Aurizon to cut rail fleet, cancel project

FREIGHT and coal haulage operator Aurizon will take a hit of almost $200 million as it cuts the size of its rail fleet and cancels a major Queensland project.

The company, previously known as QR National, is reducing its locomotive fleet by 28 per cent and cutting the number of wagons by 12 per cent in a bid to bring down fuel and maintenance costs.

Aurizon's downsizing will appear as an asset impairment expense of $130 million to $150 million in its accounts for the first half of the 2013/14 financial year.

The company will also incur a $47 million impairment on recent changes to several projects, including Glencore Xstrata's decision to stop the Wandoan project because of weakening thermal coal prices.

Aurizon had proposed a 210 kilometre Surat Basin rail corridor from the Wandoan mine in a joint venture with the Swiss multinational.

"There's not any job losses that are related to that," chief executive Lance Hockridge told reporters on Monday.

In July, Aurizon launched a second voluntary redundancy program in a bid to save $230 million by 2015.

Some 248 voluntary redundancies have since been accepted.

"I think the bulk of it is done," Mr Hockridge said.

More than 2,000 employees have left the company since it was privatised by the former Queensland Labor government in 2010.

Mr Hockridge said he was "cautious but confident" about the thermal coal sector, as well as the future of projects in Queensland's Galilee Basin, where Aurizon has agreed to develop a rail project for the GVK-Hancock joint venture involving billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Aurizon shares dropped two cents to $4.68.

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Kiwi extends gains over Aussie dollar

THE New Zealand dollar has extended its rally against its trans-Tasman counterpart as the divergence between the neighbouring economies makes New Zealand interest rates more attractive.

The kiwi rose as high as 92.49 Australian cents on Monday, the highest since October 2008, trading at 92.40 cents at 5pm in Wellington from 92.26 cents on Friday in New York.

The NZ dollar traded at 82.78 cents from 82.56 cents at 8am and 82.63 cents on Friday in New York.

The kiwi has been making fresh five-year highs against its Australian counterpart as the slowing economy in Australia and burgeoning local recovery underline the different stages of the interest rate cycle each nation's central bank is in.

New Zealand's Reserve Bank is keen on hiking rates next year, while Australia's is sitting on record-low rates to keep the stimulus coming.

Investors will be looking to see any hint of an easing bias when the minutes to this month's Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting are released on Tuesday.

"Their central bank is quite determined to get the Aussie dollar lower to get a more sustainable mix in their economy," said Dan Bell, head of corporate sales at HiFX in Auckland.

"It looks like the kiwi/Aussie could get up to the 95 cent level" over the next month before it "runs out of puff," he said.

The kiwi fell to 85.04 yen at 5pm in Wellington from 85.31 yen on Friday in New York, and was little changed at 60.16 euro cents from 60.19 cents.

The trade-weighted index was steady at 77.92 from 77.90.

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Eight more dead in Bangladesh riots

10 people have been killed in Bangladesh's violence over the execution of an Islamist party leader. Source: AAP

EIGHT more deaths were reported in Bangladesh in intensified riots and protests sparked by the execution of a top Islamist leader, as the prime minister warned of a crackdown on the violence.

Police said Islamist supporters torched houses and fought running street battles with officers in towns and cities during a third day of unrest over the execution of Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes.

Two people were killed on Sunday in the northern town of Patgram and another six elsewhere overnight, police said, as Islamist supporters enforced a nationwide strike over the execution of Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

"Police fired shotgun pellets to disperse the Jamaat protesters who torched at least 20 houses belonging to ruling party supporters," government administrator Habibur Rahman told AFP of the violence in Patgram.

Molla's hanging on Thursday night triggered fresh unrest in the impoverished country, already reeling from political violence in the build-up to a deeply divisive national election scheduled for January 5.

Twenty people are now known to have died and dozens more have been injured in the clashes since Thursday between outraged Jamaat activists and police and between the activists and supporters of the ruling Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of strong action against the rioters, saying "we have shown enough patience. We will not tolerate anymore."

"People of the country know how to reply to these atrocities (the latest violence), we (government) also know how to respond to, control you (the rioters)," she told a rally late on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Molla, 65, became the first person to be executed for his role in that war. Jamaat called the hanging a "political murder" and said it would avenge it.

Molla had been found guilty in February by a much-criticised domestic tribunal of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia that fought against the country's independence and killed some of Bangladesh's top professors, doctors, writers and journalists.

He was convicted of rape, murder and mass murder, including the killing of more than 350 unarmed civilians. Prosecutors called him the "Butcher of Mirpur", a Dhaka suburb where he committed most of the atrocities.

Of the six killed overnight, police said three died in the southern town of Companyganj, two in the northern town of Ramganj and one in the coastal town of Laxmipur.

At Companyganj, an opposition bastion, police fired rifles to disperse at least 8,000 rampaging Jamaat supporters who torched four government offices and attacked officers with crude bombs and guns, a senior police officer said.

In Ramganj, activists of Jamaat and its main ally, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, attacked a convoy of ruling party lawmakers, leaving two people dead, sub-inspector Ershadul Alam told AFP.

Molla was one of five Islamists and other politicians sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, which the opposition says is aimed at eradicating its leaders.

The sentences have triggered riots and plunged the country into its worst violence since independence.

Some 250 people have now been killed in street protests since January, when the first verdicts were handed down.

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Red-suited revellers hit NY bars

The costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon has seen thousands of Santa's partying in bars. Source: AAP

SANTA Claus came to town despite snow and widespread criticism of the costumed New York pub crawl known as SantaCon.

New York City's SantaCon started on Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revellers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.

This year's SantaCon takes place in New York amid criticism that the event has become too rowdy. SantaCon participants were told to make charitable donations and encouraged to bring small gifts to bestow on one another and passers-by.

Organisers say similar events were set for more than 100 other cities worldwide on Saturday, including San Francisco; Portland, Oregon, Newport Beach, California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Man arrested after shots fired in Tas

A man is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street. Source: AAP

A MAN is in custody after shots were reportedly fired in a Tasmanian street.

Police received calls from the public reporting several shots being fired in the street by a man in Swansea on Tasmania's east coast, just before 5pm (AEDT).

Investigations are continuing.

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Severe storm warning for wind and hail

ANOTHER round of severe thunderstorms is set to pummel the southeast.

7.15pm: The weather bureau has warned that while one severe thunderstorm is skirting dangerously close to Brisbane's CBD, another one is brewing just over the NSW border.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Otto said an earlier warning was still current for areas to the west of Brisbane, but the storm was unlikely to reach the city centre.

Further west, he said golf-sized hail stones have fallen on Mt Barney, with larger stones reported at Boonah.

"That storm is moving over the Ipswich area at the moment," he said.

"There is another cell south of the border that is likely to hit Rathdowney in the next half hour and it may head north after that. It's another very dangerous storm with large hail stones expected."

6.45pm: Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Rosewood, Marburg, Lake Manchester, Upper Brookfield and Fernvale by 7.20 pm and Enoggera Reservoir, Enoggera, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and Albany Creek by 7.50 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms in northern NSW are forecast to affect Mount Barney, the McPherson Range, Rathdowney, Maroon Dam, Kooralbyn and Lamington National Park by 7:50 pm.

Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely, with hail larger than golf balls reported at Boonah earlier.

6.20pm:  The Bureau of Meteorology has updated their thunderstorm warning, alerting residents that very dangerous thunderstorms were moving north.

The storms were detected on weather radar near Boonah, Aratula, Harrisville, Peak Crossing, Bundamba Lagoon and the area south of Amberley.

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Ipswich, Redbank Plains, Amberley, Rosewood, Marburg and Lake Manchester by 6:50 pm and Lowood, Fernvale, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and the D'Aguilar Ranges by 7:20 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near Bonalbo(NSW). Damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Hail larger than golf balls was reported at Boonah at around 5:40pm.

5.20pm: The weather bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning after storms were detected over the Scenic Rim region near Mount Barney, Laravale and Kooralbyn.

The southeast Queensland warning said damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.

Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology said the thunderstorms were moving in a northerly direction, with Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast put on alert.

The storms are predicted to hit Beaudesert about 5.30pm.

More to come.
 

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:
* Move your car under cover or away from trees.
* Secure loose outdoor items.
* Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
* Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.
* Beware of fallen trees and powerlines.
* For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.
 

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Qld man refuses to help find his shooter

POLICE are appealing for a woman who drove a man with a gunshot wound to a Brisbane hospital to come forward.

The 35-year-old was shot in the right hip and has since undergone surgery.

But he is refusing to co-operate with detectives and won't tell them who did it.

Police have instead released CCTV footage of a woman who drove him to the Prince Charles Hospital around 1am (AEST) on Friday but left before officers arrived.

They say they would like to speak with her.

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Thirteen dead in 13 days on Vic roads

Thirteen motorists have been killed on Victoria's roads in the first 13 days of December. Source: AAP

THIRTEEN people have died on Victoria's roads by the 13th day of December, Friday the 13th.

A man died when his cement truck rolled off a bridge and crashed into a river on Friday morning in the 12th fatal accident in 13 days.

Road policing command Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said the number of fatalities in such a short time frame was extremely concerning heading into the festive season.

"This is a horrible start to December, especially as we head into what we know is a high-risk time of the year on Victorian roads," Mr Hill said.

"I don't want to see any more ungiven gifts under Christmas tree this year, however we are likely to see another 10 deaths on our roads and potentially 250 people seriously injured."

Three pedestrians have been killed so far in December, a figure that could rise with a woman fighting for her life in hospital after been hit by a car at Brighton East on Friday morning.

The warning comes as Victoria Police launch their Summer Stay road campaign, a two-month blitz aiming to reduce the road toll over the holiday season.

The campaign will target drink/drug driving, speeding, fatigue, driver distraction and drivers not wearing a seatbelt.

Victoria's road toll stands at 225 compared with 271 deaths at the same time last year.

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Last goodbye for Mandela before burial

ANXIOUS South Africans have queued through the night for the chance to say a final farewell to Nelson Mandela before his body is moved to his rural, boyhood home for burial.

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PM Abbott hosts his first COAG

League's most under siege in 2014

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