UK director Antonia Bird dies at 54

ANTONIA Bird, one of Britain's leading female film and TV directors, has died aged 54.

She was known for 1990s' films including Priest, Face and Ravenous, all starring actor Robert Carlyle.

Bird's TV credits included Spooks, Cracker, EastEnders and this year's BBC One drama The Village.

Originally from London, she began her career at the Royal Court Theatre before switching to TV in the mid-1980s.

Carlyle, writing on Twitter, said: "Such a sad day today. RIP Antonia Bird. Farewell my beautiful friend."

Novelist Irvine Walsh, who was a partner with Bird in the British film production company 4 Ways alongside Carlyle and film maker Mark Cousins, paid tribute to "our top Bird" and said she made "amazing films".

Bird won best single drama awards at the TV Baftas for 1993's Safe, a BBC Two drama about homeless teenagers, and 2000's Care, which focused on sexual abuse in children's homes.

She also won a Bafta Children's Award in 2009 for poetry documentary Off By Heart.

Actor Nico Mirallegro, who worked alongside Bird on The Village, wrote: "I'm so pleased that I got the chance to learn from and work with such an inspirational person. Loved everything about her."

Cousins commented: "So touching to see all the tributes to director Antonia Bird. The thing now is to make her work available and get it seen."

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Mount Etna volcano erupts

MOUNT Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has erupted, sending up a towering plume of ash visible in much of eastern Sicily.

Etna's eruptions aren't infrequent, although the last major one occurred in 1992.

Catania airport says the eruption on Saturday forced the closure of nearby airspace before dawn, but authorities lifted the order in early morning.

Several inhabited villages dot the mountain's slopes, but evacuations weren't necessary despite the lava flow.

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UK MP takes shot at Russell Brand

COMEDIAN Russell Brand has been described as a "twat" by a Tory MP after the star admitted he had never voted during an appearance on Newsnight.

Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant used a live interview on a local BBC radio station to criticise Brand for accusing politicians of "lies, treachery and deceit" during a lengthy discussion with Jeremy Paxman this week.

The MP told presenter Adrian Goldberg he had "never heard so many big words used to such little effect".

"He (Brand) had absolutely nothing positive to say, he just said what we shouldn't do, nothing about what we should be doing. It's pretty sad actually," Fabricant said.

"When you start using big words - 'paradigm' and things like that - and still don't actually say anything positive you think 'what a twat'."

Disagreeing with Brand's views, Mr Fabricant added: "It's quite clear that Labour is now shifting to the left.

"We are staying centre-right so there will be a real choice at the general election."

BBC apologised to its listeners for the "distinctly unparliamentary" language used by Mr Fabricant, who later jokingly referred to his comments as #TwatGate on his Twitter account.

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Ryanair looks to improve customer service

BUDGET Irish airline Ryanair, whose chief executive Michael O'Leary has in the past labelled some of his passengers "idiots", has announced a series of measures to improve customer service.

In the past, O'Leary has insisted passengers only care about cheap fares and punctuality.

But in a recent U-turn, the outspoken Irishman said his airline should try not to "unnecessarily piss people off".

On Friday, the airline said that over the next six months it would increase the hand baggage allowance to allow for small ladies handbags, and cut baggage and check-in fees.

Passengers are also to be given a 24-hour grace period in which to change minor errors in their bookings.

O'Leary said the airline was "actively listening and responding to our customers" as it implemented plans to increase its capacity from 80 million passengers per year to 110 million over the next five years.

A survey by the consumer magazine Which? last month rated Ryanair the worst for customer service out of 100 big British brands.

The airline was also forced to apologise and refund a passenger, whose family died in a housefire, after it refused to change his flight and charged him 188 euros ($A270) for a new ticket.

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Baby abandoned in Dutch city has sister

DNA tests show that a baby boy found abandoned in a southern Dutch city in June has the same mother as a baby girl found abandoned in Germany in 2011, prosecutors say.

Limburg province prosecutor's office said in a statement on Friday that Dutch authorities are working with their German counterparts to identify the children's parents, but as yet do not know the identities.

The baby boy was discovered, wrapped in a blanket, in Roermond, 175km south of Amsterdam, on June 18.

The baby girl born to the same mother was discovered about 100km away on October 20, 2011, in Huerth, near the German city of Cologne.

DNA shows they have the same mother.

It is not yet clear if they share the same father.

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Two killed at Beijing's Forbidden City

A 49-YEAR-OLD employee at Beijing's imperial palace, or Forbidden City, has reportedly stabbed two colleagues to death in the canteen.

Police detained the man suspected of carrying out the attack.

He was seriously injured, state media quoted a police bulletin as saying.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that the man, identified only by the surname Zheng, had tried to kill himself after the attack, and was seriously injured.

The stabbings happened during "a brawl among employees" in the canteen, the agency said.

No tourists were injured, and it was not clear if any tourists saw the incident.

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, vies with the Great Wall for the title of China's most famous tourist attraction.

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Spain's unemployment rate falls

THE number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 72,800 to 5.9 million in the third quarter, pushing the unemployment rate down to 25.98 per cent.

The drop in the number of jobless people in the third quarter, compared to the same period in recent years, was the sharpest since 2005, the National Statistics Institute reported in its Labour Force Survey on Thursday.

Employment rose by 39,500 to 16.82 million in the July-September period, marking the first rise in the third quarter of a year since 2010, with the labour force participation rate hitting 59.59 per cent, the Labor Force Survey said.

The unemployment rate for men in the second quarter was 25.50 per cent, while the jobless rate for women was 26.55 per cent.

The youth unemployment rate - calculated for those younger than 25 - was 54.39 per cent in the third quarter, down 1.75 percentage points.

The number of households with all members of the labour force unemployed fell by 13,400 in the July-September period, but it still stands at a high 1.8 million, the report said.

The Bank of Spain said in its latest economic bulletin Wednesday that the country climbed out of recession in the third quarter, growing 0.10 per cent from the previous three-month period to end a streak of nine consecutive quarters of contraction.

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Permira snaps up UK's Dr Martens

BRITISH boot brand Dr Martens has been snapped up by private equity firm Permira in a STG300 million ($A507.14 million) deal, ending more than 50 years of family ownership.

It means the boots - footwear of choice for generations of skinheads, punks and students - will join a stable of brands which also includes Hugo Boss and New Look.

The Northamptonshire-based Griggs family, who have been making shoes since 1901, will retain control of around 20 per cent of the business.

Dr Martens employs 700 people worldwide, including 350 in the UK, and its products are sold in 63 countries.

The deal, expected to complete in January, will see Permira take control of parent company R Griggs.

Chief executive David Suddens says the brand's authenticity and the millions of customers who have used "Docs" as a symbol of self-expression for over half a century are what makes Dr Martens unique.

"The Permira funds respect that heritage and want to support the management team in nurturing it," Suddens said.

Cheryl Potter, partner and head of the consumer sector team at Permira, says Dr Martens is an iconic brand with a passionate fan base of followers.

Dr Martens has enjoyed a revival in fortunes in recent years as a new generation of stars such as Miley Cyrus, Emma Watson and Agyness Deyn took up the "bovver boots" whose popularity - once espoused by the likes of The Who's Pete Townshend - had been on the wane.

The deal follows reports of the Griggs family looking to exit the business after more than five decades running the brand that last year made STG15.3 million pre-tax profits on revenues of STG110 million, following an abortive sale attempt last year.

Permira is thought likely to try to expand Dr Martens' online and store presence into new international markets.

The Griggs family started producing the Dr Martens boots in 1960 after the development of a revolutionary new air-cushioned sole by the Germans Klaus Martens and Herbert Funck.

It still pays an annual fee to the families of the two men.

Production was moved to Asia, but the original Northamptonshire factory was reopened in 2007 to produce vintage styles.

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Roma family removals probe in Ireland

IRELAND'S police watchdog will review the cases of two Roma families having children removed from their homes amid claims they could not prove their identity.

Two reports have been ordered on the controversial action by gardai and health officials after a seven-year-old girl was taken from her south Dublin home for 48 hours and a two year-old boy from his home in Athlone in the Midlands overnight.

Both children were subsequently proven to be members of the families with the girl returned home after DNA tests.

The police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission, said it has not received any complaints but has demanded copies of a report by the Commissioner Martin Callinan.

"We have requested this in order to inform ourselves fully of the circumstances of events so that we can take an appropriate position," a spokesman for the Ombudsman said.

Separately, the Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan will investigate why the children were removed from their families.

She will be furnished with two reports - from Mr Callinan and the Health Service Executive (HSE) - in two weeks time.

Both youngsters have blonde hair and blue eyes while their parents have darker complexions and hair, which is not out of the ordinary in the Roma community.

Amnesty International threw its weight behind calls from one of the families for an independent inquiry.

Colm O'Gorman, spokesman for the organisation in Ireland, said responses to reported child protection concerns needed to be proportionate and non-discriminatory.

"If it is found that the authorities' actions were discriminatory, steps must taken to ensure this is not repeated. There must be a public apology to the Roma families for the wrongdoing.

"The eyes of the world are now on Ireland, and the Government must show institutional discrimination will not be tolerated."

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Bad bushfire conditions set to linger

BUSHFIRE-WEARY NSW residents shouldn't expect any respite just yet, with dangerous fire weather expected to linger for at least another three days.

Scores of fires continued to burn around the state late on Thursday as the bushfire crisis entered its second week.

But none burned at emergency level overnight.

A Rural Fire Service spokesman has warned that warm weather and strong winds were expected to plague the state until early next week at the least.

He conceded some residents may become "frustrated" after days of being urged to leave their homes, then being allowed to return.

But he pleaded for locals in bushfire-affected areas to continue to heed official warnings because the danger remained real.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce is expected to tour bushfire-hit parts of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, on Friday.

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Six out of 10 Aussies 'too fat': report

MORE than six out of ten Australian adults are too fat to be healthy, according to data that shows 10.8 million are overweight or obese.

Obesity has ballooned from 11 per cent in 1989 to 28 per cent in 2011-12, when the data for a new National Health Reporting Authority document was recorded.

On a local level, even the slimmest area has a problem, with almost half the population obese or overweight, according to the document released on Thursday.

The fattest area is western NSW, where 79 per cent of people are overweight or obese, according to the report compiled by the authority at the request of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

It divides the country according to the Medicare local areas established in 2011 to promote community-level health management.

The second fattest area is Queensland's Townsville-Mackay, followed by country South Australia, Victoria's Gippsland and Western Australia's Goldfields-Midwest.

About three quarters of the population are overweight in all these areas.

The report regards a body mass index of 25 or more as overweight and 30 or more as obese.

Eastern Sydney is the slimmest area, with 49 per cent of people overweight or obese, while Sydney's north shore and beaches and inner northwest Melbourne follow at 50 per cent.

Obesity rates range from the north shore and beaches' 14 per cent to 41 per cent in Lodden-Mallee-Murray, which spans Victoria and NSW.

While overweight or obesity rates increase with geographic remoteness and lower socioeconomic status, 54 per cent of adults in the wealthiest urban areas are overweight or obese and 19 per cent are obese.

In 12 local areas, more than three in ten people are obese, according to the report.

"Rates of adult obesity have been rising very rapidly over time," says performance authority CEO Dr Diane Watson

She hopes the data will help doctors and officials come up with localised solutions.

COAG wants the proportion of the population in the healthy weight range to increase to 42 per cent by 2018.

The figure was 36 per cent in 2011-12.

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Grampians tops list of worst smoking areas

GRAMPIANS in regional Victoria has the highest smoking rate in Australia, with 28 per cent of adults lighting up at least once a day, according to new data.

Adults in Sydney's north shore and beaches have the cleanest lungs, with only six per cent smoking daily, according to a National Health Performance authority report released on Thursday.

The local-level analysis is produced at the request the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which is aiming to reduce the national smoking rate to 10 per cent by 2018.

It is intended to help local communities in defining their healthcare needs, says authority CEO Dr Diane Watson.

It provides data on smoking in the Medicare local areas established in 2011 to promote decision making and service provision at community level.

The overall rate was 16 per cent in 2011-12, when the data was gathered, with only four local areas achieving 10 per cent or better.

These are Sydney's north shore and beaches, inner east Melbourne, Bayside in Victoria and inner west Sydney.

The Medicare areas with the highest rates are Grampians, Goldfields-midwest in Western Australia, far north Queensland and Northern Territory.

Of the 2.7 million who smoke, those in poorer, remote areas are far more likely to light up than people in wealthier metropolitan suburbs in NSW and Victoria.

People in Australian Capital Territory are least likely to smoke at 13 per cent, followed by NSW (14 per cent), Victoria and South Australia (16 per cent), Queensland and Western Australia (18 per cent), Tasmania (21 per cent) and the Northern Territory (24 per cent).

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Bushfires still a risk in some NSW areas

LOWER temperatures, a change in wind direction and slightly higher humidity.

It sounds like the favourable weather combination fire fighters have been waiting for, but authorities warn a southerly change could carry some risk for fire-threatened communities.

Communities and fire fighters feared the worst on Wednesday with extreme fire conditions placing pressure on major bushfires burning in the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands.

However, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the risk had been averted.

A southerly change swept through the fire grounds on Wednesday night and all bushfires initially subject to emergency alert warnings were downgraded to watch and act.

The southerly winds will contribute to a drop in temperatures, but the winds will be between 45-50km/h on Thursday.

There will be gusts up to 90km/h across the mountain ranges and humidity will be between 10-15 per cent, RFS says.

"We are expecting those winds to be very strong and particularly dry," Mr Fitzsimmons said late on Wednesday.

"While the temperatures will moderate down into the 20s, a welcome relief to what we saw (Wednesday), they still will be strong.

"It's going to be particularly problematic for firefighters because there is no moisture in this change and it is going to be very dry air."

Mr Fitzsimmons said the wind change had a potential to present new challenges for Yarramundi Valley and Grose Valley communities as well as for the northern end of the Springwood fire.

Overnight, fire fighters in the Blue Mountains were carrying out 15-20km of back burning.

More than 20 schools in at risk areas will remain closed on Thursday.

TAFE campuses at Katoomba and Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains will also be closed.

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GSK sales in China tumble amid probe

GLAXOSMITHKLINE says its sales of drugs and vaccines in China have tumbled in the third quarter as it was hit by bribery investigations there.

Worldwide sales, it says, were flat as growth in the US and Europe helped offset China's 61 per cent drop. Total revenue rose one per cent to STG6.51 billion ($A10.95 billion).

The company was hit by allegations by the Chinese government that four of its employees paid bribes to doctors and hospitals to encourage them to prescribe medications.

Chief Executive Andrew Witty said on Wednesday that the decline in China was disappointing but it was too early to judge the long-term impact of the probe.

The company says it expects earnings per share to grow between three per cent and four per cent this year.

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White House staffer fired over tweets

A WHITE House national security official has been fired for sending anonymous messages on Twitter that insulted colleagues in the Obama administration and revealed internal information, US media report.

Jofi Joseph, who worked on non-proliferation issues and Iran at the National Security Council, had tweeted under the name @natsecwonk for more than two years, according to website Daily Beast.

The account included tweets insulting top White House and State Department officials' appearance, intellect and personal lives.

The White House told the Daily Beast on Wednesday that Joseph had been fired, but provided no more details.

The Twitter account has since been closed.

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Girl taken from gypsy family in Ireland

A BLONDE-HAIRED, blue-eyed seven-year-old girl has been put into care after being taken from a Roma family in Ireland.

A member of the public raised concerns about the child living with the gypsy family in a house in a south Dublin suburb.

No arrests have been made and there is no allegation of abduction against the family.

The youngster was put into the care of the Health Service Executive on Monday afternoon when the family were unable to prove her identity conclusively.

The couple have told police that the girl, who they said was born in a Dublin hospital in April 2006, is their daughter.

They have several other children who have not been taken into care.

The youngster is said to be physically well and is due to be interviewed by specialist officers.

Unlike the case where a girl, known as Maria, was found in a gypsy settlement near Farsala in central Greece, DNA tests have yet to confirm that the couple she was found with are not her parents.

The only similarity is that the girl taken into care is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child and had a different appearance from that of the couple she was living with.

In the Greek case, a DNA test on Maria proved she was not related to Christos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, and the couple have been held on charges of abduction and document fraud.

Irish police are trying to establish the identity of the girl taken into care in Dublin and have contacted Europol and Interpol about missing children while investigations continue in Ireland.

It is understood that they may seek to take DNA samples from the parents and the child to fully determine whether they are her biological parents.

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US employers add 148,000 jobs

THE US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began October 1.

Still, hiring was strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that the rate fell to 7.2 per cent, down from 7.3 per cent in August and nearly a five-year low.

The economy has added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 182,000 from April through June.

Revisions to the previous two months were mixed. Employers added 193,000 jobs in August, better than the initial estimate of 169,000. But they added just 89,000 in July, the fewest in more than a year and below the previously reported 104,000.

Stock futures rose after the report was released. The weaker job figures make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will maintain its level of bond purchases when it meets next month. The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and boost borrowing and spending.

The jobs report was delayed because of the shutdown, which may have further depressed economic growth and hiring. Temporary layoffs of federal workers and private government contractors will probably lower October's job gains. But that's likely a temporary decline.

Many economists say they won't have a clear read on hiring and unemployment until the November jobs report is released, in early December.

High unemployment has discouraged many Americans from looking for work. The percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low in September.

There were some positive aspects in the latest jobs report. Several higher-paying industries added jobs at a healthy pace. Construction firms gained 20,000 positions. Government boosted payrolls by 22,000. Transportation and warehousing gained 23,400 jobs.

And average hourly pay ticked up three cents to $US24.09. In the past year, hourly pay has increased 2.1 per cent, ahead of the 1.5 per cent inflation rate.

The deceleration in job growth was a key reason the Fed decided in September to hold off on slowing its $US85-billion-a-month ($A88-billion-a-month) in bond purchases. The lack of clean data could lead the Fed to push off any decision on the bond purchases until 2014.

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US employers add 148,000 jobs

THE US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began October 1.

Still, hiring was strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that the rate fell to 7.2 per cent, down from 7.3 per cent in August and nearly a five-year low.

The economy has added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 182,000 from April through June.

Revisions to the previous two months were mixed. Employers added 193,000 jobs in August, better than the initial estimate of 169,000. But they added just 89,000 in July, the fewest in more than a year and below the previously reported 104,000.

Stock futures rose after the report was released. The weaker job figures make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will maintain its level of bond purchases when it meets next month. The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and boost borrowing and spending.

The jobs report was delayed because of the shutdown, which may have further depressed economic growth and hiring. Temporary layoffs of federal workers and private government contractors will probably lower October's job gains. But that's likely a temporary decline.

Many economists say they won't have a clear read on hiring and unemployment until the November jobs report is released, in early December.

High unemployment has discouraged many Americans from looking for work. The percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low in September.

There were some positive aspects in the latest jobs report. Several higher-paying industries added jobs at a healthy pace. Construction firms gained 20,000 positions. Government boosted payrolls by 22,000. Transportation and warehousing gained 23,400 jobs.

And average hourly pay ticked up three cents to $US24.09. In the past year, hourly pay has increased 2.1 per cent, ahead of the 1.5 per cent inflation rate.

The deceleration in job growth was a key reason the Fed decided in September to hold off on slowing its $US85-billion-a-month ($A88-billion-a-month) in bond purchases. The lack of clean data could lead the Fed to push off any decision on the bond purchases until 2014.

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Blue Mountains brace for dangerous day

RESIDENTS in the Blue Mountains who have not prepared for a day of extreme fire danger have been urged to leave the area as early as possible.

The stern warning comes as firefighters brace for the worst fire conditions since the NSW bushfire crisis unfolded last week.

Temperatures in the mid-30s teamed with wind gusts between 80-100km/h and low humidity are forecast for the Greater Hunter, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains and Greater Sydney on Wednesday.

Fifty-five blazes are burning across the state, including 17 that are uncontained.

The most concerning fires are those around towns in the Blue Mountains, including Lithgow, Springwood and Mount Victoria.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) says Wednesday's conditions are as bad as it gets and has advised residents to leave the area if they have no important reason to be there.

"If you are not prepared, I don't know what it takes to get a message out there that you should be prepared if you live in a bushfire-prone area or at risk area," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

"If you have not prepared, if you are not comfortable about being in a high-risk area like the conditions we are expecting, then leaving early is clearly your safest option."

All schools in the Blue Mountains and TAFE campuses in Katoomba and Wentworth Falls will be closed.

Mr Fitzsimmons reinforced it was not a day off for students to hang at the skate park.

"Know where your children are, keep the family together so you can make decisions and act together as a family in the event you are threatened by fire," he said.

NSW Police has advised heavy vehicles to delay travel around the Blue Mountains with all long and wide-load escort permits revoked.

An additional 1400 firefighters are on hand to assist with base camps established at Penrith and Sydney Olympic Park.

A total fire ban is also in place.

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US marathon runner sets knitting record

A US graphic design professor has knitted his way into the record books while running the Kansas City Marathon.

The Kansas City Star reports that David Babcock, from the University of Central Missouri, finished the marathon in five hours and 48 minutes.

Knitting experts measured the scarf he created along the route at just more than four metres.

The Guinness scarf-knitting-while-running-a-marathon record was previously held by Susie Hewer, who runs to raise money for Alzheimer's disease research.

She knitted a two metre scarf at the London Marathon in April.

Like Hewer, the 41-year-old Babcock hopes that people will donate to the Alzheimer's Association.

Babcock began running and knitting as separate activities about three years ago. He decided to combine them to keep things interesting.

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Man's body found under Anzac Bridge

A MAN'S body has been found under the Anzac Bridge in Sydney.

A crime scene has been established on Quarry Master Drive after police were called on Monday night.

Detectives from Sydney City Local Area Command are interested in speaking with anyone who may have been driving, or walking, on the Anzac Bridge between 10pm and 10.15pm on Monday, and saw anything suspicious.

Anyone with information should contact Sydney City Police Station on 8265 6499, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

No other information was available.

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Vic coroner wants better train warnings

A VICTORIAN coroner who investigated the deaths of 11 people in the Kerang rail crash has called for more technologically advanced road signals to warn drivers of approaching trains.

A semi-trailer smashed into a V-Line train at a level-crossing near Kerang in June 2007, killing 11 people and injuring another eight.

Coroner Jane Hendtlass says rail and road authorities needed to improve signage and warning sounds to drivers approaching level crossings.

She called for research into technology capable of alerting drivers who would not otherwise notice an approaching train.

Julie McMonnies, who lost husband Geoff and 17-year-old daughter Rose in the crash, said she was left unsatisfied by the findings.

"There's nothing controversial here," she said.

"We haven't had any answers and we've had no one accept responsibility for 11 deaths and injured."

Truck driver Christian Scholl was charged with 11 counts of culpable driving over the deaths but acquitted by a Supreme Court jury in 2009.

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Youth charged in relation to NSW bushfire

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged over a bushfire that destroyed more than 5000 hectares in the NSW Hunter region last week.

The boy was charged at Raymond Terrace Police Station on Monday evening with intentionally causing fire and being reckless as to its spread.

He's the second youth to be charged in relation to the fire in the Heatherbrae area in Port Stephens.

He was given bail and will appear in court next month.

An 11-year-old boy was charged over the fire on Monday.

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Dozens reported dead in South Sudan attack

DOZENS of people have been killed in an attack on South Sudanese villages by a rebel group and local tribesmen, officials say.

The attacks on Sunday left at least 50 people dead, said military spokesman Philip Aguer, while a local official in Jonglei state said the number was more than 70.

Rebel fighters from David Yau Yau's anti-government militia appear to have teamed up with ethnic Murle fighters who have been locked for years in running battles with the rival Dinka people, often launching attacks over cattle.

Aguer said the attackers were armed with automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades.

Women and children were among the dead and injured and up to 20 children may have been kidnapped during the attacks, which saw two villages largely razed to the ground.

Thousands of cattle were taken in the raids, the latest in a long string of tit-for-tat attacks in Jonglei, an area prone to ethnic rivalries and where there is a widespread proliferation of weapons.

"The people are living in fear. They need protection," said local official Dau Akoi Jurkuch.

The UN helped to ferry the wounded to clinics, and local police units were sent to the area, in the east of South Sudan.

The government in Juba has been accused by the Murle of siding with the Dinka in Jonglei.

Yau Yau, a rebel who integrated into the army when South Sudan was becoming independent in 2011, but defected again a year later, is Murle, as are many of his fighters.

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Fears hot and dry winds will fan NSW fires

FIREFIGHTERS across NSW are again preparing for worsening conditions with high temperatures and hot, dry winds forecast to sweep the state.

A state of emergency was declared in NSW on Sunday, as more than 50 fires burnt across NSW, 15 of them uncontained.

Conditions are predicted to worsen on Monday with tops of 36 degrees forecast for Springwood in the Blue Mountains where an out-of-control bushfire has burnt through almost 2500 hectares.

Joel Kursawe from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said they were preparing for a return of hot and dry westerly and north-westerly winds on Monday.

"By Wednesday the Bureau (of Meteorology) is forecasting that is when it will be at its worst and potentially similar to the conditions we saw last Thursday," he told ABC Television on Sunday night.

As firefighters laboured throughout the night to strengthen containment lines, Mr Kursawe said there were fears three blazes burning in Mt Victoria, Springwood and Lithgow in the Blue Mountains could meet.

"If the three fires were to all join together there is a very real threat to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury district over the coming days," he said.

"If those fires were to join you are talking about a huge fire front encroaching on the very back end of Sydney."

A total fire ban is in place for the Central Ranges, Illawarra and Shoalhaven, Greater Sydney Region and Greater Hunter districts.

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Australia 'must do better in Antarctica'

AUSTRALIA is in danger of having to mothball research projects in Antarctica because of its shrinking budget, a new study warns.

The Australian Strategic Police Institute (ASPI) paper says Australia claims 42 per cent of Antarctica, an area the size of all Australia less Queensland, with an overall budget of just $169 million in 2013-14.

That was an eight per cent reduction on the previous year.

"A continued downward trajectory in budget allocations might well lead to closure or mothballing of stations, reduced scientific gains and a diminished standing in Antarctic affairs, it says.

Australian researchers can't visit much of the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) because of shortage of equipment such as ski-equipped aircraft.

The air link from Australia to Antarctica is unreliable even in mid-summer while the icebreaker Aurora Australis is approaching end of life.

The paper says the politics of Antarctica are starting to heat up.

One UK analyst Professor Klaus Dodds has warned of looming crises over sovereignty claims, commercial fishing, tourism, the rise of China and mineral exploitation.

ASPI said if that was to be believed, Australia could see a breakdown of the Antarctic Treaty, our territorial claim disputed, rampant illegal fishing, irreparable environmental damage and a rush for oil, gas and minerals.

"When it comes to our interest in Antarctica, Australia had better use it or we risk losing it in what will be a more competitive strategic world in coming decades," it says.

"The credibility of our claims will erode in lockstep with the erosion of our capacity to service our research stations by sea and air."

On the plus side, the new coalition government has promised it will develop a 20-year strategic plan to address how Australia can remain, engaged, active and visible.

ASPI said Australia should be an Antarctic leader not a follower.

"If we're fair dinkum about pursuing Antarctic interests, we need to be active in Antarctica. But our present capability means we can't match what others are doing in our territory, let alone lead," it said.

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HIV rises as men admit unprotected sex

HIV diagnoses are rising at a record rate as an increasing number of gay Australians admit having unprotected casual sex, according to two major reports.

An annual surveillance report says 1253 people were diagnosed in 2012 and around 30,000 infected people know they have the virus.

But the 10 to 25 per cent of infected people who do not know their status is a challenge, says lead author, Associate Professor David Wilson of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

"We need to focus on getting people diagnosed and initiating therapy to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmission," says Prof Wilson, whose report will be presented at the Australasian HIV and AIDS Conference in Darwin on Monday.

Another report to be presented at the conference shows close to 40 per cent of gay men admit having unprotected casual sex at least once in 2012.

"We're at the highest level recorded in our surveys of gay and bisexual men," says lead author Associate Professor John de Wit, director of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH).

The biggest increase is among those aged under 25, who are less likely to have been exposed to HIV-prevention campaigns.

He says about 10 per cent of gay men are HIV-positive and many do not know their status.

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-positive people being treated with antiretroviral therapy, according to his report.

And the treatment is working, with 93 per cent of patients having an undetectable viral load, compared with 74 per cent in 2003.

"But the prevention benefits of treatment are being offset by increases in risk-taking since treatment became available," he says.

"I would not call it complacency. People know it is serious. But they take risks in the heat of the moment."

The report shows an increasing number of gay men are prepared to disclose their status to casual partners, but many do not know their status and this is unlikely to be as effective as consistent condom use.

Treatment levels could be as low as 50 per cent, says Robert Mitchell, president of the National Association of People with HIV Australia.

"Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date."

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Sexual disease soars among young people

THE sexually transmitted disease chlamydia is rampant among young Australians, with an expert estimating close to half a million new infections in 2012.

"It's skyrocketing," says Associate Professor David Wilson, who on Monday will present the latest statistics at an Australasian sexual health conference in Darwin.

The conference follows an AIDS event, which will hear about a record 1253 new HIV diagnoses in the year.

There were 82,000 chlamydia diagnoses reported. But Prof Wilson believes this could be as little as one-sixth of the real number, with hundreds of thousands of cases undiagnosed.

He should know. As a program head of surveillance at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, he is responsible for compiling national statistics for sexually transmitted diseases.

Part of the problem with chlamydia is it seldom has symptoms and people don't take it seriously.

But it can cause serious complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to chronic pain and infertility.

The infection can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics. But re-infection takes place unless both partners are treated.

Prof Wilson says it is important that anyone who tests positive is open and honest with present and past sexual partners.

He says all sexually active young people should have themselves tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea once a year and at the start of any new relationship.

Urban gay men and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people are at particular risk of gonorrhoea, which is at its highest level in 10 years.

Another disease on Prof Wilson's radar is viral hepatitis, with 6702 new cases of the B strain in 2012 and 10,114 of the C strain.

Although there is an effective treatment, it is heavy going for patients and Prof Wilson says people are becoming critically ill and dying because they are waiting for an improved method they know is on the way.

The good news, he says, is a dramatic fall in genital warts cases since 2007, when the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer was introduced for schoolgirls.

"Since the program started the infection rate among girls has dropped from 12 per cent to around 1.5 per cent and the prevalence among boys has also fallen."

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New Sydney transport timetables arrive

SYDNEYSIDERS travelling on the city's public transport network are being told to brace for a few hiccups as a new timetable comes into effect.

The integrated timetable changes across Sydney's trains, buses and ferries started on Sunday but Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says it will really be under the microscope when peak hour commuters give it a go on Monday morning.

The government has promised the changes - which they say will result in an extra 2700 services a week across the network - will cut travelling times for the majority of people on trains.

But Ms Berejiklian has warned commuters to expect a few hiccups as staff get used to the changes.

"I'm not expecting a glitch-free day," she told reporters on Sunday.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe has warned people were in for nasty surprises and disruptions because the NSW Government had not consulted about the timetable rewrite.

"The new timetable cuts some peak hour services right across the network - and will instead require people to drive to major stations," she said in a statement.

Commuters have been urged to check their usual public transport services.

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