UK teacher tells of Kruger elephant attack

A BRITISH teacher who suffered a serious leg injury when an elephant tore through her car in South Africa has told how she desperately tried to drive away.

Sarah Brooks, who works at the Sir John Gleed School in Lincolnshire, and her South African fiance Jans de Klerk, were attacked by the elephant as they drove through the Kruger National Park on December 30.

The couple have now returned to England after Brooks spent more than a week recovering from a pelvis fracture and stitches to her right leg after the elephant's tusk pierced it.

The pair have received death threats since footage of the attack - which they say was heavily edited to make it look as if they drove towards the animal - went viral.

The 30-year-old science teacher told the Daily Mail she "completely freaked" as the elephant stormed towards them and in her panic was unable to find reverse in the hire car.

The couple then resorted to stopping, turning off the ignition and looking at the ground, but seconds later the elephant rammed into them.

"The next thing I heard was Jans screaming at me: 'Drive! Drive!'," Brooks said.

"I somehow managed to turn the engine on, Jans found reverse, but just as I got it going, the elephant tipped us up.

"Then he crushed the undercarriage by ramming it with his head, and the key snapped out of the ignition. 'I remember thinking, 'We're never going to be able to drive away now' - and the next thing I knew we were rolling.

"At that moment, your life flashes through your head. I thought, 'We've only been together a year-and-a-half, life's good. Why now? Why the hell now? It just isn't fair.' I didn't know if either of us would live."

She recalled how the bull elephant twice missed her when his tusks ripped through the car before one pierced her leg leaving her streaming with the blood.

De Klerk, who was left unhurt, managed to pull her across to his side of the car, from which the elephant finally walked away only after pushing it up against a tree and smashing the windscreen.

The incident was captured on film by tourists in a car behind, but they drove off after the attack believing the pair to be dead.

The distressed couple, who feared attacks from other animals, waited for help after phoning de Klerk's brother but it was 25 minutes before a helicopter landed.

"They took me to a doctor, where I was patched up before being taken to a hospital to check for internal injuries," Brooks said.

"In the back of the ambulance, I said to Jans: 'I don't want ever to spend another day apart from you.' He said: 'Marry me then?' I said: 'Yes.'"

She told the newspaper that she pleaded with the tourists not to publish the footage, but days later an edited version went viral.

The male elephant, who was believed to be a risk to other tourists, was destroyed after the incident.

The animal had been "on musth", a periodic condition where testosterone levels rise and elephants become more aggressive, and had fought with another elephant earlier that day.

The couple said park rangers told them they were "just unlucky" and had done nothing wrong.

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Jury sides with Love in trial over tweet

A US jury has rejected a defamation case against Courtney Love over a Twitter post that suggested one of her lawyers had been "bought off" for not pursuing a lawsuit over her late husband's estate.

The verdict came after roughly three hours of deliberation in a case that spanned eight days and focused on the Hole frontwoman's postings on the social networking site.

The case centred on one 2010 post that suggested that San Diego lawyer Rhonda Holmes had been "bought off" and that was why she wasn't representing the singer anymore.

Love had hired Holmes to file a fraud case against the estate of her late husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The lawyer contended during the trial that she was fired by Love and that the tweet and other statements the singer made against her have caused her substantial damage.

Love's tweet stated, "I was (expletive) devastated when Rhonda J Holmes Esq of san diego was bought off" in response to a question from user of the popular social media site.

The message was never meant to be public, Love told jurors. She said she meant for it to be sent as a direct message, which only the recipient would see, but it instead went public and was quickly deleted.

The swift verdict wasn't witnessed by Love, who had left court after closing arguments ended on Friday morning. She arrived just as the courthouse was closing down and met her lawyers, John Lawrence and Matthew Bures, in the hallway where she hugged them both.

Love praised her lawyers and the jury after the verdict. Asked about her social media presence, Love said she refrained from posting on Twitter during the trial. "I didn't tweet out of respect for the case," she said.

While the case was billed as the first "Twibel" trial in which Twitter and libel law intersected, Lawrence said it was tried by the same rules as traditional defamation cases.

Jurors determined that Love's tweet included false information, but the musician didn't know it wasn't true.

Holmes lawyer Mitchell Langberg said the jury's verdict meant the panel determined Love's statement was defamatory, but the singer couldn't be held liable for it. Holmes' side asked the panel to award $8 million in damages and send a message that false statements online had consequences.

Langberg said that while his client was disappointed with the verdict, her reputation was upheld and the world now knows that Love's statements were false.

"At the end of the day, her biggest asset in life is her reputation," Langberg said. "That she got back today."

Love's social media postings have gotten her into trouble several times.

In 2011, she agreed to pay $US430,000 to fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir over statements she posted on Twitter and Myspace.

Simorangkir sued Love again last year, alleging the musician libelled her when Love accused Simorangkir of theft on the Howard Stern's radio show and taunted her on the social media site Pinterest.

The case is pending, but Love said she's trying to be more careful about her online musings than she was when she tweeted about Holmes.

"I don't tweet like I did back then," Love said on Friday.

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Starbucks profit jumps, sales growth slows

Starbucks says its quarterly profit is up 25 per cent, following stronger sales around the world. Source: AAP

STARBUCKS says its quarterly profit is up 25 per cent, thanks to lower coffee costs and stronger sales around the world.

The Seattle-based coffee company says global sales rose five per cent at established locations. That was slower than the increase in the previous quarter, however, and total sales were shy of Wall Street expectations.

Troy Alstead, the company's chief financial officer, on Thursday said the slower growth for the final three months of the year was the result of the shift toward online shopping during the Christmas shopping season, rather than heading out to stores.

"The impact to us is that there are fewer people out and about in the weeks leading up to Christmas," Alstead said.

But in a conference call with analysts, CEO Howard Schultz downplayed the impact that trend would have on sales growth going forward, saying that Starbucks' advantage was that its offerings can't be replicated online and that its loyalty card business is growing.

Starbucks, meanwhile, has been employing various strategies to drive up sales at its ubiquitous cafes, such as revamping its sandwiches and baked goods so people are more likely to get something to eat when they come in for a drink. Alstead said that croissant sales had doubled at locations where new recipes were rolled out.

New options such as boxed salads are intended to get people to visit throughout the day, not just during the morning rush hour.

Starbucks, which has about 20,000 locations around the world, is also eyeing a new front: tea. The company last year opened its first tea cafe in New York City, saying it plans to popularise tea culture in the US the way it did with coffee culture.

For the quarter, sales at established locations rose five per cent in both the US and the region encompassing Europe, where Starbucks had been struggling.

In the China and Asia Pacific region, the figure rose eight per cent.

For the three months ending December 29, it earned $US540.7 million ($A618.90 million), or 71 US cents per share. That was more than the 69 US cents per share analysts expected.

A year ago, it earned $US432.2 million, or 57 US cents per share.

Revenue rose to $US4.24 billion, shy of the $US4.3 billion Wall Street expected.

The company stood by its guidance of for sales at established locations to grow in the mid-single digits globally in the year ahead. Earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $US2.59 to $US2.67, up from the previous $US2.55 to $US2.65.

Shares of Starbucks edged up 38 US cents to $US73.77.

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Alcohol and drugs body slams funding cut

ADCA says recent alcohol-related violence highlights the need for government funding. Source: AAP

THE federal government's decision to defund the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia is "short-sighted" at a time when Australia is "wallowing" in alcohol abuse, the council says.

The funding withdrawal in November had "destroyed" the organisation, ADCA says in a submission to a Senate committee on the government's commission of audit that calls for funding to be restored.

The non-government organisation was caught unawares by the government's decision because it had been previously promised funding, it says.

"This was disingenuous to say the least," the council said.

"The government's decision will ultimately prove to be short-sighted and ill-considered."

ADCA says the recent spate of alcohol-related violence over the holiday period highlighted the seriousness of the government's funding cut.

"There is no clearer example of the need for an organisation like ADCA than the current situation in which Australia finds itself - a nation wallowing in alcohol with a failure of leadership to address the critical issues of price, accessibility and advertising of alcohol products."

ADCA is calling on the government to review its decision and restore funding until after the commission of audit is completed.

The council has operated since 1966, providing research and advocacy relating to the health, economic and social harm caused by alcohol and other drugs.

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United Airlines posts 4Q profit of $US140m

THE parent of United Airlines has earned $US140 million ($A158.60 million) in the fourth quarter, as more passengers flew and paid more for their tickets.

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I never meant to hurt anyone: mall gunman

THE gunman who sent Brisbane's central pedestrian mall into lockdown last year says he never meant to hurt anyone.

Lee Matthew Hillier, 35, told the Brisbane District Court he had no reason to cause fear to innocent bystanders when he took an unloaded semi-automatic pistol to the Queen Street mall on March 8, 2013.

Wearing a suit, the prisoner told his sentencing hearing on Thursday he had relapsed back into drug addiction following his last stint in prison and "things just spiralled out of control".

"I wasn't in there to harm anybody," he said from the dock during an at-times rambling statement.

"To stand there with an empty handgun and to have 30 police stand there with revolvers facing you is very, very confronting."

Hillier, who has remained in custody since the incident, said that leading up to the standoff his best friend "blew his own head off" in a siege but he wasn't going to "sit there and make excuses".

"I'd just like you to take into account that I am standing here and take responsibility for my own actions," he told Justice Terry Martin.

Workers and shoppers fled Queen Street when the heavily tattooed Hillier produced a gun, sending the mall and surrounding businesses into lockdown.

The 90-minute stand-off ended when police shot the shirtless gunman with a combination of non-lethal and live rounds.

Witness statements read to the court said during the stand-off Hillier had appeared agitated, had often pointed the gun at himself and seemed to be frothing at the mouth.

"Get away or I will kill myself," he yelled at one stage according to a witness statement read out by defence barrister Simon Hamlyn-Harris.

Mr Hamlyn-Harris said his client had been at "rock bottom" that day and submitted a psychiatric report that detailed Hillier's disadvantaged background and psychological factors.

Prosecutor Belinda Merrin outlined a lengthy criminal history that included several convictions for weapon and drug possession and a string of traffic offences.

Less than two months before the siege he had blown some of his own fingers off with a homemade shotgun.

The prosecutor said Hillier's propensity for carrying weapons in public meant he was a serious danger to community safety.

Hillier pleaded guilty to a dozen serious charges including assaulting police while armed, going armed to cause fear, and dangerous conduct with a weapon.

Some charges related to the earlier incident when he blew his fingers off.

He also pleaded guilty to a string of traffic offences and breaching bail conditions.

Justice Martin is due to pass sentence on Friday morning.

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Problems pile up for security contractor

THE list of embarrassments besetting security contractor Serco is growing on a daily basis, including prisoners and asylum seekers breaking out of custody under their officers' watch.

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Wind change affects Kwinana bushfire

A bushfire continues to burn out of control in the City of Kwinana, threatening lives and homes. Source: AAP

SIXTY firefighters are battling a bushfire in Perth's southern suburbs that is threatening lives and homes, and has so far burnt through about 49 hectares.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) updated their emergency warning for Medina, Calista and Leda in the City of Kwinana at 4.40pm (WST), saying the wind had shifted to a north westerly direction, pushing the blaze towards Mandurah Road.

It was earlier burning towards the Kwinana Golf Club after starting between Gentle and Wellard roads.

Residents have been told to act immediately to survive.

A temporary evacuation centre has been set up at the Kwinana Town Council building on the corner of Sulphur Road and Gilmore Avenue in Kwinana.

The bushfire is moving fast, and is out of control and unpredictable.

Spot fires are starting up to 100 metres ahead of the fire.

A watch-and-act alert has also been issued for people in Kwinana Beach, east of Rockingham Road and Patterson Road to the railway line in the City of Kwinana.

A bushfire advisory has been issued for people in Orelia, Kwinana Town Centre and Parmelia.

Aerial support has been sent to assist ground crews.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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$88 million extra cash for Customs "war"

The government will spend an extra $88 million for Customs and Border Protection cargo screening. Source: AAP

THE federal government will spend an extra $88 million to boost the capacity of Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) to screen mail, air and sea cargo.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement at Port Botany in Sydney on Wednesday.

"Customs and Border Protection will increase inspections of high-risk cargo and mail and also increase the intensity of examinations which will maximise the potential of stopping illegal firearms and drugs before they hit our streets," Mr Morrison said.

As part of the package, an investigation squad will be created to assist existing law-enforcement task forces to arrest firearm and drug traffickers.

Container inspection operations will be expanded at Sydney and Melbourne, as well as mobile X-ray technology for ACBPS staff.

It will also include 15 extra detector dog teams to increase inspection of cargo.

"We're in a war against drug syndicates, against those who would seek to import weapons into this country, drug precursors, steroids," ACBPS chief executive Michael Pezzullo said.

"In a war you need weapons, you need bullets.

"We will use those capabilities in the war we're engaged in."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the money would help stop the flow of illegal weapons and drugs into his state.

"This is a very welcome announcement from Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison," he said in a statement.

The extra funds will also complement the NSW government's efforts to fight drug and alcohol-fuelled violence, the premier added.

Following intense public pressure over alcohol-fuelled violence, Mr O'Farrell announced a raft of tough new measures on Tuesday to crack down on offenders.

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Kiev protest dispersed, death reported

Ukraine's opposition has accused President Viktor Yanukovych of fanning violent protests in Kiev. Source: AAP

UKRAINIAN police have stormed protesters' barricades in Kiev as violent clashes erupted, and activists say one person has been shot dead by security forces.

Wednesday's move by police increased tensions to a new peak after two months of protests over President Viktor Yanukovych's failure to sign a deal for closer ties with the European Union.

In chaotic scenes, police marched through the protesters' barricades on Grushevsky Street in Kiev, an AFP correspondent said.

New clashes broke out as police arrested protesters and created a large hole in the barricades, which the protesters had set up behind burnt-out wrecks of police buses.

The protesters threw petrol bombs and stones. Police responded with stun grenades and fired rubber bullets, an AFP correspondent said.

Meanwhile, the medical service of the Ukraine protest movement in Kiev said one male protester had died after being shot by a police sniper. It said the fatal wounds were "a bullet in the heart and injuries to head and neck".

The interior ministry confirmed the death but said it was not clear what had caused it, the Interfax news agency said.

The police, protected with helmets and riot shields, advanced about 50 metres towards the Dnipro Hotel, which lies at the end of Grushevsky Street.

However, police then retreated back to their former positions before new clashes erupted. Several hundred protests moved right up to the police line, without pressing any further, amid a deafening din as police banged their shields.

There was so far no move by the police against the main protest camp on Independence Square, and it was not clear if the security forces were planning a new assault.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov had warned on Tuesday the security forces could use force to disperse protests. Three nights of clashes have already left hundreds wounded.

Azarov told Russian television that if "provocateurs" did not stop, the authorities could act under controversial new laws that ban large protests in Ukraine.

Influential news site Dzerkalo Tyzhnia said authorities had already worked out a plan to regain control of the site using 8000 members of the security forces.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Tuesday that the situation in Ukraine was spiralling out of control after two months of protests over the president's failure to sign a deal with the European Union.

The opposition, led by three politicians including former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, said it was ready for dialogue but stressed it wanted to hold talks with Yanukovych, not his aides.

The opposition leaders appeared unable to have any influence on the hard core of radical protesters and stopped short of supporting their actions.

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Measles warning in WA after two cases

WESTERN Australians have been warned to check their measles vaccination status after two adults with the disease were hospitalised last week.

A woman in her 30s and a man in his 40s were hospitalised after being infected with measles during a trip to Asia.

Fourteen cases of measles have been confirmed since October, compared with an average of just three cases during the same period over the previous five years.

Health Department acting director of communicable disease control Paul Effler said it was possible more measles cases would occur in WA the coming weeks.

"Measles is highly infectious and is spread through coughing and sneezing," he said.

Symptoms can include fever, tiredness, a runny nose, cough and sore, red eyes, which usually last for days before a red, blotchy rash appears.

Complications can range from an ear infection and diarrhoea to pneumonia or swelling of the brain.

"Anyone who develops measles symptoms should seek medical attention, but it is important that they phone ahead first to ensure they don't share the waiting area with other patients and risk infecting them," Dr Effler said.

Measles can be prevented through vaccination but people born in 1965 or earlier are usually immune because they are likely to have had the disease during childhood.

"Measles is still common in many parts of the world and Australians who travel abroad need to check their immunisation status," Dr Effler said.

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US man speaks to reporters in N Korea

A US missionary who has been jailed in North Korea for more than a year has appeared before reporters and is appealing to the US government to do its best to secure his release.

The missionary, Kenneth Bae, made the comments on Monday at what he called a press conference held at his own request.

Bae was arrested in November 2012 while leading a tour group.

He was accused of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour.

He was moved to a hospital last northern summer in poor health.

He is the longest-serving US detainee in North Korea in recent years.

Bae expressed hope that the US government will do its best to secure his release.

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NSW govt to cancel mining licences

A COAL company embroiled in an ICAC inquiry has reacted angrily to plans by Premier Barry O'Farrell to introduce legislation to cancel coal mine exploration licences for Doyles Creek, Mt Penny and Glendon Brook.

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Detention centres are 'dysfunctional'

THREE asylum seekers escaped a Western Australia detention centre in 45 seconds last week, exposing major security flaws at the facility, a leaked report has revealed.

The January 12 breakout was the third escape from the Yongah Hill Detention Centre in five months and an embarrassment for Serco, which manages Australia's detention centres and WA's prisoner transport system.

Documents reveal security weaknesses including asylum-seeker access to the internet for maps, to book plane tickets and organise getaway cars through social media.

Detainees had also become more confident as a result of the number of recent escapes and the lack of penalties, while the voltage on the 3.2-metre electric fence at Yongah Hill was not strong enough to shock escapees and was easy to climb.

A Serco insider described the entire system as "dysfunctional" and said he was speaking out against "incompetence".

"There is no training given and everything is about money," he told The Sunday Times newspaper.

"Every time we have these incidents the main effort isn't improving, but more so passing the buck and looking for someone to blame."

Two of the Vietnamese detainees from the January 12 breakout have been caught, but the third remains on the run.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said recommendations made by Serco following any escape incident were considered and implemented if appropriate.

"There are service standards in place with regard to performance against the department's contract with its detention service provider, Serco, and compliance with these standards is regularly reviewed," she told AAP.

"Security is a key performance indicator under the contract and there is provision for abatement for such breaches."

The incident happened a week after a rapist and alleged armed robber kicked their way out of a prison van at Geraldton Airport, prompting a 36-hour manhunt.

A third prisoner escaped from Serco's custody while being treated at Joondalup Health Campus on Friday afternoon and was caught on Sunday.

The prisoner ripped a metal rail off a wall and threatened staff, so guards shut him in a bathroom and it is believed he then climbed through the ceiling to escape.

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Emergency warning as NSW fires flare up

RESIDENTS in a NSW town under threat from grass fires that have intensified following a southwesterly wind change are being advised to take shelter.

An emergency warning was issued on Sunday night for the Hebden Road grass fires near Singleton, in the Hunter Valley.

"Firefighters are responding to the scene, but it is too late to leave," the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on its website.

"Seek shelter now from the heat of the fire."

Emergency warnings were earlier issued for the Minimbah fire, an out-of-control blaze that burnt through more than 8000 hectares around Wagga Wagga, and the fire in the Copperhannia National Park area, near Bathurst, which is also out of control.

The Minimbah bushfire was threatening properties as it moved towards Carabost, but the alert at 6pm (AEDT) decreased it to a watch-and-act level of danger.

Three homes have been confirmed destroyed by the Minimbah blaze.

Other buildings have also been lost and firefighters will assess the area when it's safe to do so.

Residents have been advised to leave if the path towards Tumbarumba, to the southeast, is clear.

"It is not safe to stay," the RFS said on its website.

About 100ha have been burnt by the fire near Bathurst, which at 6pm (AEDT) was heading east towards Trunkey Creek.

People in Trunkey Creek need to be aware of burning embers, the RFS said.

"These embers can start spot fires well ahead of the main fire front," it advises.

"Put out any spot fires that may start on your property."

Two watch-and-act alerts remain in place.

Firefighters, assisted by water-bombing aircraft and heavy machinery, are backburning and building containment lines around the Minjary fire, which has burnt through 2675ha of scrub between Canberra and Wagga Wagga.

Stock animals have reportedly been killed in the Minjary fire but it's unclear how many, the RFS said.

Another fire has entered a pine plantation near Bathurst and is "proving difficult to contain", the RFS said.

More than 60 firefighters, aircraft and heavy machinery are working to bring the 350ha Redbank fire under control.

More than 900 firefighters were deployed across NSW on Sunday, fighting 92 fires, 28 of which are uncontained.

High temperatures in the 30s and another tough day for firefighters are predicted for Monday.

"The fire danger is going to be very high," an RFS spokesman told AAP.

No "significant" rain is expected for the start of the week, he said.

"There'll be crew out until all hours doing what they can to strengthen containment lines and also patrolling a lot of those fires to make sure they don't get out of hand."

A community meeting for those affected by the fire near Bathurst will be held in the Trunkey Creek Community Hall at 8.30pm (AEDT).

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