Snowden extradition could take years

ATTEMPTS to extradite ex-intelligence technician Edward Snowden, charged with espionage by US authorities, will result in a protracted legal battle in Hong Kong that could last years, experts said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that retained a separate legal system when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has a long-standing extradition treaty with the US, but Beijing has the potential to veto any ruling.

However Beijing has appeared to distance itself from any decision on the possible extradition of Snowden, who is in hiding in the southern Chinese city after blowing the lid on vast US surveillance programs targetting phone calls and internet traffic.

Hong Kong officials remained tight-lipped on Saturday as to whether they will hold Snowden a day after Washington charged the former CIA contractor with espionage, theft and "conversion of government property".

Hong Kong lawmaker Alan Leong said that if local authorities proceed with extradition, it could result in a lengthy legal battle.

"If every appeal opportunity is taken, I suppose the process will last between three and five years" at the very least, he told AFP.

The case could possibly drag "through at least the magistrates' court, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal. So, at least three levels of (Hong Kong) courts," he said.

Snowden can claim fears of political persecution and ask for political asylum, which will buy him time, said Christopher Gane, the dean of law school of Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"If the court decides this man cannot be sent back, this is the end of it. He can't be sent back," he told AFP.

"But if the court decides he could be sent back, it is still up to the Hong Kong chief executive to decide whether to do so. This is when all kinds of possible considerations can come in," Gane said.

Experts have claimed that Snowden is testing Hong Kong's civil liberties under its "one country, two systems" framework by retreating to the former British colony.

Snowden has exposed details on vast US surveillance operations, leaking documents that appear to show huge quantities of private telephone and internet data -- such as emails and call records -- have been scooped up with little or no judicial oversight.

The revelations have embarrassed US President Barack Obama's administration.

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Museum head fired after Olympics satire

REGIONAL authorities in Russia have fired a prominent art museum director and opposition activist after he organised an exhibition poking fun at Russia's hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Marat Guelman, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, wrote on Twitter that he had been fired as head of the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Urals city of Perm.

A spokesman for the governor confirmed to ITAR-TASS news agency that "the contract is torn up as of today."

Last week Perm authorities banned three exhibitions at the White Nights festival curated by Guelman. One show called "Welcome Sochi-2014!" included a picture of Stalin wearing the costume of an Olympic mascot and an image of the Olympic rings as hanging nooses.

Perm governor Viktor Basargin wrote on his blog that he "categorically disliked the idea of this exhibition".

Russia hosts the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, a huge matter of national pride even though the preparations have been mired by scandals about massive overspending and environmental damage.

Guelman on Wednesday wrote on Twitter that the region's culture minister, Igor Gladnev, "just called and confirmed the fact I was fired".

"A culture minister who closes down exhibitions obviously mixed up his job with the FSB (security services)," he added bitterly.

It was not specified what prompted Guelman's dismissal. Basargin on Tuesday ordered an audit of the White Nights festival budget.

Guelman has sought to turn Perm into an international cultural hub, drawing inspiration from Spain's Bilbao.

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Pakistani girl dies in Kashmir border fire

A PAKISTANI girl has been killed after Indian troops opened fire across the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals, officials say.

The incident took place in Rawlakot district, around 65km east of Islamabad near the the Line of Control (LoC) separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled sectors of the Himalayan territory.

"Indian troops resorted to small arms and artillery fire in Battal area killing a 10-year old girl and wounding her mother," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP.

He said Pakistani troops returned fire and senior local official Sohail Azam, confirming the casualties, told AFP sporadic exchanges were ongoing.

He said the girl died after shrapnel from a mortar fired by Indian troops hit her house in Battal area.

Local resident Imtiaz Ahmad told AFP that he and other members of his family were confined to their house because of Indian firing.

On Tuesday, Indian troops opened fire on a small village in Kotli town along the LoC, injuring a 65-year old woman.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is held in part by each country but claimed in full by both.

The two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC in November 2003, but there have been sporadic clashes in Kashmir with both sides accusing each other of violating the deal.

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Scientists probe what makes corpses smell

SYDNEY scientists are attempting to identify what makes a rotting corpse smell to help train sniffer dogs.

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) forensic experts are using decomposing pig carcasses - which have a similar smell to human corpses - to create a chemical profile of a decomposing body.

The scent profile will be able to be used in forensic investigations, scientists say.

"We've already identified over 800 chemical compounds," Shari Forbes from UTS's School of Chemistry and Forensic Science told AAP.

"From that we can identify which molecules dogs focus on by looking at which compounds consistently show up.

"That can be used by cadaver dog handlers worldwide to help them rapidly and accurately locate human remains."

As part of the study, professor Forbes and her team of researchers buried pig carcasses or placed them on the ground.

The scientists visited the carcasses at various intervals to observe the decomposition and capture the odours.

This involved trapping the scent into a tube, taking it back to the lab and analysing it, professor Forbes said.

They also measured environmental variables such as temperature, wind, rainfall, as well as the scents of nearby vegetation.

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Bulk billing boosts number of GP visits

ADULTS in southwestern and western Sydney visit their GP an average of 7.5 times a year, far more often than people in other areas, according to a new report.

That's possibly because more than 95 per cent of GP visits in those areas are bulk billed, the highest rate in Australia.

Levels of healthiness in an area do not appear to be linked to the number of GP visits, with fewer people in western and southwestern Sydney suffering from a long-term ailment than those in many other areas, according to the National Health Performance Authority report.

The least healthy area is the Country South Medicare catchment in South Australia, where 60 per cent of adults have a long-term ailment.

People there make an average of five GP visits in a 12-month period and 76 per cent of visits are bulk billed, according to the report based on Medicare statistics and survey data from almost 27,000 Australian adults in 2011/12.

The healthiest area is inner west Sydney, where adults make an average of six GP visits a year, with 92 per cent bulk billed.

The area with the least bulk billing is Australian Capital Territory at 50 per cent and around four GP visits a year.

The report highlights a "strong association" between the level bulk billing in an area and the number of GP visits.

Authority CEO Dr Diane Watson says the percentage of adults with long-term health conditions ranges from 34 per cent to 60 per cent. This means Medicare locals face different challenges in ensuring appropriate care.

There are 14 local areas where about a quarter of people have delayed or avoided seeing a dentist in the past 12 months due to cost, according to the report, which sets a benchmark for Medicare locals to measure how well people in their areas access health services.

There are also 32 areas where at least 10 per cent of people have delayed seeing a doctor or filling a prescription, or both.

The report charts experiences before Medicare locals were established. "It is a starting point," says Dr Watson.

The authority has also launched the MyHealthyCommunities website that enables people to compare local information across a range of measures, including service access, immunisation rates and cost.

"It informs the public makes it easier for health leaders to see where improvements can be most effectively targeted," Dr Watson says.

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US consumer prices edge up in May

US consumer prices crept higher in May, led by a jump in housing costs, after falling for two months in a row, official data released on Tuesday showed.

The Labor Department reported its consumer price index rose 0.1 per cent in May from April, and was up 1.4 per cent over the past 12 months.

A 0.3 per cent increase in the cost of housing, which includes rent, accounted for more than half of the CPI increase in May, the department said.

Energy costs rose 0.4 per cent as electricity and natural gas price increases offset flat petrol prices.

Food prices fell 0.3 per cent, the sharpest drop since July 2009.

Excluding food and energy costs, which tend to be volatile month-on-month, core CPI rose 0.2 per cent, double the increases in both March and April.

On a 12-month basis, core CPI was up 1.7 per cent.

Inflationary pressures have been muted as the economy continues to grow at a modest pace four years after exiting the severe recession, despite massive stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The inflation report came as the Fed opens a two-day monetary policy meeting. Analysts expect the central bank will maintain its current ultra-low interest rate and its $US85 billion ($A89.44 billion)-a-month asset-buying program to support growth.

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More will live alone with dementia: report

THE number of people living alone with dementia is expected to grow, putting them at risk of malnutrition, falls and accidents, a peak body says.

Living Alone With Dementia, a discussion paper released on Wednesday by Alzheimer's Australia NSW, says the federal government must prepare for the number of people suffering from dementia to reach 400,000 by 2020.

The paper states about two million people now live in single person households in Australia, a figure that has more than doubled from 11 per cent of households in 1961 to 25 per cent in 2011.

The majority of people living with dementia prefer to stay at home for as long as possible, says John Watkins, CEO of Alzheimer's Australia NSW, and have the right to do so for as long as it's safe.

But research shows that people living alone with dementia have a higher risk of economic insecurity and abuse, loneliness and depression, he says.

They also experience poorer health due to self-neglect, and are vulnerable to malnutrition, falls, accidents and hygiene problems.

"There is often an underlying assumption in dementia and aged care policy that there is a spouse, relative or friend who lives with and cares for the person, and this is reflected in the way services are delivered," Mr Watkins said in a statement.

"People living alone with dementia tend to slip through the cracks."

The discussion paper recommends the federal government funds community services to respond to the individual support requirements of people living alone with dementia.

It also calls on the government to fund education for workers who have contact with people living with dementia, such as GPs, chemists, bank tellers and retail staff.

It suggests the NSW government invest in volunteering schemes, and asks that local councils ensure the safety of people living alone with dementia is addressed through the creation of dementia-friendly environments and neighbourhoods.

Nieves Murray, CEO of IRT, a seniors lifestyle and care provider, said it was inevitable the number of people living alone with dementia would increase..

"We need to start planning for a future where more and more people with dementia will live alone in their own homes, and that is where they will require support," she said.

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Britain lays off 4400 soldiers

BRITAIN has laid off more than 4400 soldiers in a third wave of military job cuts intended to help tackle a budget deficit, the Ministry of Defence says.

The soldiers, 84 per cent of whom had applied for voluntary redundancy, were informed in person by their commanding officers, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The redundancies came on the same day that Afghan forces took charge of security in their country from British, US and other foreign troops, who are due to pull out by the end of 2014.

The 4480 job losses will bring Britain's army numbers down to between 89,000 and 90,000, a ministry spokeswoman said. Some 3800 soldiers have already been laid off.

A fourth and final wave of military cuts - like the first two, drawn from across the army, navy and air force - should see the army shrink to the target size of 82,000 by 2018.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: "It is with great regret that we have had to make redundancies to deliver the reduction in the size of the armed forces.

"But unfortunately they were unavoidable due to the size of the defence deficit that this government inherited.

"Although smaller, our armed forces will be more flexible and agile to reflect the challenges of the future with the protection and equipment they need."

The latest round of cuts is the biggest since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power in 2010, and reflects its deficit reduction policies as well as the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The 8000 British troops currently serving in Afghanistan are exempt from the redundancies, as are those who were recently deployed or who are recovering from serious injuries.

Soldiers voluntarily quitting will leave by December 17, while those facing compulsory redundancy will be out within 12 months.

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US housing starts rise in May

CONSTRUCTION of new US homes rebounded modestly in May from a plunge the prior month, official data released on Tuesday showed, fresh evidence that the housing market continues to recover.

Housing starts rose 6.8 per cent to an annual rate of 914,000, after plunging 14.8 per cent in April, the Commerce Department reported.

Compared with a year ago, housing starts were up 28.6 per cent.

But new building permits, a sign of potential future construction activity, fell 3.1 per cent to a rate of 974,000. Permits were up 20.8 per cent from May 2012.

Last month's numbers came in well below analysts' forecasts of 950,000 housing starts and 983,000 building permits.

New construction on single-family homes, which account for the bulk of the housing market, slipped 0.3 per cent to a rate of 599,000. Starts on multiple-unit residential buildings jumped 24.9 per cent.

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