Bomb kills five at railway station

POLICE said a bomb has exploded in a railway station in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least five people.

Police officer Qasim Salachi said at least 20 others were wounded in the bombing overnight at the station in Baluchistan province's Sibbi city.

Mr Salachi said the bomb went off just minutes after a train pulled into the station, as passengers were buying food and drinks.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Baluchistan has experienced decades of violence at the hands of separatists who demand a greater share of the province's natural resources. It is also believed to be a base for many Afghan Taliban militants.

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Oz activist to stay away from boat race

Australian activist Trenton Oldfield plans to stay away from this year's Oxford-Cambridge boat race. Source: AAP

THE Australian man jailed for disrupting the historic Oxford-Cambridge boat race says he remains a committed protester but plans to stay away from this year's event.

Trenton Oldfield made world headlines in April 2012 when he swam between the two rowing crews in the River Thames in a protest against elitism.

The London-based Australian was subsequently found guilty of causing a public nuisance and sentenced to six months in prison.

He was released after seven weeks wearing an electronic tag.

Mr Oldfield said upon his release in December he "would do it again".

But pressed by AAP on Wednesday to confirm he had no plans for action at Sunday's 159th running of the race the activist said: "Correct".

The 36-year-old, who has this week launched a book entitled The Queen vs Trenton Oldfield: A Prison Diary, said he remained involved in other protest activity and stood by his actions during last year's race.

"100 per cent no regrets," Mr Oldfield said.

"I've still been protesting since I've come out of prison. I've been on lots of protests.

"I don't think that I should have gone to prison or been in a criminal situation for protests."

Mr Oldfield said writing the book would help raise money after he was also ordered to pay STG750 ($A1100) in costs over last year's incident.

He said the book was designed to challenge "preconceived ideas held about prisoners and prisons" as well as discussing issues such as criminal class and the criminalisation of protesters.

"Nobody could actually tell me what the point of going to prison was," Mr Oldfield said.

"Nobody could tell me I was going to be rehabilitated, or if it was punishment.

"Nobody was able to actually say what was meant to happen to me after being there."

Organisers have pledged increased security for Sunday's race and appealed for no repeats of last year's disruption.

Mr Oldfield targeted the 2012 race as a symbol of elitism and London's inequality problems.

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Jobs getting harder to find - ABS

Job vacancies have dropped by by 4.5 per cent. Picture: File image

THE number of job vacancies in Australia fell 4.5 per cent in the three months to May, official statistics show.

The total number of vacancies in May 2011 was 181,500, in seasonally adjusted terms, compared with 190,000 in the previously quarterly survey in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today.

The number of job vacancies in the private sector was 163,300 in May, a fall of 5.1 per cent from 172,000 in November.

There were 18,200 vacancies in the public sector in May, up 1.3 per cent from vacancies recorded three months earlier.

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NT's credit rating downgraded

MOODY'S has downgraded the credit rating of the Northern Territory, citing the jurisdiction's rapidly rising debt.

The credit agency downgraded the NT's rating from Aa1 stable to Aa1 with a negative outlook.

"The change in the outlook reflects the deterioration in the territory's financial performance which emerged in recent years and is expected to persist over the medium term," Moody's said in a statement.

It said there was also expected to be a rapid rise in the NT's debt burden.

As well as widening deficits of the general government sector Moody's said there were deteriorating trends in the government-owned Power and Water Corporation (PWC).

It said there were insufficient rate adjustments at PWC in the context of a large capital program.

The agency said debt to revenues was projected to rise from a moderate 48 per cent of revenues in 2008/09 to 85 per cent in 2012/13 and further over the medium term.

Despite the problems Moody's said 70 per cent of the NT's income came from commonwealth grants.

It also said the credit rating was supported by large resource investments and the government's plan to achieve fiscal redress over the medium term.

Since taking office in August last year, the Country Liberal Party (CLP) has raised water and electricity prices in a bid to improve the financial situation of PWC.

Moody's said the NT's outlook could revert to stable if spending growth was constrained and the financial performance of PWC was improved.

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Top Afghan lawyer arrested on rape charge

A PROMINENT Afghan lawyer close to a possible presidential candidate has been arrested on charges of kidnapping and raping a woman.

Kabir Ranjbar, the president of the Afghan Lawyers' Union and a former member of parliament, was detained on Saturday, deputy attorney-general Rahmatullah Nazari said.

Mr Nazari said the woman, now aged 20, was kidnapped from Dehsabz district, northeast of Kabul, about two and a half years ago and held at the home of Mr Ranjbar's niece.

Mr Ranjbar, a familiar face on Afghan television talk shows, allegedly got the woman drunk and raped her, the prosecutor said, and two months ago she gave birth to his child.

"I can confirm Kabir Ranjbar, a former Kabul MP in the lower house of parliament, has been arrested by the attorney-general's office yesterday, accused of kidnapping and raping a girl," Mr Nazari said, adding that the investigation was at an early stage.

Mr Ranjbar is a key member of the Right and Justice Party, led by ex-interior minister Hanif Atmar, who is seen as a potential candidate for the presidential election in 2014.

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N Korea executes four refugees - activist

NORTH Korea has publicly executed four refugees who were repatriated by China, a South Korean activist says.

China has repatriated 44 people in recent months, said Kim Heung-Kwang, who heads NK Intellectuals Solidarity, a Seoul-based defectors' group.

Four of them were executed and 40 sent to camps for political prisoners, he told a seminar.

South Korean rights groups say there are six political prison camps in the North holding around 200,000 detainees.

Kim said he had obtained his information from a source inside the North, but gave no details. The South's unification ministry, which is in charge of cross-border affairs, declined to comment.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans looking to escape hunger or repression in their communist homeland have fled in recent years. Virtually all cross the border to China, which repatriates those fugitives it catches.

Beijing says they are economic migrants rather than refugees, a policy criticised by international rights groups.

Last week 19 refugees were arrested in Thailand on charges of illegal entry.

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Ash cloud chaos just won't go away

Passengers feel the effects of cancelled Qantas flights due to the Chilean volcanic ash cloud . Picture: AFP Source: AFP

QANTAS and Jetstar have cancelled all flights to and from Christchurch as the Chilean volcanic ash cloud continues to frustrate air travellers.

Jetstar has also cancelled all flights in and out of Wellington until at least midday, with Qantas cancelling all flights to and from the city until 2pm.

Air New Zealand flights are continuing to operate as normal.

Jetstar has dismissed suggestions it cancelled flights for financial reasons as "absurd''.

Forsyth Barr aviation analyst Rob Mercer was earlier reported as saying Australian airlines chose not to fly in and out of New Zealand during the past two weeks for financial reasons, not because of the safety risks posed by ash clouds from Chile's Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano.

He said Qantas' international operations would lose $200 million this year.

"The decisions not to fly are easier if you are running at a loss, than they are if you are running at a profit. (Air) New Zealand probably came out of this with a lot more customer loyalty than Qantas,'' Mercer said.

Jetstar Group chief executive Bruce Buchanan rejected Mr Mercer's claims, saying the airline was focused on safety alone.

"The claims... that our position taken had anything to do with a cost cutting measure are absurd.

"The mere suggestion that grounding your entire operation in market - hundreds of flights over a two week period - would improve financial performance is out of touch with the tough reality of running an airline.

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