Russia, US to bolster ties after bombings

RUSSIA and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in their fight against terror in the wake of news that two ethnic Chechens are suspected of organising the deadly Boston Marathon bombings.

The Kremlin said Russian leader Vladimir Putin called US President Barack Obama on Saturday to once again express his condolences and discuss ways the two sides can work more closely on security in the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

"Both sides underscored their interest in bolstering the close cooperation of Russian and US special services in the fight against international terrorism," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"I think that contacts will be conducted between our intelligence services," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in separate televised remarks.

US authorities said the two young men who set off twin bombs on Monday that killed three people at the Boston Marathon and then shot dead a policeman on Friday were ethnic Chechens from Russia's restless North Caucasus region.

Twenty-six-year-old older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by police while his 19-year-old sibling Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apprehended near Boston on Friday evening.

Analysts say that cooperation between the US and Russian intelligence services remains weak due to strained diplomatic ties and concern in Washington that Putin has used the fight against terror to crack down on his political foes.

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200 more US Marines to arrive in Darwin

Two hundred US Marines will arrive in Darwin on Sunday to train with Australian and regional forces. Source: AAP

TWO hundred US Marines arrive in Darwin on Sunday for the second six-month rotation of US troops training in Australia's north.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the troops would stay at Darwin's Robertson Barracks and train alongside troops from Australia and other nations in the region.

The US troops would also train on their own at defence facilities in the Northern Territory.

The rotation is part of the enhanced Australia-US Defence cooperation announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and United States President Barack Obama in November 2011.

Mr Smith said the plan was to have rotations of up to 2500 Marines in Northern Australia in the northern dry season by 2016-17, but the government had not yet made any decisions about arrangements for larger US Marine Corps rotations.

He said a social and economic assessment of last year's rotation found social impacts of the US troop visit were minimal or negligible, but there would be a small positive economic benefit.

As the next step, an assessment was now being undertaken of impacts of deployments of up to 1100 US Marines to northern Australia, Mr Smith said in a statement.

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Aussie marathon team home from Boston

An Australian team participating in the Boston Marathon has come home after surviving twin bombings. Source: AAP

SYDNEY April 19 AAP - An Australian team that took part in the Boston Marathon has come home after surviving twin bombings that killed at least three people and injured about 180.

Indigenous athlete Emma Cameron was at the 41km mark of the course and about a kilometre from the bomb blasts when they occurred.

Outside the arrivals terminal at Sydney Airport on Friday, Cameron said she couldn't wait to get back home.

"Knowing that you're on the plane back to Australia is the greatest thing," she told reporters.

The 31-year-old runner was competing as part of the Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) and was in Boston with the head of the IMP, Tim Rowe, and its founder Robert de Castella.

She's relieved everyone returned home safe.

"When I heard the bomb had gone off at the finish line, I knew that Rob and Tim and some of the IMP supporters would've been in that area so I started to panic, I didn't know if they were okay."

Cameron said she was confident the people of Boston would pull through the tragedy.

She said she would definitely run in the Boston marathon again.

De Castella said it was disappointing Cameron couldn't finish the race but he was proud of her.

"To be in an event where you're physically exhausted and then emotionally having to go through something like this really tests you. And she came through wonderfully," he said.

He said they would begin training for another marathon in Melbourne later in the year.

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COAG fails to agree on schools

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is bracing for a showdown on education funding at the COAG meeting. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says none of the states and territories were able to sign up to the federal government's schools funding plan at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

State leaders met in Canberra on Friday to consider the funding arrangement announced on Sunday, as well as disability care, Australia in the Asian century, the early childhood education national partnership, gang laws and the Royal succession.

But the schools funding deal was not signed, leaving Ms Gillard to try and get agreement by her longer range deadline of June 30.

"No jurisdiction was in a position to sign on Friday," she told reporters.

"We will continue discussions."

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Man arrested in US over ricin letters

A US man has been arrested after letters containing ricin were sent to US President Barack Obama. Source: AAP

A LETTER addressed to President Barack Obama has tested positive for ricin and authorities have arrested a suspect, stoking alarm in Washington after an earlier scare over poisoned mail.

The FBI said there was no connection between the blasts at the Boston Marathon that killed three people on Monday and mail sent to Obama, Republican Senator Roger Wicker and an unidentified Mississippi justice official.

Special agents on Wednesday afternoon arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, "the individual believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the US Postal Service," the bureau said.

The letters "contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin," it added in a statement.

Earlier reports had said the letters to Obama and Wicker, which never reached them, were signed "I am KC and I approve this message."

Curtis was arrested at his home in Corinth, Mississippi, according to the FBI.

After preliminary tests on the Obama letter showed traces of ricin, further tests would be carried out in the next 24 to 48 hours, the FBI said.

The US Secret Service said the letter to Obama had been intercepted at a mail screening site on Tuesday, the same day authorities said a letter sent to Wicker also showed traces of ricin.

Ricin - a highly toxic protein found in castor beans - can, when inhaled, cause respiratory problems. Ingested orally, it is lethal in even minuscule quantities.

Senator Carl Levin issued a statement saying one of his staffers had discovered a "suspicious-looking letter" at a regional office in Michigan and handed it over to authorities for further investigation.

The staffer had no symptoms, but was being held in hospital overnight as a precaution, the senator said.

Adding to nervousness in the US capital, two Senate office buildings were briefly cordoned off amid reports of a suspicious package but were reopened after an all-clear was given.

US Capitol Police confirmed one man was being questioned, but he was not being detained.

A mysterious series of letters laced with anthrax was sent to politicians and some journalists, killing five people and sickening 17 others, following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Congressional mail has been screened off-site ever since.

Three Senate office buildings were shut in 2004 after tests found ricin in mail that had been sent to the Senate majority leader's office.

The biological agent was also sent to the White House and the Department of Transportation in November 2003. There were no injuries in those incidents.

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Goyder says global carbon pricing needed

Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder says Australia must move to a global carbon pricing model. Source: AAP

WESFARMERS chief Richard Goyder says Australia needs to price its carbon in the same way as the rest of the world.

Australia's carbon price is currently fixed at $23 per tonne and will rise incrementally over the next two year before linking with the European scheme.

European prices are market based and this month have been trading around three euros ($A3.84)

Mr Goyder said that while a fixed price provided certainty, Australian companies do not want to pay significantly more for carbon than the rest of the world.

"I guess what business wants is certainty, but at the moment the certainty we've got is a price that's higher than the international price," he said.

"I think business would welcome a more market-based price, considering the cost pressures we've got at the moment."

Mr Goyder said Australia would have to move to the European carbon-pricing model in the very near future.

"I think eventually Australia will have to be in step with global pricing on carbon and I think the sooner the better," he said.

However, Mr Goyder would not say which political party's policy on carbon pricing he supported.

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Shale starts to pay off for BHP

BHP Billiton's much maligned $20 billion shale oil and gas acquisitions are bearing fruit. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton's much maligned $20 billion shale oil and gas acquisitions are bearing fruit.

BHP said its biggest oil producing field was not a typical offshore one, but an unconventional onshore shale field: Eagle Ford.

The company revealed an unexpected 15 per cent leap in liquids production to more than five million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe)in the March quarter, compared to analysts' estimates of just three million.

The shale revolution has convinced some analysts that it will change global geopolitics because the US, the world's largest economy, would no longer be dependent on other countries for energy fuel.

One analyst said that US shale gas prices had also recently climbed above $4 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for the first time in more than 20 months.

That is more than double the price in early 2012 when BHP was forced to write down the value of its Fayetteville shale gas assets by $2.8 billion from the $4.75 billion it paid for them, leading to criticism of outgoing boss Marius Kloppers.

"They have got increasing volume coming out from shale in a recovering pricing market," the analyst, who did not want to be named, said.

"I think shale is going to continue to be a division that probably surprises a few people over the next 12-18 months ... who said they paid the wrong price for it and have been pretty negative on it."

BHP chairman Jac Nasser called on the US last week to relax restrictions on oil and gas exports.

BHP shares fell 15 cents to $32 on Wednesday with resources stocks being punished all week due to weaker commodity prices.

BHP confirmed it would spend $4 billion this year on onshore drilling focussed on the oil-rich Eagle Ford and Permian Basin areas, $US3.2 billion of which has been spent.

The outlook for oil and gas prices is positive and BHP's petroleum division - which represents about one-third of earnings - is closing the gap on top earner, iron ore.

Production in the March quarter of 55.42 mboe was below some expectations, due to weather and maintenance issues with its West Australian and US offshore operations.

Production guidance for about 240 mboe was unchanged.

BHP also said it was on track to produce a record 183 million tonnes in Western Australian for the year.

The world's third-largest iron ore producer shipped 44.4 million tonnes and produced 44.2 million tonnes, having been less affected by WA's cyclone season than rival Rio Tinto.

Production was five per cent lower than the previous quarter but three per cent higher for the same period last year.

Iron ore prices were consistently stronger during the quarter than late last year at above $US140 a tonne, but many analysts expect them to drop as supply ratchets up in the second half of the year.

Goldman Sachs analysts told clients in a research note that the nine million tonnes of coking coal produced was impressive despite adverse Queensland weather, up 22 per cent from same period in 2012.

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Kurtley Beale's assault charges dropped

Rugby star Kurtley Beale and a bouncer he allegedly assaulted last year reached a deal out of court. Source: AAP

POLICE have dropped an assault charge against rugby union star Kurtley Beale after the playmaker reached an agreement through mediation with his alleged victim.

Beale, 24, faced a Brisbane court last July after allegations he hit a bouncer at the Victory Hotel, in Brisbane's CBD, on the morning before an Australia-Wales Test on June 8, 2012.

It was alleged the incident followed a refusal by hotel staff to allow entry for Beale and teammate Quade Cooper.

Beale faced one count of common assault.

However, he took the case to mediation.

During a brief mention on Wednesday in Brisbane Magistrates Court, it was revealed the parties had reached an agreement out of court and the charge was dropped.

No details of the agreement were given.

Beale, who is now based in Melbourne, was not in court.

The 24-year-old Beale's future with the Wallabies remains up in the air, and his availability for Australia's home series against the British and Irish Lions, starting in June, is uncertain.

Beale agreed to an indefinite break from rugby in late March and has been undergoing counselling after being sent home from South Africa for fighting with two Melbourne Rebels teammates after a Super Rugby match.

He has since been linked to a possible return to the NSW Waratahs, or a switch to the NRL with St George Illawarra.

The Rebels have said their first priority is helping Beale with alcohol issues rather than worrying about him being poached, but teammates say they are keen to have him back.

Wallabies playmaker Will Genia said he hoped to see Beale back on the playing field sooner rather than later.

"He's a great player and a great mate. He's someone that puts bums on seats in the way that he plays the game," Genia said.

"I am looking forward to him getting his life back on track and then playing some good footy."

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NSW planning overhaul prompts criticism

A NSW government paper recommends speeding up the approval process for many types of developments. Source: AAP

CRITICS say a long-awaited overhaul of NSW's planning laws will silence local communities and create a developers' paradise.

But the government claims the most significant revamp of the system in more than 30 years has public consultation as its centrepiece.

"The community will be able to own this planning system. They will own what happens in their local area," said NSW Planning Minster Brad Hazzard.

New laws will require the state government and councils to consult early with the community in developing the long-term planning ground rules for their region.

About 80 per cent of development proposals will be fast-tracked under the agreed system, estimated to save businesses and families about $174 million a year.

Most of those applications, including new homes and extensions, will be determined in less than 25 days.

Residents will be informed but not consulted about such projects, and the state's 152 councils won't have the power to knock them back.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the legislation was intended to benefit developers, while local councils would be "utterly sidelined".

They will also be outnumbered by ministerial representatives on regional planning boards in a 'four-against-one' system.

"Local councils will become government patsies. They will just implement the decisions being made by the regional planning boards," Mr Shoebridge said.

Opposition Leader John Robertson said the planning laws gave developers everything they wanted.

"It will exclude local communities from having a say at the most critical point of the planning process - that is, when the detailed development applications go to a council and no one in the local community will have a say on anything."

Mr Hazzard said a "modest levy" would be imposed for the first time on builders of new homes and apartments in existing suburbs, to provide funding for schools, roads and other infrastructure.

The new charge would help spread the costs more evenly across the state.

Currently, only developers in greenfields areas need to pay such levies. The minister said the government was slashing millions of dollars in red tape, making new homes cheaper to build.

Social media, such as Twitter and blogs, will be used to encourage people to get involved in the community consultation process, although Mr Hazzard conceded it would be "a mighty challenge" to get people to switch on at such an early stage.

Mr Shoebridge warned if the reforms became law, the first notice most people would have that a new house was being built next door "is when the bulldozers arrive".

The white paper is now open for community consultation for the next ten weeks. Legislation will be introduced to parliament in the second half of this year.

Ray Donald, joint president of Local Government NSW (LGNSW), said the proposed processes were top heavy and the new emphasis on early community consultation may replace the rights of neighbours to be involved with local development decisions.

"We support a new planning system that listens to the voice of communities through the well understood councillor representation system," he said.

"This provides transparency and accessibility to communities and a much needed 'check and balance' to an overly bureaucratic system."

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'We just hugged': Aussies survive carnage

IN the moments after twin bomb blasts tore through the Boston Marathon finish line, Australians caught up in the drama hugged and thanked their "lucky stars".

The attack on Boston's great race killed three people - including an eight-year-old boy - and maimed at least 120 more.

But authorities do not believe any of the 153 Australians who lined up for the event alongside 24,000 other runners were injured.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the safety of Australians who could have been caught up in the destruction was of "paramount concern".

"At this stage we are not aware of any Australian victims, so we do not have any evidence of course at the moment that any Australians have been hurt in this incident," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

Late on Tuesday afternoon (AEST) the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told AAP this information had not changed.

A department travel warning for Australians travelling to the US was updated, but not upgraded, in the hours after the blasts.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said fears the incident was a terrorist attack were legitimate.

"We know that home-grown terrorists have been a feature of life in Europe, the US and here," Senator Carr said.

"It's legitimate to be concerned about the prospect that this does represent a domestic terrorist strike."

Among the Australian runners was Perth woman Trish Farr, who was safely back at her hotel when she heard the bombs go off 30 seconds apart.

She told AAP she and fellow contestants thought they were fireworks.

But when the sound of fire engines filled the air, they realised something was terribly wrong.

"We just hugged each other and spoke to and texted our families, and thanked our lucky stars we all had our skates on and didn't dawdle," Ms Farr told AAP.

Australia's number one ranked marathon runner Jeff Hunt finished eighth and Lee Troop came 15th, while Paralympians Kurt Fearnley and Christie Dawes came fifth in their respective wheelchair races.

Fearnley tweeted about the explosions but did not grasp the extent of the carnage until later.

He said he was "sickened".

Former Boston Marathon winner and 1983 world champion Robert de Castella was in town supporting Australian athlete Emma Cameron, who competed as part of his Indigenous Marathon Project.

"There was obviously a fair bit of chaos and pandemonium at the finish line," said Mr de Castella when he confirmed Ms Cameron was safe.

Their team is preparing to return home.

Sydney woman Louise Kring was the last Australian to finish the race before the bombs went off, crossing the line five minutes prior to the blasts, but was not affected and safely made it to her hotel.

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WA premier refuses to budge on schools

WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett says his state is being "poorly treated" by the prime minister's latest proposal for education reforms.

Having opposed Prime Minister Julia Gillard on GST distribution, the mining tax and health reforms, Mr Barnett is now clashing with the nation's leader on education.

Ms Gillard has offered state and territory governments $2 for every extra $1 they invest in education, promising a $14.5 billion package over six years from 2014.

WA would get $300 million, compared with $5 billion for NSW.

Mr Barnett maintains he will not sign up to a model that results in less state government funding to schools.

He said it was "grossly inequitable" that WA received the same amount as the Northern Territory, which had one-tenth the population.

While the federal government wanted state governments to contribute a base funding of $12,200 for high schools and $9200 for primary schools, WA was already providing $19,050 and $13,900, respectively, the premier said.

"This would be a policy to hold back spending on education in Western Australia until the other states, with federal government support, can catch up," Mr Barnett told reporters on Monday.

"It's a six-year program to hold this state and its education back or still."

Mr Barnett said the "tiny" offer came down to $33 million a year from the commonwealth and was designed to win Labor east coast seats in the forthcoming federal election.

But federal education minister Peter Garrett rejected his comments, saying WA was not losing out.

"Each state is at a different starting point in reaching that schooling resource standard - some states are much closer than others," he told the ABC.

While the amount given to WA would be less than states like Tasmania, the contribution from the Tasmanian government was also greater, Mr Garrett said.

He said the distribution varied according to need and how much schools received from state governments.

Mr Garrett said he was "cautiously optimistic" the states could reach an agreement with the federal government at the Council of Australian Governments meeting this week.

State Teachers' Union president Anne Gisborne said it would be "grossly negligent" for WA to reject the offer and the premier needed to put party politics aside.

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Councils closer to Lehman Bros settlement

Australian councils, charities and churches are closer to a settlement over Lehman Brothers losses. Source: AAP

A LARGE group of Australian councils, charities and churches who sued the now defunct US investment bank Lehman Brothers are one step closer to receiving a multi-million dollar settlement.

The Federal Court last September ruled that Lehman Brothers was liable for $248 million in losses that 72 Australian councils, charities, churches and private investors incurred through the bank's misleading and deceptive conduct.

But the group has yet to receive any money because Lehman Brothers went bankrupt.

Now the liquidators of Lehman Brothers Australia have have applied to the court for it to approve a plan so they can receive their money.

The liquidators estimate the creditors will receive a share of a $211 million payout under the plan, compared to Lehman Brothers' original offer of $43 million.

The company which helped the group sue Lehman, IMF, says the move is a good sign and raises hopes of a payout.

"It's a step towards the settlement of the class action," IMF executive director John Walker said.

The liquidators' plan has been drafted in consultation with all major stakeholders, including IMF, on behalf of members of the class action.

It includes payment of $US45 million ($A43.05 million) by US professional indemnity insurers to Lehman to distribute among its creditors.

It also allows for the establishment of a claims resolution process and a liquidators' statement on Lehman Brothers' assets and liability.

The Federal Court will have to give approval for a meeting of creditors to take place so a vote can be taken on the plan.

If the plan is approved, the liquidators would return to the Federal Court for its final approval.

The matter returns to the Federal Court on May 7.

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School funds needed to fix Tas mess: Oppn

THE federal goverment's extra schools funding will only replace what the Tasmanian government has taken out, the state opposition says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday unveiled plans for an extra $14 billion - mostly commonwealth money - to be pumped into the nation's schools from next year.

Tasmania would receive an extra $400 million.

Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson said the state government had already ripped out $190 million from the state's schools.

"The funding announced today will largely be swallowed up to fill that black hole," Mr Ferguson said.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings said her government would back the reforms if the funding was directed towards schools with the greatest need.

"The firm funding commitment announced by the prime minister today is a significant step," she said.

"We want to see Tasmania's strong and vibrant public schools continue to grow and prosper."

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Big states baulk at school funding model

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to announce a $14.5 billion boost to schools funding. Source: AAP

THE Liberal states are baulking at federal government calls to expand their education budgets in return for billions of dollars in schools funding, with one premier describing the plan as "nuts".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to pump an extra $14.5 billion over the next six years into the national education system, with the commonwealth contributing 65 per cent.

Ms Gillard said federal funding along with $5.1 billion from the states would help Australia reach its goal to be ranked in the world's top five for reading, mathematics and science by 2025.

"It's a lot of money, but I believe it is a wise investment in our children's future and our nation's future," she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

But Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and NSW aren't so sure, setting the scene for a showdown with Ms Gillard on Friday when state leaders head to Canberra for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said while the plan gives his state an extra $300 million, NSW gets a massive $5 billion and base funding per student would be less than what his government already offers.

"I would have to be nuts to sign up to something like that," he told Sky News television.

Labor's needs-based National Plan for School Improvement builds on the recommendations of the Gonski schools funding review released last year and comes ahead of the expiry of the current funding agreement early next year.

Under the proposed school resource standard, the amount for 2014 would be $9271 per primary school student and $12,193 for every secondary pupil.

Public schools would be the big winners with $12.1 billion in extra funds, while the Catholic system would receive $1.4 billion and private schools $1 billion.

The federal government also proposes to boost commonwealth schools funding by 4.7 per cent a year, but only if the states and territories agree to increase their education budgets by a corresponding three per cent.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he would go to COAG with an open mind, but chided Ms Gillard for not speaking to him first about her funding plan.

"I know the state of Queensland doesn't have the money they're talking about," he said.

Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said Labor was holding the states to ransom.

"Basically they're saying, 'here's a whole bunch of money, but you've got to do it our way'," he told reporters in Melbourne.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said he needed more time to "examine the details".

"We continue to work constructively with the commonwealth to turn this review into an opportunity for all of our students," he said in a statement

The NT is also uncertain, but South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT broadly support the plan.

Ms Gillard warned if funding wasn't addressed schools would be $5.4 worse off because of a widening gap between spending commitments by the states and the commonwealth.

But if the states agree, there would be extra money per student and loadings for schools with disadvantaged pupils, including indigenous children or those with disabilities.

The Australian Education Union supports the reforms while the Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) says it will await the outcome of COAG.

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the plan was a "con".

"This package delivers only about $600 million a year in new education money or one-tenth of what was expected," he said in a statement.

Labor will use savings from $2.8 billion in cuts to tertiary education and $900 million from changes to superannuation tax concessions to help pay for its share of the funding boost.

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