Sydney bushfire to be monitored

Fire and rescue crews have brought a 10-hectare bushfire under control in Sydney's northwest. Source: AAP

FIRE and rescue crews have brought a 10-hectare bushfire under control in Sydney's northwest.

The fire broke out between Magdala and Pittwater roads, in North Ryde, about 2pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.

Strong winds fanned the flames, which reached two metres in height.

Property protection lines were created along Magdala Road, while a successful back burn contained the fire.

In total, 15 crews battled the blaze supported by three water bombing helicopters.

No property was threatened and no one was evacuated.

Fire crews will remain at the scene overnight to monitor the area and extinguish flare ups.

Residents are encouraged to call 000 if they see any bushfire outbreaks.

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Quakers Hill nursing home heroes honoured

Emergency workers have been honoured for their bravery during the Quakers Hill nursing home fire. Source: AAP

A YEAR after a ferocious fire killed 11 people at Quakers Hill Nursing Home, the people who led the rescue effort have been honoured at a ceremony in western Sydney.

Three elderly residents died during the inferno and eight died from injuries afterwards.

On Wednesday, the paramedics, nurses, firefighters and other emergency services workers who helped save lives on November 18, 2011, were recognised for their bravery at a ceremony at Schofields Fire Station.

Castle Hill Station Officer Brett Johnson, who led the first fire crew to arrive at the burning nursing home, told reporters the scene appeared calm at first.

"When we turned up, there was no sign of smoke, there was no flames out of the windows," he remembered.

Frantic nursing staff, who had already begun evacuating the frail nursing home residents, told the firefighters a fire was burning in one of the wings.

It was only after extinguishing that first fire that the crew realised the extent of the emergency.

"I noticed that the other wing was completely alight," Station Officer Johnson said.

"It's like a very slow, sinking, overwhelming feeling. Because we're in this industry, we had a very good understanding of what sort of tragedy was at hand then. I knew then that we had already lost lives."

After 14 years as a firefighter, he said, nothing had touched him more or would stay with him longer than the Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire.

NSW Ambulance Service Inspector Nathan Sheraton said his training got him through the chaos.

"You have firemen running out of the building in every direction with elderly residents on their arms, and people are groaning and screaming in pain," he told AAP.

"It can become quite chaotic. But we build this resilience; we remain calm ... we just put our heads down and we do what we are trained to do."

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the professionalism of emergency services staff saved dozens of lives that night.

But nursing home staff also deserved special thanks, she said.

"I thought it was very moving to see the nursing home staff honoured today and they were clearly very emotional," she said.

"They knew these people. They knew the residents."

Nurse's assistant Judith Watts, who isolated the initial fire and continued treating residents through the smoke and the panic, fought back tears as she accepted her commendation from Commissioner Mullins.

"I'm just grateful that it's being recognised finally," she told reporters afterwards, shaking with emotion.

"It means a great deal that everybody has recognised the job we've done."

Roger Dean, who worked as a nurse at the home, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 11 people who died from the fire.

Dean has also pleaded not guilty to eight charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to a further eight residents.

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Industry wants prices to power down

INDUSTRY hopes a spark of agreement will catch on between states and the commonwealth when they consider proposals to lower power prices on Friday.

Australian Industry (Ai) group chief executive Innes Willox says the Council of Australian Governments meeting will be a test for the nation's leaders to put aside politicking and reach an agreement to benefit the entire economy.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard plans to pitch several measures to state premiers to save consumers up to $250-a-year on their energy bills.

The states will be asked to bolster competition in their electricity markets and consider introducing smart meters and cost-reflective pricing so consumers can better manage their energy usage.

"For the commonwealth it will be a test of whether they are just changing the subject on energy prices away from carbon," Mr Willox told the national conference of the Energy Efficiency Council in Sydney on Wednesday.

"For the states it will be a test of whether they are more interested in attacking the feds or in forging agreement on concrete steps to reduce price pressure."

The states could be forgiven their caution in approaching the proposals - since they know they'll be blamed if anything goes wrong - but none of their concerns should be deal breakers, he said.

Mr Willox wants the COAG meeting to decide what can be done right now to ease power prices and put the rest of the proposals "on a fast track" to finish up early next year.

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AGL launches action on price ruling

AGL Energy has launched legal action to challenge a price ruling by the Essential Services Commission OF South Australia (ESCOSA).

AGL began legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of South Australia on Tuesday ahead of a final price determination on December 14.

"AGL maintains that ESCOSA has wrongly exercised its power under the legislation to review prices due to special circumstances," AGL said in a statement.

In its fiscal 2013 earnings guidance AGL said adverse regulatory pricing decisions in Queensland and South Australia would reduce underlying profit by approximately $45 million in fiscal 2013.

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Chocolate warnings don't work on women

WARNING women that eating chocolate can make them fat may actually drive some to eat more, research from the University of Western Australia (UWA) shows.

The joint study with the University of Strathclyde in Scotland found low restraint eaters - those not on a diet - showed a strong impulse to eat chocolate when presented with negative messaging, including warnings that chocolate could lead to obesity.

Women on a diet were also prone to rebel against attempts to scare them off chocolate, particularly by ads featuring thin models.

Researchers found dieters shown ads featuring thin models displayed an increased desire to eat chocolate coupled with greater feelings of wanting to avoid consumption, or indulged in higher consumption - and ultimately felt more guilt.

Lead author Professor Kevin Durkin said the reaction of a warning having a contrary effect was known as "reactance".

"Reactance could be more marked among the low-restraint participants because they are generally less preoccupied with regulating their food intake and thus find external attempts to intervene in freely determined behaviour more jarring," Prof Durkin said.

The study involved 80 female participants between the ages of 17 and 26, categorised into low or high restraint and scored on a specifically designed "chocolate questionnaire" developed by UWA-based psychologist Professor Werner Stritzke.

The research was published in the journal Appetite, which specialises in behavioural nutrition and the cultural, sensory, and physiological influences on intake of foods and drinks.

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Big gaps as climate talks enter final day

There is no solution in sight in the latest UN climate change talks, officials say. Source: AAP

ABOUT 100 ministers and a handful of heads of state have gathered in Doha for the final, high-level stretch of UN climate talks marked by bickering over cash and commitments needed to curb greenhouse gases.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to address the gathering of more than 11,000 participants around 1200 GMT (2300 AEDT) on Tuesday.

He's expected to urge countries to put aside differences for the sake of the planet's future.

Even as the alarm was again raised about the dangerous trajectory of Earth-warming gas emissions, observers say the nearly 200 nations at the talks remain far apart on issues vital for unlocking a global deal on climate change.

Poor countries insist Western nations sign up to deeper, more urgent cuts in carbon emissions and commit to a new funding package from 2013 to help them cope with worsening drought, floods, storms and rising seas.

Resolution of both questions by the meeting's end on Friday should smooth the way to a new, universal treaty that must be signed by 2015 and enter into force in 2020 to roll back global warming.

The UN goal is to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 deg Fahrenheit) at which scientists hope we can escape the worst climate change effects.

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres expressed "frustration" on Monday at the pace of progress, as some delegates began to voice fears of deadlock ahead of the ministers' arrival for the final, political push.

Five heads of state and government were scheduled to address Tuesday's plenary meeting - from Gabon, Mauritania, Samoa, Ethiopia and Swaziland.

The Doha talks are meant to finalise a second period of the Kyoto Protocol, the world's only binding pact on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but delegates disagree on its timeframe and country targets.

The first leg of the protocol bound about 40 rich nations and the EU to curbing emissions, but excludes the two biggest polluters - the US, which refused to ratify it, and China which was left out because it is a developing country.

Another area of disagreement is money.

Developed nations are being asked to show how they intend to meet a promise to raise funding for poor nations' climate mitigation plans to $US100 billion ($A96.4 billion) per year by 2020 - up from a total $US30 billion in 2010-2012.

The developing world says it needs a total of $US60 billion from now to 2015 - but so far no commitments have been made.

A report warned on Sunday that Earth could be on track for warming above 5C by 2100 - at least double the 2C limit targeted by the UN.

And on Tuesday, an economists' report said even an impossible zero-per cent pollution target for the developed world by 2030 won't stop calamitous climate change, and poor nations too must do their part.

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Army bombs Damascus suburbs

SYRIAN troops battered rebel positions in and around Damascus in an assault aimed at securing the capital, as Russia and Turkey prepared for talks in Istanbul on their differences over the conflict.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said artillery gunners targeted the districts of Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamun as well as the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus.

The army also bombarded Yabrud to the north, Yalda to the south and the Eastern Ghouta towns of Douma, Harasta, Irbin and Haran al-Hawamid, in the area of the road linking Damascus to its international airport, it said on Monday.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been trying to establish a secure perimeter around Damascus at all costs, turning the province into one of the main battlegrounds in the country's 20-month conflict.

Analysts say the objective of the military campaign is to put the regime in a position to negotiate a way out of the conflict that the Observatory says has cost more than 41,000 lives since March 2011.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday during a landmark visit to Istanbul to discuss their differences on Syria.

The talks are to cover "reconciliation in the Middle East, the situation in the Gaza Strip, the crisis in Syria, as well as co-operation," Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said in a statement.

Turkey and Russia are at loggerheads over how to tackle the bloody crackdown in Syria, despite growing trade and energy links.

Those tensions came to a head in October when Turkey intercepted a Syrian plane en route from Moscow to Damascus on suspicion that it had military cargo, drawing an angry response from Russia.

Ankara said the cargo contained military equipment destined for the Syrian defence ministry.

Moscow insisted it was dual-purpose radar equipment which was not banned by international conventions.

Turkey, once an ally of the Damascus regime, has become one of its fiercest critics.

But Moscow remains one of Assad's few allies, routinely blocking resolutions against his regime in the UN security council.

Russia also objects to Turkey's request to NATO for the deployment of Patriot missiles near its volatile border with Syria.

It has warned such a move could spark a broader conflict that would draw in the western military alliance.

But Turkey insists the US-made Patriots would be used for purely defensive purposes, and NATO's response is expected this week.

On the ground, the Britain-based Observatory also reported clashes with rebels since Sunday in the central city of Hama, prompting authorities to send in reinforcements.

"This fighting... shows that despite the total control of the army and security forces over the town, the rebels have still managed to infiltrate," the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The watchdog, which relies on a network of activists and medics in civilian and military hospitals, said a total of 134 people - 58 civilians, 41 soldiers and 35 rebels - were killed in countrywide violence on Sunday.

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Soccer brawl in Sydney's west

POLICE have detained several people after a brawl broke out during a soccer match in Sydney's west.

A police spokesman said the fight broke out at about 4.45pm on Sunday at Palmyra Avenue at Willmot.

One person was taken to Nepean Hospital with head injuries and a number of people have been detained at the scene and are being questioned by police.

Initial reports indicate the fight may have been racially motivated.

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Whitlam celebrates 40 years since victory

FAMILY and friends have surrounded former prime minister and legendary Labor leader Gough Whitlam to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his momentous 1972 election victory.

Among those joining Mr Whitlam for lunch at Lulworth House in Sydney on Sunday were his children, Antony, Nicholas, Stephen and Catherine, speechwriter Evan Williams, Senator John Faulkner and director of the Whitlam Institute, Eric Sidoti.

Mr Whitlam, now 96, was unable to attend a public celebration last month.

Mr Sidoti said it was only right Mr Whitlam took "centre stage" for the special anniversary.

"Though it may be a much more private stage than what he dominated throughout his public life, there can be no doubt that Gough Whitlam and his government profoundly changed Australia and for the better," Mr Sidoti said.

"The fires of reform that Gough Whitlam lit, burn still."

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Hero instructor fought off son: police

A US community college instructor killed in a classroom murder-suicide has been hailed a hero, with police saying he gave his students time to flee by distracting and fighting off his son.

Christopher Krumm, 25, barged into his father's computer science class at Casper College, Wyoming and shot him in the head with a high-powered bow and arrow on Friday.

The arrow severely wounded James Krumm, 56 but he managed to wrestle with the younger man while his handful of students escaped.

Christopher Krumm, of Vernon, Connecticut, had just stabbed to death his father's live-in girlfriend at the couple's home several kilometres away.

When police arrived after the bow-and-arrow attack, they found Christopher Krumm bleeding from self-inflicted knife wounds and taking his last breaths.

James Krumm was dead, Police Chief Chris Walsh said on Sunday.

"I can tell you the courage that was demonstrated by Mr Krumm senior was absolutely without equal," he said.

"Around six" students were in the classroom when Christopher Krumm entered, Casper police spokesman Justin Smith said. None were hurt.

Walsh said police were still trying to figure out what motivated Christopher Krumm to attack his father and girlfriend, 42-year-old Heidi Arnold, a maths instructor at the college. Arnold died of multiple stab wounds.

After shooting his father with the arrow, Christopher Krumm stabbed himself, then fatally stabbed his father in the chest in a struggle in the classroom, Walsh said.

Police began getting reports about the attack on Arnold soon after they responded by the dozen to the campus attack.

Authorities locked down the campus for two hours while they scoured the grounds for any other attackers. They were reassured Christopher Krumm acted alone.

He had smuggled the compound bow - a type much more powerful than a simple, wooden bow - onto campus beneath a blanket, Walsh said.

He said Christopher Krumm also had two knives with him and the one used was "very large".

Arnold's body was found in the gutter of her street.

Casper College instructor Kevin McDermott said Arnold and James Krumm were well-liked on campus.

Investigators said Christopher Krumm had recently driven to Casper from Connecticut and had been staying at a local hotel. He had no significant history of encounters with police.

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