Pet Perth pooch leads cops to drugs, gun

A frightened pet dog has led concerned police officers to a drug stash and an illegal shotgun. Source: AAP

THE owners of a timid dog may be wondering if the canine is their best friend after it led police to their drug stash.

Officers noticed the fierce-looking, but scared, mastiff cross in their car park on Friday.

When they approached the dog, it ran into traffic.

Concerned, the police followed the mutt down a laneway opposite the station.

The dog went to a unit in Hinderwell Street, where police say they found drugs and cash on a table.

An unlicensed shotgun and ammunition were allegedly found in a car on the premises and other drugs were found in the house.

A 31-year-old man from Queens Park will appear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 10 charged with possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

A 45-year-old Beverley woman is expected to be charged with possession of amphetamines and possession of a smoking implement.

A 32-year-old Scarborough man is expected to be charged with allowing the home to be used for drug taking and for possessing a prohibited drug.

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Tasmania fire downgraded

THE major fire at Bicheno in Tasmania's east has been downgraded and the Tasman Highway has been reopened.

The Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) has issued an "advice" alert level for the fire, which was earlier classified at an emergency warning level.

The TFS says the fire danger rating in the area is low to moderate, and there is no immediate threat to communities.

The Tasman Highway has been re-opened and motorists are being urged to be cautious due to possible smoke and emergency services vehicles in the area.

The fire is still not under control and authorities say people may experience embers, smoke and ash falling on Coles Bay Road, south of Apsley River, and the Tasman Highway, south of Bicheno.

Back burning off the Cole Bay Road will continue through the night and residents are advised that they should not be alarmed if there is more smoke in this area.

Earlier, the fire at Forcett, east of Hobart, was downgraded to a watch and act level as cooler weather spread across the island state.

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Suu Kyi 'should' help with Kachin

A peace negotiator has appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the bloody conflict in Kachin. Source: AAP

MEDIATORS trying to broker a peace deal between the military and ethnic minority rebels in northern Myanmar have appealed to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the bloody conflict.

The military's use of air strikes against the rebels has stoked international concerns about a civil war that has overshadowed widely praised political reforms seen since the end of junta rule in 2011.

"Aung San Suu Kyi also has responsibility to implement ethnic peace," Yup Zaw Hkaung, a local businessman and peace negotiator in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, told AFP by telephone on Saturday.

"When she came to Kachin State to campaign for votes, she talked about peace. She cannot abandon Kachin," he said, adding that neither the opposition leader nor President Thein Sein had replied to letters asking for help.

Civil war has plagued parts of the country formerly known as Burma since it won independence from Britain in 1948.

Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner turned lawmaker, used her maiden speech to parliament in July last year to call for greater protection of ethnic minority rights.

But the veteran activist has disappointed rights campaigners by not speaking out more vocally in support of another minority group, the Rohingya, in the violence-torn western state of Rakhine.

In northern Kachin, tens of thousands of people have been displaced since June 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down.

The number of casualties is unknown. The Kachin accuse the government of pushing dialogue only on the basis of a ceasefire and troop withdrawals, neglecting to address longstanding demands for greater political rights.

Myanmar has reached tentative ceasefires with most of the other major ethnic rebel groups, but several rounds of talks with the Kachin have shown little tangible progress.

"The fighting has been escalating," Yup Zaw Hkaung said.

"We are urging dialogue as soon as possible. People are in big trouble."

He said his Peace Creation Group, a mediation team formed with three other local businessmen, wanted to meet Thein Sein face-to-face to discuss the conflict with the former general, whose office said in December 2011 he had ordered an end to military offensives against the rebels.

"As air strikes with jets have been used in the attacks, hatred between the two sides could be growing," Yup Zaw Hkaung said. "We assume that the military is fighting based on the decision of the union government."

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Hobbit claims top Aussie box office spot

The Hobbit sits on top of the Australian box office after taking $17 million in its first week. Source: AAP

THE Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has jumped straight to the top of the Australian box office.

It has taken in nearly $17 million in its first week of release.

The New Zealand-filmed Hobbit is the first movie in a trilogy about Bilbo Baggins's quest to reclaim a lost dwarf kingdom from a frightening dragon.

Musical Les Miserables has raked in a healthy $7.471 million to be a distant No.2.

The film, set in 19th century France, has received criticism that some of the actors cannot sing, but audiences don't seem to mind.

Animated film Wreck It Ralph has also made a stellar debut, coming in at No.3 with earnings of $6.209 million.

The critically acclaimed Life of Pi, about a boy who finds himself adrift on a boat with a tiger in the Pacific Ocean, has earned nearly $3 million in pre-release to rank fifth.

After a long run at the top, James Bond has finally been shaken from No.1.

Skyfall has slipped to sixth place, although it still took in close to $3 million.

The movie has grossed more than $44 million in its six weeks of release, a nice little earner for Sony Pictures.

Rise of the Guardians, which was in second spot a fortnight ago, has dropped to eighth.

An animation starring Australians Hugh Jackman and Isla Fisher, the film is about a group of guardians who team up to protect the innocence of children worldwide when an evil spirit launches an assault on earth.

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Death report as Tas bushfire razes homes

Catastrophic conditions have caused two major fires to claim property in southern Tasmania. Source: AAP

TASMANIAN police say they are not able to confirm reports of a death in a huge bushfire in the state's south that has already destroyed homes, a school and an RSL club.

They say up to 65 buildings could have been damaged or destroyed in the small community of Dunalley, 56km southeast of Hobart.

They include the local school, RSL club, service station and houses, ABC television reported.

Around 15 houses at nearby Boomer Bay could also have been lost as the impact of catastrophic fire conditions in southern Tasmania begins to emerge.

Tasmania Police commissioner Scott Tilyard said no death had been confirmed.

"It really has the status of a rumour at this stage," he told the ABC.

But as a police boat was being sent to rescue people taking refuge on the waterfront at the top of the Tasman Peninsula, damage to property was becoming clearer.

"Reports are of anything up to about 65 buildings may have been impacted by the fire and that is the area where there has been an unconfirmed report that possibly there might have been one life lost," Mr Tilyard said.

Around 50 people were awaiting the arrival of the police vessel to help them evacuate but were safe, he said.

Huge plumes of smoke were visible from Hobart on Friday as the island capital sweltered through its hottest day on record.

Accompanying winds whipped up the two largest blazes that had started on Thursday; at Forcett, near Dunalley, and Lake Repulse near Mt Field National Park northwest of Hobart.

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) Chief Officer Mike Brown said conditions on Friday had reached the catastrophic level in the rating system developed after the Black Saturday fires in Victoria.

"We reached catastrophic fire danger ratings at times during this afternoon," Chief Officer Brown told reporters.

"I don't think we're quite out of the woods yet.

On a day Hobart hit a top temperature of 41.8C - smashing the previous record of 40.8 set in 1976 - up to 40 fires were burning around the state.

The TFS used its emergency phone warning system to ask residents to leave the affected areas and police said around 80 per cent had chosen to go.

Near Dunalley, the TFS said it was too late to leave the communities of Connellys Marsh or Primrose Sands.

Those at Connellys Marsh were being advised the nearby beach was a safer option for them.

Carlton River Road was considered impassable and Primrose Sands residents were also being told to head to the nearby beach.

The popular Port Arthur tourist area was cut off after police closed the Arthur Highway, isolating the Tasman Peninsula.

The second major fire, which authorities suspect was started by a campfire, is affecting communities including Broad River, Jones River and Ellendale.

Late on Friday afternoon, the TFS upgraded a warning for another fire near Bicheno in that area.

Campers were being evacuated and residents were being encouraged to act on their bushfire plans or leave.

A large grass fire at Epping Forest in the state's north was also causing concern.

A mild southerly change was due in Hobart around midnight after conditions considered worse than 2006/7 when houses were lost on the state's east coast.

The change is unlikely to bring rain but could ignite more fires with lightning strikes, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"Lighter winds tomorrow and milder temperatures and higher relative humidities will be of help," senior forecaster Malcolm Downing told AAP on Friday.

Hobart hit 41.8C at 4.05pm (AEDT), its highest temperature since record keeping started in 1883.

Authorities say smoke is likely to be visible for several hours and people sensitive to it should stay indoors.

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Aussie stabbed fighting off Bali burglars

AN Australian man reportedly managed to throw a thief through a window before he was repeatedly stabbed during a botched robbery at a holiday villa in Bali.

The 42-year-old father, named in media reports as Paul Gill, was staying in a villa at Kerobokan with his wife and children when it was stormed by two robbers about 2am (local time) on Friday.

The expatriate boat captain tried to fight them off, throwing one of the robbers through a window, Nine Network reported.

Local police chief Aldi Alfa says Mr Gill was then stabbed in the neck and back by the other robber.

"It was one against two, if not he might have been able to put up a fight," Chief Alfa told Fairfax.

Mr Gill is currently in a stable condition after undergoing surgery in the Bali International Medical Centre.

A DFAT spokeswoman said the department was aware of the media reports and the Australian consulate-general in Bali was making urgent inquiries.

"At present, no requests for consular assistance regarding this case have been received," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

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Macmahon get 2nd bid for construction unit

MACMAHON Holdings has received a second bid for its construction business after Indian-based Punj Lloyd Ltd said it was keen to better an agreed deal with Leighton Holdings.

Punj Lloyd said in a statement after the Australian market closed on Thursday its wholly-owned Sembawang Australia subsidiary had made an offer to buy Macmahon's construction operations for $25 million.

Sembawang president and chief executive Richard Grosvenor said the two companies were a strategic fit.

"Sembawang has always been eyeing Macmahon's construction business for over four years now and believe that the time is right to make this offer," Mr Grosvenor said in the statement.

Sembawang said the offer was the subject of satisfactory due diligence and board approval.

Punj Lloyd, an engineering and construction group, was listed on the national and Bombay stock exchange.

Macmahon said in December it would sell its construction activities to Leighton Holdings for $20 million and become a dedicated full service mining contractor.

Leighton owns about 24 per cent of Macmahon and is the company's largest shareholder.

While the effective date of the sale was December 31, 2012, the transaction required shareholder approval, with a vote due to be held at a Macmahon extraordinary general meeting scheduled for February.

Macmahon and Leighton did not respond to requests for comment.

Macmahon closed Thursday's local session up three cents, or 11.76 per cent, at 28.5 cents, while Leighton gained 47 cents, or 2.59 per cent, to $18.65.

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Putin grants Depardieu citizenship

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to French movie star Gerard Depardieu, who has threatened to give up his French passport to protest a proposed tax hike on the rich.

"Vladimir Putin has signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to France's Gerard Depardieu," the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday.

Depardieu said on Sunday a decision by France's highest court to strike down a 75 per cent tax rate on millionaires would change nothing in his highly publicised decision to move out of France.

The government has vowed to push ahead with the tax rate, which would apply to incomes over a million euros ($A1.24 million)) a year, and propose a new measure that would conform with the constitution.

Putin at his end-of-year press conference said he was ready to offer Depardieu - whom he called a businessman and a friend - a Russian passport to resolve his tax row.

"If Gerard really wants to have a residency permit in Russia or a Russian passport, we can consider this issue resolved positively," Putin said on December 20.

Depardieu had previously mentioned moving to Belgium, although he is a frequent guest of Moscow cinema festivals and other Russian celebrity events.

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Lawyers broaden soy milk class action

HUNDREDS of Australians who fell ill after drinking soy milk containing dangerous levels of iodine have widened their class action to include two Japanese companies.

Bonsoy soy milk was removed from supermarket shelves in late 2009 after 10 people, including a newborn baby, suffered thyroid problems in NSW.

Tests at the time revealed a cup of the milk contained seven times the recommended daily intake of iodine.

Since then, about 600 people have joined a Victorian Supreme Court class action against Spiral Foods, the product's Australian distributor.

An amended statement of claim was lodged in the court last month to include the milk's Japanese manufacturer, Marusan, and exporter, Muso.

Maurice Blackburn senior associate Irina Lubomirska said the two companies had ignored warnings about the milk's iodine content.

"We say that these three companies had test results in mid-2006 which showed that Bonsoy contained extremely high levels of iodine, but they did nothing," Ms Lubomirska said.

"On at least three occasions they were contacted by customers expressing concerns about iodine content of Bonsoy and they did not act to ensure the product was safe."

The matter will return before the court for directions on March 13.

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Indian lawyers shun rape accused

LAWYERS in India say they will refuse to defend the men accused of a fatal gang-rape that sparked protests across the country.

Hearings are expected to begin on Thursday at the Saket district court in south New Delhi, where police will formally present a 1000-page charge sheet against the six accused.

"We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused as it would be immoral to defend the case," Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and a member of the Saket District Bar Council, told AFP.

Kumar said the 2500 advocates registered at the court have decided to "stay away" to ensure "speedy justice", meaning the government would have to appoint lawyers for the defendants.

Another lawyer at the court confirmed the boycott to AFP.

Five men are expected to face charges including rape, murder and kidnapping in the Saket court, with the prosecutor likely to seek the death sentence.

A sixth suspect is believed to be 17 years old, meaning he would be tried in a court for juveniles.

The brutality and horrific nature of the attack on a 23-year-old has led to protests in the capital and elsewhere over the widespread abuse of women and sex crime in India.

The rape victim died at the weekend after 13-day struggle to survive injuries so grievous that part of her intestines had to be removed.

She was repeatedly raped on a bus on December 16 before being thrown from the moving vehicle at the end of a 40-minute ordeal.

In 2008, Indian lawyers refused to defend a gunman who took part in attacks on Mumbai which killed 166 people, leaving him with a government-appointed lawyer. He was executed in November last year.

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India manufacturing at six-month high

INDIA'S manufacturing activity rose in December to its fastest pace in six months, led by strong factory output and a rise in new orders.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from HSBC, which gives a snapshot of manufacturing health from output to jobs, climbed to 54.7 in December, compared to 53.7 in the previous month.

A figure of over 50 indicates growth in the sector while below 50 points shows contraction.

"Activity in the manufacturing sector picked up again, led by faster output growth and a further uptick in new orders, which led to a faster increase in backlogs of work," said HSBC chief economist Leif Eskesen on Wednesday.

Economist Sonal Varma at Nomura Securities said the PMI data was a good sign for the economy.

"The manufacturing sector after stabilising between July and October began to improve from November and inflation pressures remain under check," she said.

The survey's findings - based on data from more than 500 manufacturers - come after India's economic growth fell to 5.3 per cent in the July-September quarter, extending a slowdown since the start of the year.

The government has forecast growth of 5.7 to 5.9 per cent for the fiscal year to March, which is far below the near double-digit pace India set before the onset of the global financial crisis.

India's inflation cooled to a 10-month low of 7.24 per cent in November, which is still well above the central bank's comfort zone of near five per cent, and Eskesen said pressures were likely to remain.

The Indian central bank, which has kept its benchmark interest rates on hold since April due to fears about inflation, has suggested it may start easing monetary policy in the current financial quarter to March.

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Sharp drop in N Korea refugees to South

THE number of North Korean refugees fleeing to the South fell sharply in 2012, officials in Seoul say, with activists citing crackdowns and tighter border controls.

A total of 1508 North Koreans arrived in the South in 2012 - nearly all of them via China - down from 2706 the previous year, the Unification Ministry said on Wednesday.

Activists said the North under new leader Kim Jong-Un had cracked down on people trying to flee the country.

Searches for North Koreans living in hiding in China have also been intensified in co-operation with Chinese security authorities, they said.

"Border guards are under an order from Kim Jong-Un to shoot to kill anyone who attempts to cross the (North Korea-China) border illegally," Pastor Kim Sung-Eun of the Caleb Mission told AFP.

The mission is one of several South Korean Christian evangelist groups which help North Koreans escape and resettle in the South.

Kim said the cost of getting someone out of North Korea had escalated in recent years to around 10 million won ($A9,000) - more than half of which is used to bribe border guards.

A total of 24,613 North Koreans have settled in the South since 1998, the Unification Ministry said, with around half of them unemployed or retirees struggling to make ends meet.

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Man charged for shooting gun at NYE party

A MAN has been charged after shots were fired during a New Year's Eve party in NSW's Hunter Valley.

Police allege the 35-year-old threatened another man with a pistol and fired a number of shots into the air at a party at Stewarts Brook, near Muswellbrook, about 2.45am (AEDT) on Tuesday.

Other partygoers stepped in and calmed the man down, police said in a statement.

No one was injured in the incident and police have charged the man with a range of firearms offences.

He was refused bail and was due to appear in Muswellbrook Bail Court on Tuesday.

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Thousands march against Hong Kong leader

TENS of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, calling for its embattled leader to quit and demanding greater democracy 15 years after the former British territory returned to Chinese rule.

Organisers said they expected 50,000 people to join the New Year's Day march against Leung Chun-ying while pro-government groups staged separate and smaller rallies in support of the Beijing-backed chief executive.

Since taking office in July, Leung's popularity ratings have tumbled and he has faced a no-confidence vote in the legislature amid a row over illegal structures at his luxury home - a politically sensitive issue in the city.

"We have to keep voicing our concerns even though the situation is getting worse," 27-year-old university student Billy Li said as the demonstrators set off from a park to march to the government's harbourfront headquarters.

Holding up posters of Leung portrayed as a vampire and a wolf, the protesters - some waving flags from the British colonial era - chanted "Give us universal suffrage immediately" and "Step down, Leung Chun-ying".

Leung has acknowledged and apologised for the structures, which were built without planning permission and include a wooden trellis and a glass enclosure.

He became chief executive after his rival for the post, Henry Tang, was brought down by a row over illegal structures at his own home.

Demonstrators have used the scandal to press for universal suffrage in choosing the leader of Hong Kong, which was returned to Beijing in 1997 but maintains a semi-autonomous status with guarantees of civil liberties such the right to protest not seen on the mainland.

Leung was elected in March by a 1200-strong election committee packed by a pro-Beijing elite, amid rising anger among the city's seven million inhabitants over what many perceive to be China meddling in local affairs.

Beijing has said the city's chief executive could be directly elected in 2017 at the earliest, with the legislature following by 2020.

Thousands of Leung's supporters chanted "Support CY (Leung), support the government" at a separate rally earlier. Organisers claimed a turnout of 60,000 while police put the figure at about 8000.

In a bid to tackle discontent, Leung has banned mainland Chinese women from giving birth in Hong Kong in an attempt to secure residence rights for their children.

He has also introduced policies to prioritise housing for locals, a move which analysts say was a reaction to mainland buyers pushing up prices in one of the world's most expensive property markets.

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Legionnaires scare closes CSG camp

A COAL seam gas camp in central Queensland has been shut down after the discovery of the potentially fatal Legionnaires bacteria in its water system.

Company sources said the camp, run by the Italian company Saipem for the Santos controlled GLNG project, near Bauhinia, west of Gladstone, is known as Camp 2 and has been declared a "no go zone" after the identification of the Legionnaires bacteria within its water.

While there were also claims that a number of employees had tested positive for Legionnaires disease, Santos tonight denied the claim.

Legionnaires disease is a type of pneumonia and while some people infected with the bacteria can have mild or no symptoms, it can also be fatal. There are about 40 different strains of the bacteria and health authorities said about 10 per cent of cases can prove fatal.

A Santos spokesman said the bacteria was found during routine testing by Saipem.

"Saipem advises that as is standard practice, a follow-up test was conducted to confirm the initial result, and the camp was closed," the spokesman said.

"Following Saipem's standard protocols, the pipes in the camp will be cleaned and treated to kill the bacteria, until which time the camp will remain closed.

"Saipem advises no workers who were at the camp before its closure have reported any symptoms."

No official announcement of the discovery of the bacteria was made until The Courier-Mail began making inquiries.

A source from within Saipem said the camp was due to reopen from the Christmas break but has now been closed until further notice with all returning residents being transferred to the two other main camps operated by Saipem at Arcadia Valley and the other at Fairview.

"None of the residents have any idea as to why," the source said.

Queensland Health could not be contacted for comment last night.

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30 tortured bodies found in Syria

THIRTY tortured and disfigured bodies have been found in the northern Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh, the scene of regular clashes between regime troops and rebels, a watchdog group says.

"Thirty bodies were found in the Barzeh district. They bore signs of torture and have so far not been identified," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on medics and activists on the ground in compiling its tolls, said on Monday.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a grassroots network of anti-regime activists, estimated that there were 50 bodies, adding that "their heads were cut and disfigured to the point that it was no longer possible to identify" them.

These reports could not be verified independently because of restrictions on the international media by the Syrian authorities.

The gruesome discovery was made on Sunday, the day UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he has a plan to end the conflict that could be acceptable to world powers.

The Syrian conflict, which erupted in March 2011, has claimed more than 45,000 lives, according to Observatory estimates.

On Sunday itself 160 people were killed nationwide - 78 civilians, 41 soldiers and 41 revels, the Observatory said.

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Tourists flock to Sydney for NY eve

SYDNEY'S famous fireworks have attracted not only locals, but brought in overseas visitors keen to experience New Year's Eve down under.

American Melissa Sjostedt says she's wanted to see the fireworks on the bridge since reading about it in a four-page spread in the National Geographic 10 years ago.

"Ever since that I've always wanted to see this for real, live, in person," the 30-year-old from Florida told AAP from Dawes Point Reserve.

Mathieu Herman, 30, from New York City, said he'd made the trip to Australia specifically for New Year's Eve.

"I saw it last year on TV and it looked fabulous. I said to myself 'it's something I've just got to do'.

"I love Australia and if the fireworks are as good as they're supposed to be, I might move here."

Sisters Liann, 25, and Joanne, 19, from Flintshire in North Wales, got to Lady Macquarie's Chair at 10.30am to snag the best view of the fireworks.

"It's been a cracker day so far except for the achey bum, I should have brought more pillows," said Liann as she reclined, drink in hand, on a beach towel.

"It's our first time in Australia so we don't know what to expect.

"But it's got to be better than back home, it's minus five (degrees) there at the moment."

Essig Roland and his girlfriend Marika Rauecker, both from Austria, were anxiously waiting at 7pm (AEDT) just to get into the packed venue.

"What can you do but just stand here and wait" said Mr Roland, who'd been queueing for an hour.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, chosen as the event's creative ambassador, was a big drawcard for the couple making the trip down under for New Year's this year.

"We're big Kylie fans we've already been to her concert in Austria," he said.

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Shark sightings clear SA beaches

SOUTH Australian swimmers have had a New Year's scare with shark sightings forcing the closure of two popular beaches.

Police said Moana Beach, south of Adelaide, had been evacuated and closed on Monday evening (ACDT) after a 2.5-metre shark was spotted 100 metres from the shore.

A short time later, nearby Christies Beach was closed following another sighting of a 2.5-metre shark.

Police said it was not known if it was the same animal in both sightings.

AAP pbc/a

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Woman accused of NYC subway murder

A woman has been charged with murdering an immigrant by pushing him in front of a NY subway train. Source: AAP

A 31-YEAR-OLD New York woman is scheduled to appear before a judge after being charged with murder as a hate crime for shoving a Hindu man to his death in front of an oncoming subway train.

Erika Menendez of the Bronx borough was motivated by hatred of Muslims and Hindus, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims. Ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers, I've been beating them up," she told police.

Menendez, who is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday, faces from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The victim, 46-year-old Sunando Sen, was born in India and raised Hindu, a roommate told The New York Times.

The incident took place late Thursday at a station on the number 7 line in Queens.

Menendez - who was talking to herself as she paced along the platform, according to witnesses - pushed the man as the train was pulling into the station. He apparently had his back to Menendez and did not see her.

Police released surveillance camera video footage via Twitter showing a woman running from the scene.

"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare - being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

"The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant's actions can never be tolerated by a civilised society."

Sen's death was eerily similar to that of a 58-year-old man killed on December 3 when he was pushed on to the tracks during a fight with a deranged man at a Manhattan subway station. The assailant, later identified as 30-year-old Naeem Davis, has been charged with murder. Davis is homeless.

A New York Post front page picture of the man on the tracks a split second before he was killed by the oncoming train provoked public fury as to why no one helped him - and why the tabloid newspaper published the photo.

Several million people use the New York City subway system every day, but incidents of this kind are rare.

Before the December 3 death, the last time someone was pushed on to the rails and hit by a train was in 2010. The woman survived.

Thursday night's incident appeared to have scared many New York subway riders as they kept closer to the walls as trains rolled into station.

"It's horrible," said 46-year-old city resident Elena Rodriguez. "We're feeling so insecure now to be in the subway."

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IMF, EU seek less drastic cuts

THE International Monetary Fund and European Commission officials have encouraged France and its eurozone partners not to fixate on deficit reduction targets if it would exacerbate the bloc's debt crisis.

The head of an IMF mission in France, Edward Gardner, urged officials in Paris last week to consider their 2013 budget targets "in a broader European context".

The IMF and the EU Commission expect the French public deficit to amount to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year.

They do not believe France can reach its three per cent goal, the eurozone limit, without additional measures that could aggravate an already tenuous economic situation.

"The credibility of the medium-term orientation policy" was more important than a specific deficit target, Gardner told reporters.

Loosening the criteria would "be more effective, more credible in a coordinated fashion" across the 17-nation eurozone, he said.

In Portugal the public deficit fell at the end of the third quarter to 5.6 per cent of GDP from 6.7 per cent at the same point a year earlier, while neighbouring Spain has promised to slash its deficit to three per cent by 2014 from a blowout shortfall equal to 9.4 per cent of output last year.

Germany expects its budget to be in balance this year, two years ahead of schedule, but IMF head Christine Lagarde has suggested that Berlin ease up a bit in its drive for healthy finances.

"Germany ... and others ... can allow themselves to go a little more slowly than others in the push to straighten out their public finances," Lagarde told the German weekly Die Zeit in comments published last week.

Her call echoed other European voices that are now arguing for greater emphasis on growth rather than austerity measures.

"The IMF is beginning to understand that the French situation has become dangerous," economist Marc Touati at the ACDefi consulting group said. Unemployment is climbing and the economy is still struggling, he said.

The IMF was "trying to prepare public opinion" for missed government targets, Touati said.

On Tuesday, the EU's "fiscal compact", a hard-won step towards tighter economic coordination agreed as part of efforts to tame the debilitating debt crisis, takes effect.

Finalised in March, 25 of the 27 EU member states accepted a "balanced budget rule" in the compact to ensure that governments would no longer run the massive budget deficits which drove the debt crisis and nearly sank the euro.

But as the European debt crisis drags on and economies flounder, the idea of allowing governments more time to straighten out their finances has gained ground.

European Economic Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn said last week that France needed more reforms rather than more austerity.

"Once you have a credible medium-term budget strategy, backed up by reforms, you can have a slower adjustment," Rehn told French daily Le Monde.

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Friends recall Indian gang-rape victim

SHE was due to marry her boyfriend in a matter of weeks, was the apple of her father's eye and her friends were convinced she would achieve great things after completing her medical studies.

While India has seen an outpouring of grief for the 23-year-old who suffered fatal injuries when she was gang-raped on December 16, those who actually knew her paint a portrait of a young woman who was both in love and much loved.

Although not formally engaged, it was well-known by her friends that she was planning to marry the boyfriend who also suffered serious injuries in the same attack that would ultimately lead to her death.

Meena Rai said that she had been shopping with the unnamed victim for wedding outfits and the contents of a wedding box.

"She was supposed to get married in February to the same guy who was attacked on the bus with her," said Rai, who lived next door in Mahavir Enclave, a neighbourhood in southwestern New Delhi.

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi," she told AFP.

Another friend who attended the cremation ceremony on Sunday confirmed that the wedding was due to take place in a matter of weeks.

"We know that she was going to get married in February," Usha Rai (no relation) told AFP. "The whole neighbourhood was excited about it."

The young couple had spent the evening together at a mall watching The Life of Pi before they boarded a bus they thought would take them home.

According to reports, the frenzied attack on the pair began when the boyfriend objected to taunts about why an unmarried woman was out so late.

The gang clubbed him with an iron rod before they then turned on her.

The everyday image of a young couple enjoying a night out at the movies has been cited by many Indians to explain why they have been able to relate so much to the plight of someone whose name they will never know.

But others have identified with the backstory of a hardworking student whose family hail from rural India, but who was looking to make a name for herself as a young urban professional with the eager backing of her proud parents.

Her parents sold their small piece of land in rural Uttar Pradesh in order to fund their daughter's education, often limiting their own meals to little more than rotis with namak (bread with salt), according to friends.

In a frontpage tribute, The Hindustan Times said that she was "invariably among the top students in her class and was determined to earn well and repay her father who had sold his ancestral land to fund her studies".

Employed as a loader at Delhi's international airport, the father used to say he was "investing in my daughter's future as she will be the one who takes care of me when I get old", according to Meena Rai.

Her childhood was mainly spent in a one-bedroom flat near the airport that she shared with her two brothers as well as her parents.

A younger cousin still living back in the parental village in Uttar Pradesh told the Times of India how the young medical student had been an "inspiration".

"Seeing her do well, I was determined to study as well," she said.

Other residents of the village recalled a young woman whose passion to succeed in medicine shone through when she paid a visit back home.

"Hers was a story of charming ordinariness, of aspiration and hard work, of pleasure in life's little joys," said the Hindustan Times.

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