Polish composer Wojciech Kilar dies

WOJCIECH Kilar, a Polish pianist and composer of classical music and scores for many films, including Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, has died. He was 81.

The composer died Sunday in his hometown of Katowice, southern Poland, following a long illness, according to Jerzy Kornowicz, head of the Association of Polish Composers.

Kornowicz said, "The power and the message of his music, as well as the noble character of Wojciech Kilar as a person, will stay in my memory forever."

Kilar's main love was composing symphonies and concertos, and he always put that above movies, even though he wrote the scores of dozens of films. He drew inspiration from Polish folk music and religious prayers and hymns.

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Drive-by shooting and bomb in Iraq kill 6

A DRIVE-BY shooting and a bomb in Iraq have killed at least six people.

Police say gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on Sunday at a check point run by anti-al-Qaeda, pro-government Sunni militiamen in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, killing four and wounding three.

The Sunni militia, known as the Awakening Council, was formed by the US forces during the height of the insurgency. They are seen as traitors by al-Qaeda local branch and other militant groups.

The officer added that two civilians were killed and eight wounded when a bomb exploded in an outdoor market in the capital's western Jihad neighbourhood.

Medical officials have confirmed the figures.

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French court upholds high income tax

FRENCH President Francois Hollande has finally got his super tax on high incomes with the country's highest court upholding the law's latest version.

Hollande originally promised a 75 per cent tax on income over 1 million euros ($A1.55 million).

It would have affected a tiny number of taxpayers but became a symbol of his campaign promise to make France fairer for the middle class.

But the constitutional council threw out that tax as unfair.

Hollande's administration rewrote the tax in the 2014 budget.

It is now a 50 per cent tax paid by the employer and doesn't reduce employees' earnings.

The council ruled on Sunday that the tax was constitutional.

In a series of rulings on the budget, it declared a change to the wealth tax that would have taxed latent revenue unconstitutional.

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Amphetamine abuse growing: report

AMPHETAMINES have surged ahead of alcohol as the main substance addicted Australians seek treatment for, a report from a rehabilitation centre has found.

Odyssey House released its latest annual report on Monday.

It found addiction to amphetamines - including ice, speed or ecstasy - was the main substance of concern for a third of people seeking treatment, outstripping alcohol, cannabis and heroin for a second year.

Chief executive Jamie Pitts says the latest figures for amphetamine addiction are up 120 per cent on 2003 figures, while the figures for heroin addiction have fallen to their lowest point.

Ten years ago, Australia was in the grip of a serious heroin problem, he says, and 45 per cent of Odyssey House clients were admitted with opiate dependence.

That percentage has more than halved over the past decade.

"While this reduction is good news, it's due mainly to heroin supply issues," Mr Pitts said in a statement.

"People have turned instead to ice and speed because it's more readily available and affordable."

Booze remains a major problem for Australians, the report finds, with 28 per cent of those entering Odyssey House residential programs in the 2012-13 financial year reporting that alcohol was their main drug of concern.

"Seventy per cent of our clients list alcohol as one of their problem drugs, and it's the substance they're most likely to start misusing first, providing that slippery slope towards illicit drugs," Mr Pitts said.

More than half of those who sought help at Odyssey House had a co-existing mental illness.

The report also found people entering Odyssey House were more likely to have started using drugs at a younger age.

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CIA helped Colombia target rebels: report

A COVERT CIA program has helped Colombia's government kill at least two dozen leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the rebel insurgency also known as FARC, The Washington Post reports.

The National Security Agency has also provided "substantial eavesdropping help" to the Colombian government, according to the Post. And the US provided Colombia with GPS equipment that can be used to transform regular munitions into "smart bombs" that can accurately home in on specific targets, even if they are located in dense jungles.

In March 2008, Colombian forces killed a top FARC commander, Raul Reyes, in one of several jungle camps the rebels operated in Ecuador, just across the border. The Post report on Saturday said Colombia used US-made smart bombs in the operation.

The report is based on interviews with more than 30 former and current US and Colombian officials, who the Post said spoke on condition of anonymity because the program is classified and ongoing.

The CIA would not comment on the Post report. Without going into detail, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told the Post that the CIA has been "of help", providing Colombian forces with "better training and knowledge".

The multibillion-dollar program was funded secretly and separately from $US9 billion in aid that the US has openly provided to Colombia, mostly in military assistance. It was authorised by President George W. Bush and has continued under President Barack Obama, the newspaper reported.

Colombia's government and FARC have been engaged in peace talks in Havana since late 2012, but there has been no ceasefire between the two sides. Earlier this month Santos blamed the rebels for an attack on a police post that killed nine people, including civilians, military and a police officer.

The FARC rebels took up arms in 1964. The US-backed military buildup has reduced FARC's ranks to about 9000 fighters and killed several top commanders, though the rebels insist they are still a potent force.

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Khodorkovsky says he won't enter politics

KREMLIN critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, unexpectedly pardoned and released from jail, says he will not enter Russian politics, or fund the country's opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

Khodorkovsky, speaking to the press in the German capital on Sunday, two days after being dramatically pardoned by Putin, said: "I will not engage in politics, that is, fight for political power."

Despite being in prison for 10 years after being convicted of tax evasion and embezzlement, the former billionaire oil tycoon maintained that his pardon and release on Friday by Putin was "not a sign of fundamental change" in Russia.

"The authorities always wanted a confession of guilt from me, but that was unacceptable for me," Khodorkovsky said, adamantly maintaining that he did not sign any written confession of guilt to obtain a pardon.

Khodorkovsky's jail term was to have ended in August 2014. Critics have called his conviction politically motivated, noting that Khodorkovsky had funded the Russian opposition before his arrest.

In the decree, Putin said he was "guided by the principles of humanity" in pardoning Khodorkovsky.

Khodorkovsky, whose mother is suffering from cancer and has had treatment in Germany, had expressed fears he would not see her alive again.

Khodorkovsky, who has been given a one-year German visa, thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for what he said was her role in helping to secure his release.

"She made it possible for me to be free today," he said. Former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher met Putin twice for discussions about Khodorkovsky, it emerged earlier.

Khodorkovsky, who also thanked the media who had covered his case over the years, said he did not know how long he would stay in Germany.

Asked if he would return to Russia, he said that if he did, there was no guarantee the Russian authorities would let him leave again.

Khodorkovsky refused to be drawn on his relationship with Putin, saying that while he had been treated harshly, "my family had never been touched".

He said he did not believe the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia in February should be damaged in any way by opponents of the Russian government.

"Millions of people will celebrate the games, and that should not be damaged. But neither should the games be used as a great party for President Putin," he said.

He said Western governments should "remember I am not the last political prisoner in Russia," adding that he would focus his energies on helping the others walk out of Russian jails.

"I will do everything so that there are none left, do everything I can."

The former chief executive and founder of the Yukos oil giant said he had no plans to return to business, but had enough means to live on.

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Man survives 15m plunge in Blue Mountains

A 29-YEAR old man has survived a 15-metre plunge down a waterfall in the Blue Mountains.

The man was hiking through the Valley of the Waters with his family about 2.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday when he allegedly climbed over a safety fence, slipped and fell down the falls, landing in a shallow pool.

Police say he was treated at the scene by emergency services before being transferred by helicopter to Westmead Hospital.

He is currently being treated for head injuries and is believed to be in a serious, but non-life threatening condition.

The accident happened on the same day abseiler Darren Bull was killed when he plummeted down a cliff at Malaita Point in the mountains.

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NSW woman dies in single vehicle crash

A 45-YEAR-OLD woman has been killed in Sydney's west when the car she was driving crashed at Hassall Grove.

Police say the woman was driving along Luxford Road about 12.50am (AEDT) on Sunday when her car hit the gutter, before crashing through the guard rail and hitting an embankment.

Investigations are continuing and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Extreme fire danger in WA prompts bans

FIRE alerts ranging from severe to extreme for much of Western Australia have prompted total fire bans in many areas, including parts of the Goldfields-Midlands region.

With temperatures set to soar again on Monday, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has also issued a ban for parts of the Midwest Gascoyne region.

The DFES warned residents in the Central Wheatbelt and inland parts of the Great Southern and Central West they would be facing extreme fire danger, while those in the Gascoyne, Eucla, Pilbara, coastal parts of the Great Southern and the Upper Great Southern are facing severe fire danger.

On Sunday an emergency warning was downgraded to an advice alert for a bushfire four kilometres east of Toodyay.

The DFES said the blaze was contained and under control.

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NAB's business satisfaction rating falls

AUSTRALIA'S biggest business lender National Australia Bank has fallen further behind its big four rivals in business customer satisfaction.

NAB had an average satisfaction rating of 6.9 out of ten in November, well behind Commonwealth Bank (7.5), Westpac (7.4) and ANZ (7.3).

According to the monthly DBM Consultants' Business Financial Services Monitor, NAB's satisfaction rating went backwards in November, while ANZ, which had lagged alongside it for most of the past two years, continued to pull ahead.

DBM director Maria Claridad said ANZ achieved its highest ever average score in November and was well above the 6.9 it scored in April this year.

"What ANZ has been able to achieve in the past six months is great for their business and it has closed the gap on the two major banks that were well ahead of it,' she said.

She said the challenge now was for ANZ to sustain or improve on the customer satisfaction level.

The BFSM, which is based on interviews with 20,000 businesses a year, also showed the Commonwealth was the most popular bank among large and micro businesses, while Westpac lead among small and medium sized companies.

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