Pakistan TV host Mir shot by gunmen

POLICE in Pakistan say gunmen have shot a famous television talk show host amid a wave of attacks on journalists in the country.

Police say Hamid Mir, a host on the private television broadcaster Geo, was wounded in the attack on Saturday near Karachi's airport.

Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat told Geo that Mir suffered three gunshot wounds to the stomach and the upper legs, but was expected to survive.

Last year, authorities found a bomb under Mir's car.

Pakistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists recently urged Pakistan's government to do more to protect journalists.

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Two killed in Bahrain car bomb explosion

TWO people have been killed and a third seriously injured when a car exploded in Bahrain.

The three were inside the vehicle when two successive explosions took place.

Police investigating the scene in Muqsha, north of the capital Manama, said explosive materials were inside the car.

Residents said one of the people was wanted by the police.

A hardline Shi'ite opposition movement, al-Wafa, released the names of the two dead and called them martyrs.

Further details were not immediately available.

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US politicians spar over ranch supporters

A WEEK after a tense stand-off between gun-carrying states' rights advocates and US federal Bureau of Land Management police, self-described militia members are still protecting Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his family.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada calls the armed campers "domestic terrorists".

He said a federal task force was being formed to deal with the unrest.

Nevada Republican Senator Dean Heller says those who Reid may call domestic terrorists, he calls patriots.

The Bundy ranch is the latest flashpoint in a dispute about whether states or the federal government should control public range lands.

Left unresolved is the government's claim that Bundy owes more than $US1.1 million ($A1.18 million) for letting about 900 cows trespass for 20 years on rangeland 130km northeast of Las Vegas.

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Fourteen killed in Syria car bombing

A POWERFUL car bomb has exploded outside a mosque in a pro-government district of central Syria, killing 14 peoples, state-run Syrian television reported.

The bombing occurred as worshippers left the Bilal al-Habshi mosque on the edge of Akrama after attending Friday prayers, the report said.

The area, populated mainly by Alawites, members of President Bashar Assad's minority sect, has repeatedly been targeted by car bombs in recent months.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the explosion killed at least nine people, adding that the number likely would rise because many of the wounded were in critical condition.

The attack coincides with a crushing offensive by government forces aimed at retaking the last rebel bastions in the historic quarters of the old city of Homs.

The last few days has seen some of the fiercest fighting there in months.

Activists say more than 150,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began in March 2011 with largely peaceful protests calling for Assad's ouster.

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Bin Laden library causes storm in Pakistan

A DECISION by an Islamic seminary for women to name its library after former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has caused a controversy in Pakistan's capital.

Maulana Abdul Aziz of the Red Mosque, known for its alleged links to militant groups, renamed the school's existing library Maktbah Usama bin Laden Shaheed - Urdu for Osama bin Laden, the martyr.

Aziz said the main objective of the initiative was to show "respect" for bin Laden.

"He is our hero, and we do not care if the world calls him a terrorist," the cleric said.

The library is situated in the centre of Islamabad, about half a kilometre from the headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency, which has been accused of protecting the former al-Qaeda chief before he was killed by the US military in 2011 during a raid in Pakistan.

Commentators have referred to the renaming of the library as inappropriate and have branded it an embarrassment for the government and its security institutions, which have come under fire for failing to curb the activities of extremist groups.

"It is a huge embarrassment," security expert Hasan Askari Rizvi said.

"It shows that the government is confused, and it does not have a clear policy towards the groups who cherish al-Qaeda ideology."

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US teacher fired for president remark

A US teacher has been fired following allegations that he told a black student who said he wanted to become president that the nation didn't need another black president.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Fairfield Board of Education voted 4-0 on Thursday to fire Gil Voigt.

Voigt didn't immediately return a call for comment on Friday but has said the student misquoted him.

Voigt, who is white, says what he actually told the teen was that he doesn't think the nation can afford another president like Barack Obama, "whether he's black or white".

A state referee investigating Voigt found that explanation wasn't credible.

The referee cited other incidents over the years in which he says Voigt made other racial or insulting remarks.

Voigt had been on unpaid leave since December.

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Magnitude-7.5 quake shakes Mexican capital

A POWERFUL earthquake has shaken central and southern Mexico.

The US Geological Survey calculated its magnitude at 7.5 and said it was centred near the Pacific resort of Acapulco, where many Mexicans are vacationing for the Easter holiday.

An Associated Press reporter said it was felt strongly in the resort city but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The quake shook Mexico City for at least 30 seconds, with buildings swaying as people fled high rises and took to the streets.

Because of the Easter holiday, that city was less crowded than usual.

Mexico City is vulnerable even to distant earthquakes because much of it sits atop the muddy sediments of drained lake beds that quiver as quake waves hit.

The magnitude-8.1 quake in 1985 that killed at least 6000 people and destroyed many buildings in Mexico City was centred 400km away on the Pacific Coast.

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US Congress' dirty little secret

THE 535 members of the US Congress have had an unusual pornography problem for more than three decades.

Since 1983, Hustler founder Larry Flynt has provided free subscriptions of his pornographic publication to each and every politician, the National Journal reported on Friday.

The magazine arrives each month in a plain envelope with the rest of the mail, which is then opened by assistants or interns, some of whom are not always prepared to find themselves confronted with a hardcore porn magazine.

"I 'forget' to mention it to interns and wait to watch the look of horror on their face when they open it in a congressional office," one staffer told the magazine.

Members of Congress tried to block delivery of the magazine in 1984, but federal court ruled that Flynt had a constitutional right to petition the government.

For his part, Flynt told the Hill newspaper in 2011: "Moses freed the Jews, Lincoln freed the slaves, and I just wanted to free all the neurotics," according to the article.

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Pakistan army assists polio vaccinators

THE Pakistani army is to assist in providing security to polio vaccinators in the country, after a series of deadly attacks against those involved in campaigns against the crippling disease.

Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), military, as well as civilian and tribal officials met at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad to discuss security and access to affected areas during anti-polio campaigns.

Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman, said the army had been asked to assist the civil government in making this campaign a success.

Bajwa said Pakistan may face an international travel ban because of the prevalence of the polio virus.

Last month, rebels killed at least 12 policemen guarding polio workers in two separate attacks in the restive north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Islamist militants have targeted vaccination teams in the past.

Insurgents accuse health workers of acting as spies for Western nations, and claim the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.

Following widespread vaccination campaigns since the 1950s, polio is now endemic only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

The contagious, crippling disease mainly affects children aged younger than five.

It cannot be cured, but it can be prevented with vaccination.

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Aust journalist faces 7 years in Thai jail

AN Australian journalist accused of defaming the Royal Thai Navy remains defiant, saying the case against him risks Thailand's reputation as a democracy.

Alan Morison, 66, formerly of Melbourne, and local reporter Chutima Sidasathien, face prison terms of up to seven years as well as fines of 100,000 baht (A$3,300) if found guilty of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Both were released on bail on Thursday from holding cells at a Phuket court.

Morison is editor of the online English language news service Phuketwan which last July published a story which carried excerpts from a Reuters report alleging the Thai military was involved in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority to Malaysia.

Outbreaks of ethnic conflict in Myanmar in recent years have led to thousands of Rohingya, who are largely denied citizenship in Myanmar, to flee the country.

The Reuters report alleged Thai naval forces and police cooperate with people smugglers to hold Rohingya in camps while ransoms are demanded from their families.

Speaking to AAP soon after his release on bail, Morison said the Thai navy was acting as if its reputation "is much more important than Thailand's reputation as a democracy".

But he also lashed out at Reuters, saying that like the navy, the news agency was putting its reputation "above the principles of media freedom".

"We still have Reuters not really coming out and saying 'this is our paragraph and we'll fight to the death to make sure that everybody who publishes it has the right to (do) so."

Morison believes the charges, filed by the navy, are a "set up" and part of efforts to shut down his website.

Human rights organisations and the media have called for the charges to be dropped.

A spokesman from US-based Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, called the trial "unjustified".

The navy "should have debated these journalists publicly if they had concerns with the story rather than insisting on their prosecution under the draconian Computer Crimes Act and criminal libel statutes," Mr Adams said.

The Bangkok-based Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand said it shared the view of the UN Human Rights Commissioner "that such a prosecution serves only to stifle media freedom on an issue of profound importance to the rights of a persecuted people".

The next hearing date is set for May 26.

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Royals to visit Easter Show

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join thousands of Australians at the Royal Easter show, though it's not known if they'll have a chance to taste a Dagwood dog.

William and Kate are scheduled to meet students and teachers on Friday before viewing exhibits and a crafts exhibition at the show.

The pair will then view sheep shearing and wool handling, meet the 2013 Wool4Skool program winner - who designed a dress for the Duchess of Cambridge - and sign the visitor book.

They will then trade the show bags and rides for a visit to Manly's Bear Cottage palliative care hospice in the afternoon, where they will meet young patients, families, volunteers and staff.

Sydneysiders will be able to catch a glimpse of the royals when they visit Manly beach and view Surf Lifesaving activities on the sand.

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India election marred by rebel threats

INDIANS have cast their ballots on the biggest day of voting in the country's general election, streaming into polling stations even in areas where leftist rebels threatened violence.

Nationwide voting began on April 7 and runs through to May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament to be announced four days later.

Among the 13 key states voting on Thursday was Chhattisgarh, now the centre of a four-decade Maoist insurgency that has affected more than a dozen of India's 28 states.

With roadside bombings, jungle ambushes and hit-and-run raids, the rebels aim for nothing short of sparking a full-blown peasant revolt as they accuse the government and corporations of plundering resources and stomping on the rights of the poor.

But authorities say that amid the bloodshed, there are signs that the rebels have waning support - including lines of voters shuffling into polling booths in rebel strongholds.

"I want a good life for my baby, security and peace," said Neha Ransure, a 25-year-old woman who was voting in the Chhattisgarh town of Rajnandgaon.

"The rebels are bad. They kill our soldiers. I don't go outside of town. It is too dangerous."

Rebels always threaten to disrupt Indian elections, and this year is no different.

While Rajnandgaon was peaceful on Thursday, rebels set off a bomb near a group of polling officials and security forces in the neighbouring district of Kanker but no one was hurt, police said.

Another blast injured three paramilitary soldiers and a driver in the state of Jharkhand, where they also blew up railway lines.

More than 4800 people, including about 2850 civilians, have been killed nationwide since 2008 in what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called India's biggest internal security threat.

Despite the rebel calls for an election boycott, voter turnout was 59 per cent last week in the rebel's unruly heartland of Bastar.

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Royals to put sisters in the shade

KATOOMBA is famous for its Three Sisters, but the locals are hoping this picturesque outcrop will be overshadowed by a bigger, and royal, trio.

The town in NSW's Blue Mountains will be visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge around 1pm (AEST) on Thursday, where they will meet tourism heads and indigenous leaders at the Echo Point lookout.

Earlier in the day, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will meet with residents of Winmalee, a nearby town that was badly affected by bushfires in 2013.

The region is recovering after a huge fire complex raged through the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, burning more than 50,000 hectares of bush and destroying more than 200 homes.

"What it says is that the world hasn't forgotten what happened in October 2013," Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill told AAP of the royal visit.

"It means long after the smoke has cleared people still remember and I think that is very important."

He said there was "great excitement" among townspeople who were keen to get a glimpse of Prince William and Kate, and he hoped the media coverage would also show how the region was open for business.

"The economy has not recovered from the fires and we need to attract visitors back to the mountains ... This coverage will bring people back."

The duke and duchess will also meet with members of the Mountain Youth Services Team (MYST), a not-for-profit group that helps vulnerable or at-risk teens.

The day will conclude with a meeting at Admiralty House in Sydney with Prime Minister Tony Abbott. It is not known whether Prince George will make an appearance.

The royals arrived in Sydney from New Zealand on Wednesday.

This is the Duchess' first official visit to Australia and follows Prince William's visit in March 2011 to Queensland and Victoria.

It comes 30 years since Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, visited Australia and New Zealand for six weeks with William when he was Prince George's age.

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10 pound Pom arrival lists go online

NO-ONE was to know it at the time but when the ocean liner Fairsea docked in Sydney in 1958, aboard were some passengers destined to become Australian musical legends.

Fairsea passenger lists show the Gibb family, including future Bee Gees Barry, Maurice and Robin, travelled third class from Southampton to make a new life in Australia.

Also aboard was Red Symons, future lead guitarist of Skyhooks.

They and some million others were referred to as "10 pound Poms", the wave of Britons who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s and 1960s for the princely sum of 10 pounds.

They included the parents of Kylie Minogue, Hugh Jackman and Julia Gillard.

Their names are on what's termed the "Fremantle Passenger Lists" of 3.5 million immigrants in the period 1897-1963.

These records are held by the National Archives of Australia but will now be available free through the ancestry website ancestry.com.au.

Ancestry.com.au content director Ben Mercer said these lists captured a crucial point in the story of many Australians.

"Fremantle in Western Australia was the first point where many immigrants stopped off before embarking on their new life in Australia," he said in a statement.

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Former NYC mayor challenges pro-gun lobby

FORMER New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire and advocate of firearms regulation, plans to spend $US50 million ($A53 million) this year setting up a new group aimed at pulling gun-control supporters to the polls.

The new organisation, Everytown for Gun Safety, will focus on women, especially mothers, The New York Times reports.

"This is what the American public wants," Bloomberg said on Wednesday on NBC's morning news show, Today.

The powerful pro-gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association, declined to comment.

Gun control is a fiercely divisive issue in the US, where the right to bear arms is enshrined in the US Constitution alongside such basic rights as free speech and freedom of religion.

President Barack Obama's plan for broader background checks along with proposals for a ban on military-style assault rifles and limits on ammunition capacity failed in Congress, where Republicans oppose stricter gun laws and many Democrats are reluctant to anger voters.

This despite several recent high-profile shootings, including the shocking killing of 20 children and six teachers at an primary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that made headlines worldwide.

Gun control advocates need to learn from the NRA and punish those politicians who fail to support their agenda, including Democrats, Bloomberg told The New York Times.

"They say, 'We don't care. We're going to go after you,'" he said of the NRA.

He added: "We've got to make them afraid of us."

Bloomberg made nearly $US14 million in federal campaign contributions for gun-control candidates in the 2012 elections, and said his new group's strategy will focus on expanding the background check system for gun buyers at the state and national levels.

The group will look closely at 15 states, including pro-gun states such as Texas, and other states where gun control initiatives have advanced.

The group aims to sign up one million new supporters this year, would reward political candidates "who are protecting lives, and make sure that those who are trying to keep people from being protected lose elections," the former mayor said.

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By George - a right royal welcome

BY George - they're finally here!

Large crowds are expected to give the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince George, a right royal welcome when they arrive in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon to kick off their highly anticipated tour of Australia.

After being met at the airport by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the trio will be whisked away to the Sydney Opera House for a right royal tour and a reception, to be hosted by NSW Governor Marie Bashir and Premier Barry O'Farrell.

It's expected about 400 guests will attend the reception, including former Australian cricket fast bowler Glenn McGrath and Australian Women's Cricket Team member Ellyse Perry, along with children dressed to represent all nations competing in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

The royals are expected to meet and greet members of the public before being taken by police boat to Admiralty House where they will be hosted by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove.

On Thursday, the Duke and Duchess will visit communities in the Blue Mountains hit by bushfires with plans to drop in to the Royal Easter Show on Friday.

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Call for more money for Vic mine clean-up

COMMUNITY groups want a $90 million fund for new brown coal technology in Victoria's Latrobe Valley to be instead used to pay for the Hazelwood coalmine fire clean-up.

The Voices of the Valley spokesman Simon Ellis said $2 million in support announced by the Victorian government had already been spent, but the clean-up was not close to being finished.

The federal and Victorian governments each pledged $45 million to the Advanced Lignite Demonstration Program back in 2012, to entice companies to develop ways to use brown coal from the valley more profitably with reduced emissions.

"It would be an insult to Latrobe Valley residents if the state and federal government's first significant response to the Hazelwood fire was to find new coal mines and technologies," Mr Ellis said.

He said the priority should be to clean up Morwell homes and prevent any further fires at the Hazelwood mine.

At Wednesday's Hazelwood mine inquiry community consultation session in Traralgon, The Voices of the Valley will deliver hundreds of affidavits, survey responses, photos and videos collected from residents to help the inquiry with its investigation into how the fire unfolded.

The fire ignited when bushfires spread to a disused section of the mine on February 9 and burned for 45 days, shrouding nearby communities in smoke and forcing some residents to leave Morwell.

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Bee threats to be outlined

BEE business and a potential billion dollar threat to agriculture is on the agenda of a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

At a town hall in Murray Bridge, west of Adelaide, senators will start to hear evidence from those in the bee and honey industry, including their fears of an infestation of the disease-spreading Varroa mite.

Ten submissions have been received, with some indicating a mite infestation is most likely to reach Australia via established bee hives carried on international shipping.

Such a breakout could cost Australian agriculture billions of dollars through subsequent loss of pollination and propagation of crops, independent senator Nick Xenophon says.

Australia needs to strengthen its biosecurity regulations, demanding that overseas shipping companies remove bee hives from ships before arrival, Senator Xenophon said.

The beekeeping and pollination inquiry is also scheduled to sit in Brisbane in May.

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Chinese pork giant plans IPO

THE world's biggest pork producer says it plans to raise up to $US5.3 billion ($A5.66 billion) in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

China's WH Group said late on Monday it was selling 3.65 million shares priced at between 8 and 11.25 Hong Kong dollars ($A1.10 -$A1.55).

That would raise between $US4.1 billion and $US5.3 billion for WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings.

The company is a pork behemoth after buying the largest US pork company, Smithfield Foods Inc., less than a year ago for $US4.7 billion in cash.

Most of the proceeds from the IPO will be used to pay off the loan that the company took out to buy Smithfield Foods.

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