Discovery could halt breast cancer relapse

AUSTRALIAN scientists have made a discovery that could lead to a simple blood test with the potential to conquer treatment-resistant breast cancer.

The breakthrough relates to the most common form of the disease, oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer.

The test would be used to determine when cancer cells are most vulnerable to chemotherapy, which would be used to kill them off and prevent a relapse.

At present women with this type of breast cancer are not usually treated with chemotherapy.

They typically receive anti-oestrogen therapy and generally respond well. Within 15 years, however, half develop drug resistance, followed by relapse and death.

Scientists believe the anti-oestrogen therapy weakens the BCL-2 gene, which protects the cancer.

The idea would be to test all patients and correctly time the use of chemotherapy to kill off the cancer and prevent a relapse when the gene is sufficiently weak.

"Excitingly, this is something that could be implemented into clinical practice very quickly," says Dr Andrew Stone of Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

He worked with colleagues Professor Susan Clark and Professor Liz Musgrove on the research, in collaboration with scientists from Cardiff University.

"It could provide an affordable, potentially life-saving solution to about a quarter of women with breast cancer."

The research, published online in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, suggests the technology to profile patients already exists and the drugs they will respond to are in everyday use.

At present, there are three therapeutic strategies for oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer.

These are blocking the body's production of oestrogen, using the drug tamoxifen to prevent oestrogen from binding to the oestrogen receptor and destroying the oestrogen receptor completely.

Over time, however, many tumours become resistant. When one form of treatment starts to fail, a second is put in place, and then a third. Response times shrink, and tumours start to spread to other parts of the body, usually the brain, lungs, liver and bone.

"Of course this is only preliminary research. But a clinical trial could be set up very easily.

"We believe it could provide a new diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, and could benefit the lives of millions of women worldwide," says Dr Stone.

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Men caught with 424 illegal abalone in NSW

TWO men are facing up to 10 years in prison each after they were allegedly caught on NSW's south coast with a total of 424 abalone destined for the black market.

In the first case, a 38-year-old man from Ulladulla was discovered with 222 abalone near Bawley Point.

He's accused of trying to dump the abalone back into the sea when approached by fisheries officers.

The man has been charged with trafficking abalone, threatening and obstructing fisheries officers, possession of more than the recreational possession limit and shucking abalone.

In a separate incident, a 40-year-old man from Sanctuary Point was spotted diving on O'Hara Island south of Pretty Beach, also on the NSW south coast.

He was caught as he returned to his car and allegedly discovered to have 202 abalone him.

He's been charged with trafficking abalone, possession of prohibited size fish, possessing more than the recreational possession limit and possessing shucked abalone.

Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson said both men were discovered separately in the Kioloa area, south of Ulladulla, during Operation Enamel.

"They are now facing face maximum fines of up to $88,000 and/or 10 years imprisonment," she said on Monday.

In NSW, the amount of abalone is limited to two per person, with the minimum legal size for abalone 117 millimetres.

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US stocks open mixed as earnings pick up

US stocks have opened mixed after an uneven batch of earnings reports painted a so-so picture of economic activity.

Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14.79 (0.10 per cent) to 15,528.95.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.57 (0.03 per cent) at 1,692.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.19 (0.23 per cent) to 3,595.80.

The results came as Dow member McDonald's released disappointing earnings and a mediocre outlook, while oil services giant Halliburton narrowly topped expectations.

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Keli Lane's two-day appeal set to start

KELI Lane is set to appeal her conviction more than two years after she was jailed for murdering her newborn baby.

The former elite water polo player was jailed in 2011 for at least 13 years and five months for the 1996 murder of her two-day-old daughter Tegan.

Lane's case will be heard in front of three judges in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The 38-year-old's legal team - lead by barrister Winston Terracini SC - will appeal the conviction on a number of grounds, including that an alternative count of manslaughter should have been open to the jury as there was no evidence "of infliction of any harm with any intent".

They are also expected to argue her trial's crown prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi QC, had reversed the onus of proof by posing questions to the jury during his closing address.

Lane's appeal comes after Justice Anthony Whealy last year said he wasn't convinced the crown had proved its case.

Lane has steadfastly maintained she handed Tegan over to the infant's father, with whom she'd had a brief affair. Tegan's remains have never been found.

Lane had two terminations as a teenager and had kept three pregnancies and births secret from family and friends, adopting out two children.

The crown contended Lane murdered Tegan because a child would have interfered with her sporting, sex and social life.

Earlier this month, Lane's partner Patrick Cogan told Woman's Day that Keli was confident Tegan was alive, but has more than one theory about where the little girl is.

Mr Cogan said Lane watched a television report about an Indian boy trying to find his family and said "that is going to be me".

"She said,'Tegan is going to grow up and have brown eyes and realise that mum and dad don't'."

Lane was sentenced to a maximum of 18 years.

If her appeal is unsuccessful her earliest release date is in May 2024.

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PM Abe wins big in Japanese poll

JAPANESE voters have handed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a thumping victory in upper house elections, exit polls show, likely ushering in a new period of stability for the politically volatile nation.

Sunday's projected victory means both chambers will be under government control, unblocking the bottleneck that has hampered legislation for the last six short-term premiers.

That will strengthen Abe's hand as he tries to push through painful, but necessary, structural reforms aimed at dragging Japan out of two decades of economic malaise.

"We want to respond to people's desire to feel a sense of economic improvement," Abe told reporters as the results emerged.

"I want to make a virtuous cycle of improving the employment situation, increasing salaries and bringing about a rise in corporate investment."

Exit polls by NHK showed Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner New Komeito claimed at least 73 of the 121 seats being contested.

There are 242 legislators in the upper house, serving six-year terms. Elections are held for half of the seats every three years. The coalition already has 59 seats that were not up for election on Sunday.

Since romping to power in December's vote for the more powerful lower house, the hard-charging Abe has unleashed a wave of spending and pressured the central bank to flood the market with easy money.

The moves -- the first two "arrows" of a project dubbed "Abenomics" -- sent the yen plunging, to the delight of exporters, and the stock market soaring.

This, coupled with some feel-good figures on GDP growth, powered 60-per cent-plus public approval ratings for the prime minister, whose disastrous first turn in the top job, till September 2007, has paled in the public mind.

The third arrow of Abe's policy program remains hazy, but will include corporate tax breaks, special business zones, plans to boost the number of women in the workplace and Japan's participation in a mooted free trade area that encircles the Pacific.

However, observers say reforms will be tough. Superannuated farmers tending tiny plots make up a powerful lobby group that has already made clear its unease about the extra competition this Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would bring.

The fact that these rural voters also form the backbone of support for the LDP could prove a problem for the premier.

Pundits say a big public endorsement protects him from the powerful vested interests inside the party that will agitate against the structural changes which economists agree the country badly needs.

Another issue for Abe is that the vast spending unleashed so far is worsening Japan's already eye-watering levels of debt. A slated increase in consumption tax to slow this rise risks dampening spending and irritating voters.

Japan's disheartened opposition barely put up a fight in the election. The main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, is in disarray after three years of confused governance were capped with a drubbing in December's poll.

They and other smaller parties had united around one thing -- the need for Japan to graduate from nuclear power generation, a popular stance in a country badly scarred by the 2011 disaster at Fukushima.

But even Abe's pro-nuclear stance, and his vow to switch Japan's 48 mothballed reactors back on when they have passed rigorous new safety checks, was not enough to dampen enthusiasm for his economic trump card.

Abe's detractors fear Abenomics is a Trojan Horse aimed at securing the hawkish premier enough power to implement his conservative social agenda.

They fear this will mean a loosening of Japan's constitutional commitment to pacifism, a boosting of the military and a more strident tone in already-strained relations with China and South Korea, both of whom have territorial disputes with Tokyo.

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$40,000 gold prize to those who enrol

ACTIVIST group GetUp! will give away $40,000 in gold in a bid to encourage people to enrol to vote in the upcoming federal election.

GetUp! National Director Sam McLean said 1.4 million people eligible to vote weren't on the electoral role, with 493,000 under 24.

"A huge number of young Australians aren't enrolled to vote and we want to give them every reason to," Mr McLean said in a statement.

"If they win, they can pay off part of their HECS debt, buy a car, go on a holiday or give it to charity - we don't mind.

"The most important thing is that people realise that once the election is called they only have seven days to get themselves enrolled to vote."

Those who enrol and register with GetUp! will go into a draw, with one winner from each state and territory getting $5,000 worth of gold.

The gold will be delivered the Sunday after the election, which has yet to be called by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

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Comedian Mel Smith dies in London

BRITISH comedian Mel Smith, known for the TV series Alas Smith and Jones and Not the Nine O'Clock News, has died from a heart attack at his home in northwest London, his agent Michael Foster says.

In a statement to the Press Association on Saturday on behalf of Smith's wife Pam, Mr Foster said: "Mel Smith, comedian and writer, died on Friday aged 60, from a heart attack at his home in northwest London."

Tributes have been paid to the late star.

Comedian and broadcaster Stephen Fry wrote on Twitter: "Terrible news about my old friend Mel Smith, dead today from a heart attack. Mel lived a full life, but was kind, funny & wonderful to know."

Author Kathy Lette wrote on the site: "R.I.P. Mel Smith. Sorry to bring sad and bad news, but apparently he died from heart attack in his sleep."

Writer Irvine Welsh took to Twitter to write: "Sad to hear about the death of Mel Smith, who gave me loads of laughs."

Not the Nine O'Clock News producer John Lloyd told Sky News that Smith was an "amazingly talented guy" but added that he had not been in good health.

He said: "We did know he was ill. He's been ill for some time.

"So although it is the most awful news - I mean, it's a tragedy, it's a great loss not just as an amazingly talented guy in all sorts of areas but also as a friend - I think he was not in good shape, so in some ways we try and put a good spin on it by saying it's a relief for him."

Smith was described as having "extraordinary natural talent" by Peter Fincham, director of television at ITV.

Fincham, who was the business partner of Smith and his comedy sideback Griff Rhys Jones at Talkback Productions as well as their agent, said: "Life was always exciting around Mel.

"He was my friend and business partner for many years and had extraordinary natural talent with the rare gift of wearing it lightly.

"Being funny came naturally to him, so much so that he never seemed to give it a second thought. Mel and Griff were one of the great comedy acts and it's hard to imagine that one of them is no longer with us."

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Pope sets up body to overhaul Vatican

POPE Francis has set up a special commission of lay experts to overhaul the economic and administrative structure of the Vatican in a radical bid to streamline and clean up the scandal-hit institution.

The commission will delve into the workings of the Vatican's bloated departments and draft reforms to tackle instances of favouritism or corruption, as well as simplify procedures, improve transparency and put economic resources to better use.

The commission is tasked with the "simplification and rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations", the Vatican said in a statement on Friday.

It will offer specialist advice on how to "avoid the misuse of economic resources, to improve transparency... to work with ever greater prudence in the financial sphere; to ensure correct application of accounting principles," it said.

The Argentine pope has worked fast since his election in March to establish a series of specialist bodies to tackle corruption and poor management in the Vatican.

This latest commission, which will report directly to him, comes on the heels of the establishment of a separate body looking at how to reform the Vatican bank and the appointment of eight cardinal advisors.

The new specialists come from France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Singapore and Spain.

Francis was elected in the wake of a damaging scandal last year in which papers leaked by the then papal butler alleged corruption in the administration, with tales of bribery and personal favours as well as accusations of money laundering.

Although they did not reveal any great surprises, the secret papers lifted the lid on deep-seated venom among rival figures in the Vatican.

They revealed in particular the bitter battle between Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who had been attempting to clean up the Vatican's finances when he was removed from his post -- allegedly for cracking down on corruption.

Vigano wrote to the Pope and begged not to be punished for rooting out examples of favours, waste and financial mismanagement which set the Vatican back millions of euros in higher contract prices -- but to no avail.

Francis's reforms appear to have their roots in the leaks scandal, which created unease and exasperation among the cardinals.

The electors called on the Argentinian swiftly to clean up an institution dogged by bad governance and corruption but Francis has yet to shake up the heavily criticised Curia -- the intrigue-filled administration of the Catholic Church -- which he temporarily re-appointed en masse after his election.

The Vatican said Friday's new commission could collaborate with the Pope's cardinal advisors "in drafting a plan for the reform... of the Roman Curia".

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Campion's Top of the Lake gets Emmys nod

THE ABC wasn't keen on American actress Elisabeth Moss playing an Aussie in Jane Campion's TV mini-series Top of the Lake, but Emmy voters don't care.

Moss was nominated on Thursday for two Emmys - her role in the New Zealand-shot Top of the Lake and for her lead performance in feted US series Mad Men.

Campion also came out big from the Emmy Awards nomination ceremony held in North Hollywood, scoring nominations for directing and writing Top of the Lake.

The news was not so good for Australia's other cast members in the mini-series, with David Wenham and Thomas M. Wright snubbed for nominations.

Top of the Lake's Scottish-born Peter Mullan pipped Wenham and Wright for supporting actor in a TV movie or mini-series nominations.

The critically-acclaimed mini-series, shot in Queenstown, New Zealand, and following Moss' character, an Australian detective, investigating the disappearance of a pregnant girl, was supposed to be partly funded by Australia's national broadcaster.

However, when it was announced Californian-born Moss would star as an Aussie, the ABC pulled $A600,000 in funding for the seven episode mini-series.

The 65th Primetime Emmy ceremony will be held on September 22.

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Four drown after asylum boat capsizes

FOUR people have died after an asylum seeker boat carrying about 150 passengers capsized in rough seas off Christmas Island.

A dramatic navy rescue operation was sparked on Tuesday after the vessel capsized about 70 nautical miles off the remote island, flinging a large number of people into the sea.

Two navy ships hauled 144 people alive from the water, but Customs and Border Protection confirmed four bodies were also recovered during the operation.

Earlier in the day, HMAS Albany was called to assist the suspected asylum seeker boat, but couldn't board the crowded vessel due to bad weather.

As the HMAS Albany and HMAS Warramunga were escorting the boat to Christmas Island it tipped, flinging a large number of people into the sea.

A Royal Australian Air Force plane dropped a number of life rafts, while navy personnel pulled survivors from the water.

Vessels in the area were also called to assist in the timely rescue, and the Customs vessel ACV Triton was radioed for help.

Customs suspended the search at around 9:30pm (AEST).

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority earlier believed up to 180 people were on board the vessel, but that was later scaled down.

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