Jailed Greenpeace activist clings to hope

A BRITISH environmental campaigner facing 15 years in a Russian jail for alleged piracy says she is "trying very, very hard not to lose hope".

Greenpeace activist Alexandra Harris has been denied bail following a month in prison for her part in a protest against oil company Gazprom's platform in the Arctic's Pechora Sea.

She is one of the 30 people detained when armed Russian officials boarded their vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, last month.

Those arrested include citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, France, Sweden, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine and the US.

In a handwritten letter to her parents, the 27-year-old said: "I'm worried about what's going to happen.

"I have moments of feeling panicky but then I try to tell myself there's nothing I can do from in here and what will be will be so it's pointless worrying.

"But it's hard. Surely my future isn't rotting in a prison in Murmansk?! Well, I really hope it isn't."

Appearing in court for her bail hearing on Friday, Harris protested her innocence and said she was proud of Greenpeace's "non-violent, peaceful efforts" to stop oil drilling in the Arctic.

"The only thing that happened was a peaceful protest and I believe the footage and Greenpeace's long history can demonstrate this," she said.

"I'd also like to say that the protest was not directed at Russia - it was solely about Arctic oil and the threat it poses to the climate and the Arctic environment."

Greenpeace says it will not be "daunted" by the piracy charges the environmental campaigners are facing, as supporters held a candlelight vigil in London to mark their 30th day in prison.

The "Arctic 30" and their boat were taken from waters near the port of Murmansk on September 19 after two of them tried to board the rig.

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Opera House gets price tag for birthday

The economic, cultural and digital value of the Sydney Opera House works out at $4.6 billion. Source: AAP

IT'S a priceless national icon, but a new report has put a figure on what the Sydney Opera House means to Australia.

The tourist magnet is worth $4.6 billion - or about $200 per citizen - to the Australian public, according to Deloitte.

Ticket sales, iconic status, digital presence and the unique design were all quantified to come up with the value.

"We all know in our bones how important it is,", Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said.

"(But) here is the number - this is what we're worth, don't take us for granted."

By putting a price tag on the venue, management can make a stronger case for government funding for upkeep, she said.

"We have this 40-year-old thing which is magnificent, but absolutely needs to be renovated," she said.

Commissioned ahead of the building's 40th anniversary, the report also found the Opera House injects roughly $775 million into the national economy annually.

Jorn Utzon's famed creation rates higher than the national identity on a marketing index of brand esteem, the report says.

"It's slightly counterintuitive that Australia would have as it's symbol a work of art, but we do," Ms Herron said.

Looking ahead, the Opera House is hoping to grow its online presence and digital audience with blogs, live-streaming and social media.

But for now the focus is on birthday festivities, including an anniversary concert on October 20 attended by Danish royals Mary and Frederik.

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US releasing $US1.6bn in Pakistan aid

THE US has quietly decided to release more than $US1.6 billion ($A1.66 billion) in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended when relations between the two countries disintegrated over the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden and deadly US airstrikes against Pakistani soldiers.

Officials and congressional aides say ties have improved enough to allow the money to flow again.

American and NATO supply routes to Afghanistan are open. Controversial US drone strikes are down. The US and Pakistan recently announced the restart of their "strategic dialogue" after a long pause. Pakistan's new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is travelling to Washington for talks this coming week with President Barack Obama.

But in a summer dominated by foreign policy debates over the coup in Egypt and chemical weapons attacks in Syria, the US hasn't promoted its revamped aid relationship with Pakistan. Neither has Pakistan.

The silence reflects the lingering mutual suspicions between the two.

The Pakistanis do not like being seen as dependent on their heavy-handed partners. The Americans are uncomfortable highlighting the billions provided to a government that is plagued by corruption and perceived as often duplicitous in fighting terrorism.

Congress has cleared most of the money, which should start moving early next year, officials and congressional aides say.

Over three weeks in July and August, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development informed Congress that it planned to restart a wide range of assistance, mostly dedicated to helping Pakistan fight terrorism.

The US sees that effort sees as essential as it withdraws troops from neighbouring Afghanistan next year and tries to leave a stable government behind.

Other funds focus on a range of items, including help for Pakistani law enforcement and a multibillion-dollar dam in disputed territory.

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Calls for EU to address boat deaths

CALLS are intensifying for the European Union to prevent migrant deaths, with at least 400 people drowning in three Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks in just over a week.

"I don't know how many more people need to die at sea before something gets done," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday.

"As things stand we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea."

One vessel sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on October 3, carrying more than 500 passengers.

There were 155 survivors, while the provisional death count was raised on Saturday to 359, as rescuers found the bodies of 20 more victims.

A second deadly accident took place on Friday afternoon, about 80 nautical miles southwest of Malta and 60 nautical miles southeast of Lampedusa.

Italian and Maltese rescuers found 34 bodies, while there were more than 200 survivors.

Also on Friday, at least 12 people died and 116 were rescued after a migrant boat sank off the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

Egyptian state-run newspaper al-Ahram said the vessel was carrying about 150 people, mainly Palestinians and Syrians.

Pope Francis, a champion of migrants' rights, decried indifference towards the tragedies.

"Lord, have mercy! Too often we are blinded by our comfortable lives, and refuse to see those dying at our doorstep," he wrote on Twitter.

The message was accompanied by the #Lampedusa hashtag.

The migration crisis is due to be discussed by EU leaders at an October 24-25 summit in Brussels.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, the bloc's top migration official, is proposing vastly expanded sea patrols by EU border agency Frontex.

"These new horrible events ... stress even more strongly the urgency of a wide Frontex search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to Spain, to better detect and assist boats in distress," she said on Friday.

"We need to stop the merchants of death," Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.

He suggested conditioning EU aid to North African nations to them stopping migrants from setting off from their shores.

Italy has recorded a sharp increase in migrant boat arrivals since July.

Most vessels, organised by human traffickers, sail off from Libya, Tunisia or Egypt, carrying asylum seekers from Syria and the Horn of Africa.

Others, such as Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini and Italian Red Cross President Francesco Rocca, urged the EU to open "humanitarian corridors" allowing refugees to reach Europe safely and legally, without putting their lives in the hands of traffickers.

The Times of Malta reported the roughly 150 survivors from Friday's wreck were thought to be Syrians who'd each paid 4000 euros ($A5760) for the trip.

Two babies, an 11-year-old child and a woman were among the dead.

The migrants' boat was said to have capsized as those aboard tried to attract the attention of a passing Maltese aircraft.

The Italy Coast Guard also intervened between Thursday and Friday to help 85 migrants stranded on a dinghy about 80 nautical miles south of Lampedusa, and intercepted a boat with 183 migrants on board as it approached the port of the tiny island.

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Vic police commemorate Walsh St killings

THE pain of the Walsh Street killings is still raw in the minds of all Victorian police officers 25 years on, Chief Commissioner Ken Lay says.

Constable Steven Tynan, 22, and Constable Damian Eyre, 20, were gunned down on October 12, 1988, after being lured to an abandoned car in Walsh Street, South Yarra.

A memorial service to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the deaths was held at the nearby Prahran police station on Saturday.

Mr Lay said officers were still very conscious of the events of Walsh Street.

"The memories are still raw in the minds of all officers today," he said.

"Their deaths serve as a reminder of the dangers our officers face everyday, protecting and serving the Victorian community."

Mr Lay said the deaths sparked one of the longest investigations in the state's police history.

Victor Peirce, Peter McEvoy, Trevor Pettingill and Anthony Farrell were found not guilty of murder in 1991.

A review of the case by the head of the homicide squad earlier this year found insufficient new evidence to warrant a retrial.

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Another extreme fire danger day for NSW

THE Rural Fire Service has issued a total fire ban for areas in NSW ahead of hot and gusty weather conditions.

The bans will be in place on Sunday from the Illawarra to the Far North Coast as well as the North West and Central Ranges.

An extreme fire danger is also forecast for Sydney, including the Blue Mountains and Central Coast, and the Greater Hunter.

The Bureau of Meteorology says Sydney is in for a maximum of 36 degrees on Sunday with northwesterly winds up to 50 km/h in the morning.

RFS NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said Sydney was in for extreme fire danger on Sunday.

"Do not light fires in the open. It's as simple as that," he told the Seven Network.

"You need to be vigilant and for people living in those bushfire prone areas you need to be ready to act on your bushfire survival plans."

Meanwhile, the NSW Ambulance Service is urging rockfishers to be wary of the gusty conditions.

"Given there is a strong wind warning for tomorrow, we would particularly like to put the message out there to those who are considering rock fishing to think twice and check the forecast before heading out," the service said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, paramedics are called to treat rock fishermen who are swept off the rocks by large waves on days with conditions similar to those expected tomorrow."

The dangerous fire conditions follow a sweltering day on Thursday where temperatures reached 37 degrees in southern parts of NSW.

Firefighters said immaculate planning and co-operation from the public helped prevent a potentially catastrophic bushfire emergency.

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NSW father accidentally runs over child

A TODDLER is in hospital after his father accidentally ran over him with his car in the driveway of their home on NSW's north coast.

Police said a 30-year-old man was moving his Holden Commodore when he reversed into his one-year-old son at 4.25pm (AEDT) on Saturday at Coffs Harbour.

The man had just finishing washing his car in the driveway of his unit complex on Park Beach Road.

The child suffered suspected internal injuries and bruising to his chest.

He was airlifted to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney, where he remains in a stable condition.

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NZ bishop's prisoner prayer cell

THE Anglican Bishop of Wellington is to live a week in a small cabin-like "cell", praying for New Zealand's 8000-plus prisoners and their victims.

Bishop Justin Duckworth's prayer vigil in the cell on the front steps of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul is part of Wellington diocese's week-long focus on penal reform.

He will go into the cell after preaching at this Sunday's 10am service in the cathedral and won't leave it until next Sunday's service.

Each day, however, he will emerge from the fenced-off cell to lead a lunchtime communion service at the entrance.

"This action is not to criticise and is not a protest. Rather, it is to express hope for a safer society with everyone taking ownership of the issue of penal reform," Bishop Duckworth said in a statement.

He said there were alternatives to prison that were often more effective at reducing crime.

"Society and the church need to keep asking themselves if they want a system that simply punishes or one that changes behaviour and means less reoffending and fewer victims.

"Some responsibility for prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration sits with Corrections, but some also sits with society, the church and each one of us as it needs to happen in our own backyard."

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Boat sinks on Mali river, 20 dead

AT least 20 people are dead after a boat carrying hundreds of passengers capsized on the Niger River in central Mali.

Dozens more are missing.

Konna Mayor Sory Diakite told The Associated Press on Saturday 20 bodies had been recovered by midday.

Diakkite said it was believed at least 400 passengers had been on board and about 200 survivors had been accounted for.

It was not immediately possible to contact survivors, although one man in Bamako said he had been notified that two of his relatives had drowned.

The boat was travelling along the river from Mopti to the northern town of Timbuktu when it capsized late on Friday about seven kilometres from Konna.

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Obama expects borrowing limit increase

US President Barack Obama says he doesn't expect Congress to breach the deadline to increase the nation's borrowing limit.

He says he's willing to negotiate changes to his signature health care law and to find ways to reduce spending, but stresses he will not bargain until after Congress reopens the government and passes a new debt ceiling.

Obama says there's a majority of lawmakers in the House who would vote to end the partial government shutdown and raise the credit limit without conditions.

The president spoke during an interview with The Associated Press.

The government is expected to hits its $16.7 trillion debt ceiling in mid-October. Failure to raise it could lead to a first-ever default. Republicans want cuts in federal benefit programs and future deficits in exchange for their votes.

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