Vic hospitals cancel 1300 operations

ELECTIVE surgery for 1300 patients across three Melbourne hospitals will reportedly be cancelled over the next five months as the fallout from $107 million in federal budget cuts continues.

Western Health says 550 patients at the Western and Sunshine hospitals and 750 patients at Williamstown Hospital will not receive elective surgery as planned this financial year, Fairfax reports.

Thousands of elective surgeries are set to be cancelled across the state as hospitals slash services to cope with the federal funding loss.

More than 300 beds were being closed as federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and her Victorian counterpart David Davis negotiated a time to meet on the funding issue late Thursday, Fairfax said.

Mr Davis has said Canberra has cut $107 million from existing hospital budgets, while Ms Plibersek maintains Victoria will receive $900 million more in hospital funding over four years.

The cuts have prompted The Alfred to reportedly axe 300 operations, while the Royal Children's Hospital has announced it will have to slash 50 jobs.

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Sony fined for UK cyber-attack data breach

ELECTRONICS giant Sony has been fined by Britain's data watchdog for a breach that compromised the personal information of millions of customers using PlayStation video games consoles.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the April 2011 cyberattack was a "serious breach" of Britain's data protection laws and fined the Japanese electronics giant STG250,000 ($A378,000).

Personal information including names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords were compromised, while customers' payment card details were also at risk.

The ICO said the breach was one of the most serious it had ever seen.

It found the attack could have been prevented if Sony's software had been up to date, while technical developments also meant passwords were not secure.

"If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details, then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority," said ICO deputy commissioner David Smith.

"In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted - albeit in a determined criminal attack - the security measures in place were simply not good enough.

"It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.

"The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us."

Following the breach, Sony rebuilt its network platform to ensure the personal information it processes is kept secure.

The company intends to appeal against the decision.

"Sony Computer Entertainment Europe strongly disagrees with the ICO's ruling and is planning an appeal," a spokesman said.

The company said it noted that the ICO recognised it was "the victim of 'a focused and determined criminal attack', that 'there is no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed', and that 'personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent purposes'".

Sony said: "Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems."

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Fire rips through Hobart's Queens Domain

A LARGE fire is spreading from hilly bushland just northeast of Hobart's CBD.

The fire was moving uphill from the northeast side of the Queens Domain, fanned by strong winds, Tasmania Police said at 10.30pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

Motorists are being urged to avoid the area and be mindful of police directions and firefighting operations.

Authorities say no buildings are currently threatened.

The blaze has so far consumed around five hectares of long, dry grass at a city council reserve next to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, with at least 14 crews battling to bring it under control, a Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) spokesman said.

"It's quite visual with everybody around Hobart, (but) it's not threatening any properties," he told AAP.

The blaze broke out about 9.40pm (AEDT) and took firefighters using 17 vehicles around three hours to bring under control, a TFS spokesman said.

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Man set to be charged over Sydney shooting

A MAN is expected to be charged over the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man in broad daylight in Sydney's southwest.

Joshua George died after being shot once to the chest at Claymore about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

After the shooting, police began hunting for 21-year-old Graeme Smith who is believed to have gotten into an argument with the 24-year-old at a party near Campbelltown the night before.

Police had previously said they had no idea about Mr Smith's whereabouts.

But about 7.15pm (AEDT) on Thursday, officers attached to the Police Transport Command spotted a 21-year-old man while they were patrolling outside the Blacktown railway station.

The man, who was reported to have a distinctive tattoo on his neck, had a scarf or jumper covering it.

Once the material was removed, it confirmed to officers who the person was, a police spokesman told AAP.

Police said the man was arrested a short time later and taken to Blacktown Police Station, where he is currently assisting police with their inquiries.

Inspector Stephen Oswald from Blacktown Local Area Command said he was arrested without incident.

"The police utilised a number of tactical options but he came along willingly once there was some assistance there from local and Transport Command Police," he told reporters on Thursday night.

However, a woman who was with him was taken into custody after allegedly abusing police and resisting arrest.

He is expected to be charged with murder and is likely to appear in court on Friday.

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Apple's plunge hits Nasdaq

APPLE'S plunge on disappointing earnings has pulled the Nasdaq lower in opening trade, but the other key indices managed to stay in positive territory.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34.79 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 13,814.12.

The broad-based S&P 500 up 0.56 point, or 0.04 per cent, to 1,495.37.

But the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 22.12 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 3,131.55.

The drop in Nasdaq came as Apple, the biggest US company by market capitalisation, disappointed the market with below-expected revenues and a middling outlook on upcoming revenues. Apple shares were off 11.4 per cent.

On the positive side, US jobless claims came in well below expectations, an unexpectedly strong result for the second week in a row.

Chinese manufacturing activity in January was also strong, suggesting the world's second-biggest economy is moving into better times.

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Downpours set to continue after Oswald

HEAVY rainfall is expected to hit much of the Queensland coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that six-hour rainfalls of up to 200mm are possible.

Torrential rain generated by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has lashed coastal north Queensland, causing rivers to break their banks and flood the towns of Ingham, Halifax and Tully, and some areas of Townsville.

A severe weather warning was issued overnight on Thursday, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warning that gusts in excess of 125km/h are possible about the Central Coast-Whitsundays and Capricornia districts.

Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is also likely over the Central Coast-Whitsundays, Capricornia, Wide Bay and Burnett, as well as the eastern parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields.

Downpours could also hit the Sunshine Coast on Friday, as well as coastal and inland areas between Brisbane and Bowen - south of Townsville.

"Six-hour rainfall accumulations of 100 to 200mm are possible," the BoM said.

However, there is some good news, with a severe weather warning cancelled for the Northern Goldfields, the Upper Flinders and Herbert and Lower Burdekin districts.

The Bureau of Meteorology is watching Oswald closely and says there is a 50 per cent chance it will re-form somewhere off the coast of Gladstone and Rockhampton on Saturday.

About 6000 homes in the Cairns region were without power on Thursday morning after fallen trees hit power lines.

Oswald crossed the western coast of Cape York Peninsula near Kowanyama as a category one cyclone on Tuesday and is now a low-pressure system.

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Fire threat for eastern Vic

WARM weather and powerful winds are poised to spur on two large bushfires burning in Victoria's east from the early morning.

Fires in the Alpine and Gippsland regions, east of Melbourne, could both surge in the early hours of Friday, authorities say.

The fire threatening Gippsland towns, which has killed a man, destroyed 22 homes and burned through 67,000 hectares, is expected to again cause chaos on Friday.

Residents in the Alpine towns of Hotham Heights and Harrietville had been urged to activate their fire plans and leave - only if it was safe - before nightfall.

Towns that include Heyfield, Toongabbie and Maffra are in the line of potential carnage, while CFA crews say they're particularly worried about the Erica and Briagolong communities.

The Bureau of Meteorology says northerly winds are set to peak at 5am (AEDT) on Friday, with a southwesterly change not expected until late in the day.

A total fire ban has been declared for the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Country, Central, North Central and West and South Gippsland fire districts.

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Algerian army raid kills 34 hostages

AN Algerian air strike has killed 34 hostages, some of them Westerners, and 15 of their Islamist kidnappers at a desert gas field, a spokesman for the kidnappers has been quoted as saying.

"Thirty-four hostages and 15 kidnappers were killed in an (air) raid by the Algerian army," the spokesman told the ANI news agency in remarks that have not been independently confirmed.

The source said Westerners were among the dead, but did not elaborate.

Also killed was Abu al-Baraa, who led the operation in which 41 foreigners and scores of Algerians were seized.

The spokesman said Algerian aircraft attacked the kidnappers when they tried to "transport some of the hostages in vehicles to a location to the south".

The militants said they seized the hostages, who are known to include US, French, British, Irish, Norwegian and Japanese citizens, in retaliation for the French military intervention in northern Mali.

Algerian media reported that 15 foreigners and 30 Algerians being held hostage had managed to escape, but authorities could not confirm this.

Algerian troops encircled the plant on Thursday, prompting gunmen to demand their withdrawal to allow for negotiations.

They have also demanded the release of some 100 Islamist extremists in Algeria, and want them sent to northern Mali, where French and Malian troops were battling extremists who seized a massive swathe of territory in April 2012.

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US stocks open higher as banks fall

US stocks have opened higher but bank shares are lower following Bank of America's quarterly earnings report, which came in close to expectations.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.31 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 13,552.54.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 5.51 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 1,478.14.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 14.43 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 3,131.97.

Bank of America shares were down 1.9 per cent after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that were sharply lower than the year-ago period, heavily dented by write-offs related to settlements related to its mortgage business.

Citigroup fell 3.0 per cent on its earnings disappointment, also hit by mortgage business charges.

Boeing shares lost another 1.3 per cent after its 787 was grounded around the world for safety inspections.

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US jobless claims drop to five-year low

NEW US jobless claims dropped last week to the lowest level in five years as the ailing jobs market slowly improves, official data shows.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totalled 335,000 in the week ending January 12, down a hefty 37,000, or almost 10 per cent, from the prior week's revised level, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

The often volatile weekly claims report was lower than the 370,000 analysts expected.

Last week's four-week moving claims average fell to 359,250 from the prior week's 366,000.

Claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, trended in the 370,000 range for most of 2012.

Marisa Di Natale of Moody's Analytics noted claims were at their lowest level since early January 2008 and fell for the first time in six weeks.

"Over the past few weeks the claims data have been difficult to interpret because of holiday-related volatility," she said.

"Nevertheless, claims are down 27,000 between the December and January payroll survey reference periods which indicates a modest improvement in job growth over the month."

The unemployment rate held steady at 7.8 per cent in December, a four-year low, and job growth last year jumped by 1.4 per cent, the biggest increase in six years.

The January jobs report is scheduled on February 1.

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