Bull runners crushed in Pamplona

Bull-runners were crushed in a pile-up in Pamplona on the seventh day of Spain's famed festival. Source: AAP

DAREDEVIL bull-runners have been crushed in a pile-up in Pamplona on the seventh day of Spain's famed San Fermin festival, and at least one man was carried away unconscious.

Television pictures showed a chaotic pile of fallen runners on Saturday blocking the entrance to the bullring in the town, the end point of the frantic dash through the cobbled streets.

The pile-up blocked several of the half-tonne bulls from reaching the arena, causing chaos as runners tried to pull fallen companions free, while some of the bulls leapt over the pile, crushing runners under their hooves.

One man was seen being carried away unconscious by emergency workers, bleeding from the face as an anxious companion, dressed in the traditional white shirt and red neckerchief of the festival, looked on.

It was the second last day of the fiesta in this northern town, which draws festival-goers and daredevils from around the world for a week of drinking and perilous bull-runs.

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Russia mulls asylum for data spy Snowden

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden (C) has told rights activists he will seek asylum in Russia. Source: AAP

RUSSIA has been weighing whether to grant asylum to fugitive US leaker Edward Snowden after he told activists he wanted sanctuary in the country, a move that would risk further straining its ties with Washington.

Snowden on Friday dramatically summoned activists to the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport where he has been marooned without a valid passport for the last three weeks after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong.

The United States wants the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor extradited back home to face justice over his leaking of sensational details about US surveillance activities, a demand Moscow has so far rejected.

Snowden, 30, making his first publicised appearance since arriving in Moscow, told the activists he wanted to claim asylum in Russia until he could safely travel to win permanent sanctuary in Latin America.

"I ask for your assistance in requesting guarantees of safe passage ... in securing my travel to Latin America, as well as requesting asylum in Russia until such time as ... my legal travel is permitted," Snowden told the activists at the meeting.

He said the asylum request was being made on Friday night although Russian officials have yet to confirm that they have received it.

The almost surreal meeting saw the group of less than a dozen activists arrive at the airport to be surrounded by a huge crowd of journalists. They were then ushered away by an airport official clutching a sign labelled "G9" to a secure area to meet the hitherto invisible fugitive.

Those invited, who received a personal email from Snowden sent on Thursday night, included representatives of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as prominent Moscow lawyers.

"He is not a phantom, he is a live human being," commented Russian lawyer Genri Reznik after meeting Snowden, who had not been sighted before at all since arriving at the airport.

Russian state television broadcast footage shot from a mobile phone of the meeting, which showed Snowden reading out a statement while flanked by a staffer from the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website, Sarah Harrison, and a woman interpreter.

He appeared well and spoke confidently.

"We walked in and there he was: Mr Snowden waiting for us," said Tanya Lokshina, senior researcher at HRW in Moscow in a blog on the group's website. "The first thing I thought was how young he looks - like a school kid."

Curiously, Snowden had last week withdrawn a request for asylum in Russia after President Vladimir Putin insisted he could stay only if he stopped releasing information that harmed the United States.

At the half-hour meeting with activists, Snowden vowed he did not want to harm the United States but it was not clear whether this meant he was prepared to stop leaking in order to stay in Russia.

Although several leftist Latin American states have indicated a readiness to host him, Snowden said at the meeting that Western governments would prevent him from travelling there.

In an indication that Snowden's new application may be viewed positively, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament Sergei Naryshkin and the upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko both swiftly said his request should be accepted.

Naryshkin, a powerful ally of Putin who used to head the Kremlin administration, said that Snowden was a "defender of human rights" who risked facing the "death penalty" if he was sent back to the United States.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conditions for Snowden claiming asylum were the same as before.

But the US has already rebuked China for allowing Snowden to leave for Russia from Hong Kong and Moscow would risk incurring the wrath of Washington should it dare offer him asylum.

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Snowden to meet with Moscow activists

The Deputy Secretary of State says the US is "very disappointed" how China handled the Snowden case. Source: AAP

FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has requested a meeting with leading rights activists and lawyers at the airport in Moscow where he has been stuck in transit for the past three weeks, Interfax news agency reports.

The agency said those invited included representatives of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Prominent Moscow lawyer Genrikh Padva confirmed to AFP that he had received such an invitation for a meeting at the airport Friday afternoon.

Sergei Nikitin, head of Amnesty International's Russia office, confirmed the meeting.

Snowden is thought to be holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

In Washington, the United States reprimanded China for not handing over Snowden.

In wide-ranging annual talks seen as important by Beijing, the United States openly criticised China for not extraditing Snowden - a former contractor who unveiled details of pervasive US online snooping - after he fled to Hong Kong.

President Barack Obama, in a statement on a meeting with the Chinese envoys, voiced "disappointment and concern" that Snowden was allowed to leave Hong Kong on June 23 for Russia, where he remains in limbo as he seeks asylum.

Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said the decision on Snowden "undermined" calls for co-operation between Obama and China's new President Xi Jinping when they spent a weekend at the Sunnylands resort in California.

State Councillor Yang Jiechi, speaking at a joint press event, said Hong Kong enjoyed autonomy and the special administrative region's decisions were based on its laws and "beyond reproach."

Earlier on Thursday, Russia's Interfax news agency said the US had stopped pressing Russia to extradite Snowden, quoting a source close to the situation.

"There has not been any request either through official or unofficial channels for several days now," the source told the agency.

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Abbott ventures into Rudd homeland

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has nudged a kid out of the way during a schoolyard game of footy. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott has nudged a kid out of the way during a schoolyard game of footy.

The federal opposition leader, who's known for his competitive streak, visited a Catholic college in Kevin Rudd's electorate on Friday.

He spent time on the field with students and had just retired to the sidelines when the ball again caught his eye.

As he charged off again in quick pursuit, a skinny young kid in a wide-brimmed hat got in the way.

With a sidestep to rival Benji Marshall, Mr Abbott nudged the boy aside leaving the student with his hands on his hips and looking slightly miffed.

The visit was marked by another amusing moment as the would-be prime minister posed for photos with students at the library.

Behind the press pack, one of his staffers locked his eyes and fervently pointed to her brilliant smile, like a stage-mum trying to elicit a winning grin from her offspring.

Mr Abbott's own media antics didn't stop him from taking a dig at Mr Rudd's.

"It's all about managing the media, it's not about running the country," he said.

"That's the whole point with Mr Rudd. He's not interested in governing, he's interested in celebrity."

Mr Rudd enjoyed a rock star reception while he walked through the Queen Street Mall on Friday.

A large crowd of people shook his hand and insisted on having photos with the prime minister, including a group of squealing teenage school girls.

But not everyone was impressed, an older man in a suit stared at Mr Rudd and shouted, "Everyone gets a photo with boofy. Hey boof head," before walking off.

Earlier, Mr Rudd launched a book about Australia's culture at a Milton cafe in Brisbane's inner west.

During his speech, he referred to the Australian political television comedy series The Hollowmen.

"I've wanted to go to Antarctica for years but ever since The Hollowmen episode that made a prime ministerial trip to Antarctica a perfect media diversion, I've been too petrified to even think of it," he said.

At that moment, a promotional backdrop for the book collapsed behind him.

Flinching, Mr Rudd said that settled the case.

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Vic woman abducted in daylight sex attack

A WOMAN was threatened with a knife and a gun before being repeatedly sexually assaulted during a violent daylight abduction in Melbourne.

The 33-year-old woman had just stepped off a bus on Tuesday afternoon when the 30-minute brutal ordeal began.

Police say the man punched the woman in the face after she obeyed his demand to get into his red sedan when he said he was armed with a knife and a gun.

He then sexually assaulted her numerous times before driving her to a park and sexually assaulting her again.

He told her to get out of the car and drove off, at which point the terrified woman flagged down a passing driver.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sue Thomas from the sex crimes squad said the violent attack left the woman with significant facial injuries.

"The injuries are concerning. It was a violent offence," she said.

The man is described as having dark brown, curly hair and a distinctive star-shaped tattoo on his left hand between his index finger and thumb.

Police believe the attack may be connected to an earlier incident, involving a man in a red sedan who approached a 12-year-old girl around 3.45pm (AEST).

It was about 4.15pm when the 33-year-old woman was assaulted on Mt Dandenong Road in Croydon in Melbourne's east.

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Rudd says Lalor interview 'curious'

THE political career of an aspiring Labor candidate for Julia Gillard's seat of Lalor may be over before it begins, after a interview in which she admitted to having no connection to the party or the electorate.

Both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and ALP National President Jenny McAllister were lukewarm in their comments about Lisa Clutterham, who is vying for the plum western Melbourne seat at the urging of Trade Minister Richard Marles.

In a bizarre interview that has drawn comparisons with other short-lived political careers, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade diplomat told ABC radio she only joined the ALP a few weeks ago and didn't have "much of a pedigree" when it came to politics.

"I don't have a connection with Melbourne and that's not something I'm shying away from," said Ms Clutterham, who is currently based in Papua New Guinea.

"I'm in the camp of a majority of Australians, 99 per cent of whom are not members of political parties."

The 29-year-old did say she had visited the Victorian capital, but added her only connection to Lalor was her partner, who had family there "and as a child he visited Werribee on many Christmas holidays".

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd elicited laughs at the National Press Club in Canberra when he admitted finding Ms Clutterham's remarks "pretty interesting".

"I don't rule out people sort of coming to a seat where they've not had a previous connection, but I thought it was a pretty curious interview, and I was a little surprised by it," Mr Rudd said, adding he'd never met Ms Clutterham.

ALP National President Jenny McAllister said she did not know Ms Clutterham, but told Sky News preselections were run to get the candidate with the right skills, life experience and connection to their area.

"It may not matter technically - it probably does matter politically," she said of the need to live locally.

The Clutterham interview revived memories of the short political career of rugby league star and now Queensland coach Mal Meninga, who quit politics moments into a radio interview to announce his candidacy for the ACT Legislative Assembly.

Ms Gillard has endorsed former local primary school principal Joanne Ryan for the seat. Other preselection candidates include Sandra Willis, daughter of former Keating-era treasurer Ralph Willis, and unionist Kimberley Kitching.

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Farms need foreign investment: Nufarm boss

IF Australians were worried about selling the farm, they should have invested in local agriculture when they had the chance, says senior industry figure Donald McGauchie.

The comments come at a time when regulators are considering whether to approve global giant Archer Daniels Midland's $3 billion takeover of Australia's GrainCorp, of which he is a director.

Mr McGauchie told a business lunch that he welcomed foreign investment despite worries about ownership of farms and agribusinesses no longer being in local hands.

The Nufarm and Australian Agricultural Co chairman said Australia should have been investing in agriculture in the last decade as it became clear the Asian Century would lead to an explosion in food demand.

Australian farmers had struggled since 2000 with many going broke, partly because of a drought and a lack of both private and government investment, he said.

Competitors had outpaced Australia in export growth while the US and New Zealand, for instance, had struck attractive free trade agreements that made life difficult for Australian beef producers to sell to South Korea.

"Australian investors will wake up one day and realise they've given away their birthright that they had in their hands and could've bought cheap," Mr McGauchie said.

Foreign multinationals such as Glencore and Cargill were among agriculture investors that had got the message quicker and bought into Australia than local companies had, he said.

Embattled rural company Elders is one local casualty, with the debt-laden group close to being wound up.

An angry NSW farmers association and some Liberal and National MPs are urging the Foreign Investment Review Board to reject ADM's takeover, citing GrainCorp's dominance of the grain handling industry and ports.

ADM chief executive Patricia Woertz says the company will invest $300 million in GrainCorp, not cut costs.

Mr McGauchie said Australian agriculture needed foreign money if it was to take advantage of a projected six-fold jump in Asia's middle class to 3.2 billion by 2030.

That will mean greater demand for higher quality food and he said Australia could more than double the real value of agriculture exports by 2050, from a $35 billion to a $73 billion export industry.

Australia's equity markets could not attract that investment, he said, and the legacy of statutory marketing authorities - such as the Australian Wheat Board - had stopped a BHP-type national champion in agriculture emerging.

"We were built on foreign investment and have had it in agriculture in this country from day one," Mr McGauchie said.

"We are a food bowl for Asia, but can we become the food bowl for Asia's mega-middle class?"

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Child deaths put DOCS in spotlight

AS NSW families and communities services minister, Pru Goward hears more about child abuse than most people.

She says the day she is no longer moved to tears by her challenging workload is the day she'll find a different job.

Ms Goward says she knows the public is horrified to read reports of "vile, wicked" abuse of children.

"I read them in a lot more graphic detail than most people, and the day that they cease to bring tears to my eyes is the day I'll know I need to move on," she told AAP.

The minister's comments come with departmental figures revealing just over a quarter of children and young people reported as being at risk are being interviewed by a caseworker and given safety checks.

The union representing community service workers, the Public Service Association (PSA), says the system is in "crisis" and the state opposition has accused Ms Goward of lying about the caseworker situation.

"Ms Goward has been claiming for years that there is no caseworker shortage despite reports from caseworkers on the ground across the state that they are overworked and unable to properly investigate all reports of children at risk," Labor's community services spokeswoman Linda Burney said.

But Ms Goward said the proportion of vulnerable children being checked on face-to-face by caseworkers had risen from 21 per cent to 27 per cent in the two years since her government took office in NSW.

However she admitted this could be better.

She also said there was never a hiring freeze at the Department of Community Services, only a "slight pause in recruitment" when the government transferred its Brighter Futures program from community services to the private sector.

The row comes amid a series of high-profile court cases involving murdered or neglected children who were known to community services.

They include two-year-old Tanilla Warrick-Deaves, who died after suffering horrific abuse and whose mother pleaded guilty to her manslaughter this week, and six-year-old Kiesha Weippeart, murdered by her mother Kristi Anne Abrahams.

Ms Goward said a jump in caseworkers did not always translate to more face-to-face visits, and those visits did not always result in the best decisions.

The focus must remain on helping frontline workers make better choices, she said.

"In a lot of these (cases), the system made the wrong decision," she said.

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Vic laws to target dangerous dog owners

Irresponsible dog owners could be jailed for two years under a proposed crackdown in Victoria. Source: AAP

IRRESPONSIBLE dog owners could be jailed for two years and banned from keeping canines under a proposed crackdown in Victoria.

Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh says the state already has strong restrictions on so-called dangerous breeds but is now turning the focus on owners.

"Those people who have been convicted of their dog attacking others now face bans of up to 10 years in the ownership and control of these dogs," he told reporters on Monday.

"If they break the ban, they can then face more severe penalties, such as up to two years in jail or a fine of up to $34,600."

Mr Walsh said the proposed laws - which will be introduced into parliament this spring - would give magistrates more power when dealing with dog attacks.

"They can convict someone for what their dog has done, but they cannot control what that person will do with dogs in the future," he said.

The minister cited the attack on four-year-old Ayen Chol as a prime motivator behind Victoria's approach to toughening dog attack laws.

The little girl was mauled to death two years ago when a neighbour's pit bull escaped its yard and attacked her and other family members in their St Albans home in August 2011.

"The dog in that case had not attacked before, and was not considered dangerous, but it had escaped from its yard and killed the child and did lots of damage," Mr Walsh said.

Australian Veterinary Association president David Neck said educating, rather than punishing owners, was the best approach when it came to dog attacks.

"There are two sides to this - first, the response to a dog attack when it happens, but more importantly, pro-activity, so preventing attacks before they happen," Dr Neck said.

"We need to focus on teaching owners to look for the early warning signs, and to proactively seek help before the dog's behaviour gets them into a court of law."

Premier Denis Napthine, a trained veterinarian, said specific breeds should be banned too.

"Let's get rid of American pit bulls. They're just bred for attacking and they can do enormous damage," he told Gold 104.3 FM.

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Protest outside Whitehaven Coal

Workers at a NSW coal mine have vowed to fight a project they say will destroy local heritage sites. Source: AAP

PROTESTERS have vowed to continue their fight against a Whitehaven Coal mine approved last week, saying it will destroy local heritage sites in northwest NSW.

Whitehaven received final approvals to begin construction at the site near Boggabri last Thursday after a three-year process.

Gomeroi traditional owner Stephen Talbot says the $767 million Maules Creek mine will clear more than 4000 acres of "culturally significant forest, artefacts and cultural values" which have not been properly assessed.

"The forest contains cultural heritage sites, food sources, and totems of our people, and most of them will be permanently destroyed by the planned mine," Mr Talbot said.

"There hasn't been a proper consultation process, the management plan is flawed and we don't believe that our people have been treated with proper respect or that our concerns about the destruction of cultural heritage have been addressed."

A Whitehaven spokeswoman, however, said there had been discussions with Aboriginal representative groups since the earliest days of the Maules Creek project.

"A detailed Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment was included ... as part of the planning process and consultation has continued throughout the project," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Wilderness society said over fifty people including traditional owners, elders and members of the non-indigenous community protested outside Whitehaven's office and at an adjacent park on Monday morning.

Mr Talbot said demonstrators would return to Boggabri Park in greater numbers on Tuesday to continue their protest.

He called for all salvage works to be halted until community concerns had been addressed.

Whitehaven is permitted to extract up to 13 million tonnes of coal per annum and rail 12.4 million tonnes from the site each year.

The federal government gave conditional approval for the project in February this year.

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Bahrain bomb kills policeman

A BOMB attack has killed a Bahraini policeman and wounded two others in a Shi'ite Muslim village outside the capital, a police statement carried by the official BNA news agency says.

"Terrorist groups targeted a police station in Sitra" late on Saturday, public security chief General Tariq Hasan said on Sunday.

"As police attempted to secure the area ... the terrorists blew up an improvised bomb against security forces in an attack that killed policeman Yasser Dhaib and wounded two others."

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Deported cleric Abu Qatada lands in Jordan

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada has been deported from Britain and is on his way to Jordan. Source: AAP

RADICAL Islamist cleric Abu Qatada has arrived in Amman after Britain deported him to face terrorism charges, ending a decade-long legal battle, a Jordanian government official said.

"Abu Qatada landed at Marka airport in east Amman," a Jordanian government official told AFP on condition of anonymity on Sunday.

"He was escorted by British and Jordanian guards, who handed him over to state security court prosecutors."

The military tribunal lies just outside the airport.

Abu Qatada's father, brothers and other family members stood outside the courthouse waiting for his arrival, an AFP photographer reported.

The Palestinian-born preacher, 53, was taken from prison in an armoured police van to a military airfield on the outskirts of London, from which he was flown out of Britain at 0146 GMT.

Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia by a Jordanian court in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks including on the American school in Amman but the sentence was immediately reduced to life imprisonment with hard labour.

In 2000, again in his absence, he was sentenced to 15 years for plotting to carry out terror attacks on tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations.

His deportation came after Jordan and Britain ratified a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters aimed at removing any remaining concerns about the use of tainted evidence in Abu Qatada's retrial.

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