Roof collapse in Latvia kills at least 45

RESCUE workers have retrieved 45 bodies from the rubble of a supermarket in the Latvian capital Riga a day after a large section of its roof collapsed.

The Maxima supermarket in central Riga was full of shoppers when the roof caved in Thursday evening.

Latvian media reported that dozens more victims might be found, with officials saying that the number of people missing was unclear.

By 1pm on Friday, just 900 of 1500 square metres of the affected area had been cleared, fire brigade spokesman Normunds Plegermanis told the BNS news agency.

Thirty-five people were injured and hospitals were calling for more blood donations.

Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said it was "a tragic and black day" in the history of Latvia.

Among the dead were also three firemen, who were killed when additional sections of the roof collapsed as they worked.

Witnesses said that they heard an alarm before the roof caved in.

Gintaras Jasinskas, a board member of supermarket operator Maxima Latvia, said that nobody had been evacuated because there were "no obvious signs of fire," BNS reported.

Police are investigating the operator for failure to react to warnings.

Latvian media reported that the roof had been undergoing reconstruction. The building was only completed in 2011.

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UK 'slavery' suspects arrested before

THE two suspects bailed after three women were alleged to have been held as slaves in London for 30 years were previously arrested in the 1970s.

They have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences as well as in connection with the investigation into slavery and domestic servitude, Scotland Yard said.

The case came to light after one victim told a charity she had been held against her will in a house in London for more than 30 years.

The victims - a 30-year-old British woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 69-year-old Malaysian woman - are being looked after in a safe location.

Police said the two suspects have been in the country for "many years", and said the case "so far is unique to us".

It was described as a "complicated and disturbing picture of emotional control over many years".

Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland said the whole of the human trafficking unit - 37 officers - are now working on this investigation.

Specially-trained officers are working with the women to try to understand their lives over the last 30 years or more, he said.

Hyland said the women are in the care of a specialist non-governmental organisation.

"Whilst we do not believe that they have been subjected to sexual abuse, we know that there has been physical abuse, described as beatings.

"However there is nothing to suggest that the suspects were violent to others outside of the address," he said.

Hyland said the two suspects have also been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

He was not prepared to disclose the nationalities of the two people arrested, but said they have been in the country for "many years".

Police do not believe the victims were trafficked into the UK, he said.

Hyland said the police search of the address in south London took 12 hours, and said they seized 55 bags of evidence amounting to in excess of 2500 exhibits.

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Cyclone warning issued for southern India

A TROPICAL cyclone over the Bay of Bengal is likely to hit coastal areas of India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh over the next 24 hours, with evacuations set to begin soon, officials said on Thursday.

Cyclone Helen is predicted to bring winds of up to 120km/h, as well as heavy rainfall.

Storm surges of up to 1.5 metres at the time of landfall are expected near the city of Machillipatnam on Friday afternoon, India's Meteorological Department said.

The storm was expected to cause "extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts. Minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large trees", the IMD said in a statement.

Fishermen have been warned not to venture out to sea.

State disaster management official VK Ekbote said the storm was changing course, and evacuations would begin on Friday once officials were able to confirm precisely where it would make land.

The storm is expected to be significantly less intense than Cyclone Phailin, which hit India's Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states last month, with wind speeds of over 200km/h, claiming 40 lives.

Cyclones often form over the Bay of Bengal, bringing widespread destruction and flooding to India's southern and eastern coasts.

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Aussie tour a long shot for Python show

MONTY Python haven't ruled out eventually touring their reunion show to Australia although John Cleese has joked it would be easier to travel to another planet.

The remaining members of Monty Python will perform together in London's O2 Arena in mid-2014, more than 30 years after their last stage performance.

The veteran comedy troupe - Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Cleese - announced the news at a press conference in London on Thursday.

Asked by AAP if they would consider taking the show Down Under, Cleese said: "The only problem with Australia is there are planets closer than that."

Palin added: "I'd like to play Darwin, it always gets left out. Coober Pedy?"

Idle, however, insisted a future Australian date wasn't out of the question.

"The (Sydney) Opera House is one of the finest places to play," he told reporters.

"I've played there a couple of times, it's fabulous, so who knows."

The July gig is billed as a "one and only" show, but the team entertained the idea of a wider world tour.

The veteran comedians kicked off Thursday's press conference at the Playhouse Theatre by simultaneously talking over the top of each other.

Host Warwick Davis then appeared on stage to restore order.

The quintet lined up behind the wrong name cards and answered questions addressed to other members of the team.

The first question was from a Spanish journalist who asked why Monty Python was reuniting now.

"Nobody expected the Spanish inquisition," Palin quipped.

Idle said the real reason was "we are all trying to pay for Terry Jones's mortgage".

"And if we left it too long it would be too late."

The team will be doing some material never performed live before.

"There'll be quite a lot of that," Idle said, before pointing out that most people find new songs to be the low point of most concerts.

The Pythons have amassed millions of fans for their groundbreaking, anarchic comedy series and films, which also launched their own successful solo careers.

Monty Python's Flying Circus was made for TV between 1969 and 1974 and generations of fans can recite lines and whole sketches.

The team went on to make films including Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) and Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979).

Sixth Python Graham Chapman died of cancer in 1989, aged just 48, and nine years later the five remaining members appeared together on stage at the Aspen Comedy Festival in the US.

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UK police free women held as slaves

THREE "traumatised women" kept as slaves in London have been freed after spending three decades imprisoned against their will, police say.

A 30-year-old British woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 69-year-old Malaysian woman are believed to have walked to their freedom from a property in south London after media coverage on forced marriages gave them the courage to contact a support charity.

A man and a woman, both aged 67, were arrested at the home on Thursday morning as part of the investigation into slavery and domestic servitude, Scotland Yard said.

Freedom Charity, which supports victims of forced marriages or honour-based violence, contacted police after receiving a call from one of the women following television coverage on forced marriages

She told the charity she had been held for 30 years.

Aneeta Prem, Freedom Charity founder, said the alleged victims were believed to have suffered physical and mental harm, but were able to walk out of the property after repeated but tentative contact with the organisation's call centre.

"We started in-depth to talks to them when they could, it had to be pre-arranged. They gave us set times when they were able to speak to us," Prem told Sky News

"It was planned that they would be able to walk out of the property. The police were on standby.

Prem said the two people arrested were considered the "heads of the family", and that the women were "absolutely terrified" of them.

"They felt they were in massive danger."

Prem said she did not believe the neighbours were aware of the situation.

"It was just an ordinary house in an ordinary street," she said.

"They were very restricted on everything they could do.

"We absolutely thrilled this has happened."

All three women, who police described as "highly traumatised", were taken to a place of safety where they remain.

The call from one of the alleged captives, which triggered the police investigation, is believed to have been prompted by a feature on television news channels and in the media during the summer, which investigated false marriages in the UK.

Scotland Yard said further inquiries by police revealed the location of the house, and "sensitive negotiations" were conducted by the charity.

Officers said the two suspects have been taken to a south London police station where they remain in custody.

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Ryanair opens new destinations for 2014

LOW-FARE airline Ryanair has announced new routes for next northern summer.

The budget carrier will be operating from Stansted airport to 12 new destinations, including Basle, Bordeaux and Bucharest.

The no-frills airline, which has launched something of a charm offensive in recent weeks, will also be increasing frequencies on 17 routes next summer, including to Milan, Rome, Berlin, Barcelona and Dublin.

Other new destinations from summer 2014 include Dortmund, Lisbon, and Prague.

The increases are part of Ryanair's long-term agreement with Stansted's owners Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

The new flying programme will see Ryanair offer an additional 1.3 million seats, taking the airline's capacity at the Essex airport to 14.5 million passengers.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary says the new routes and increased frequencies will sustain more than 1300 on-site jobs at Stansted.

MAG chief executive Charlie Cornish says the announcement is "fantastic news for Stansted, the region and the passengers who rely on the airport".

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Pedestrian dies in crash near Townsville

A PEDESTRIAN has died after being hit by a car at Nome, near Townsville.

The woman died at the scene when she was hit on the Bruce Highway at about 9pm (AEST) on Thursday, police said.

The woman driving the car was taken to Townsville Hospital for observation.

The highway was closed for several hours and the Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

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Double Nobel winner Fred Sanger dies in UK

SCIENTISTS have paid tribute to biochemist Fred Sanger, described as "the father of the genomic era" and the only Briton ever to win two Nobel Prizes, after his death at the age of 95.

Dr Sanger, who spent his whole scientific career at Cambridge University, was twice awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, first in 1958 for his work on the structure of proteins, and in 1980, when he shared half of the chemistry prize for his contribution to research on DNA sequencing.

His pioneering techniques to sequence the components of DNA paved the way to the genetic revolution that has transformed biology and medicine.

His name was adopted by the world famous Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, where Human Genome Project scientists conducted much of the research leading to the first complete blueprint of the human genetic code.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, says he was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dr Sanger, describing him as one of the greatest scientists of any generation.

"Fred can fairly be called the father of the genomic era: his work laid the foundations of humanity's ability to read and understand the genetic code, which has revolutionised biology and is today contributing to transformative improvements in healthcare, Farrar said.

"We are honoured that the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which has done so much to develop our understanding of the genome and apply it to medicine, bears his name, and that the Wellcome Library holds his papers for posterity."

Professor Colin Blakemore, former chief executive of the Medical Research Council, called Dr Sanger "a real hero of 20th century British science".

"The death of a great person usually provokes hyperbole, but it is impossible to exaggerate the impact of Fred Sanger's work on modern biomedical science," Prof Blakemore said.

"His invention of the two critical technical advances - for sequencing proteins and nucleic acids - opened up the fields of molecular biology, genetics and genomics."

Prof Blakemore added that Dr Sanger was a "disarmingly modest man" who once said: "I was just a chap who messed about in his lab."

Born in 1918 in Gloucestershire, Dr Sanger initially planned to follow his father into medicine, but instead pursued a career in biochemistry.

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Cafferkey killer to appeal over sentence

THE man sentenced to die in prison for killing Sarah Cafferkey and dumping her body in a bin is appealing over his life without parole sentence.

Steven James Hunter, 47, was told he would never be released when he was sentenced to go to jail for the stabbing-death of Ms Cafferkey at his Bacchus Marsh home on November 10 last year.

On Thursday, the Victorian Court of Appeal will hear an application for leave to appeal against that sentence.

The two-time killer pleaded guilty to the crime, committed 11 days after his parole ended for kidnapping and assaulting a man.

Hunter told police upon his arrest he should be locked up until he dies, though his lawyer Tim Marsh later argued he should be spared life without parole.

In September, Mr Marsh lodged an appeal with the Victorian Court of Appeal.

Ms Cafferkey, 22, was Hunter's second murder victim.

He first killed in 1986 when he stabbed work colleague Jacqueline Mathews for rejecting his sexual advances.

He then doused her body in petrol and burned it beyond recognition.

He was jailed for 16 years for her murder in 1988.

He has also been convicted of a list of other offences, including assault, escaping jail and kidnapping.

In sentencing Hunter to prison with no opportunity for parole, Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bell said the murder fell into the worst category of the worst offence in the criminal calendar.

Hunter will not appear in court on Thursday when his application is heard.

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Deere profit beats US estimates

DEERE & Co's fourth-quarter net income has risen 17 per cent as it raised prices for its farm and construction equipment.

But it is predicting a slowdown in the farm economy and smaller profits for next year.

Crop prices have been dipping after setting record highs, so farmers have less money in their pockets.

Deere says that will hurt demand next year. It predicts that equipment sales will fall three per cent next year, and its profits will also decline.

For the most recent quarter Deere earned $US806.8 million ($A857.9 million), or $US2.11 per share. That was up from $US687.6 million, or $US1.75 per share, a year earlier.

The results were well ahead of the $US1.90 per share profit expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Equipment revenue fell Five per cent to $US8.62 billion, matching analyst estimates.

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Patel to be sentenced for fraud

FORMER Bundaberg doctor Jayant Patel is due to be sentenced on Thursday for fraudulently working as a surgeon in Queensland.

The 63-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud in the Brisbane District Court last Friday.

All criminal negligence charges against him were dropped on the same day after the state's Director of Public Prosecutions decided further trials weren't in the public interest.

Patel was extradited to Australia from his home country the US in 2008 to face allegations of killing and maiming patients while he was a director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005.

In 2010 he faced trial charged with three counts of manslaughter and one of grievous bodily harm and was convicted on all charges.

The Indian-born surgeon was sentenced to seven years' prison but the convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2012. He was released and separate retrials were ordered.

Patel was acquitted of manslaughter in the first retrial in 2013 and in October the jury in his grievous bodily harm trial was unable to reach a verdict.

He was formally discharged from the criminal negligence charges last Friday.

At the same time he pleaded guilty to dishonestly gaining registration as a medical practitioner in Queensland in 2003 and 2004.

He also pleaded guilty to dishonestly gaining employment at Bundaberg between March 2003 and April 2005.

Patel is due to be sentenced in the District Court in Brisbane.

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McDonald's sorry over rap lyrics

FAST food giant McDonald's has apologised to a grandfather and his toddler grandson who were blasted by rap music peppered with explicit sex lyrics as they ate.

A song by x-rated American rapper Rucka Rucka Ali blared out across the Haverfordwest restaurant of the chain, in west Wales, last Friday.

Steve Davidson was having breakfast with 20-month-old grandson Charlie when the controversial song was broadcast over the outlet's sound system.

The breakfast-time bombardment came from a track called Only 17, which features on the controversial rapper's 2011 album called Probably Racist.

The song, too explicit to quote, talks in detail about anal rape, under age sex and prison violence.

Stunned, Mr Davidson, a landlord who runs the Three Crowns pub in neighbouring Milford Haven, said the disgusting lyrics were "bordering on pornography".

McDonald's explained today a late shift employee working after the outlet shut had left his private listening linked to its public sound system by mistake.

It apologised for the "isolated lapse in our rigorous standards" and acknowledged that the content of the song lyrics were "wholly inappropriate."

"The bottom line is that it's bordering on pornography. It certainly shouldn't be playing in a restaurant where they sell Happy Meals to children," Mr Davidson told the Western Telegraph, in Haverfordwest.

"The lyrics are disgusting, they are very explicit - not just a bit risque or a bit of swearing.

"It's not what you want while you're having your breakfast.

"You have to be over 18 to download it. For them to be playing it somewhere that attracts children is obviously a concern."

A McDonald's spokesman said: "We offer our sincere apologies to Mr Davidson for any offence caused by the music playing in our Haverfordwest store last Friday morning. The content and lyrics were wholly inappropriate and had no place in McDonald's.

"The previous evening while the restaurant dining area had been closed to members of the public, an employee had connected their personal music player to the restaurant sound system while working the overnight shift.

"This music device was inadvertently left connected to the system when the restaurant reopened the following morning."

He says the vast majority of McDonald's restaurants, including Haverfordwest, have external music providers dedicated to creating playlists that have been thoroughly screened for appropriateness of language and content.

Management had also spoken to the crew member involved and reminded all employees about the policies in place and the reasons for them, he said.

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Brooks a demanding editor: UK lawyer

REBEKAH Brooks was a demanding editor who wanted to "get stories into the newspaper", a lawyer has told her phone-hacking trial in Britain.

But Justin Walford, who worked as an in-house lawyer at the company that published The Sun and the News of the World (NotW), said he was never asked to give advice about phone hacking, and never felt under any financial pressure while checking stories for legal pitfalls.

Walford, deputy legal manager at News Group Newspapers, told the Old Bailey he was mainly responsible for legal checks on The Sun, but would stand in for legal manager Tom Crone in checking its now-defunct weekly sister title the NotW.

He told the court that lawyers would "libel read" both The Sun and the NotW before they were published, then make suggestions for possible changes.

Describing Brooks, Walford told jurors: "I think she was a very demanding editor. She wanted high standards. She was very demanding in my dealings with her."

He said she would often argue with legal queries rather than accepting them without discussion.

"She was passionate about the paper and what she wanted to get into the newspaper and we had many an argument about material going into the paper," he said.

"She is a strong personality, she has strong views and she expected hard work and everyone pulling in the same direction to get stories into the newspaper.

"It was not the case where a lawyer could just make a few legal marks and it would be quickly forgotten. She would want an explanation why those marks had been made."

Asked to describe Brooks' fellow defendant Andy Coulson, Walford said: "I think Andy Coulson was an editor who wanted to get stories into the paper.

"I didn't libel read the paper (the NotW) that many times when he was editor but he listened to advice."

He said Coulson would also argue over material to go in the paper, but would "take seriously" the legal advice he was given.

Brooks, 45; former NotW editor Andy Coulson, also 45; former NotW head of news Ian Edmondson, 44, and the tabloid's ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, 73 are on trial for conspiring with others to hack phones between October 3, 2000 and August 9, 2006.

Walford told the court on Monday: "Clearly editors want to get stories into the newspapers and, quite rightly, they will push the lawyer to agree the copy they want to put in."

But he said he never felt any financial pressure to allow material in.

"I try to give advice and if editors don't like it, it's up to them. It's their decision to publish, not the lawyer's.

"I have never felt under financial pressure or anything like that."

He said he could not remember being asked to give any advice on phone hacking, and had no cause to suspect that any story had been sourced in that way.

And he told the court he could not remember private investigator Glenn Mulcaire's name being mentioned until he was arrested alongside NotW royal editor Clive Goodman in 2006.

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Singer in UK court on child sex charges

VETERAN folk and rock performer Roy Harper has appeared in a UK court charged with committing a series of child sex offences in the 1970s.

The singer-songwriter, who has performed with Pink Floyd and influenced rock band Led Zeppelin, was not required to enter a plea to any of the charges during a four-minute appearance at Hereford Magistrates' Court.

Harper, of Rossmore, near Clonakilty, County Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, is accused of two counts of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 13.

The singer also faces three charges of indecent assault and four of gross indecency relating to the same alleged victim.

West Mercia Police announced last week that Harper had been charged with the offences, which are alleged to have occurred between 1975 and 1977 in the Herefordshire area.

Harper, dressed casually in a checked shirt and blue jeans, spoke only to give the clerk of the court his name and full address during today's hearing.

The 72-year-old declined to comment to reporters after his appearance before three magistrates, who granted unconditional bail and ordered him to appear before a judge at Worcester Crown Court on December 2.

The prolific performer has produced more than 30 albums during his career, and continues to tour.

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Malta to ID buyers of its citizenship

THE Maltese government has rolled back one element of its controversial law to sell its citizenship for 650,000 ($A942,644), saying it will publish the names of people buying their way into European Union passports.

The government had argued that keeping the names secret would have brought in more money - the key goal of the initiative - because more people would have been attracted to buying a Maltese passport anonymously.

But the government withdraw the secrecy clause "after listening to the people," according to a statement late Sunday.

Opposition politicians and ordinary Maltese had argued that keeping the names secret could have exposed Malta to ill-intentioned citizenship-seekers, including possible terrorists.

Citizens of EU-member Malta can freely enter and reside in any of the other 27 EU member states.

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Pike River disaster three years on

IT'S three years since a huge explosion ripped through New Zealand's Pike River mine but the remains of the 29 men who were killed, including two Australians, still haven't been recovered.

In the afternoon of November 19, 2010 there was a large methane explosion at the West Coast underground mine, north of Greymouth.

Two miners survived the blast and it was initially thought 29 others could be rescued.

But a second blast five days later dashed all hope, with then-Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall delivering the news to families that the miners hadn't survived.

Two Australians, a South African and two Scots were among the dead. The youngest victim was 17, the oldest was 62.

Three years on from the disaster, its effects are still being felt.

The NZ government last week passed legislation to implement 16 recommendations made by the royal commission charged with finding out what happened at Pike River and why.

The new laws and regulations will bring mining safety into line with international best practice, Labour Minister Simon Bridges said.

The royal commission's damning report, released in November last year, said there were numerous warnings of a potential catastrophe.

"The drive for coal production before the mine was ready created the circumstances within which the tragedy occurred," it said.

Bringing those responsible for the health and safety failings that led to the miners' deaths has been a bittersweet process.

In July this year, the company that owned the Pike River mine - now in receivership - was ordered to pay $NZ110,000 ($A98,970) to each of the families of the dead miners and fined $NZ760,000.

However, the receivers said the company didn't have the money to pay the fine and gave the families just a fraction of the compensation ordered - $NZ5000 each.

Shareholders in parent company NZ Oil and Gas recently overwhelmingly voted against paying the compensation, and Prime Minister John Key has said the government won't either.

Whittall will stand trial in Wellington next year on 12 health and safety charges, but police have ruled out laying criminal charges against any individuals involved in the disaster.

Meanwhile, the families of 29 men still hope the remains of their loved ones can be recovered.

Though there's no guarantee the bodies will be retrieved, the government has put $NZ10 million towards entering the first part of the mine.

In October, the Defence Force completed the first part of the re-entry programme, removing 35 tonnes of debris from the area around the top of the mine's ventilation shaft.

The next part of the plan will be to plug the top 50 to 60 metres of the 100m ventilation shaft with up to 700 cubic metres of concrete and other material.

When the ventilation shaft in the main entry tunnel has been sealed nitrogen will be pumped into the tunnel to force out the methane, and mine experts will be able to walk down the 2.3km drift to a rockfall.

But most of the bodies are believed to be in tunnels beyond and, at this point, the operation doesn't include entering the main mine workings.

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Vic Labor wants to sell Port of Melbourne

THE Victorian Opposition will remove Melbourne's 50 worst level crossings within eight years if it wins next year's election.

This is part of its alternative plan to the East West Link that it would pay for with the $6 billion sale of the Port of Melbourne, News Corp Australia reports.

Victorian Labor leader Daniel Andrews is expected to release the plan on Tuesday.

"Victorians are sick of the chaos and congestion at our level crossings, and putting up with overcrowded and late trains and crumbling suburban and country roads," he told News Corp.

Victorian Labor opposes the $8 billion East West Link and instead wants a rail tunnel.

It believes the Port of Melbourne is worth up to $6 billion if privatised, which it says would cover the estimated cost of removing Melbourne's most congested and dangerous level crossings.

Other features of its pledge is $300 million in its first budget on planning and early works on the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel.

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Royal Commission begins in Sydney

BRUTAL bashings and the sexual abuse of children under the care of the Anglican church in NSW will be examined at the next round of public hearings in a national inquiry.

The third case study by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will open in Sydney on Monday.

It will look at the response of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton to claims of child sexual abuse at the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore.

The diocese's handling of a group compensation claim will also be examined.

The Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, resigned in May this year and apologised for his failings in handling complaints about the orphanage.

He is expected to be called to give evidence at the inquiry.

The Royal Commission will in December begin examining allegations and responses to abuse pertaining to the Catholic church.

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Cancer gene women unprotected: research

MANY Australian women are failing to protect themselves from breast and ovarian cancer despite knowing they carry a dangerous gene mutation, according to a new study.

About 20 per cent are likely to have their breasts removed, according to the study which tracked 325 women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations for up to 15 years.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows about 40 per cent have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

Apart from protecting against ovarian cancer, this procedure reduced the risk of breast cancer if done before menopause, said research leader Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

Three per cent of the women in the study participated in a clinical trial of Tamoxifen, a medication which Prof Phillips and her team recently showed helped halve the risk of breast cancer.

The next phase of the research would involve face-to-face interviews with women and their doctors to understand why some women did not use cancer prevention strategies.

"All the options have advantages and disadvantages. These are complex and personal decisions," said Prof Phillips.

Data collection for the study ended in May 2012, before actor Angelina Jolie went public about her double mastectomy.

An increase in genetic testing has been reported in Australia since then and Prof Phillips told AAP it was possible this had prompted more women to take preventative action.

But prevention during the research period was low compared with other countries, she said.

One reason could be that women were not aware of the latest options.

"The evidence for the different interventions has changed significantly over the past few years," she said.

"My advice is for women who know they have the gene mutation to talk to their specialist at regular intervals.

"Women who don't know if they have the mutation but are concerned about their family history should talk to their GP.

BRCA1 mutation carriers have a 65 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 39 per cent chance of ovarian cancer by the age of 70, according to the study.

BRCA2 mutation carriers have a 45 per cent chance of breast cancer and 11 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.

"There are things women can do that will dramatically reduce their risk," said Prof Phillips.

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Bold action needed for Aussie kids: report

AUSTRALIA needs bold action to improve the wellbeing of its young people, says a high-powered group concerned the country is underperforming compared with its peers.

The main problems include a lack of support for babies and toddlers, education, physical health and income disparity, says a strategy report compiled by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).

The document, titled Nest, will be launched in Canberra on Monday.

It says Australians aged 0-24 rank in the top third for about a quarter of wellbeing indicators and in the bottom third for another quarter compared with other countries in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Australia is doing well for youth smoking, education and employment, but relatively poorly for infant mortality, income inequality, jobless families, pre-school attendance and year-4 reading and science.

The report highlights serious inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous children and youth.

"Australian children are not doing as well as they should be. We are middle of the road at best for child wellbeing compared to other countries," said Dr Lance Emerson, CEO of the 3000-member group.

"We have management plans for the hairy-nosed wombat, but we don't have an overarching plan for kids."

He said a co-ordinated plan was needed across several areas.

"It is important that we don't try to address issues individually.

"Finishing Year 12 is a better indicator of low risk for heart disease than hypertension and a lot of other illnesses combined."

The aim was for Australia to achieve a top-five position for education performance and physical, social and emotional wellbeing by 2025, he said.

"Healthy children mean a healthy economy."

Australia needed a strong legislated approach that ensured children got off to a better start, Dr Emerson said.

"The Scandinavian countries are doing incredibly well. They invest heavily in services for parents in the early years."

ARACY Chair Elaine Henry said there had been excellent reforms in the past, but non-government agencies, governments and service providers had been working in isolation, all looking after their own patch.

"We know we can achieve these targets if we invest wisely in evidence-based and prevention-focused policies, programs and practices," she said.

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Nobel-winning author Lessing dies

DORIS Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of The Golden Notebook, has died aged 94.

The British author died peacefully at her London home in the early hours of this morning, a spokesman said.

Born in Iran in 1919, Ms Lessing grew up in Southern Rhodesia before emigrating to London after the Second World War with the manuscript of her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, in her suitcase.

It was published in 1950 and across the course of her life she produced 54 further works, including poetry, two operas, short stories, plays and non-fiction.

In 2007, she became the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize, aged 88, and only the 11th woman to win the award.

Jonathan Clowes, her long time friend and agent, said today that he was greatly saddened by the news.

"She was a wonderful writer with a fascinating and original mind; it was a privilege to work for her and we shall miss her immensely," he said.

The writer is survived by her daughter Jean and granddaughters Anna and Susannah.

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Eddie Obeid to give evidence at ICAC

EDDIE Obeid will take the witness stand at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Monday as more than three weeks of public hearings into the corrupt former MP's conduct conclude.

Since late October the ICAC has been examining witnesses in relation to three operations - Cyrus, Cabot and Meeka.

And on Monday morning Mr Obeid is due to give evidence on all three investigations.

Operation Cyrus is investigating whether between 2000 and 2011 Mr Obeid "misused his position as an MP to attempt to influence other public officials" over lucrative retail leases at Circular Quay in which his family had hidden interests, the ICAC says.

It's also examining under Operation Cabot whether Mr Obeid used his political muscle to have a generous water licence, several times larger than recommended by authorities, granted over a Bylong Valley property his family owned.

And the third ICAC operation, Meeka, is looking at allegations the fallen Labor kingmaker lobbied parliamentary colleagues and public servants to make decisions favourable to a staff management company in which he had secret financial interests.

During their time in the witness stand, former Labor ports ministers Carl Scully, Michael Costa, Eric Roozendaal and Joe Tripodi all told the ICAC Mr Obeid had spoken to them about the Circular Quay leases.

All denied knowing his family had a stake in two harbourside restaurants and a cafe.

On Monday Mr Obeid will give his version of events to the ICAC inquiry, held in central Sydney and headed by assistant commissioner Anthony Whealy.

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