Scores dead, 1,000 injured in China quake

Hundreds of people are dead or injured after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province. Source: AAP

DOZENS of people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in an earthquake that hit China's southwestern Sichuan province, five years after a massive quake devastated the area.

The shallow quake struck on Saturday near Lushan county in the city of Ya'an on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau just after 8am (1000 AEST), setting off landslides, destroying homes and triggering a major rescue operation.

Just over seven hours after the quake struck the death toll stood at 100, CCTV News said, citing the China Earthquake Administration.

Lushan authorities estimate numbers of the injured ranged from 1,000 to 2,200, while the provincial government said more than 10,000 homes were destroyed.

Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey gave it as 6.6 at a depth of 12km. More than 260 aftershocks followed, the People's Daily said on its website.

The shaking was felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, 110 kilometres to the east, and even in the megacity of Chongqing several hundred kilometres away.

Panicked residents fled into the streets, some of them still in their slippers and pyjamas.

"Members of my family were woken up. They were lying in bed when the strong shaking began and the wardrobes began shaking strongly," said a 43-year-old Chongqing resident surnamed Wang. "We grabbed our clothes and ran outside."

About 6,000 soldiers and police were heading to the area to help rescue work, the Xinhua news agency said.

Some had to contend with roads blocked by debris, CCTV reported, while one military vehicle carrying 17 troops plummeted over a cliff, killing one soldier and injuring seven others, Xinhua said.

"There are mountains on all sides, it is very easy to trigger mudslides and very dangerous," one user wrote on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

The disaster evoked comparisons to the 2008 Sichuan quake, the country's worst in decades, which left 87,000 people missing or dead, and President Xi Jinping ordered all out efforts to minimise casualties, Xinhua said.

Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Sichuan in the afternoon and was taking a helicopter to the quake zone.

"The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours since the quake's occurrence, the golden time for saving lives," he was quoted as saying.

Amid the rescue efforts, a 30-year-old pregnant woman surnamed Zhao was pulled out of the rubble along with a young child and sent to hospital for treatment, the People's Daily said on its Weibo account.

A local TV journalist due to get married on Saturday turned up instead for work and a photograph of her reporting on the disaster in her wedding dress with bright makeup and a corsage was widely circulated on Weibo.

Meanwhile Ya'an residents were offering to donate badly needed blood, the People's Daily said.

But volunteers outside the city were discouraged from flocking to Ya'an to help with relief efforts, Xinhua said, to avoid blocking already busy phone lines and worsening road congestion.

"A fair amount of telecoms facilities have been damaged," it said.

Three reservoirs in the area had shown cracks and people downstream were being relocated, a Sichuan government website said.

Pandas at a reserve less than 50km from the epicentre were not harmed, Xinhua said, citing an employee.

A Sina Weibo user posted a photo purportedly showing a badly damaged kindergarten in Lushan, its dark red stone slabs lying on the ground beside a row of trees. The authenticity of the photo could not be verified.

"Hang in there Ya'an!" the user wrote.

Weibo users in other cities reported feeling tremors.

Residents ran on to the street to get away from high rises, made phone calls and cried, a Sichuan government website reported. A few had even packed bags in case they needed to take shelter elsewhere.

Earthquakes frequently strike the country's southwest. In April 2010, a 6.9 magnitude quake killed about 2,700 people and injured 12,000 in a remote area of Qinghai province bordering the northwest of Sichuan.

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Listeriosis found in three Sydney patients

Three Sydney public hospital patients have been diagnosed with the bacterial infection listeriosis. Source: AAP

THREE Sydney public hospital patients have been diagnosed with the serious bacterial infection listeriosis.

Two of the patients, one at Concord Hospital and another at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, remain in hospital and are responding well to treatment, NSW Health says.

The third was being treated for a terminal illness at Campbelltown Hospital and has tested positive for listeriosis after his death.

NSW Director of Health Protection Jeremy McAnulty says an investigation by epidemiologists and the NSW Food Authority has confirmed all three patients tested positive to the same strain of the infection.

All had been in hospital for treatment of pre-existing serious conditions.

No further cases of listeria have been identified at this stage.

Listeriosis is an infection that can occur when a person eats food that has been contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes.

The illness can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and infection in newborns.

Symptoms appear flu-like such as muscle ache, fever, nausea and diarrhoea.

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China's quake zone between tectonic plates

THE area of southwestern China struck by a violent tremor on Saturday has witnessed some of the world's deadliest earthquakes.

The area sits on the boundary between two of the earth's tectonic plates, the Indian and Asian plates, which are constantly grinding against each other.

The region is unusual geologically because of the steep slopes at the boundary between the Sichuan Basin and the Tibetan plateau, according to seismologists.

The elevation rises by about 3,500 metres over only about 50 kilometres.

Earthquakes are frequent along the fringes of the Tibetan plateau, which was raised when India collided into Eurasia starting some 50 million years ago.

It is this powerful thrust that created the Himalayas and its highest peak, Mount Everest, which reaches 8,848 metres. The mountains continue to reach skyward to this day, propelled by unstable tectonic terrain.

The deadliest earthquake to rock the Tibetan plateau in the 20th century was in 1920 when 230,000 people died in Gansu province. Another quake measuring 8.0-magnitude struck Sichuan in May 2008 leaving nearly 87,000 dead or missing.

Jiang Haikun, an official with the China Earthquake Networks Centre's forecasting department, said Saturday's quake was formed in the same way as the 2008 quake.

Both quakes occurred on the Longmen mountain fault zone, which tended to produce powerful tremors along a 500-kilometre-long belt, he said.

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Failed bid to change Vic adoption bill

CONTROVERSIAL independent MP Geoff Shaw has sided with Labor in a failed bid to change the government's adoption legislation.

Mr Shaw has attacked the government over the bill, especially penalties for parents who contact their adult adopted children against their wishes.

People who do so face fines of more than $8000 under the changes.

Mr Shaw on Thursday voted with the opposition in a failed bid to have the government redraft its bill after further consultation.

He said the government should not meddle with individuals' personal decisions.

"As a father, I miss my kids after a couple of weeks," he told parliament.

"Imagine after 30 years."

Mr Shaw said the bill needed to be changed.

"It's time that we gave a stuff," he said.

After losing the division on its amendment, Labor did not oppose the bill and it passed the lower house without a vote.

Association of Relinquishing Mothers secretary Jo Fraser said the failure to remove the contact vetoes from the legislation was disappointing.

"I just don't know why they don't trust us to do the right thing," she said.

She said adoptees now aged 30 or more could simply refuse contact.

"Why does it have to be a legal document that they sign, for which we can be fined over $8000 for going against, which is the same as being a drunk driver for heaven's sake?" she said.

Coleen Clare, head of support service VANISH, said some adopted people had been told lies about their mothers.

"We would like the opportunity for the truth to be heard even if it is in a quiet letter, but not to have a contact veto that says no contact, no story telling, no understanding.

"The mothers of all people will respect the feelings of their children."

Earlier, manager of opposition business Jacinta Allan said slapping criminal sanctions on parents for wanting to connect with someone they had lost a long time ago was unacceptable.

Mr Shaw quit the Liberal Party in March but agreed to support the government on key issues.

Mr Shaw said he would not rule out a return to the Liberal Party.

"You'd have to ask the people who would welcome me back whether they would. I'm not ruling anything out," he told Fairfax Radio.

Ted Baillieu quit as premier after Mr Shaw moved to the crossbenches, blaming Mr Baillieu's leadership.

Mr Shaw says new premier Denis Napthine is a great communicator and terrific performer in parliament.

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Juveniles out of WA adult jail by June 30

JUVENILE offenders being kept at the adult Hakea Prison in Perth will return to their usual facility by the end of June once repairs from a riot are complete, Commissioner of Corrective Services Ian Johnson says.

More than 100 young offenders from Banksia Hill detention centre are being held at Hakea after a riot at Western Australia's only juvenile detention facility in January left 108 of 240 cells trashed.

Several inquiries into the matter are under way, while Mr Johnson gave evidence on Thursday at a Supreme Court hearing into conditions at the adult prison.

The action was brought about by parents of the young detainees following claims they were not being properly cared for and in some cases mistreated, and the Australian Human Rights Commission has intervened in the case.

Mr Johnson said testing of the repaired facilities would commence in coming days and the juveniles would start to be brought back to Banksia Hill by mid-May.

Assuming the testing goes well, they would all be back by the end of June, he said.

Mr Johnson said he was satisfied work to return the offenders was being done as quickly as possible.

Chief Justice Wayne Martin, who is presiding over the case, observed that chronic understaffing had been the main problem at Banksia Hill before the riot and afterwards, forcing prisoners to be locked down for up to 23 hours a day.

Mr Johnson agreed staffing issues were a problem that urgently needed to be addressed.

Assistant commissioner for youth services Brian Lawrence told the hearing that out of the department's 199 youth custodial officers, only 60 were available.

Almost one-quarter of the workforce was not available because many were on workers' compensation leave, including 35 on long-term sick leave.

The level of workers' compensation cases in the WA youth custody system was 10 times higher than the national average, Mr Lawrence said.

"If we don't have the appropriate number of staff ... we're unable to run the full suite of structured activities," he said.

And the ratio of officers to inmates was one-to-eight, compared to one-to-four in other Australian states and territories.

Rolling lockdowns and education were affected when staff levels were low, he said.

Recreation had also been reduced in the first weeks of the juveniles being housed at Hakea, he said, when debris from construction littered the football oval.

But the food quantity and quality, which detainees had complained about, had improved.

The hearing continues.

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Japan woman, 77, was paid millions for sex

A 77-YEAR-OLD woman who received $A3.90 million from a 79-year-old man in exchange for sexual and romantic favours has been ordered to repay the cash by a court in Japan, a report says.

The woman succeeded in getting around 400 million yen out of the man over a seven-year period, in what he said he thought were loans, which she used to buy luxury cars and a condominium, the Sports Nippon newspaper said.

"She had no ability nor any intention to repay the debts," said the court in Shizuoka, central Japan, according to the paper.

The court heard how the woman, who wasn't named, used what it called an "amorous net" to persuade him to part with the cash, including stripping naked in hotel rooms and asking him to bathe her.

The elderly couple began dating in June 2000, the paper said, and the woman repeatedly asked for money, which she said was to pay off debts to another man whom she would otherwise have to marry.

The man, whose identity was also not revealed, sold land he had inherited and took out loans to meet her demands.

She used the money to buy top-end cars, including a Jaguar, a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz, as well as a luxury flat.

If the woman fails to comply with the civil court ruling, the man will have to take further action to compel her.

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Vic teachers to be second-best paid

VICTORIAN teachers won't see the coalition government fulfil its promise to make them the nation's best paid, but they'll be second behind Western Australia.

The state's bitter industrial dispute has seen teachers walk off the job and refuse to write comments on students' report cards.

Even after reaching an agreement some 18 months in the making, the union and the state government were still releasing conflicting figures about what pay increases had been won.

Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said teachers were in line for pay boosts of between 16.1 to 20.5 per cent over three years, plus a $1000 sign-on bonus.

Premier Denis Napthine said the salary increases would total three per cent in 2013, 2.75 per cent in 2014 and 2.75 per cent in 2015.

He said the agreement was consistent with the government's public-sector wages policy, which provides for 2.5 per cent annual rises plus extra for productivity gains.

Before winning power in November 2010, the coalition promised to make Victoria's teachers the best paid in Australia.

Ms Peace said Victorian teachers would be better paid than their NSW counterparts before the agreement ended in 2016.

"They won't be the best paid - they'll be the second-best paid when we get in front of NSW," she said.

"Western Australia is a long way in front of all the other states and territories."

She said the government had promised to monitor how schools employed staff in a bid to stem the number of employees on contracts, which is almost one in five teachers and almost half of all support staff.

She said the deal would deliver class sizes ranging from 21 students on average at prep to grade two level, through to 26 from grades two to six.

Ms Peace said the union had long wanted to resolve the dispute, but parents had been supportive of a fight that would benefit students.

"We have never wanted this dispute to go for as long as it has," she said.

Dr Napthine said the deal was a "win, win, win" result.

"This is an agreement that is consistent with the agreements we have signed with nurses, police, with the public sector," Dr Napthine said.

"We are very, very pleased that we have been able to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome that delivers a fair and reasonable pay outcome for our hardworking teachers at a reasonable price for Victorian taxpayers."

He said the government's pay figures applied to teachers remaining in the same position over three years, while the union outlined higher increases reflecting expected progression through the ranks.

Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten used the deal to call on the Napthine government to sign up to the commonwealth's school funding reform scheme, saying the resolution came only after months of unnecessary anguish for parents and teachers.

"The Baillieu/Napthine government has shown exactly why the Liberals can't be trusted on workplace relations," Mr Shorten said.

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Barnett's Gonski claims labelled 'silly'

WA's Labor leader says the Gonski reforms are not a power grab by the commonwealth. Source: AAP

COLIN Barnett's claim the federal government's Gonski education reforms are a bid to wrest power from the states and territories is nonsense, his political opponent says.

West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan made the comment on Wednesday ahead of a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra later this week, where states and territories will be asked to sign up to the school funding deal.

Mr Barnett says he won't play ball, claiming the reforms have been designed to win Labor east coast seats in the forthcoming federal election and are inequitable.

Specifically, he's concerned Canberra will push for funding from state schools to be diverted to private schools.

Mr McGowan said he expected the federal government would reach an agreement with other states and territories irrespective of Mr Barnett's position.

He described the premier's comments likening the reforms to a "takeover" of power as "silly".

Mr McGowan agreed, however, that WA needed more funding than it had been offered.

"We have to get a better deal for Western Australia," Mr McGowan told Fairfax radio on Wednesday.

The premier insisted the reforms were a bid to centralise control of the education system.

Most of the commonwealth's education funding went to Catholic and independent schools, he said.

"I'm saying I'm not going to do that," Mr Barnett told ABC radio.

"Julia Gillard is going to have to prove there's a gain for WA."

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12 hurt in blast near India party's office

A blast outside the Bangalore office of an Indian political party has wounded 12 people. Source: AAP

POLICE in the southern city of Bangalore say they are investigating a minor blast outside the office of a political party that injured 12 people.

The explosion is thought to have occurred on a motorbike parked near the office of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a national opposition party that holds power in the local state of Karnataka.

"Preliminarily, we felt earlier that it was a (gas) cylinder blast as two vehicles that were on both sides of the motorbike got burnt," Bangalore police commissioner R. Auradakar told reporters on Wednesday.

"As the motorcycle is fully burnt, we feel that it could be a blast."

A total of 12 people were injured, including eight policemen, he said.

Karnataka is to hold elections for its state assembly next month.

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Workers start cutting up crashed Bali jet

Workers have started cutting up and removing the wreckage of the Lion Air jet that crashed off Bali. Source: AAP

DOZENS of workers have started cutting up the plane that crashed in shallow water off Indonesia's resort island of Bali.

The Boeing 737-800 operated by Indonesia's largest budget carrier Lion Air missed the runway and crashed into the sea on Saturday. All 108 people on board the flight survived, with more than 40 injured.

More than 70 people equipped with hydraulic and electric saws, including soldiers and police, were involved in the effort on Tuesday to remove the wreckage, Bali's airbase commander Atang Sudrajat said.

"We hope to finish the work today," he said.

Investigators on Monday retrieved the plane's voice cockpit recorder, which could shed light on what happened at the time of the crash.

The flight data recorder was found earlier and the information was being studied, Transportation Minister Evert Mangindaan said.

Indonesia has taken measures to improve its aviation safety standards following a series of fatal air accidents in the last 10 years.

Mangindaan said Lion Air would be subjected to a special audit following the accident.

"We will continue to monitor compliance to safety standards so that such an accident won't happen again," he said.

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Benedict marks 86th birthday quietly

POPE Emeritus Benedict XVI is celebrating his 86th birthday as the first former pope in over 700 years.

Benedict will be joined on Tuesday by his older brother Georg, who is 88 and nearly blind, as well as the four Italian laywomen from a religious movement who have worked for him as housekeepers for years.

Benedict in February became the first pontiff to resign in more than 700 years in a move that stunned the world. A conclave of cardinals in March elected Pope Francis as his successor.

He has lived as a recluse at his temporary home of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence about 25 kilometres south of Rome, since February 28, never leaving the palace.

Benedict's secretary, Georg Gaenswein, who is also head of the pontifical household for Pope Francis, is also expected to be present at the birthday, which will be an entirely private event.

The pope spends his days praying, doing academic research and playing the piano in the palace on a hillside above Lake Albano, the Vatican said.

The Vatican last week denied that he had a serious illness, following rumours in the Spanish press.

In the most recent images of the former pope, he was seen walking slowly with the help of a cane.

The Vatican has said Benedict will eventually move to a former convent on a picturesque hilltop inside the Vatican walls to live out his days.

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Whistleblower seeks help from NSW premier

A SENIOR policeman who says he won't be protected under whistleblower laws after he exposed alleged child abuse by Catholic priests is seeking support from NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox has claimed the church in the NSW Hunter region covered up evidence about paedophile priests and hindered police investigations into child abuse.

His claims prompted a state government inquiry into the matter and helped pave the way for a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

Mr Fox says he received a letter from NSW police on Monday confirming one of his disclosures won't be classified under whistleblower legislation.

"The letter is very hostile. It's basically saying that I don't qualify and if I have a problem with it, I can take them to court," Mr Fox told AAP on Tuesday.

"I'm disappointed and also very let down. I've had phone calls from some in the police force that told me there wouldn't be a problem with this," he said.

Police have said Mr Fox has made several disclosures covered by whistleblower legislation, but one disclosure didn't meet the requirements of the NSW Public Interest Disclosures Act.

They say the other matters were deemed to be protected disclosures, meaning the officer is afforded protection under the act.

Police say Mr Fox is also protected from recriminations by provisions in the NSW Police Act.

Mr Fox says he intends to write to Mr O'Farrell to ask him for his view on the issue.

"He's come out before and said I would be protected under the legislation. He made some very strong statements in parliament ... he said my disclosures were in the public interest and would be treated that way".

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Woodside looks to Canada with spare cash

WOODSIDE Petroleum is looking to spend some extra cash in Canada after shelving its controversial Browse project in Western Australia.

The oil and gas giant, which recently slated more than $2.5 billion for projects in Israel and Myanmar (Burma), said the next stop on its diversification push could be the west coast of Canada.

Analysts expect the company to deliver a higher dividend and look to growth opportunities overseas as it generates solid earnings from its Pluto operations in WA.

Woodside confirmed it had submitted a non-binding expression of interest (EOI) to the British Columbia government to investigate building a liquefied natural gas export facility at Grassy Point on the north west coast of Canada.

"This non-binding EOI aligns with Woodside's strategy to examine new growth opportunities that leverage our core capabilities," a Woodside spokesman said.

The government of British Columbia said Woodside was among four international oil and gas players to submit EOIs for an LNG export plant near Prince Rupert.

The other companies were Nexen, SK, E&S and Imperial Oil Resources.

They were asked to include a description of the project as well as plans to potentially work in collaboration with other companies in Canada's nascent Asia-bound LNG industry.

However, Woodside said it was too early to provide details about costs and possible supply partners.

"There are a number of potential options for gas to be supplied to a future LNG export site at Grassy Point," Woodside said.

Morningstar head of equities Peter Warnes said Woodside's decision on Browse was prudent as costs had increased substantially.

"Commonsense has won the day," Mr Warnes said.

He said the $1.3 billion already invested was not going to meet the "hurdle rate" of a satisfactory return and that the expected overall project cost of $45 billion was too much.

The company would save a substantial amount of money by using a floating option for the Browse project.

"Woodside CEO Peter Coleman has got some growth options up his sleeve," Mr Warnes said.

"Whether you want to put Israel and Burma and Canada into that mix is a moot point, but I suspect you may see a bit of a kick in the dividend."

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Moon could affect shark diving patterns

Shark behaviour could be influenced by the moon, water temperature and time of day, a study sais. Source: AAP

THE diving behaviour of sharks could be influenced by the moon, water temperature and time of day, new research has revealed.

A study of about 40 grey reef sharks - commonly found on coral reefs in northern Australia and in the Indo-Pacific - found they stayed in deep water during a full moon and moved to shallow water with the new moon.

The sharks were tagged near Palau, east of the Philippines, and followed for two years using acoustic telemetry.

The group of mostly adult females were recorded diving to an average depth of 35m in winter and 60m in spring.

In winter, when deeper waters were colder, the sharks remained closer to the surface where the water was warmer, but moved around to a range of depths in summer.

Researchers suggest that because sharks are cold blooded, they may prefer warmer water to conserve their energy.

The research also found that the time of day could affect how deeply sharks dive.

"We were surprised to see sharks going progressively deeper during the morning and the exact inverse pattern in the afternoon, gradually rising towards the surface," researcher Gabriel Vianna said.

"This matches how light changes on the reef during the day.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time such patterns have been observed in detail for reef sharks."

The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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Opposition rejects Venezuela poll results

Venezuelans have flocked to the polls to pick Hugo Chavez' successor and decide the nation's future. Source: AAP

VENEZUELA'S acting President Nicolas Maduro has been declared the winner of the election to succeed his late mentor, Hugo Chavez, by a razor-thin margin, but his rival has refused to concede defeat.

The contested result plunged the deeply divided oil-rich South American country into uncertainty, with the handpicked heir of Chavez's socialist revolution declaring victory and opposition leader Henrique Capriles demanding a recount.

Fireworks erupted after the National Electoral Council announced late on Sunday that the "irreversible" results showed Maduro had won with just 50.66 per cent of the vote compared with 49.1 per cent for Capriles - a difference of less than 300,000 votes.

"Mission accomplished Comandante Chavez. The people fulfilled its pledge," Maduro said in front of cheering supporters at the Miraflores presidential palace.

The 50-year-old former foreign minister declared that he secured a "fair, legal, constitutional" victory. But he said he was open to an audit of the close vote tally. He is scheduled to be sworn-in to complete Chavez's six-year term on Friday.

Maduro said he spoke with Capriles by telephone and that he told his rival he must recognise the outcome of the election. Both candidates had pledged during the campaign to accept the results.

But Capriles - who had accepted defeat when Chavez beat him by 11 points in October polls - held up a list of some 3200 "incidents" that took place during the vote.

"Today's loser is you," he told a news conference, referring to Maduro, adding: "We won't recognise a result until every vote has been counted."

The 40-year-old state governor wants a recount of the backup paper ballots that are printed out by the electronic voting machines.

Hours earlier, Capriles charged that there were attempts to let people vote after polling stations closed. He also accused the government of pressuring civil servants to vote for Maduro.

Some Capriles supporters fought back tears at his campaign headquarters.

"I'm exasperated because we worked a lot in this campaign for a better future and I don't accept the results of the electoral council," said Daniela Brito, a 19-year-old university student with tears in her eyes.

But National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena said the results were "irreversible" after 99 per cent of electronic votes were counted, with a 78.7 per cent turnout.

Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalisis polling firm, wrote on Twitter that the opposition's rejection of the results "was within the legal framework and does not represent a risk of conflict in the street".

Named by Chavez as his political heir, Maduro rode a wave of grief for the late leader, who ruled Venezuela for 14 years with a socialist revolution that made him popular among the poor while disenchanting others fed up with the weak economy.

Opinion polls had given Maduro leads of 10 to 20 points during the campaign, but Capriles energised the opposition in his second shot at the presidency.

Maduro has vowed to continue the oil-funded policies that cut poverty by almost half to 29 per cent through popular health, education and food programs.

But Chavez left behind a litany of problems: South America's highest murder rate, with 16,000 people killed last year, chronic food shortages, high inflation and recurring power outages.

Hundreds of Chavistas began to celebrate in front of the presidential palace well before the results were announced, launching fireworks, dancing and holding pictures of Maduro and Chavez.

"This is a very important victory for the future of the country. This is the legacy of our comandante, who is no longer here. But he left us Maduro and he will defend his project," said Rafael Perez Camarero, 29.

Capriles had graciously accepted his defeat when Chavez beat him in October polls that marked the opposition's best showing against the late leader. Sunday's result against Chavez's handpicked heir was far closer.

Maduro inherited Chavez's formidable electoral machinery, which helped the late leader win successive elections in 14 years, with government employees often seen handing campaign pamphlets and attending rallies in groups.

After voting in Caracas earlier in the day, Maduro warned there would be no dialogue with the "bourgeoisie" - his term for the opposition - and took a shot at the United States, saying he would present evidence of US interventionism on Monday.

His candidacy was backed by Chavez's leftist allies in the region, especially communist Cuba, whose anaemic economy has been kept afloat by generous oil shipments from a nation sitting on the world's biggest crude reserves.

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Rock climber falls in Blue Mountains

A ROCK climber has suffered leg injuries after falling down a cliff in the Blue Mountains.

The man, 25, was climbing a rock face at Leura when he fell around 1pm (AEST) on Sunday, landing about 50 metres from the base.

Paramedics responded to the incident, with a doctor abseiling down the cliff face to the injured climber and then managing to puts his legs in splints.

The NSW Ambulance Service said a rescue helicopter was flown in in an attempt to extract the stricken climber but could not winch him off the rock face.

An attempt was being made on Sunday afternoon to abseil the injured man down the cliff, and then winch him out.

An Ambulance Service spokesman told AAP there was a chance the man would have to spend the night in the bush with ambulance officers.

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Syrian forces damage mosque: activists

SYRIAN opposition activists say President Bashar al-Assad's forces have destroyed the minaret of the historic Omari mosque where Syria's uprising erupted two years ago in Daraa.

In amateur video footage the activists uploaded to YouTube, the mosque can be seen at the end of a street, its towering minaret toppling over after apparent shelling and crumbling into rubble and dust.

Other videos posted online show the mosque, which is thought to date back to the 7th century, had been targeted in shelling for several days.

"This regime of unrestrained barbarism targeted with tanks the minaret of the Omari mosque, a place full of symbols of civilisation and spirituality and humanity," said the opposition Syrian National Council.

"The minaret of this mosque, which was build by Caliph Omar bin al-Khattab, is the first in the whole of the Levant, and has been destroyed by the soldiers of the tyrant," it added, referring to President Assad.

The Council noted the mosque had played a pivotal role in the beginning of the uprising against Assad, which sprung in large part from the city of Daraa after the arrest and torture of two boys.

"It was the first place that embraced the Syrian revolution during its infancy, the first wave of demonstrations of pride and dignity came out through its doors," said the Council.

"The first martyrs fell on its walls and the first wounded were treated on its floors."

The Local Coordination Committees activist network condemned the destruction of the minaret as a "barbaric act ... which adds a new crime to the list of Assad's crimes".

"It is not just stones that are destroyed but also religious and historic heritage cherished by the Syrian people," said the LCC.

As Syria's conflict continues into a third year, an increasing number of the country's key heritage sites, both religious and cultural, are being damaged in the fighting.

International authorities including UNESCO have expressed concern that numerous sites in the country, including some classified as world heritage sites, are being seriously damaged.

Syria has six sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, including the old cities of Damascus and second city Aleppo, and the famed Crac des Chevaliers crusader castle.

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Boy killed in NSW trail bike collision

A BOY has died after his trail bike and a ute collided in southwest NSW.

The 11-year-old was riding on a private dirt trail at Trentham Cliffs when he collided head-on with the ute about 11.45am (AEST) on Sunday, police say.

The boy was treated at the scene by paramedics and then taken to hospital where he died.

Police are going to speak to the ute's driver, 50, in the next few days.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

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