Greenpeace to continue oil rig demos

GREENPEACE will continue to stage oil rig protests despite having 30 activists taken prisoner by the Russian authorities, one of the Britons freed from detention says.

Frank Hewetson says, that despite his ordeal, the organisation's method of scaling oil rigs in the Arctic would happen again.

But he says he can't for certain say they will return to Russia

He said he had 23 years of experience and was "pretty good" at carrying out direct forms of action.

He said it had to be done safely, with the right equipment and training.

"I think it will happen again for sure," Hewetson said.

"I'm just not going to comment about whether it will happen in Russia, I just don't have the mental head space to make that sort of decision at the moment.

"But I personally want to go back to part of the Arctic."

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Indonesia raises volcano alert level

THE alert status for one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes has been raised to the highest level after it repeatedly sent hot clouds of gas down its slope following a series of eruptions in recent days.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province unleashed fresh volcanic ash and gravel as high as 5000 metres and searing gas down its slope up to 2km, said a government volcanologist, Surono, who like many Indonesians uses one name.

The 2600-metre-high mountain has sporadically erupted since September after being dormant for three years.

"We are in a situation of high alert due to the danger of searing gas," Surono said, adding that authorities had urged people to stay at least 5km away from the crater.

About 12,300 evacuees from eight villages around the mountain were packed on Sunday in crowded government camps away from the fiery crater, while more than 6000 others fled earlier to temporary shelters in 16 safe locations, said National Disaster Mitigation spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said airlines had been notified to avoid routes near the mountain.

The volcano's last eruption, in August 2010, killed two people and forced 30,000 others to flee. It caught many scientists off guard because it had been quiet for four centuries.

Mount Sinabung is among around 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

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Extend domestic violence leave: ACTU

THE national union peak body wants special leave for domestic violence victims to be included as a minimum workplace award entitlement from next year.

To coincide with White Ribbon Day, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said unions will support a special resolution on the issue at an ACTU executive meeting on Tuesday.

He said 1.2 million workers already have access to domestic violence leave but it should be extended to cover more people.

"Victims of domestic violence are often vulnerable, traumatised and left with little support," he said.

"The last thing they need is to risk losing their jobs."

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Treasurers to discuss online shopping tax

MOVES to slap GST on overseas online shopping purchases worth less than $1000 will be on the agenda when Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey meets his state and territory counterparts this week.

The treasurers will meet in Canberra on Wednesday from 8.30am (AEST) for the Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations, the first since the change of government.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hockey said the meeting will focus on economic growth and ways to increase productivity.

The $1000 threshold at which the GST is collected on goods and services purchased from abroad will be on the agenda.

The treasurers will consider potential options on collecting the GST on online transactions if the threshold was to be lowered.

Australian businesses argue that while online shopping from foreign outlets may comprise a small component of the overall retail sector, it's a fast-growing trend being supported by an effectively GST-free status on less expensive items.

The previous Labor government argued that significant reforms were needed within the tax system to handle the job otherwise the cost of collecting the tax would outstrip the revenue collected.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said his state had been pushing for reform on the low-value threshold on GST for online overseas purchases for a long time.

"It is about time we had a genuine discussion on the issues that matter and it's clear that under the new federal government this is what we are going to see," he told AAP.

The treasurers are also expected to discuss infrastructure partnerships and the economic and fiscal outlook.

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Thousands rally in Kiev for EU deal

TENS of thousands of demonstrators have marched through central Kiev to demand the Ukrainian government reverse course and sign a landmark agreement with the European Union in defiance of Russia.

The protest was the biggest Ukraine has seen since the peaceful 2004 Orange Revolution, which overturned a fraudulent presidential election result and brought a Western-leaning government to power.

The demonstration was led by Ukraine's top opposition figures, who called for the protests to continue until President Viktor Yanukovych agreed to sign the free trade and political association deal with the EU at a summit on Friday.

Carrying giant Ukrainian and EU flags, the demonstrators chanted "Ukraine is Europe" and sang the national anthem as they marched toward European Square. An estimated 50,000 people turned out for the rally.

"We want to be together with Europe," Volodymyr Mnikh, a 62-year-old retired chemist, said with tears in his eyes. "We want our children to have a future and not to be pressured by Russia."

Ukraine's leaders announced suddenly last week that they were pulling out of the EU agreement, saying the country could not afford to break trade ties with Russia.

The Russian government has worked aggressively to derail the EU deal and bring Ukraine into the Moscow-dominated Customs Union.

"The EU means Ukraine's development," said demonstrator Andriy Mazeta, a 19-year-old management student. "The Customs Union means Ukraine's destruction. We need to push Russia as far away as possible."

One key EU demand for signing the deal is the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose imprisonment the West sees as politically driven.

Yanukovych only narrowly defeated Tymoshenko in the 2010 presidential election and sees her as a political threat. He comes up for re-election in 2015.

At Sunday's rally, Tymoshenko's daughter read a letter from her jailed mother demanding that Yanukovych sign the EU deal.

"It's our roadmap to a normal life," Eugenia Tymoshenko said, shaking from cold and emotion as she read the letter. "Don't let him humiliate us all in this way."

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Thai anti-government protesters rally

ABOUT 100,000 anti-government demonstrators have rallied in Thailand's capital, demanding that the prime minister step down amid claims that her government is controlled by her older brother, ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The peaceful rally, led by former opposition lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, appeared to be the largest staged by Thaksin's opponents in several years.

Organisers are looking for the rally to continue overnight and cause maximum disruption on Monday, when demonstrators are supposed to march all over Bangkok.

The protesters say they want to topple the "Thaksin regime", which is how they refer to the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Thaksin's supporters and opponents have battled for power since a 2006 military coup ousted the former prime minister, who was toppled following street protests accusing him of corruption and disrespect for the country's constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile for the past five years to avoid a prison sentence on a corruption conviction.

The battle for power has sometimes led to blood being spilled in the streets, and there is fear that the latest round of protests, which started last month, could lead to a renewal of serious political instability, after two years of relative calm under Yingluck's government.

Police estimated that around 75,000 people had arrived at the main rally site by mid-afternoon on Sunday, with the total appearing to surpass 100,000 by evening.

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