Man dies in NSW house fire

A MAN'S body has been discovered in a burned out house in northwest NSW after firefighters battled a blaze at the property for more than two hours.

Emergency services were called to the home in Euroka Street, Walgett at about 5.30am (AEDT) on Saturday following reports of a fire.

Human remains were found in the property after the blaze was finally extinguished at about 8am.

Police believe the body is that of a 69-year-old man.

Investigators have established a crime scene but are yet to determine the cause of the fire.

They have urged anyone with information about unusual or suspicious activity in the area to come forward.

The body will undergo a post mortem examination and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

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Asian tourist drowns off Mordialloc pier

AN Asian tourist has drowned in Melbourne's southeast.

The man in his 30s was swimming with friends near the Mordialloc pier in Mordialloc when someone noticed him face down in the water about 4.20pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Police said the man, believed to be visiting from Asia, was pronounced dead about 5pm.

Emergency services are at the scene and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Two men wounded in latest Sydney shootings

TWO men are in hospital with gun shot wounds following two separate shootings in western Sydney.

Police say the incidents are not linked but believe one of the attacks was targeted.

In the first incident, a 21-year-old man was shot in the back at Strathfield during an altercation on Chalmers Street in the early hours of Saturday.

Police said the wounded man managed to drive himself to Richmond Road at Lidcombe, before being found by police.

He was taken to Westmead Hospital with a single gunshot wound and remains there in a serious but stable condition.

Witnesses have described hearing an argument shortly before the man was shot.

"(There were) people screaming, and then five loud bangs, and then I heard like a firecracker or a gun shoot and then the car sped off," Jayden Seyfarth told the Seven Network.

In the second incident, a 24-year-old man of Middle Eastern background was shot in his left thigh and right knee about 2am (AEDT) on Saturday.

The victim has told police he was shot while sitting in a parked car in Bass Hill but managed to drive himself to hospital after being wounded.

Bankstown Acting Superintendent Glen Fitzgerald said the victim was undergoing surgery and police were waiting to speak to him.

However, he was not confident that the victim would provide police with much useful information.

"This is a typical shooting that has been ongoing in the southwest of Sydney," Supt Fitzgerald told reporters.

"The person has taken himself to hospital, he has not called triple zero, and he's not assisting police with what's happening.

"It's not a random shooting, this is a targeted shooting."

Police were not aware of the shooting being related to any outlaw bikie gang activity.

He said he was not aware of any links to the Strathfield shooting.

The attacks came on the same day that a man appeared in court charged over the death of another man who was shot in broad daylight last week.

Falah Alkanaan, 27, is charged with the murder of a 31-year-old Cranebrook man outside a house in Boldrewood Rd at Blackett on February 2.

Police arrested Alkanaan at Sydney Airport's domestic terminal just before 4.30pm (AEDT) on Friday.

On Saturday morning, Alkanaan appeared briefly in Parramatta Bail Court via video link, wearing a grey tracksuit top.

Alkanaan's legal aid lawyer, Ivan Bertoia, did not apply for bail on his client's behalf.

Magistrate Gail Madgwick adjourned the matter until Wednesday at Mt Druitt Local Court.

The victim was shot while standing in the street, police told reporters at the time, with witnesses reporting the sound of shots, and a vehicle speeding off.

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Bets on fixed sports events 'don't stand'

BETS placed on a "fixed" sporting event do not stand - in theory.

A partner at Sydney law firm Addisons and a leading specialist in the gaming sector, Jamie Nettleton, said the theoretical and practical outcomes may differ.

"From a theoretical perspective, if there is match fixing and the event is flawed, then essentially the bets don't stand," he told AAP.

"That means that the bets are declared void, and the bets would be returned.

"That's very easy when something happens ahead of time (the corruption is uncovered before the sporting event).

"Where it becomes apparent afterwards, generally, all the money has gone. The event is over, all the winnings have been paid out, and it's very hard in those cases to recover the winnings."

The laying of criminal charges and having them proved was not a necessary precondition to a bet being made void in all cases.

The terms and conditions of some wagers only required a "reasonable view" that the outcome of a match had been corrupted.

It was generally the administrator of the sport who determined the reasonable view.

"They are generally the arbiters of integrity in respect to the sport," Mr Nettleton said.

Bookmakers, generally, also had a "feel" for potentially corrupt bets and could suspend betting.

In a number of cases, Australian licensed bookmakers had provided information about suspect wagering to the sports administrators.

Mr Nettleton said in his opinion Australian sports and sports betting had very stringent measures in place to protect integrity.

He said international co-operation was most needed to stop match fixing.

"That's where the effort really needs to be put. It doesn't matter what regulations, what stronger laws we have here (in Australia).

"Although, it is appropriate to have very strong laws here, it's the money flow and the criminal elements overseas which are going to be behind it (match fixing)."

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Japan current account surplus at 1985 low

JAPAN'S current account surplus last year shrank to its lowest in almost three decades, as exports to China and Europe slumped in a worrying sign for the world's third-largest economy.

The finance ministry said the current account, the broadest measure of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, came in at Y4.7 trillion ($A49.02 billion) in 2012, the smallest annual surplus since 1985.

The current account measures not only international trade in goods but also services, tourism and Japan's foreign investments abroad.

The news was also poor for December, with the country logging a monthly deficit of 264.1 billion yen, reversing a year-earlier surplus of 265.7 billion yen.

That was the first deficit for the month of December since 1985 and the second straight month in negative territory.

The figures come after Japan last month said it logged a record trade deficit for 2012, the second consecutive annual trade shortfall.

The data are likely to heap renewed pressure on Japan's new government to fulfil an election pledge to reinvigorate the limp economy.

"Exports mainly to the EU and China declined, while imports mainly in mineral fuels and communication devices increased," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The European Union's financial troubles hit demand for Japan-brand imports, while shipments to major trade partner China slumped due to a Tokyo-Beijing territorial spat, which sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese goods.

Tokyo's energy bills, meanwhile, have shot up after it turned to pricey fossil-fuel alternatives after switching off its nuclear reactors following the atomic crisis at Fukushima in 2011.

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Man to be charged with shotgun murder

A MAN has been arrested at Sydney Airport and he is expected to be charged with murder over a shotgun death in Sydney's west.

Detectives from the Homicide Squad and the Mount Druitt local area command located the 27-year-old at the domestic terminal at Sydney Airport about 4.20pm (AEDT) on Friday.

He was taken into custody and is expected to be charged with murder, police said in a statement.

The victim, a 31-year-old man, had visited a house in Boldrewood Road at Blackett, about 1.15pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

He had a conversation with someone at the house and was standing in the street when he was shot in the head, police said.

The man died at the scene.

Police recovered a sawn-off shotgun in a nearby street.

About 90 minutes earlier, a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg outside his home in Hinkler Grove, just 1km away in Bidwill.

A vehicle had been hooning up and down the street before the victim came out of his home and confronted the driver.

He was shot in the leg and was taken to Mt Druitt Hospital for treatment.

Police have said the incidents were not linked.

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NT and Canberra clash over booze curbs

THE Northern Territory and federal governments are again butting heads over problem drinking in the territory.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin revealed on Wednesday she had written to NT Chief Minister Terry Mills requesting an assessment of how two pubs in Alice Springs were being run.

She said there was too much evidence of antisocial behaviour and harm to the community connected to the hotels.

But NT Business Minister Peter Chandler on Thursday rejected the request.

"To tell us to target hotels who are already compliant with liquor licensing regulations and who we have a good working relationship with is nonsense," Mr Chandler said.

"This is completely inappropriate and I am requesting a meeting with Jenny Macklin," he said in a statement.

Alice Springs has been identified as a hot spot for violence in the Northern Territory.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Julia Gillard criticised the NT government's scrapping of the territory's Banned Drinkers Register.

"The government will take action in response to any irresponsible policy changes that threaten to forfeit our hard-won gains," Ms Gillard said.

Those comments drew a stern rebuke from Acting NT Chief Minister Robyn Lambley, who said Canberra should listen to the NT on dealing with alcohol, not the other way around.

The Banned Drinkers Register forced people buying take-away alcohol to provide photo identification, which is checked against a list of problem drunks, who are prevented from making the purchase.

It is not clear what action Ms Macklin will take if the NT government ignores her request to investigate the two pubs in Alice Springs.

She told ABC television it remained to be seen what would happen if nothing was done.

"There is serious harm taking place. Let's act to deal with it," she said.

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Macdonald offered $4m for coal deal: ICAC

SCRIBBLED notes written by a friend of former NSW minister Ian Macdonald allegedly show he offered the minister bribes of $4 million in exchange for help with a coal deal in the Hunter region, a corruption inquiry has heard.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating claims that Mr Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for coal exploration licences in the Bylong Valley and that Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid and his family gained substantial financial benefit from it.

Giving evidence to the commission on Thursday, businessman Greg Jones began with a laugh as he confirmed his nickname for the Obeids - the Irish Catholics.

By midday he was denying offering his "old mate" Mr Macdonald, then the state's mining minister, a five per cent cut if he helped smooth the way for a coal mining tenement covering properties owned by the Obeids which formed part of the Mount Penny exploration area.

Counsel assisting the commissioner, Geoffrey Watson SC, said a note handwritten by Mr Jones suggested otherwise.

"Mt Penny - 5% - $4 million approx by June 2010", the note reads, under the heading Cascade Coal, a mining firm in which Mr Jones was an investor and the Obeids had an interest.

Mr Jones said he had "no idea" what the multimillion-dollar sum in his note referred to and denied that this was a fee to be paid to his friend.

Cascade Coal issued a statement on Thursday that "it had no knowledge of, or involvement in, any such financial arrangements, dealings or communications between Mr Jones and Mr Macdonald or interests associated with Mr Macdonald".

Mr Jones was also asked to explain figures that appeared on the note alongside matters with a connection to Mr Macdonald's ministerial responsibilities, including a $330,000 figure next to the words "forests" and "already taken $30,000 ... already taken $25,000" next to the word "V8's".

Mr Macdonald was minister for forests and for state development when his department made the controversial decision to spend $45 million moving V8 Supercar races to Sydney's west in 2008.

Documents tendered to the commission also showed Mr Jones loaned Mr Macdonald $195,000 through one of his companies but that the MP personally paid back only $50,000.

"Can you see why the passing member of the public might think there's a cloud over this?" Mr Watson asked.

Mr Jones conceded they might, but testified that he was simply helping out an "old mate" when he made the loan.

The commission heard the pair became estranged after Mr Macdonald left parliament because Mr Jones believed he still had "value" as a politician.

Two of Eddie Obeid's sons also gave evidence on Thursday.

Gerard Obeid - painted as the "gofer" who drove his brothers around - was unable to answer several questions relating to his family's accounts and businesses.

"I get the impression you really have no idea," Commissioner David Ipp QC said to him.

"Absolutely I don't," he responded.

Mr Watson put to Gerard Obeid that whatever his ignorance of the family balance sheets, he was aware that his family was "in cahoots" with Mr Macdonald.

Brother Damien Obeid said he had talked his family into buying land at Mount Penny and had been "shocked" to learn there was coal underneath and a mine could be operating nearby within years.

"It was actually an 'oh my God moment'," he said.

"I think people who do live near coal mines will tell you that it's not a very nice experience ... I thought, 'Oh, what have I done.'"

The inquiry resumes before Commissioner David Ipp on Monday, when Mr Macdonald is expected to take the stand.

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Brough not ashamed of Slipper action

FORMER Liberal government minister Mal Brough says he has nothing to be ashamed over his involvement in a failed sexual harassment case against former Speaker Peter Slipper.

A Federal Court judge late last year found Mr Brough had worked in "combination" with Slipper staffer James Ashby to publicly damage the MP's reputation.

Justice Stephen Rares found that Mr Ashby's sexual harassment claim against Mr Slipper amounted to a "political attack".

Court documents showed Mr Brough, who has been preselected as the Liberal National Party candidate in Mr Slipper's seat, exchanged emails and texts with James Ashby before he filed the claim against his then boss Mr Slipper.

In his first interview on the subject, published on ABC Online on Thursday, Mr Brough says his involvement in the matter has been fully canvassed and there's nothing more to add.

"All of the discussion, the text messages - of which there is about half a dozen at most - are all there for anyone to read. I have nothing to be ashamed of or would change," he says.

He says the total of his involvement was telling Mr Ashby to see a lawyer and police.

"A person (James Ashby) came to me for assistance. I suggested that they go and get legal advice. I suggested they go to police if they believed a crime had been committed."

Mr Brough said he was not party to the court action and was not being judged by Justice Rares' findings.

He would not comment further when asked if it was wrong or illegal to see Mr Slipper's diary.

"Mr Slipper's now about to face court next week and be charged ... on criminal offences relating to allegations of misuse of travel (entitlements)," Mr Brough said.

"I think that's the right and proper place for such matters to be decided, so it would be entirely wrong of me to make any comment whatsoever about such issues."

James Ashby and his lawyer Michael Harmer have both lodged applications for leave to appeal the court ruling.

Mr Brough later said he had yet to cross paths with Mr Slipper since moving into an office metres from the former speaker's office in Buddina in the Fisher electorate.

"I have been coming and going for three weeks and I have not seen him," Mr Brough told AAP on Thursday.

Comment is being sought from Mr Slipper.

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Potential jurors discharged in Patel case

Five potential jurors are being questioned further about possible bias against Jayant Patel. Source: AAP

IN an Australian first, prospective jurors in the manslaughter trial of former Bundaberg Hospital surgeon Jayant Patel have been polled, in a bid to uncover bias.

Nine potential jurors were discharged during the lengthy selection process in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Wednesday after being asked to consider their impartiality and their ability to fairly judge the accused.

Patel has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Mervyn Morris, 75, in June 2003.

The selection process of those tasked with deciding his fate involved the jurors being sent away to complete written questionnaires designed to determine if they have any bias about the case.

The polling included questions relating to pre-trial publicity and prior knowledge of the allegations against the former surgeon, as well as the jurors' attitudes towards people of Indian heritage.

Justice George Fryberg warned all potential jurors that there had been extensive publicity around the case, and that it was imperative they be impartial and unbiased.

"I suppose few of you have not heard of Dr Patel," he said.

"The happenings at Bundaberg Hospital in 2003 have been the subject of widespread publicity, intense political controversy, heartfelt and public displays of emotion, and wide and varied attacks on a number of people.

"It is essential that every member of the jury be, and be by all fair minded people seen to be, completely impartial between the prosecution and defence."

After considering their responses to the questionnaire, the lawyers then called six jurors back into court one by one for further questioning.

At the end of the process six women and six men were empanelled.

An additional three female reserve jurors have also been sworn in.

Justice Fryberg will make his opening remarks on Friday morning, after which the crown will open its case.

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China radar-lock on Japan ship 'dangerous'

THE radar lock that a Chinese frigate put on a Japanese warship is "dangerous", Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says, as tensions in a territorial row heighten.

"It was a dangerous act that could have led to an unpredictable situation," Abe told parliament on Wednesday.

"It is extremely regrettable. We strongly ask for their self-restraint in order to avoid an unnecessary escalation."

Abe's comments come a day after his defence minister announced weapon-targeting radar had been directed at the Japanese vessel in international waters of the East China Sea last week.

The move marks the first time the two nations' navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was "concerned".

"With regard to the reports of this particular lock-on incident, actions such as this escalate tensions and increase the risk of an incident or a miscalculation, and they could undermine peace, stability and economic growth in this vital region," she said.

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Flat retailing trend confirmed by data

RETAIL spending flattened out over the second half of 2012.

It's hardly a controversial observation, but figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday confirm the plateau extended through to the end of the year.

The figures won't surprise the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which on Tuesday said "a return to the very strong growth (in consumer spending) of some years ago is unlikely".

The value of turnover in retail establishments - which excludes motor vehicle and fuel sellers but includes on-line sellers registered in Australia - fell by 0.2 per cent in December, after adjustment for regular seasonal variations.

It was the third small fall in a row; the first three-in-a-row since the summer of 1999-2000.

With these monthly estimates a fall could always be the result of changes in prices.

But the quarterly estimates which adjust for price changes suggest otherwise.

In real terms, turnover rose by an inconsequential 0.1 per cent in the three months ending December 31 after a 0.2 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

In other words, there was a fall in the volume of goods and services sold by retailers turnover over the second half of 2012.

This represents a rather abrupt halt after a rise of 2.8 per cent, well above the historical average, in the first half of the year.

There is more than one likely contributor to the pause.

One is slow employment growth, with the latest trend estimates from the ABS showing very slow monthly growth of 7,000, compared with a recent peak of more than 19,000 a month early last year.

Slower growth in jobs means slower growth in disposable income.

Another is the decline in housing construction, particularly in the volume of work done on alterations and additions, over the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012.

Housing activity tends to feed into retail spending.

Then there is the emergence of more conservative spending habits, including a preference to reduce debt, among households since the global financial crisis that came to a head in 2008.

Each of these factors probably plays a role in the flat trend in retailing since mid-2012.

And, because they all still apply to a significant extent, it's unlikely that retailing will pick up strongly in the first half of 2013.

Even so, a firmer share market and signs of a rally in housing prices, along with a likely ongoing impact of recent interest rate cuts, suggest some scope for growth rather than the flatlining now evident in the data.

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PNG extends ban on no-confidence vote

PAPUA New Guinea's parliament has voted to extend a ban on votes of no confidence to 30 months into a government's five-year term.

PNG's opposition backed away from supporting the law, saying it will take the matter to the Supreme Court to undo it.

The bill passed into law in PNG's single House of Parliament on Tuesday with a vote of 90 to 14, well above the 74 votes needed to make the constitutional change.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said the law - which extends the ban from the previous 18 months - will give government more time to do its job instead of shoring up numbers to defend itself politically.

"This is not about increasing my power," Mr O'Neill said.

"It is about locking in to place the long-term political stability our nation, especially our people, have been denied for so long.

"It is a reform our people have been calling for - and most certainly our business sector, and our investors, have been calling for."

Debate on the law was gagged following a statement by Mr O'Neill and an opposition member.

Opposition leader Belden Namah and most of his 15-strong team voted against the bill, just four months after announcing their support for the measure, and he said he will follow through with court action.

One member of the opposition voted with the government.

"By this afternoon or tomorrow morning, we will file a Supreme Court reference because we have cited that in that particular amendment, it wasn't done properly," he said, telling reporters the law was not documented properly.

The man who just eight months ago was Mr O'Neill's deputy said the law was not about stability, but about concentrating power in the PM.

"What has happened now - those who voted for the bill - have become insignificant," he told journalists following the vote.

"They have weakened their own bargaining and negotiating power for projects in their districts. It's as simple as that.

"They have put themselves into voluntary exile ... from now on, Peter O'Neill is the most powerful man in the country."

PNG has lost two prime ministers to votes of no confidence since independence in 1975 - Sir Michael Somare and Paias Wingti.

However, the threat of a vote has been a significant part of the Pacific nation's political makeup, causing its prime ministers to become entrenched in money politics to keep colleagues on side.

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Top Swiss bank UBS reports major loss

UBS reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $A2 billion in the wake of a series of scandals. Source: AAP

SWITZERLAND'S biggest bank, UBS AG, has reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 1.9 billion francs ($A2 billion) due to lawsuits and restructuring in the wake of a series of scandals.

That compares with a net profit of 324 million francs in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The bank was hit by a $US2-billion rogue trading scandal.

The Zurich-based bank attributed the fourth-quarter loss mainly to "net charges for provisions for litigation, regulatory and similar matters as well as net restructuring charges and an own credit loss".

UBS says it ended 2012 with a loss on the year of more than 2.2 billion francs, compared with a profit of 4.4 billion francs for 2011.

The bank reported its results before markets opened in Zurich on Tuesday.

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New nursing home to rise where 11 died

TO those affected by a fatal fire that tore through a Sydney nursing home in 2011, the emotional scars still run deep.

But on Tuesday, 15 months after the Quakers Hill Nursing Home tragedy that claimed 11 lives, it was time at least to break new ground.

NSW Minister for Ageing Andrew Constance joined Opposition Leader John Robertson and Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Greg Mullins to turn the first sod at what is now a building site.

The new Quakers Hill Nursing Home is expected to open in early 2014 and will be three times the size of the old facility, with a purpose-built wing designed to cater for people with dementia.

Three elderly residents died during the 2011 inferno at the site and eight died from injuries afterwards.

Mr Constance acknowledged the official start of construction at the site was bitter-sweet.

"Today is a day of hope, but it's also a day or reflection," he said.

"I know that you do test the heart of a community in terms of how it can bounce back from tragedy."

Neale Beck, who lost his mother Doris Beck in the nursing home fire, said it was important that the new complex would include a memorial to the victims.

"It's not like everything was bulldozed down and forgotten and now it's a block of land with a big housing estate on it," he said.

"Now it's something so that all those people that died at least can be remembered."

For those who remembered the 2011 fire and smelt the smoke, Tuesday's photo opportunity brought a mix of trepidation and optimism.

Registered nurse Deborah Moxey said she had come close to tears.

"I thought, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," she told reporters.

But she looked forward to rolling up her sleeves and returning to work in 2014.

"I think we have to look to the future," she said.

"There is nothing that we can do to make it all go away, we have to move on ... We're not forgetting it."

Commissioner Mullins said he had "a bit of a football" in his throat as he listened to others describing the events of November 18, 2011.

"I cast my mind back to the front lawn, dozens of elderly people with black smoke on their faces and we knew that some of them weren't going to make it," he told AAP.

"I had mixed feelings coming here today because that day back in 2011 was horrific, I never want to see a scene like that in my life.

"But it's an affirmation of the old Aussie spirit, dust yourself off and get on with it, and they're getting on with it.

AAP st/a

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Further back-burning at Vic bushfire site

A 300-hectare backburn near a Victorian alpine region bushfire has been a success, authorities say. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS are undertaking a major back-burning operation around a blaze in Victoria's alpine region ahead of hot and dry weather later this week.

A 200-hectare burn was started near Mount Hotham about 4pm (AEDT) on Monday as the first part of a larger operation to burn from the Great Alpine Road, Harrietville-Feathertop fire incident controller Tony Long said.

Mr Long said the fire, which has already burnt more than 6400 hectares of the Alpine National Park, would increase in size while the burning is undertaken over the next few days.

He said the back-burning aimed to limit the fire's potential spread and help protect communities at Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain ahead of worsening weather conditions.

"It's important that we undertake back-burning when conditions are favourable, ahead of hot and dry conditions forecast later this week," Mr Long said in a statement.

The operation follows a successful 300-hectare back-burn south of the township of Harrietville on Sunday night.

"We have been waiting for the right conditions to undertake this back-burning for several days and our patience was rewarded with the burn going completely according to plan last night," Mr Long said.

The fire was started by lightning on January 21 and has at times threatened Hotham Heights, Dinner Plain and Mount Hotham, a popular ski field about 360km northeast of Melbourne.

Communities around Bright, Harrietville and Mount Hotham have been told that increased smoke is likely to be visible over the next few days while the burning is completed and patrolled.

The Great Alpine Road remains closed between Harrietville and Mount Hotham.

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Judge to killer: Where is Prue?

Paul Anderson MORE REPORTS: NOTORIOUS Bega schoolgirl killer Leslie Camilleri has been urged to reveal where murdered teen Prue Bird is buried.

PM: Stop trying to destroy me

JULIA Gillard has accused her own MPs of trying to destroy her Government from within as she addressed a shattered caucus.

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Tokyo stocks close higher

TOKYO stocks have closed up 0.62 per cent, near a three-year high, as dealers followed a sharp rally on Wall Street that pushed the key Dow Jones index close to a new record.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 69.01 points to 11,260.35 on Monday, the best finish since April 2010. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was up 1.39 per cent, or 13.10 points, to 955.75.

Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity at SMBC Nikko Securities, said: "The external positives, including the currency and US stock movements, underscore the increasing confidence in the US economic recovery."

US stocks rallied sharply on Friday, with the Dow closing above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007 following a positive US jobs report.

The blue-chip index ended 1.08 per cent higher at 14,009.79, close to its all-time high of 14,164.53 seen on October 9, 2007.

Monex market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said: "As long as the yen stays on its weakening trend, stocks should remain fairly well supported."

"Exporters and financials continue to benefit from both the currency market movements and hopes for a more accommodative change in central bank leadership," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Markets have been speculating about the government's nominee to head the Bank of Japan, with Governor Masaaki Shirakawa due to end his term in April.

The US dollar inched down to Y92.66 against Y92.80 in New York on Friday but was still up from Y92.17 in Friday trading in Tokyo. The euro weakened to $US1.3623 and Y126.24 against $US1.3637 and Y126.60.

On the Nikkei, electronics giants jumped, with Panasonic soaring 16.89 per cent to Y692 after it said on Friday that it achieved an operating profit of Y121.95 billion in the nine months to December, and a Y61.4 billion net profit in the last three months of 2012.

Sony, which reports earnings this week, jumped 7.52 per cent to Y1,457.

Sharp was up 5.47 per cent at Y347 after saying it eked out a small operating profit in its October-December quarter.

Steelmakers jumped on multiple brokerage upgrades, with JFE Holdings up 11.1 per cent at Y2,272 and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal up 7.45 per cent to Y274.

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Support for deleting gay sex convictions

POLITICIANS of all stripes have supported a call by Victorian Labor to delete historic convictions against gay men for consensual sex.

It came as thousands gathered at St Kilda to march at Melbourne's annual gay pride event on Sunday, including AFL footballers Brock McLean and Daniel Jackson.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said it was time to right a wrong and remove the black mark of a conviction for a crime that was taken off the statute books more than 30 years ago.

Mr Andrews promised he would pursue the change if Labor wins the state election.

"We'll waste no time on this," Mr Andrews told reporters at the march.

Mr Andrews said the convictions were a stigma thousands of gay men still had to live with.

"There's an element of shame, there's hurt and of course there's a whole lot of practical impacts as well in terms of visas and job applications."

Health Minister David Davis said the government was working through proposals to achieve expungement of former convictions.

"The principle is a correct one and I think the government is very aware of that," he said.

Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said the change would make a difference in people's lives and pushed for federal leaders to support marriage equality.

"The time has come to completely clear people's records ... that are really a relic of an era where discrimination was entrenched," he said.

Carlton player Brock McLean, whose sister came out recently, said he wanted to show his support for the gay community.

"There is homophobia in sport," he said.

"If we can start to get more people to talk about it ... and stand up for what's right and that's treating everyone equally, that's a win-win for everybody."

Gay Aussie rules player Jason Ball said he was honoured to lead the march.

The local Yarra-Glen footy club player made headlines when he petitioned last year for the AFL to take a stand against homophobia.

"It will be pretty hard to wipe the smile off my face today," Mr Ball said.

"The real heroes of my story are my straight teammates who will be marching with me.

"I think that really breaks down that stereotype that footy boys are a bunch of homophobic knuckleheads."

The Hamer Liberal government decriminalised homosexuality in Victoria in 1981.

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Funding cuts will affect patients: Davis

THE Victorian government denies a "blame game" between the state and federal governments over hospital funding but admits patients will be affected by cuts to the sector.

Victorian Health Minister David Davis said the state government was determined to see federal funding cuts restored.

"It will have a significant impact on patients. We're seeking to mitigate the impact as much as we can," he told journalists on Sunday.

"But inevitably there will be an impact on patients and we're concerned about that."

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek previously blamed the state government for starving hospitals of funds.

Hundreds of beds have closed and thousands of elective surgery procedures have been cancelled as each side blames the other for cutting funds.

But Mr Davis said the federal government's claim that Victoria's population is dwindling - which it uses as a basis for $107 million of health funding cuts - was "dodgy".

"I reject the concept that this is a blame game," Mr Davis told journalists on Sunday.

"I call on them to reverse that cut which is based on dodgy population estimates."

Health professionals joined community groups, patient advocates and unions to protest the cuts at Melbourne's Treasury Gardens on Sunday.

A meeting between Ms Plibersek and Mr Davis in Melbourne on Friday failed to resolve the disagreement.

Mr Davis said he was willing to meet Ms Plibersek in Canberra despite describing Friday's talks as disappointing.

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30 dead in attack on north Iraq police HQ

A CAR bomb detonated by a suicide attacker followed by gunmen storming a police headquarters in the north Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed 30 people and wounded 70 others on Sunday, a police general said.

Militants had apparently sought to take control of the compound, but were unsuccessful, said Brigadier General Natah Mohammed Sabr, the head of the city's emergency services department.

The attackers struck at morning rush hour in the city centre, Sabr said, with the militants armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests looking to force their way into the police headquarters in the chaotic aftermath of the car bombing.

In addition to the casualties, the attack caused massive damage to nearby buildings, Sabr said.

The deadly attack shattered a relative calm in recent days in Iraq, which has been grappling with a political crisis pitting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki against his erstwhile government partners amid weeks of ongoing protests calling for him to resign.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but Sunni militants including al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq frequently target security forces and government targets in a bid to destabilise the country and push it back towards the sectarian bloodshed that blighted it from 2005 to 2008.

Kirkuk, an ethnically mixed city 240km north of Baghdad, lies at the heart of a swathe of disputed territory claimed by both the central government and Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region.

The unresolved row is persistently cited by diplomats and officials as the biggest threat to Iraq's long-term stability.

Militants often exploit a lack of coordination between the two sides' security forces and launch deadly attacks in the city, which remains one of the most violent in Iraq, and also in nearby towns.

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