Zumba teacher guilty plea to prostitution

A US Zumba instructor who has pleaded guilty to using her studio as a front for prostitution. Source: AAP

A DANCE instructor accused of using her Zumba fitness studio as a front for prostitution has pleaded guilty to 20 counts in a scandal that captivated a quiet US seaside town.

The agreement that followed a second day of plea negotiations on Friday spares Alexis Wright from the prospect of a high-profile trial featuring sex videos, exhibitionism and pornography.

Prosecutors will recommend a jail sentence of 10 months when she's sentenced on May 31.

Wright quietly answered "guilty" 20 times when the judge read the counts, which include engaging in prostitution, promotion of prostitution, conspiracy, tax evasion and theft by deception.

"We're very satisfied with it. It's an appropriate outcome, given the gravity of her actions," Assistant Attorney General Darcy Mitchell said after the brief court hearing.

The 30-year-old Wright was accused of conspiring with insurance agent Mark Strong Sr to run a prostitution business in which she kept detailed records indicating she made $US150,000 ($A144,314) over an 18-month period.

She was also accused of using a hidden camera to record sex acts without her clients' knowledge.

She was originally charged with 106 counts. All the counts in the agreement were misdemeanours, including three counts relating to welfare and tax fraud that were reduced from felonies.

Strong, 57, of Thomaston, was convicted this month of 13 counts related to promotion of prostitution and sentenced to 20 days in jail. He was originally charged with 59 counts.

The scandal became a sensation following reports that Wright had at least 150 clients, leading to a guessing game of who might be named publicly in the coastal town of Kennebunk, a community better known for its beaches and sea captains' homes than for crime.

Those who have been charged so far include a former mayor, a high school hockey coach, a minister, a lawyer and a firefighter.

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Charges over China school stabbing frenzy

A MAN who allegedly hacked and injured 23 school children in central China will be tried on charges of intentional homicide and jeopardising public safety.

The municipal prosecutor's office for the city of Xinyang in Henan province said in a statement that it has charged Min Yongjun, who allegedly broke into an elderly woman's house one morning in December last year and stabbed her with a kitchen knife before he went to a nearby elementary school in Chenpeng village in Guangshan county and injured the 23 children as they arrived for class.

The prosecutor's office says the woman and seven students were severely injured.

There has been a string of such stabbing attacks on schoolchildren in China in recent years, alarming parents and schools which increased safety measures.

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Woman burned in gas explosion

A WOMAN has suffered burns in a gas cylinder explosion at Berowra Waters in Sydney's north.

The woman, believed to be aged in her 20s, was standing near a barbecue when the cylinder exploded at about 1pm (AEDT) on Friday.

Police said the woman was airlifted to hospital.

She reportedly suffered burns to her chest, face, arms and legs.

Earlier on Friday the NSW Department of Fair Trading urged consumers of gas and electrical products to make sure their appliances were in proper working condition.

"All gas barbecues and small camping gas appliances must be approved to be legally sold, so make sure your product has an approval mark," NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said in a statement.

"Check hoses on barbecues, they can crack and perish," he said.

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Neighbour Day celebrated on Sunday

A DECADE since an elderly woman's remains were found in her Melbourne home two years after she died, Australians are being urged to celebrate Neighbour Day in tribute to her.

The special annual celebration of community was launched in 2003 just after 75-year-old Elsie Brown's body was found by police two years after she died.

Mail, store catalogues and newspapers had piled up at her front door but neighbours didn't connect that with anything being amiss.

Australians are being urged to get together with their neighbours on Sunday as the country celebrates Neighbour Day to promote safer and more tolerant communities.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard sent a message of support, saying Neighbour Day was an opportunity to remember the importance and value of of strong communities.

"We all have an obligation to keep an eye out for those around us, particularly those who are most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Ms Gillard said small gestures such as having a chat with neighbours or organising a community get-together could go a long way to creating safer and more inclusive neighbourhoods.

"I encourage all Australians to take part in Neighbour Day."

One of the aims of the special day is to ensure protection of the elderly, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged in communities.

Neighbour Day founder Andrew Heslop, whose letter to the editor of The Age newspaper about Mrs Brown's case kicked of the idea, said on Friday the success of the day was a living tribute to her.

He said street parties, barbecues, lunches, festivals and other events run by councils, resident groups, tenancy associations, developers and churches would bring residents together.

"It could be as simple as boiling the kettle and having a cup of tea, a slice of cake or a Tim Tam," he said in a statement.

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Traffic heavy south of Sydney

TRAFFIC is backed up for around eight kilometres south of Sydney as motorists head off for the Easter long weekend.

The NSW Transport Management Centre (TMC) said motorists travelling south on the Princes Highway through Gerringong were currently "experiencing significant delays due to heavy holiday traffic".

Traffic was queued up for about eight kilometres in the area, the TMC said on Thursday night.

Further south, the Princes Highway is closed north of Bega after a car accident.

Emergency services are currently working to free a number of people trapped as a result of the accident, with traffic being diverted through Bega.

Motorists are being advised to avoid the area.

The TMC is urging motorists travelling over Easter to allow plenty of extra travel time and to expect delays.

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Newman backflips on Cape York reforms

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman has backflipped on a decision to end indigenous welfare reform trials in Cape York.

Earlier this week Mr Newman said the state couldn't justify the cost of the program, even though it had been successful, and wouldn't fund it after 2013.

He insisted he wasn't abandoning the scheme, which has received about $100 million from the federal and Queensland governments.

He wanted a wider, more cost-effective rollout.

The trials have run since 2008 in four indigenous communities - Coen, Aurukun, Mossman Gorge and Hope Vale.

Part of the trial sees welfare payments withheld from parents who don't make decisions in the best interests of their children.

The premier's office issued a brief statement on Thursday afternoon to say the Cabinet Budget Review Committee had met and decided that it would spend another $5.65 million to extend the trial.

"We will continue to work with all indigenous communities to improve social outcomes," Mr Newman said in the statement.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who was in Brisbane on Thursday, said he wanted to see the reforms expanded to communities across the country.

"I'm happy to work constructively with all levels of government to make sure this happens," he said.

An independent report on the reforms, released on Thursday, said positive changes in education and social behaviour had been seen in the trial communities.

But gains in housing and economic development had been limited.

School attendance jumped - from four per cent below the rate in similar communities in 2008, to six per cent above it in 2011.

But keeping students in high school remained a significant challenge, the report said.

Residents say they're working towards becoming better parents and managing their money better to meet the needs of their families.

"Compared to three years ago, children are happier, more active and eating healthier food," the report said.

"Life is on the way up generally."

Progress was being made to remove legal and financial barriers to indigenous home ownership.

The reforms had also led to the creation of 220 jobs but had had a limited impact on the number of residents dependent on welfare.

The report concluded there could be no quick fix to challenges that were decades in the making.

"However, the trial of welfare reform points to a level of progress that has rarely been evident in previous reform programs."

The trial was supposed to end last year but was extended to December 2013 after the federal government kicked in $11.8 million.

In total, about $100 million has been spent on the reforms by federal and state governments.

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UK may freeze for another month

THE big freeze gripping the UK could last until almost the end of April, weather forecasters predict.

Temperatures are unlikely to recover to normal averages for the time of year until the latter part of next month, the Met Office suggested through its 30-day forecast.

Sub-zero temperatures look set to bring misery to thousands of people for the rest of the week and throughout Easter weekend as the dangerous wintry weather shows no immediate signs of abating.

Thousands of people in western Scotland face a sixth day without power on Wednesday after electricity pylons were damaged last week, and many transport routes across the UK remain impassable because of deep snow drifts.

Farmers have been left counting the cost of the blizzard conditions, with many having to rescue stranded livestock at the height of the lambing season.

An RAF Chinook helicopter was called in yesterday to help as part of an emergency operation in Northern Ireland as farms and families were cut off by huge snow drifts.

The severe weather has also been blamed for the deaths of a number of birds, including puffins, razorbills and guillemots, which have washed up on Britain's beaches.

The Met Office has issued a cold weather alert for much of England, with a 100 per cent probability of severe cold weather and icy conditions until Friday.

Its outlook for Sunday to April 9 predicts cold, dry weather, with a few light snow flurries and widespread frost and icy patches overnight.

And the Met Office predicts temperatures are unlikely to recover to nearer normal values until the latter part of April.

While there are no forecast for more big snow falls, temperatures as low as minus 6C are predicted overnight.

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Man in custody after Sydney siege

A MAN is in police custody after a brief siege in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills.

Police in bulletproof vests locked down part of Devonshire Street near a housing commission block after 4.25pm (AEDT) on Wednesday when it was feared a man with a gun was holed up inside.

Around 6.25pm police said the man had been taken into custody and would be taken to the Rocks police station to be charged.

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Seven suicide bombers attack Afghan police

Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for a group suicide bombing in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Source: AAP

A GROUP of seven suicide bombers have attacked a police base in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, killing five officers, police say.

One bomber set off a large explosion at the entrance of the quick reaction police headquarters before two bombers blew themselves up inside the facility and four others died in a gun fight with police.

"The first one detonated a car bomb; two others entered the base and detonated themselves and the remaining four were shot dead," Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, the Nangarhar province police spokesman, told AFP on Tuesday.

The Taliban militants immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that it had targeted "foreigners and Israeli teachers" training Afghan police at the base in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar.

"There are heavy police casualties," the group said.

Jalalabad is situated on the key route from the Pakistan border regions, where many militants are based, to the capital Kabul, and the city has been targeted by repeated suicide attacks in recent years.

The last attack was on February 24 when a bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gates of the walled compound of the National Directorate of Security spy agency and detonated his bombs, killing two intelligence workers.

Nine Taliban suicide attackers also targeted the NATO base at Jalalabad city airport in early December, killing five people and wounding several foreign troops.

All the attackers in that assault were also killed, some blowing themselves up in two vehicles at the perimeter gate and others shot as they attempted to storm the base. It was the third attack on Jalalabad airport in 2012.

The hardline Taliban Islamists have waged an 11-year insurgency against the Afghan government, which is backed by 100,000 NATO troops, since being overthrown in a US-led invasion for harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Tuesday's attack came as US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kabul, 150 kilometres west of Jalalabad, for talks with President Hamid Karzai as NATO-led forces prepare to withdraw in 2014.

Afghan soldiers and police are taking responsibility for the fight against the Taliban as international troops leave, but local forces are poorly-trained and fears are growing that Afghanistan could tip into further instability.

Kerry said the US would support the country after NATO combat operations wind down, telling Karzai that Washington was "committed to Afghanistan's sovereignty and we will not let al-Qaeda or the Taliban shake this commitment".

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Emus tracked in WA for plant research

GPS devices will be placed on emus in WA to examine their role in seed dispersal for certain plants. Source: AAP

GPS devices will be placed on six emus to track their habits in a jarrah forest in Western Australia and examine the animals' role in seed dispersal.

Murdoch University professor Neal Enright said researchers believed emus were the main long-distance dispersers of a small group of large-seeded plant species in WA's southern jarrah forests.

Researchers hope the two-year study at Avon National Park will assist in creating conservation models for plants to combat habitat loss, climate change and fires.

"In areas where emu abundance has declined due to human impacts, we expect to find that these plant species will have lower genetic diversity, be less productive and have fewer seedlings," he said.

"As well as establishing the importance of emus, we hope our findings can be used to develop models for plant species in preparation for climate change."

Professor Enright said the small GPS trackers would not harm the birds.

The trackers could be programmed remotely, so data could be collected at a high frequency for short periods to assess movement behaviour such as walking and eating, and at a low frequency to conserve battery power, he said.

Professor Enright said field research would involve sampling emu faeces, which would allow researchers to test how passage through the emu gut influenced subsequent seed germination.

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Storms continue across the southeast

BRISBANE has now been included in warnings as thunderstorms continue to menace southeast Queensland.

The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology warned of damaging wind, heavy rainfall and large hail for people in Logan, Ipswich, the Scenic Rim and parts of Brisbane.

The Gold Coast, Lockyer Valley, Southern Downs, Somerset, Toowoomba, Redlands and Stradbroke Island were also include in the severe thunderstorm warning.

The Bureau advised that severe thunderstorms were detected near Boonah, Beaudesert, southwest of Esk and northeast of Warwick.

They are forecast to affect Esk and Logan Village by 5.55pm and Ipswich, Beenleigh and Logan City by 6.25pm.

Earlier it was reported, storms near Rathdowney, Helidon, Murphy's Creek and Killarney are moving east to northeast.

They are forecast to hit Oakington, Laravale and Kooralbyn by 5.05pm and Warwick, Beaudesert and Gatton by 5:35pm.

Earlier it was reported that a band of severe thunderstorms was moving towards the Gold Coast, with heavy rain and damaging winds forecast. Power outages have been since been reported.

At 3.30pm, a band of severe thunderstorms were near Numinbah Valley, south of Canungra and south of the NSW border and moving north, northeast.

They were forecast to hit Little Nerang Dam, Mudgeeraba and Canungra by 4pm and Nerang, Southport and Mt Tamborine by 4.30pm.

Earlier, it was reported storms were moving east-northeast and expected to hit Pikedale and the Border Ranges National Park by 2.35pm and the McPherson Range, Springbrook and Rathdowney by 3.05pm.

The Weather Bureau expects damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding.

A general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for parts of the Maranoa and Warrego, Darling Downs and Granite Belt and southeast coast until Tuesday evening.

The monsoon trough is redeveloping in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arafura Sea, resulting in an increase in shower and storm activity.

A weak low may form in the Arafura Sea early in the week but, at this stage, the bureau does not expect it to develop into a cyclone.

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Thousands celebrate Greek Independence

POLITICIANS and prominent Greek Australians have joined with thousands in a central Sydney park to celebrate Greece's independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, environment minister Tony Burke, opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison, NSW Liberal MP David Clarke and NSW opposition leader John Robertson were all at The Domain on Sunday for the occasion, along with an Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Cypriot high commissioner and the president of the NSW Greek Orthodox community.

Joining them to mark the 1828 exit of Greece from the Ottoman Empire were about 3000 people, mainly families who had come to watch their children's church or school group perform traditional Greek dances and songs.

In a speech to those enjoying the sunny weather and Hellenic festivities, Ms Gillard said it was "a day of seriousness and also of enjoyment".

"(It is) a day to commemorate great patriots and a day to celebrate what they won and what their descendants have built around the world," she said.

Chrys Rontziokos, 40, was at the celebration with her children and parents, who emigrated to Australia in 1966.

She said the event was a great chance to catch up with other members of the Greek community.

"Everyone gets together on this day, people we haven't seen for a very long time," she told AAP.

"It's a beautiful culture that we've got. People who aren't Greek love our culture."

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