early to assess the impact flooding and storms in northern NSW and Queensland will have on the cost of food, consumers were not expected to be hit with massive price hikes.

Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (BFVGA) executive officer Peter Hockings said it was impossible to assess the damage to crops while parts of the affected regions were still under water.

He also said that some tree crops may initially appear fine only to die of water damage a few months later.

"It will be months down the track before we have the full picture of how far reaching the damage will be," he said.

"And it will be at least two weeks before we get an idea of the immediate damage."

He said the BFVGA was also concerned with any damage to infrastructure which could prevent farmers from returning to production.

A spokeswoman for supermarket giant Woolworths said it was too soon to assess the damage to suppliers' crops in the affected regions, but there did not appear to be widespread crop losses.

She said road closures may also cause delays to deliveries and could prevent workers being able to harvest crops.

"It's very early," she said.

"Once the water has subsided we will have a clearer idea of what the impact will be."

Woolworths stores in Bundaberg and Maryborough remain closed due to flooding and outlets in Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Cairns and Mackay were experiencing delays in deliveries of fresh produce.

A Coles spokeswoman said it would some time to assess the damage but the supermarket giant currently was well stocked with fresh food so there would not be an immediate effect.

Coles stores in Bundaberg, Jimboomba and Inala were currently closed because of the floods and deliveries to another 20 stores in far north Queensland had been delayed.

Queensland Farmers Federation spokesman Brad Pfeffer said while the affected areas such as Bundaberg were significant suppliers of fruit and vegetables, there was no specific crop grown there that could not be found in other parts of Australia.

"In terms of prices it's too early to tell but it's not like what happened with bananas during Cyclone Yasi," he said.

"Bananas are grown in such a specific area, that's why prices went through the roof."

Queensland horticultural group Growcom was currently contacting farmers to get a clearer picture of the damage to crops.

Chief executive officer Alex Livingstone said a detailed assessment of the damage was not available yet but it was not as more widespread than the 2010/11 floods.

Farmers were now waiting for the flood water to recede from their properties before they were able to clean up and get back to production.

"Some growers are faced with an anxious wait as water levels continue to rise," he said.

"For many, it will be at least six months before their farms have an income again.

"For others, where orchards have been uprooted by the strength of the wind or damaged by flood waters, it will take much longer."

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$A higher on business optimism

THE Australian dollar is slightly higher following an optimistic business survey.

At 1700 AEDT on Tuesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 104.52 US cents, up from 104.49 US cents on Friday.

Since 0700 AEDT, the local currency traded between 104.06 US cents and 104.54 cents.

CMC Markets foreign exchange dealer Tim Waterer said the Aussie dollar had fallen over the long weekend, following positive news about European debt that put the euro currency in the spotlight.

"The Australian dollar started the session quite precariously and it looked like a dip below 104 (US cents) could be on the cards," he said.

"It appeared to be taking a back seat in the currency market compared to the euro, which is seeing a lot of currency flows based on the improving sentiment there."

This followed an announcement on Friday that the European Central Bank (ECB) could receive up to 137.2 billion euros ($A178.58 billion) in repayment of long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) loans received by the region's banks.

The ECB said 278 banks were set to take part in the repayment.

Mr Waterer said an optimistic survey of Australian businesses had rescued the local currency somewhat on Tuesday.

"The NAB (National Australia Bank) survey made some impact on sentiment, and provided some support for the Aussie dollar," he said.

"It turned what looked like a weak session for the currency, into something with a bit more substance."

NAB's monthly business survey showed business confidence rising 12 points in December to an index level of plus three.

Economists suggested this could be a turning point for the Australian economy, making it less likely the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut the cash rate at its meeting, on February 5.

Mr Waterer said Australian markets would remain focused on events offshore this week, with significant data expected for Chinese manufacturing and US jobs.

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Bangladesh Islamists attack police

HUNDREDS of supporters of Bangladesh's main Islamist party have attacked police in a busy commercial district in the nation's capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan police official Abul Hossain said the activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami party beat police officers on Monday after their procession was challenged.

The party has been demanding a halt to the trials of its top leaders facing charges of crimes against humanity involving the nation's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Bangladesh says that during the nine-month war, Pakistani troops, aided by their local collaborators, killed three million people and raped about 200,000 women.

The first verdict related to the war was on January 21, when a former party member was sentenced to death for crimes including genocide, murder, rape and arson.

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Two WA bushfires threatening homes

Homes and lives are under threat from two out of control bushfires burning in WA, authorities say. Source: AAP

HOMES and lives are under threat from two bushfires burning in Western Australia.

A watch and act alert has been issued for people in Ambergate Road, Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Doyle Road and Edwards Road in the southern part of Ambergate, in the City of Busselton, in the state's South West region.

Authorities say the suspicious blaze started on Monday afternoon between Queen Elizabeth Road and Doyle Road near the Ambergate Nature Reserve.

"There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching the area and conditions are changing," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says.

"You need to leave or get ready to actively defend."

The bushfire has burnt 12 hectares and is moving slowly in a north-westerly direction towards the intersection of Ambergate Road and Edwards Road.

DFES warns the blaze is out of control and unpredictable.

Burning embers are likely to be blown around and spot fires are starting ahead of the fire, the DFES says.

In a separate blaze, homes and plantations are being threatened by a bushfire burning about 900 kilometres north of Perth.

A watch and act alert has been issued for people in Miaboolya Road, Bibbawarra Road, North River Road and surrounding areas in the north-eastern part of Carnarvon, on the state's north coast.

DFES said the fire, which started on Monday morning, could affect plantations along North River Road.

Residents have been advised to put their bushfire survival plan into action.

DFES says the out of control and unpredictable bushfire is moving slowly in a north-westerly direction along Miaboolya Road.

Burning embers are likely to be blown around and spot fires could start ahead of the fire, DFES warns.

The cause of the blaze is unknown.

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