Franklin says crash 'just an accident'

Swans player Lance Franklin says he is truly sorry for crashing into five parked cars in Sydney. Source: AAP

AFL superstar Lance Franklin says he wasn't on the phone or speeding when he crashed into four parked cars and he admits he's frustrated at being back in the spotlight for another off-field incident.

Franklin has been fined $405 and lost three demerit points over the crash, but Sydney won't be taking action against their $10 million recruit.

The Swans forward says he didn't see a car parked on the left as he drove his girlfriend's sponsored 4WD through the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay on Wednesday night, clipped it and then slammed into three other cars after the airbags went off.

"I wasn't texting at all. I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't speeding," he said before Swans training at the SCG on Thursday.

"It was just an accident, accidents happen and as I said I'm so great (sic) that no one was hurt in this case and for the people's cars that were hit, we can get them fixed up as soon as possible and move on."

He said he was shocked and shaky after the accident, but also annoyed at himself.

"Obviously there's frustration, more for myself than anyone," he said.

"I don't want to see myself in the spotlight. Obviously I've found myself in it again but I just want to move forward as quickly as possible and get on to this week's game."

Police interviewed Franklin at the scene on New South Head Road and gave him a breath test, which returned a negative reading, before issuing him with a ticket for negligent driving.

Sydney coach John Longmire said the club accepted Franklin's explanation and he'll play against Melbourne on Saturday.

"Ultimately he's here to play football and it was a really unfortunate thing that happened last night but we're here to prepare today and prepare for Melbourne this week and that's what we'll continue to do," Longmire said.

"The police spoke to him for half an hour after the incident and they're satisfied with what Lance said as well. So we'll get into football mode."

He was driving his model girlfriend Jesinta Campbell's $77,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, given to her as part of her role as a brand ambassador for the carmaker.

The car was towed away with significant damage to its front end and there's speculation the incident may affect Ms Campbell's deal with Jeep.

Franklin was on the other end of an accident involving a borrowed car in March when he lent his Mercedes to teammate Dan Hanneberry who crashed it.

Full forward Franklin, 27, moved from premiers Hawthorn to Sydney last October in a nine-year deal that raised eyebrows.

He is yet to capture the dominant form that made him such a success at Hawthorn, while Sydney has denied reports he has not settled into the club's culture and is a bad influence on their young players.

News Corp reported in February that paramedics were called to Franklin's Bondi flat on January 3, after he collapsed because of an apparent seizure.

In 2012, Franklin lost his licence for six months after he was caught speeding 40km/h over the limit in Melbourne's Brighton East.

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Whitehaven cuts coal guidance

WHITEHAVEN Coal shares have fallen after the miner cut its full year production guidance by up to eight per cent due to operational problems.

The northern NSW miner revised its guidance from 10.7 million tonnes of saleable coal to between 9.8 million and 10 million tonnes.

The company has had to stop production in a section of its key Narrabri mine due to safety issues relating to roof supports.

A return to production is still two to three weeks away.

Production had also been hampered by previously disclosed geotechnical challenges at another mine, Rocglen, the company said.

Whitehaven shares dropped 4.5 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $1.56.

Whitehaven had some good news last week when the Commonwealth Department of the Environment found the company's biodiversity offsets package for its controversial flagship Maules Creek project complied with approval conditions.

Development of the Maules Creek mine has been met with vocal criticism from locals.

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Brisbane man's death not suspicious

Streets have been shut down after a man's body was found on a Brisbane road after a violent assault. Source: AAP

THE death of a man whose body was found on a Brisbane street is not considered suspicious.

An east Brisbane suburb was locked down on Wednesday morning after the 51-year-old's body was discovered following a domestic dispute which involved an assault.

Officers were called to Idamea Street at Carina Heights after reports of a fight about 2.30am.

The man's body was found a few blocks away a short time later.

Investigators shut off streets and set up crime scenes where the body was found, as well as at the scene of the earlier assault.

But Queensland police said later in the day the man's death was no longer being treated as suspicious.

The dead man and the victim of the assault, a woman in her 40s, were known to each other.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978.

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Titanic boost in search for MH370

A SONAR tracking system similar to that used to find the Titanic almost 30 years ago may be deployed in the hunt for MH370 with a mini-submarine involved in the search so far failing to discover any trace of the plane.

The autonomous underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 has scoured more than 80 per cent of the search area, which on Wednesday was centred about 855km northwest of Perth, with no sign of the missing Boeing Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

Authorities in Australia on Wednesday said the area where the search is focused remains the best lead, but they may soon deploy more powerful towed side-scan sonar equipment, similar to that which found the Titanic in 3.8km-deep waters in the Atlantic Ocean in 1985.

The same system was used to find HMAS Sydney in 2008, which was located north of the MH370 search area.

The development came as Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted the search would continue while there was a reasonable hope of finding something.

"Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanly can to get to the bottom of this mystery," he told reporters in Canberra.

The Bluefin-21 is focusing on a circular area with a radius of 10km where the second acoustic signal was picked up by a towed pinger locator on April 8. Acoustic signals were also picked up in the vicinity on April 5.

Defence Minister David Johnston on Wednesday said that if the current search turned up nothing, the operation would move to the next phase, using more advanced sonar technology.

The side-scan sonar would be able to go deeper than the Bluefin-21, which loses some effectiveness beyond 4500 metres.

Senator Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search.

While the Bluefin 21 had less than one-fifth of the seabed search area to complete, Senator Johnston estimated its mission would take another two weeks.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC), led by former Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston, said the zone where the search was focused remained the best lead.

"It is important this lead is pursued to its completion so we can either confirm or discount the focused underwater area as the final resting place of MH370. This is clearly of great importance to the families of those on board," JACC told AAP.

Mr Houston recently said that alternatives to the Bluefin-21, including devices that can go deeper, were "being looked at", but gave no specifics.

One of the US Navy's Orion-towed search systems is available and can send back real-time data, unlike the Bluefin-21.

And some search experts say a REMUS 6000 autonomous underwater vehicle, used to find Air France flight 447 after it went down in 2009, would be more suitable.

The aerial search for floating debris was suspended on Wednesday for the second straight day due to poor weather associated with an ex-tropical cyclone.

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Baird unveils 'experienced' NSW ministry

NSW Premier Mike Baird says the decision to drop Greg Smith (pic) from his cabinet wasn't easy. Source: AAP

NSW Premier Mike Baird says his new-look cabinet has the hunger and experience to transform the state.

Mr Baird on Tuesday dumped four O'Farrell ministers and promoted five new young faces into his ministry.

"It is a group that brings experience but, just as importantly, it brings a hunger," Mr Baird told reporters.

"A hunger to transform New South Wales."

Opposition Leader John Robertson slammed the reshuffle for rewarding bad ministers and for under-representing women.

Rising star Andrew Constance emerged as one of the clear winners in the new line-up, being appointed treasurer.

Pru Goward becomes planning minister, replacing Brad Hazzard who was given the role of attorney-general.

The announcement came an hour after veteran north coast MP Don Page, grandson of former prime minister Sir Earle Page, said he was retiring from politics.

Mr Baird confirmed the Nationals MP had been demoted from local government minister and paid tribute to his service to the state.

Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said he wouldn't be surprised if George Souris - another Nationals MP who has also been demoted - would also step away from parliament before the next election.

Greg Smith was dumped as attorney-general and Robyn Parker lost the environment portfolio.

Mr Baird described Mr Smith as a "good man and a good friend", but stood by his decision to replace him as attorney-general.

Troy Grant, Paul Toole, Rob Stokes, Dominic Perrottet and Jai Rowell, who are in their 30s and 40s, were also promoted to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the reshuffle hands the Hunter ministry to Gladys Berejiklian, who represents the Sydney electorate of Willoughby, in addition to her transport portfolio.

Northern beaches MP Mr Baird replaces Mr O'Farrell as minister for Western Sydney.

He said it was "entirely appropriate" he represented the west given the many infrastructure projects being built there.

"I'm going to be there a lot," the premier said.

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Climbers cancel Everest expeditions

An appeal has been launched to help the families of sherpas killed in an avalanche on Mt Everest. Source: AAP

DISTRAUGHT Nepalese guides and climbers have cancelled expeditions on Mount Everest after at least 13 colleagues died in an avalanche.

At the same time anger is mounting over poor payments for sherpas who take huge risks on the world's highest peak.

Sherpas, already grief-stricken over the loss of colleagues, have told AFP they are considering whether to halt climbs to protest at pay and poor welfare provisions.

The bodies of 13 local sherpa guides have been pulled from the snow and another three are thought to be still buried in the avalanche which hit on Friday morning, the worst single accident in the mountain's history.

Another nine were rescued alive from the avalanche, which struck the group of sherpas as they hauled gear up the mountain for international climbers who were waiting at Everest base camp below.

Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International, which lost four sherpas in the accident with another still missing, has decided to cancel its expedition, according to its sirdar (sherpa captain).

"We have lost five members of our team. To respect them, we will not be going ahead with our expedition," said Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who has summitted Everest 17 times.

"This was one of the worst days on the mountain and all those who died are sherpas, so many of those left don't want to go ahead," Lakpa said on Monday from base camp.

US-based Discovery Channel also cancelled an expedition after losing its team of sherpas in the accident, it said in a statement.

The channel was planning a live broadcast of the first winged jumpsuit flight off the summit.

Other teams still at base camp are weighing up whether to go ahead with their expeditions, with many too distraught to climb.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said sherpas want the government to set up a welfare fund for guides and their families, using part of the fees paid by clients.

"It's not about stopping expeditions. But they have demands that need to be fulfilled," Ang, whose national body represents tourism promoters, told AFP.

Some of the sherpas and their families are angry about the Nepali government's offer of 40,000 rupees (about $A440) to pay for the funeral expenses of those killed, calling it a disrespectful gesture.

Sherpas, an ethnic group known for their skills on the mountain, earn between $A3,211 to $A6,423 a season. But life insurance payments currently only go up to $A10,706.

The disaster underscores the huge risks borne by sherpas who ascend the icy slopes, often before dawn and usually weighed down by tents, ropes and food for their clients, who pay tens of thousands of dollars to scale the mountain.

The cancellations are likely to have an impact on the impoverished Himalayan country's economy. It relies on tourism for revenue, earning millions of dollars in annual climbing fees from Everest alone.

More than 300 people, most of them local guides, have died on Everest since the first ascent to the summit by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

The previous worst accident on the 8,848-metre peak was in 1996 when eight people were killed during a storm.

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Share not shift asylum seeker issue: Indon

Indonesia has called for Australia to share not shift responsibility for asylum seekers. Source: AAP

INDONESIA has called for politics to be taken out of the approach to asylum seekers, urging its neighbours including Australia to share - not shift - responsibility.

Representatives from 16 countries and the UNHCR are attending a Jakarta workshop to look at ways to better protect asylum seekers, including with more timely search and rescue at sea.

Indonesia, which is troubled by the Abbott government policy of turning back asylum seeker boats, will meet with Australian representatives on the sidelines.

Opening the workshop on Monday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said nations must focus on "shared responsibility, not shifting of responsibility".

"In managing the irregular movement of people at sea, we must ensure that their humanitarian needs are addressed ... no matter their legal status," he said.

"The only relevant status is that they are human beings."

The minister told reporters his comments were not targeted at Australia.

"Essentially we need to take the politics out of this whole endeavour," Dr Natalegawa said.

"When we underscore the point that our perspective must be protection-oriented, it's not meant to be directed at any one particular country."

The UNHCR says 10,623 asylum seekers and refugees are in Indonesia, but the number of people registering in Jakarta has slowed from 100 per day before the Abbott government policy was enacted, to 100 people per week.

Dr Natalegawa would not comment on whether this meant the policy was successful, saying he would leave experts like the UNHCR to judge.

Meanwhile, Dr Natalegawa says a code of conduct designed to get Indonesia and Australia working together again after co-operation halted over last year's spy scandal, is progressing.

The code will reiterate the basic principals of the bilateral relationship and include a commitment not to use intelligence "in a manner that would be inimical to the other", he said.

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Picture perfect royals visit the zoo

IT was the picture perfect moment the world had been waiting for.

Royal baby Prince George giggled, smiled and played his way through just his second public engagement - a trip to the zoo with his parents Prince William and Kate on Sunday.

The trio arrived at Sydney's Taronga Zoo to visit the bilby enclosure named after Prince George as part of Australia's gift marking his birth on July 22 last year.

It was just the fifth time the royal tot, who is almost nine months old, had been seen in public on this trip.

Dressed in royal blue shorts and a striped, light blue shirt and blue shoes and socks, he appeared to wriggle mischievously in Kate's arms as the family strolled to the bilby enclosure.

For much of this royal tour of New Zealand and Australia, the eyes of the world have been trained on Kate and her fashion choices.

For the zoo, she had changed out of the dove-grey Alexander McQueen outfit she had worn to an Easter church service, into a lemon cream broderie anglaise dress.

At the enclosure, George met a bilby - also called George, then helped his parents unveil a plaque, renaming the enclosure the Prince George Bilby Exhibit.

Bilby keeper Paul Davies said the royal couple were relaxed with George inside the enclosure.

"All of a sudden they were just a family in the zoo," Mr Davies said.

He said at one point George wanted to grab the bilby's ear.

"I said 'he can touch the bilby', but they said no, he (the bilby) will have one ear less," Mr Davies said.

After the bilbies, George returned to Admiralty House and William and Kate viewed other animals at Taronga.

They fed tree kangaroos, strolled past giraffes, enjoyed a bird show, and took in the rhino conservation display.

At the bird show, the couple had galahs and owls swooping just centimetres above their heads.

Taronga Zoo bird trainer Brendan Host presented the bird show, before introducing the duke and duchess to two echidnas, a quokka and a koala named Leuca.

"I think Kate was very taken with Leuca," Mr Host, 27, told reporters after the show.

"She didn't realise the koala would smell the way it did because they eat eucalyptus leaves.

"I think she just really enjoyed the moment."

The royals posed with Leuca and the echidnas with iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the background.

This was Australia - as much as the royals - on show.

As he touched the koala, William commented: "This is the moment everyone's been waiting for."

The couple also heard about a number of Australia's endangered species at the bird show - and appeared to take a keen interest.

Taronga Zoo volunteer Meghan was in the audience at the bird show and said the duchess looked "incredible".

"She's stunning, she's perfectly put together, there's never anything out of place."

Michael, 49, at the zoo with his three-year-old son Jimmy, described George as "quite a handsome little man.

"And the duke and duchess; they're a beautiful couple of course."

He said Jimmy "wanted to have a little bit of a play" with the young prince, adding that he hoped the royals had a "great day out" at the zoo.

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'Lucky' boy falls 200m, fractures leg

AN eight-year-old boy has being hailed as "incredibly lucky" after he survived a 200m fall and suffered only a fractured leg.

The boy fell from a viewing platform at Dangars Falls, near Armidale, and slid 200m down a slope, after climbing through the cordoned area to retrieve a personal item on Saturday.

"Just below the platform is a walkable area, but he's slipped again somehow," NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Inspector Neale Waters said in a statement.

"It was a slide and roll affair and the momentum kept him going.

"He came to rest about 200m from the viewing platform. What's stopped him from falling to the bottom, I don't know. It's about a 300m drop so there was another 100m to go."

Insp Waters described the boy as "incredibly lucky".

A NSW Ambulance paramedic went to the boy's aid, taking a splint "because we were told the patient had a fractured femur before we went down to him".

"(The boy) had a talk to mum and dad," Insp Waters said.

"There were civilians down there who had a CB radio which helped us a lot. We had no communication."

A helicopter winched the boy out after five hours.

The boy was flown to Tamworth airport before being taken Tamworth Base Hospital. He is in a stable condition.

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Three suffer facial burns in SA boat fire

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was one of three people who suffered burns when a boat caught fire on the Murray River in South Australia.

The fire broke out at 12.15pm (CST) on the boat which was near the Morgan boat ramp north of Adelaide.

Police said four people were on board and managed to get to shore before the boat sank.

All were injured with three requiring hospital treatment for burns.

The boy suffered burns to his face and was taken to Waikerie Hospital.

A man and a woman, both in their 20s, were airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with burns to their faces, an ambulance spokeswoman said.

All remain in a serious but stable condition.

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