Boston terror suspect's uncle speaks out

The uncle of the two Boston bombing suspects pleaded with his surviving nephew to turn himself in. Source: AAP

AN angry uncle of the two Boston bombing suspects has pleaded with one nephew still on the run to "turn yourself in and ask forgiveness" from victims of the worst US terror attack since 9/11.

In an impassioned 10-minute interview with reporters outside his Maryland home on Friday, Ruslan Tsarni said his nephews "put a shame on the entire Chechen ethnicity" and expressed a desire to apologise personally to the victims.

"I'm ready just to bend in front of them, to kneel in front of them seeking their forgiveness," a visibly moved Tsarni said, stressing that his own family has had "nothing to do" with his brother's family for several years.

Tsarni's nephews Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are the prime suspects in Monday's bombings at the finish of the Boston Marathon.

Tamerlan died after a shootout with law enforcement, and the city is on virtual lockdown amid a massive manhunt for the younger brother.

"Dzhokhar, if you're alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness," Tsarni said, adding he was "shocked" to see FBI images of his nephews on television and the internet.

Tsarni said he is legally in the United States and that his family are ethnic Chechen Muslims.

But he said the two suspects had never been to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim region in southern Russia, and were unlikely to be involved in the unrest of recent years there.

"If that happened, most likely somebody radicalised them."

Tsarni said his nephews arrived in the United States from Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, in 2003 and were given asylum, but he called them "losers" who could not integrate into American life.

Asked why they might have turned to terrorism, he said: "Hatred to those who were able to settle themselves.

"These are the only reasons I can imagine. Anything else, anything else to do with religion, with Islam, it's a fraud," he said. "It's a fake."

Tsarni, dressed in a light blue polo shirt and standing outside a brick home in Montgomery County, Maryland, sounded anguished about what had transpired.

"Of course we're ashamed," he said. "I respect this country. I love this country."

"This country, which gives chance to everybody else to be treated as a human being ... that's what I feel about this country."

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Man arrested over India girl's brutal rape

The kidnapping and brutal rape of a five-year-old Indian girl has triggered protests across India. Source: AAP

INDIAN police say they have arrested the suspected rapist of a five-year-old girl who is battling for her life in hospital after a horrific attack in New Delhi.

The 25-year-old suspect, identified as Manoj Kumar, was held in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Saturday after he took shelter in his father-in-law's home in a village 70km from the local capital Patna, an official said.

Police say Kumar allegedly attacked his victim inside a locked room over a 48-hour period after abducting her on Monday in a lower-middle class area of Indian capital New Delhi.

"It is an act of a monster," police spokesman Ravindar Kumar told AFP in Patna hours after the suspect was detained by a joint team of detectives from New Delhi and Bihar.

The officer said the suspect reached Chiknouta village on Friday after fleeing New Delhi by train.

He will be sent back to face trial in the national capital.

"He should be punished as early as possible," Kumar said.

The child, found after a passer by heard her cries and alerted the police, was admitted to a New Delhi hospital on Wednesday and doctors on Friday described her condition as critical.

Medics said the girl was mutilated during the attack, suffering serious internal injuries and infection. She also has other injuries.

The incident comes just months after India was shaken by the horrific gang-rape of a student in Delhi on a bus last December.

In that attack the 23-year-old victim succumbed to her injuries 13 days after the assault in which her attackers drove an iron rod inside her, damaging her internal organs.

Her death sparked countrywide demonstrations and debate over the status of women and girls and their safety.

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Aust share market closes slightly higher

THE Australian share market has made feeble gains, after resources stocks were spared a further pounding on Friday.

The resources sector made a modest recovery from substantial losses over the week brought on by lower commodity prices and concerns over the strength of the economy in China and the patchy economic recovery in the US.

IG Markets market strategist Evan Lucas said the resources stocks were picking up the pieces on Friday, after commodity prices improved.

"BHP and Rio have really bounced hard," he said.

"They are being picked up."

Mr Lucas said the big miners had been sold off heavily and now looked like a "screaming buy".

But he warned that global sentiment was still fragile and mining and other resources stocks could be pushed lower.

Mr Lucas said the major banks were lower after investors took profits.

In the resources sector, global miner and market heavyweight BHP Billiton lifted 75 cents, or 2.45 per cent, to $31.40.

Rio Tinto rose $2.25, or 4.32 per cent, to $54.32, after the company told shareholders at its annual general meeting in London it was a mistake to purchase aluminium maker Alcan six years ago and as a result the company was now more likely to favour some commodities over others.

Oil and gas producer Santos advanced 27 cents, or 2.37 per cent, to $11.65 after it maintained full-year targets even though first quarter oil production fell.

Rare earths supplier Lynas firmed 0.5 cents to 48.5 cents after it said it expects demand for its products to grow over the medium term following a steep fall in prices during the March quarter.

Among other stocks, manufacturer Hills Holdings eased 0.5 cents to $1.10 after it said its shares were undervalued and the company may pay a dividend at the end of the financial year.

KEY FACTS

* At 1615 AEST on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 7.5 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 4,931.9 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 11.7 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 4,923.0 points.

* The June share price index futures contract was down four points at 4,928 points, with 21,383 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 1.46 billion securities worth $4.39 billion.

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US basketball star faked anti-gay attack

A former US university basketball star (C) who faked being attacked has been sentenced to jail. Source: AAP

A FORMER university basketball star convicted of lying to police about being attacked in her home by masked men who carved anti-gay slurs into her skin has been sentenced to a week in jail and two years' probation.

Charlie Rogers, a former student at the University of Nebraska, who maintains that the attack last July did happen, cried and hugged family and friends as she left the courtroom. Neither she nor her family would comment after the hearing.

The reported attack provoked outrage and spread fear among Lincoln's gay community, and hundreds of people turned out for a rally that weekend outside the state Capitol.

At the time, Lincoln was debating whether to adopt a proposed "fairness ordinance" that would have banned discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, and tensions were high among those on both sides of the issue.

According to police, Rogers, who is a lesbian, said three masked men broke into her home, assaulted and subdued her, and carved anti-gay slurs and into various parts of her body before trying to set fire to the home and leaving. A neighbour told police Rogers crawled from her home naked, bleeding and screaming for help.

Prosecutors say her story quickly fell apart, and that she faked the attack because she thought it would inspire change in the treatment of gay people. They say Rogers purchased zip ties, a box cutter and white gloves shortly before the attack, and that the evidence didn't support what she said had happened.

Judge Gale Pokorny read a message on her Facebook page shortly before the alleged attack, in which she wrote, "So maybe I am too idealistic, but I believe way deep inside me that we can make things better for everyone. I will be a catalyst. I will do what it takes. I will. Watch me."

Rogers' lawyer, Brett McArthur, said that Rogers maintains her innocence, asked Pokorny to sentence her to only probation because she had no previous criminal history and is receiving counselling. But Pokorny said the evidence shows she is guilty and that jail time is warranted, and that Rogers ended up harming the cause she meant to champion.

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East-West Link still top priority: Abbott

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has not steered away from promising funds for Melbourne's proposed East-West road tunnel, despite warnings in a new report that it might not be the best option.

The 18km road project, which would connect the Eastern Freeway and the Western Ring Road, has secured a pledge of $1.5 billion in federal funding if Mr Abbott wins the September election.

But a Victorian auditor-general's report on road congestion has warned the East-West Link may not be the most cost-effective solution, pointing out that there's no statewide congestion plan in place to help leaders choose infrastructure priorities.

A business case for the city road project, detailing traffic predictions and estimated costs, has not yet been given to Infrastructure Australia.

But Mr Abbott said the East-West Link was now the top infrastructure priority in Victoria.

"The East-West Link is the missing link in Melbourne's arterial road system," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"Are there other important projects? Yes, there are. Is this going to solve all of Melbourne's problems for all time? No, it won't.

"But right now, this is by far the most important road infrastructure project in Victoria."

Premier Denis Napthine has said he wants to convince Mr Abbott also to fund Melbourne's planned Metro rail tunnel - a rail link that would require a building a new 9km tunnel with five new stops.

Mr Abbott said he'd met Dr Napthine to discuss funding but wasn't convinced that urban rail could get federal support.

"It's only very recently, under the current government, that there's been substantial commonwealth support for commuter, urban rail projects," he said.

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Boston bomb suspect captured in pictures

US officials are denying reports that a suspect has been detained over the Boston Marathon bombings. Source: AAP

US investigators have found images of a suspect who may have planted the bombs that killed three people and maimed scores more at the Boston Marathon.

No arrest has been made. But images from a surveillance camera and still pictures could mark a breakthrough ahead of Thursday's visit to the city by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle in what was being billed as a mission of "healing."

Two days after two bombs tore through crowds on the marathon finish line, wounding 180 people, Boston remained on edge.

Boston courthouse and part of a hospital used for the victims were briefly evacuated, while conflicting reports of an arrest brought a stern rebuke from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But a law enforcement official told AFP on Wednesday that "there is an image of a person, of a potential suspect."

Investigators were working "to locate and identify that individual," the official added.

The Boston Globe said the images may have captured the suspect planting one of the two bombs. Separate media reports indicated there were pictures of the suspect running away while other people slumped to the ground during the blast.

With no claim of responsibility made for the attack, the FBI said it has launched a "worldwide" hunt.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick appealed for patience over the pace of the investigation.

"They are making progress. But it's going to take time," Patrick said on CNN. "Every hour, we're closer."

The FBI released photographs of the mangled metal remnants of a pressure cooker believed to have been used for one of the bombs, which sprayed nails, ball bearings and metal pellets into the crowds.

The lid of one pressure cooker was found on the roof of a nearby hotel.

Doctors at hospitals where the injured were taken say ball bearings and nails taken from patients were being used in the investigation.

George Velmahos, Massachusetts General Hospital's chief of trauma surgery, said the metal was being handed over to police. He said 12 nails were taken from inside one patient alone.

Peter Burke, chief trauma surgeon at Boston Medical Centre, said some of the nails were about five centimetres-long.

US authorities have thrown virtually every investigative agency into the hunt for the bombers.

Obama has condemned the attack as "an act of terror" and vowed that the attackers "will feel the full weight of justice."

He will be joined by his wife to attend a special inter-faith service for the victims at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Thursday morning.

About 100 of the injured have left Boston hospitals, but about 10 remain in critical condition and will require new operations.

Boston's federal courthouse and part of the Brigham and Women's Hospital, where many victims were taken, were evacuated on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people went to the courthouse after reports that a suspect had been arrested for the attacks.

But the reports were denied by Boston police and the FBI criticised what it called a number of "inaccurate" press reports since the attacks.

"Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting," it said in a statement.

Boston has held emotional tributes to the dead, who include eight-year-old Martin Richard, Boston University graduate student Lu Lingzi of China and restaurant manager Krystle Campbell.

About 1000 people attended a candlelight vigil in a park near the boy's home on Tuesday night and hundreds went to other events in the city and at the university. Thousands of tributes to Lu were posted on Chinese websites.

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NZ govt wants to strengthen telco security

THE government is changing the way it works with telecommunications companies because it needs stronger powers to deal with potential threats to national security, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says.

Communications Minister Amy Adams announced the proposed changes on Wednesday, saying updated legislation would ensure the companies had "a clearer understanding" of how to meet their interception obligations while ensuring network infrastructure remained secure.

It will ensure networks can't illegally copy or divert data, are safe from unauthorised access and do not allow others to carry out espionage or disrupt services.

Key says an informal agreement exists at present between the telcos and the government to provide network security.

"We're changing the basis of the agreement. At the moment it is voluntary and so it's possible for a telco not to co-operate," he told reporters.

"We want to get to a point where the government has more teeth ... it's important for reasons of national security."

The telcos currently work with the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), which is itself going through substantial changes.

Key says changes to telecommunications laws are part of an integrated package.

"It allows the GCSB to work with those companies but if the state genuinely believes there are network security issues, it will have the capacity to influence decisions."

The law changes come after earlier this month Telecom announced it was dumping France-based multinational Alcatel-Lucent in favour of Chinese telecom giant Huawei to build its 4G infrastructure.

The government says it is confident in dealing with Huawei in New Zealand's ultra-fast broadband rollout, despite a United States House Intelligence Committee saying the company poses a major security threat and the Australian government blocking it from tendering for contracts related to its national broadband network rollout.

Network operators are already required to have specialised interception equipment available.

Laws already allow the GCSB, Security Intelligence Service and police to intercept phone calls, emails, text messages and other data as they investigate crimes such as homicide and drug trafficking, and also to deal with armed offender situations or kidnappings, combat national security threats and prosecute cybercrime.

Adams said the changes would not increase the authority of government agencies to access business and personal data, but related only to obligations on telecommunications companies.

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Buildplan workers need NSW govt support

THE NSW government must look after victims of the collapse of construction firm National Buildplan, which has left hundreds jobless and several subcontractors out of pocket, the state opposition says.

The NSW-based construction group announced on April 8 it had gone into voluntary administration after failing to successfully restructure and secure additional funding.

Buildplan, which owes tens of millions of dollars, had been commissioned by the state government to work on the redevelopment of the Nepean, Dubbo Base and Port Macquarie hospitals.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says several subcontractors are owed money, including one owed almost half a million dollars.

Members of the CFMEU, the Nepean Hospital nurses' union and angry subcontractors picketed Liberal MP Stuart Ayres' Penrith office in Sydney's west on Wednesday, calling for the government to honour commitments to workers and subcontractors.

Addressing the rally, NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said the state government should be held responsible to ensure subcontractors are paid.

"We have a government that thinks it can outsource all its responsibilities to someone else," Mr Robertson later told AAP.

"That cannot be allowed to occur when we've got subcontractors and workers who've done their work - done it in good faith - and haven't been paid."

Mr Robertson said he would raise the issue in parliament and call for the recommendations of the Collins review into building company collapses to be honoured, including the establishment of a trust to ensure subcontractors are paid first in the event of a company going under.

The CFMEU's joint assistant state secretary Rebel Hanlon said on top of the 160 workers who lost their jobs from Buildplan's collapse, another 120 employed by subcontractors have also been made redundant.

He said that could blow out even further.

"It's a state government-funded job. The state government ultimately holds responsibility on ensuring that the builder is compliant," Mr Hanlon told AAP.

A union protest is expected outside a Buildplan creditors' meeting in Sydney on Thursday.

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Book made Schapelle's mum sick: court

Schapelle Corby's family are suing publisher Allen & Unwin over the 2011 book Sins of the Father. Source: AAP

THE mother of Schapelle Corby says it was a long time before she could pick up a book telling the "untold story" of her daughter's alleged drug run - and when she did, it made her sick.

The Corby family are suing publisher Allen & Unwin over the 2011 book titled Sins of the Father.

The family claim five photographs used in the book, including a shot of Corby with friends at Brisbane airport and of her as a child on Santa's knee, were used without the family's permission in breach of copyright.

Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose told the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday the Santa photo was taken by her at a David Jones store because she couldn't afford a professional picture.

"I didn't have $5, $6, $7 spare to spend on a photo," she said.

"I just sent the children up there and took the photo."

The book details allegations that Corby's father, Michael Corby, was behind the attempt to smuggle marijuana into Bali in his daughter's bodyboard bag.

Ms Rose said she couldn't get herself to read or look at the book for a long time after it came out.

"When I read the book I said it's disgusting, it's making me sick."

She then called her other daughter Mercedes Corby who contacted lawyers, Ms Rose said.

Ms Rose said she still had no idea how to "control the media" since her daughter's arrest eight years ago.

She said when she first gave out the photo of her daughter with friends at Brisbane airport she hoped it would be used "in a positive way".

However, the photo of the convicted drug smuggler started being used alongside negative news articles.

"We had no way of knowing how to control the media and we still don't. I don't," Ms Rose said.

Mercedes Corby, who survived a mugging attempt in Bali last month, was present in court and pointed out different photos in the book to her lawyer as her mother gave evidence.

Allen & Unwin says all the pictures were given either to the book's author, Fairfax journalist Eamonn Duff, or to "the media in general" for publication.

Schapelle Corby was jailed for smuggling marijuana into Indonesia in 2004.

The hearing continues.

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New Melbourne Airport terminal approved

The federal government has approved a new $400 million domestic terminal for Melbourne Airport. Source: AAP

A NEW domestic terminal at Melbourne Airport will ease congestion and help drive economic growth, the federal government says.

The terminal, capable of handling up to 10 million passengers a year, is part of the $400 million first stage development of the airport's long-term southern precinct project.

The project, due to open in mid-2015, will include 17 new aircraft parking bays, extra car parking, ground transport facilities and road upgrades.

Approving the development on Tuesday, federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said expanding airports is necessary to connect Australia to the world and drive economic growth.

He said increasing capacity will help the airport deal with an expected doubling of its annual number of passengers to 64 million by 2033.

"What that means is jobs and economic growth and positioning Australia in the Asian century," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Melbourne Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff said the development will create jobs and provide a boost to the Victorian economy.

He said the expansion was driven by strong domestic passenger demand and will provide for further growth.

The works will focus on the area south of terminal 3 and around terminal 4.

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SA govt releases cabinet documents

THE South Australian Labor government has taken the unusual step of releasing a series of cabinet documents from 2002, its first year in office.

Using the state's new 10-year rule on the release of cabinet papers, the government is making public documents on a range of topics from the fight over the river Murray to moves to make government more open and accountable.

Premier Jay Weatherill said it was the first time a sitting government had made its own cabinet documents available.

He said he was happy to be held accountable for the decisions taken and believed many had stood the test of time.

"People will make their own judgments about whether they were good decisions or otherwise," he told reporters on Monday.

"I'm sure we didn't get everything right, but whether that's disclosed in there, I don't know."

Among the papers released were the government's 10-point plan for honesty and accountability in government and documents relating to a new ministerial code of conduct.

There were also details of a series of scorecards the government prepared to assess its performance during the first 100 days in office.

Mr Weatherill said the government would continue to release selected documents as they became available under the 10-year rule.

Others could also be obtained under freedom of information provisions.

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Queensland Rail to be statutory authority

QUEENSLAND'S passenger rail network is being primed for privatisation, the state opposition says.

Transport Minister Scott Emerson announced on Monday that Queensland Rail (QR) will be changed from a government-owned corporation to a statutory authority, reversing a 2006 decision.

From May, the minister will have tighter control on the day-to-day running of the business and will no longer have to issue directives to initiate change.

He criticised the organisation for being profit-focused, rather than passenger-focused, and believes the changes will rein in the ballooning cost of rail.

He insists it has nothing to do with privatisation, but says a decision on that is yet to be made.

"Transferring it from a government-owned corporation to a statutory authority brings it closer to government, not privatisation," he said.

But opposition transport spokeswoman Jackie Trad doesn't buy it.

Under the new arrangement, she believes the government would no longer have to deal with a board and stakeholders.

"This way it is absolutely easier to privatise," she said.

The change would also make it easier to cut staff entitlements, conditions and wages, making the organisation more attractive to private buyers.

"What we have here is Mr Emerson clearing the decks.

"What we have here is the Newman government getting ready for the full sale of Queensland Rail and the sacking of more workers."

A report into the state's finances, headed by former federal treasurer Peter Costello, recommends rail be delivered through contestable contracts under franchise and lease arrangements.

More detail is expected later this month when Mr Costello's full 1000-page report is finally released.

Mr Emerson said QR had become the most expensive train operator per kilometre in Australia, around two-and-a-half times more expensive than the average.

Without action, funding would need to increase from $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion over the next two years.

"We will make the organisation more efficient so we can employ more train crew, deliver better timetables and add more trains to the network," Mr Emerson told reporters on Monday.

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Shorten tells Canadians it's tough for ALP

THE federal government's landmark reforms will be at risk if Labor loses this year's election, a cabinet minister says.

Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten has told Canada's opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) that despite their Australian counterpart's achievements the opinion polls haven't been favourable.

"It's going to be tough for Australian Labor to win in September," he said at the NDP's federal conference in Montreal on Saturday.

"But we can win - because we must win - because we know what is at stake."

Mr Shorten said Labor's achievements on workplace law, superannuation boosts for low paid workers, carbon pricing, the National Broadband Network and National Disability Insurance Schemes were at risk from a new government led by coalition leader Tony Abbott.

"The reforms our government has made since 2007 ... will take years to work their way through the economy, the community, the environment," he said.

"In the meantime those gains are at risk."

Mr Shorten said the opposition wanted to turn back the clock on workplace rights, pretend climate change doesn't exist, ignore secure retirements for workers and exile people with disabilities as second class citizens.

"Our opponents are not looking forward, but backwards," he said.

The coalition's "demonisation" of unions didn't recognise unionists also had families and wanted productive jobs in profitable companies.

Mr Shorten, a former Australian Workers Union national secretary, told delegates their great purpose was to deliver on jobs because the key to a prosperous Australia and Canada was a highly educated and creative workforce.

"All the challenges we face ... all of them come back to the brains and ability of people," he said.

"Booms will come and go."

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Vic govt wants a say in schools reform

THE Victorian government says it is being held to ransom over proposed education funding reforms.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a total of $14.5 billion would be pumped into the sector from next year, with the commonwealth providing the bulk or 65 per cent.

Victorian schools will receive $4 billion, Ms Gillard said.

However, Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said the federal government was demanding how the money be spent.

"The federal government are putting the states in a very difficult position," he told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.

"Basically they're saying, 'here's a whole bunch of money, but you've got to do it our way'.

"They should be working with us, not holding us to ransom."

Mr Dixon said he would seek more detail about the proposed changes from his federal counterpart this week.

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