Mandela spends third day in hospital

Nelson Mandela spent his third day in hospital after making "steady progress". Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela was on Saturday spending his third day in hospital after making "steady progress" for a recurring lung infection, the latest health scare for the nonagenarian anti-apartheid icon.

Messages of concern for the ailing 94-year-old, one of the towering figures of modern history, have poured in since his admission late Wednesday and President Jacob Zuma's spokesman gave an upbeat report on Friday.

"He was in good spirits, he had a full breakfast, and the doctors report that he's making steady progress," said Mac Maharaj.

"He sat up and had his breakfast in bed."

There was no update yet on Saturday from Mandela's doctors on his condition or details on how long he would remain at the undisclosed hospital, he said.

Mandela's recent health troubles have triggered an outpouring of prayers but have also seen South Africans come to terms with the mortality of the revered Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The former president is idolised in his home nation, where he is seen as the architect of South Africa's peaceful transition from white-minority ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.

Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994, he remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.

It is the second time this month that he has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for check-ups on March 9.

That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December, when Mandela was treated for another lung infection and underwent gallstone surgery.

He was diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime and has long had problems with his lungs. He has also had treatment for prostate cancer and has suffered stomach ailments.

Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told public broadcaster SABC that "Tata (father) is doing well".

"He's responding very well to treatment," said Madikizela-Mandela, who attended a Friday church service in Soweto where the congregation prayed for Mandela.

But officials said doctors' reports of Mandela's steady progress should be taken in context.

"Yes, indeed it is good news but we need to be cautious, bear in mind his age," said presidential spokesman Maharaj, who was a political prisoner with Mandela at Robben Island jail off the coast of Cape Town.

The name and location of the hospital where Mandela is being treated have not been disclosed to allow his medical team to focus on their work and to shield the family from the intense media interest.

In the past he has been hospitalised at a clinic in Pretoria.

Away from the public eye, Mandela has grown increasingly frail.

His December hospital stay was his longest since he walked free from jail in 1990.

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Karzai in Qatar to discuss Taliban office

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai travelled to Qatar on Saturday to discuss Taliban militants opening an office in the Gulf state for peace talks that could end more than a decade of war, his office said.

Until earlier this year, Karzai was strongly opposed to the Islamist extremists having a meeting venue outside Afghanistan as he feared that his government would be frozen out of any negotiations.

The militants refuse to have direct contact with Karzai, saying he is a puppet of the United States, which has supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the Taliban in 2001.

But, with NATO-led combat troops due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Karzai agreed to the proposed Taliban office in Qatar and is expected to firm up the plan with the emir of Qatar on Sunday.

Any future peace talks still face numerous hurdles before they begin, including confusion over who would represent the Taliban and Karzai's insistence that his appointees are at the centre of negotiations.

"We will discuss the peace process, of course, and the opening of an office for the Taliban in Qatar," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said before Karzai left Kabul with several senior members of his government.

"If we want to have talks to bring peace to Afghanistan, the main side must be the Afghan government's representatives -- the High Peace Council, which has members from all the country's ethnic and political backgrounds."

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Pope to celebrate first Easter vigil

Pope Francis has prayed for peace in the Middle East and stronger Christian-Muslim dialogue. Source: AAP

POPE Francis is to celebrate his first Easter vigil on Saturday after praying for peace in the Middle East and stronger Christian-Muslim dialogue at a torch-lit ceremony for Good Friday.

The newly-elected Argentine Pope will preside over a mass at St Peter's Basilica, baptising four adult converts to Catholicism - an Albanian, an Italian, a Russian and a US national.

The ceremony will wrap up a series of intensive preparations leading up to Easter Sunday - the holiest day in the Christian calendar - by the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years.

Tens of thousands of people are expected at mass on Sunday when the pope will issue a special blessing from the same balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he appeared on the night of his election.

Francis marked Good Friday with a traditional ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome, presiding over the re-enactment of Jesus Christ's last hours.

"Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did," said Francis, who followed the ceremony from under a canopy overlooking the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre.

The Pope also referred to a visit to Lebanon last year by Benedict, who stunned Catholic followers by resigning last month at the age of 85 saying he was too weak mentally and physically to continue.

"We saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and so many others," the 76-year-old Pope said.

At the Colosseum ceremony in Rome, prayers read out during the ceremony were written by a group of Lebanese young people who voiced hope for a Middle East "torn apart by injustice and conflicts".

The Vatican has voiced concern over the fate of Christian minorities in many parts of the Middle East and the rise of radical Islam, as well as calling for an end to conflict in the region.

Francis began the Easter season on Holy Thursday by washing the feet of 12 young prisoners including two Muslim inmates - in an unprecedented new take on an ancient pre-Easter ritual.

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Filipinos in Easter mock crucifixions

CATHOLIC zealots in the Philippines re-enacted the last hours of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, whipping their backs and nailing themselves to crosses in a grisly Easter ritual that persists despite Church disapproval.

Foreign and local tourists flocked to the outskirts of the city of San Fernando, a 90-minute drive from Manila, to see the annual spectacle where a Christian "passion play" is taken to its blood-soaked extreme.

At least 18 men had nails driven through their hands and were hung up on crosses under the hot sun in vacant plots around the city.

Elsewhere hooded men lashed their bloody backs with cloth and bamboo whips, doing penance for their sins while spraying onlookers with flecks of blood.

Devotees commit to undergo the mock crucifixion in exchange for a gift from God such as the healing of a sick loved one.

"I am used to it already," said Alex Laranang, 58, who was nailed up for the 14th time.

Laranang, a short, sunburnt man who sells baked buns to bus passengers, said: "It is just like a needle going through my hand. After two days, I am ready to go back to work again."

So far, he told AFP, his suffering has been rewarded as his wife and children enjoy good health and he continues to make a decent living.

"I am doing this for my family, so that no one will get sick and that my livelihood will continue. I am just a poor man. But I don't ask God to make me rich," he said.

At least two of the men hung on crosses had to be carried away on stretchers after being taken down, but most managed to walk to a medical tent for treatment as Western tourists snapped pictures.

Norwegian Charlotte Johanssen, 26, a Manila resident who was among the crowd of onlookers, said some of her visiting friends had found the sight too much to take.

"I have friends who felt sick to their stomachs and who got nauseated," said Johanssen, who works for an aid group in the Philippine capital.

"There are those who get amazed. You can't imagine how anyone can subject themselves to this kind of pain," she said.

The mock crucifixions have been going on for decades despite official disapproval from the Philippines' Catholic bishops.

"The bishops have been saying for a long time they disapprove of this. But people make such vows. They sacrifice themselves for others," said Father Francis Lucas, executive director of the Philippine bishops' media office.

"We have so many crosses to bear in life. We don't need to bear a real one," he told AFP.

He also warned against efforts to use the event to boost tourism, saying: "That is really wrong".

San Fernando City conveniently listed the locations and schedules for the mock crucifixions on its tourism website, complete with a map so visitors could follow the action.

The Philippines, a former Spanish colony, is home to more than 80 million Catholics and the Church wields strong influence, ensuring that divorce and abortion remain illegal.

Some Filipinos were disappointed that Manila archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle missed out this month when Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen at a Vatican papal conclave to succeed Benedict XVI, becoming Pope Francis.

On the southern island of Mindanao a Good Friday religious procession dissolved into panic when communist rebels attacked security forces guarding the event, killing two village militiaman, police said.

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Suicide bomber kills 10 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber has targeted a senior Pakistani police commander in Peshawar, killing six people. Source: AAP

A SUICIDE bomber on Friday targeted a senior Pakistani police commander near the US consulate in Peshawar, killing at least 10 people, including two women, officials said.

It was the latest in a string of attacks as the country prepares to hold historic elections on May 11. The vote will mark the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan, which has been governed by four military rulers.

A security official said Abdul Majeed Marwat, commander of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, survived the attack and was taken to a military hospital with "only scratches".

Around 28 other people were wounded in the blast, medics said.

"It was a suicide attack, the target was the FC commander," police official Arshad Khan told AFP.

Witnesses said the bomber was on foot and blew himself up when the convoy of the police chief stopped at a military checkpost in the busy cantonment area of Peshawar.

The checkpost is about 300 metres from the heavily guarded American consulate, which has itself been the target of attacks in the past, an AFP reporter said.

"We have received six dead bodies, including two women. Eleven people were also injured," Sayed Jameel Shah, a spokesman for Peshawar's main Lady Reading Hospital, told AFP.

Another four bodies and 17 other wounded were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, a senior security official told AFP.

Among the dead were two soldiers and one member of the FC, while the wounded were a mixture of civilians and military personnel, officials said.

The blast damaged two motorcycles and four cars, including Marwat's vehicle. Splashes of blood lay on the ground and an AFP reporter saw a pair of legs, presumed to be that of the bomber.

Umar Din, 21, a rickshaw driver, said the force of the explosion flipped his rickshaw onto the ground.

"I came out and saw my passenger bleeding," he told AFP. "I picked up the passenger on my shoulder and ran to a safer place, it was horrible, people were bleeding and crying," he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistani police, soldiers and paramilitary units are frequently targeted by domestic Taliban, who have been fighting an insurgency since July 2007.

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Mandela spends second day in hospital

South Africa's Nelson Mandela is said to be responding positively to treatment for a lung infection. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela was spending a second day in hospital Friday after responding positively to treatment for a lung infection, the latest health scare for the revered anti-apartheid icon.

South African presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said there was no update on the condition of the frail 94-year-old, who was admitted to hospital just before midnight on Wednesday.

President Jacob Zuma sought Thursday to reassure South Africans that Mandela was in good hands as his doctors reported some progress in his treatment.

"The country must not panic, Madiba is fine," Zuma told the BBC, referring to South Africa's first black president by his clan name.

"The doctors advise that former president Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," Zuma's office said in a short statement Thursday.

The Nobel peace laureate was conscious when he was admitted, Maharaj, who was in prison with Mandela on Robben Island, had told AFP.

It is the second time this month that Mandela has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for checkups on March 9.

That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December.

"In Zulu, when someone passes away who is very old, people say he or she has gone home. I think those are some of the things we should be thinking about," Zuma said.

Mandela is idolised in his home nation, where he is seen as the architect of the country's peaceful transition from a white-minority ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.

Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994 he remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.

While Mandela the symbol bestrides South African politics, the man has long since exited the political stage and for the country's large young population he is a figure from another era.

He has not appeared in public since South Africa's football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring from public life.

Still, his nearly life-long struggle against apartheid resonates.

"We are deeply concerned with Nelson Mandela's health - he is a hero, I think, to all of us," US President Barack Obama said.

"When we think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the person's name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. So we wish him all the very best," Obama added.

"He is as strong physically as he has been in character and in leadership over so many decades. Hopefully he will come out of this latest challenge."

The name and location of the hospital where Mandela is being treated were not disclosed, to allow the medical team to focus on their work and to shield the family from the intense media interest.

"We know they are going through a difficult time and we want to ensure that their privacy is maintained," said Maharaj.

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Traffic starts to flow as holiday starts

TRYING to knock off early for Easter? Check out our rolling coverage of traffic and transport updates so you can start your Easter weekend as soon as possible.

7.10pm: TRAFFIC has started to ease towards the Gold and Sunshine Coast as earlier congestion begins to clear.

Adam Smith from the Australian Traffic Network said the M1 Motorway through Loganholme is still busy but traffic is continuing at speed with no major delays.

He said there is still some congestion on the Pacific Motorway after an earlier prang but motorists getting away late can expect a clear run.

5.50pm: The Gateway Motorway is at a standstill with traffic banked back from Deagon to Eagle Farm.

Dave Andrews from the Australian Traffic Network said traffic has worsened in the last half hour as workers knock off for the day, putting more pressure on already congested roadways.

"You've got typical peak hour conditions combined with Easter traffic and add on a couple of concerts and a footy game and you have a recipe for disaster," Mr Andrews said.

Traffic is at a crawl along the Riverside Expressway heading onto Coronation Drive. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area as Queensland Roar fans make their way towards Suncorp stadium ahead of tonight's clash against Sydney FC at 7pm.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Motorway has begun to clear with only minor delays expected at this stage.

4.09pm: Translink reports trains on the Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Airport lines are no longer delayed after a police incident earlier on Thursday.

2.29pm: Jayce Barker from the Australian Traffic Network said a Brisbane Roar match and two concerts Thursday evening could make already bad traffic conditions a lot worse.

"We're looking at a traffic trifecta," he said.

"Peak hour plus holidaymakers plus concerts and sporting events...today is like the perfect storm."

Brisbane Roar's final match of the season against Sydney FC will kick-off about 7pm at Suncorp Stadium, while Santana and The Steve Miller Band will play from 7pm at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

Status Quo will also be putting on a show tonight with their concert at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre starting at 8pm.

Mr Barker said the Gateway Motorway near the Boondall exit will particularly be a "nightmare" with traffic expected to back up to Eagle Farm.

1.58pm: Jayce Barker from the Australian Traffic Network said holidaymakers had hit the road by 1.45pm, with cars travelling through Nudgee in the Gateway Motorway northbound lanes down to 20km per hour.

Mr Barker also reported congestion on the M1 southbound leading into Eight Mile Plains.

The Bruce Highway is reportedly clear.

1.30pm: Trains on the Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Airport lines have been heavily delayed after a police incident at Dutton Park station.

Train services are suspended between Roma Street and Moorooka following the incident just before 1pm on Thursday.

Trains on the Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Airport lines are continuing to travel via the Tennyson loop and will miss stations between Roma Street and Moorooka.

Buses are being organised to transfer passengers between those stations but delays of up to 30 minutes are expected.

Translink are advising customers who need access to South Brisbane, South Bank or Park Road stations from the Brisbane CBD to catch a Cleveland train.

Earlier, the Traffic Network is advising holidaymakers to get on the road as soon as possible if they aren't working, with holiday traffic set to worsen by 2pm this afternoon.

Reporter Chris Hull said the roads were clear as of 9am and it was the perfect chance for those going away for the Easter long weekend to get out and about.

"If people aren't working now and want to get away now, it's a good idea to do it," he said.

"If you're on the road before 2pm you're a good chance of missing the traffic. If you're on the road after 2pm, well, you're a very good chance of getting stuck in it."

• Going away for Easter? Know how to beat the traffic? Share your tips below

Mr Hull said the congestion from two earlier crashes on the Gateway Motorway at Deagon and Nudgee had cleared.

Earlier, it was reported the Bruce Highway in Brisbane's north and Gateway Motorway in the east had turned into car parks following two early crashes.

Jay Lane from The Traffic Network said there are "extreme delays" on the Bruce and Gateway routes in the southbound lanes following a crash at 5.15am this morning.

Mr Lane said the traffic is crawling from Deagon to Bald Hills on the Gateway Motorway and from Narangba to Bald Hills on the Bruce Highway.

While the crash has been cleared the residual delays are causing many peak hour headaches.

The news is not much better for the northbound lanes of the Gateway Motorway after a car flipped into a ditch at Nudgee about 6.30am.

The right lane has been blocked by emergency crews after Nudgee Rd and there are long delays being experienced in the area.

Mr Lane said traffic was as usual on the other major roads, with cars moving freely along the M3 Pacific Motorway in Brisbane's south after the T2 lanes were scrapped.

However, he did warn the Easter traffic this afternoon would leave many stuck in heavy congestion.

"Historically the holiday traffic will hit at about the 2pm mark," he said.

"It will primarily be on the Bruce Highway northbound and the Pacific Motorway southbound.

"This will be congesting with the normal peak hour."

Mr Lane said the main delays would be experienced around Burpengary, Bribie Island Rd and Caloundra Rd for the Bruce, while traffic would likely congest at Helensvale and Coomera for those heading south.

He said drivers should also expect the reverse conditions for Monday afternoon as holidaymakers head home.

• Going away for Easter? Know how to beat the traffic? Share your tips below

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Indonesian justice minister sees Corby

Indonesia's justice minister has urged Schapelle Corby to show a "willingness to cooperate". Source: AAP

INDONESIA'S justice minister has urged Schapelle Corby to show a "willingness to cooperate" with authorities, during a snap visit to Kerobokan jail.

Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin, who saw Corby on Thursday, said it would "not be easy" for the convicted drug smuggler to win parole.

Mr Syamsuddin said tough new regulations introduced in Indonesia last year that would require Corby to agree to be a "justice collaborator" could not be ignored.

But in a promising development, he said 35-year-old Corby might only need to provide a "statement of willingness to cooperate".

Asked if she would have to reveal details about the plan to smuggle drugs into Bali, he said a demonstrated "willingness to help law enforcers" might be enough.

"Whoever they are, if they can play a part as justice collaborator, certainly it will help.

"I'm not closing this opportunity, but let's review it."

Corby, who was sentenced to 20 years' jail for smuggling four kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia in 2004, has always maintained her innocence.

Her prison term was slashed by five years after she was granted clemency last year.

She will remain in prison until September 2017, unless she is granted further remissions or wins parole.

The Australian government earlier this month took the unprecedented step of offering a guarantee to Indonesia that Corby would not breach parole conditions if granted an early release.

Mr Syamsuddin, who also intervened in the case of the Australian teenager who was arrested for cannabis possession in Bali in 2011, said the guarantee was only part of the process.

"We will evaluate it whether it's sufficient or not," he said.

"It's not only about guarantee. If she should receive her parole ... I think there are lots of things that not easily obtained by they who are foreigners."

"She's not allowed to go back to her country. She has to stay here. There's got to be someone who's willing to give her a job."

Corby's Balinese brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha has provided a letter confirming she would be able to stay with him and her sister Mercedes if released, and that they would provide financial and moral support.

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Hong Kong stocks close down 0.74%

HONG Kong stocks fell 0.74 per cent on Thursday, in line with a regional sell-off amid growing concerns about the eurozone.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 165.19 points to 22,299.63 on turnover of HK$73.57 billion ($A9.13 billion).

Chinese shares tumbled 2.82 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.82 per cent, or 64.96 points, to 2236.30 on turnover of 107.6 billion yuan ($A16.64 billion), the lowest close since December 28.

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Italy high court overturns Knox acquittal

Italy's highest court of appeals delayed a ruling on whether Amanda Knox will face another trail. Source: AAP

ITALY'S highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial.

The Court of Cassation ruled on Tuesday that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

Kercher's body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and other roommates in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.

Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fuelled sex game gone awry. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito denied wrongdoing. An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence.

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Five-year jail sought for ex-Olympus head

JAPANESE prosecutors have sought a five-year jail term for the former head of Olympus for his involvement in a $US1.7 billion ($A1.6 billion) loss cover-up scandal that hammered Japan's corporate governance image.

They also asked the Tokyo District Court to slap a whopping one billion yen fine against the disgraced camera and medical equipment maker whose top executives hid losses stemming from bad investments for years.

"The huge amount involved is unmatched in the past. It eroded domestic and international confidence in the (Japanese) market," prosecutors told the court, according to Jiji Press news agency.

The defendants will have the chance to speak at a court hearing next month.

"We have laid out our argument and are waiting for the verdict," an Olympus spokesman said without elaborating.

Former company president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa is facing the heaviest jail term of five years with prosecutors requesting shorter sentences for former Olympus vice president Hisashi Mori and auditor Hideo Yamada, who were also key figures in the scandal that was exposed by a whistleblower.

In September, the trio pleaded guilty to charges they falsified financial results between 2007 and 2011, with Kikukawa telling the court he would take "full responsibility" for the crime.

Olympus has also admitted to the scheme which saw complex accounting methods used to hide losses tied to bad investments made in the 1990s.

The case was brought to light in 2011 by Michael Woodford, the firm's first foreign leader, who initially questioned executives about past acquisitions and outsized consultant fees.

The Briton was abruptly demoted shortly before exposing the scheme, as Kikukawa took the helm again, and Olympus initially denied allegations.

The company later admitted its wrongdoing and sacked executives involved in the scandal, including Kikukawa, as Japanese, British and US authorities launched probes into the firm.

Olympus subsequently agreed to a reported STG10 million ($A14.61 million) payout to Woodford to settle a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

The company has already been fined $US2.4 million for its wrongdoing by Japan's Financial Services Agency.

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Boat tragedy sparks asylum policy debate

The PM called on the opposition and the Greens to support the people-swap plan with Malaysia. Source: AAP

THE deaths of two asylum seekers after a boat capsized, and the arrival of two new vessels, have sparked calls for the federal government to change its approach to border security.

The Australian Greens and refugee advocates are calling for a coronial inquest into Monday's tragedy near Christmas Island, and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says a new approach is needed to stop the dangerous attempts to reach Australia.

Three others who were injured are being treated in Perth after being airlifted from Christmas Island overnight by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the deaths are "incredibly distressing" and wants the opposition and Greens to back recommendations made by the Houston expert panel, which include her people-swap plan with Malaysia.

"The thing that is stopping me from bringing it into operation is that unfortunately the leader of the opposition and his team has decided it is in their political interest to see more boats," Ms Gillard said in Perth on Tuesday.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott rejected the call, telling reporters in Sydney that when Ms Gillard referred to the Malaysia deal, she was looking for an excuse to do nothing.

"Because the Malaysia people-swap involves just 800 people and just at the moment we're getting 800 people a week," he said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government's no-advantage rule and offshore processing policies are not preventing people getting on boats.

She wants a coronial inquest and a review of Australia's boat interception protocols.

"We need to make sure we are doing absolutely everything we can to avoid these tragedies from happening," she said in Adelaide.

Mr Wilkie said it was yet another "damning indictment of the government's flawed, irregular immigration policy".

"This is not a border security problem but a humanitarian challenge," he said.

"Unless and until there is a sophisticated policy addressing source, first asylum and transit countries, the boats will keep coming."

Seven people were treated for injuries, with three airlifted to Perth.

They include a six-year-old boy, who nearly drowned, who is in Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.

Royal Perth Hospital is treating two women in their 20s, one of whom is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

All three suffered injuries relating to water and diesel ingestion but are in a stable condition.

The fishing boat carrying 96 people capsized after stopping for an Australian Customs vessel, Ocean Protector.

Customs was responding to a call for help made by a passenger on Sunday night.

After two officers boarded the boat on Monday morning, two large waves struck the vessel and it rolled.

Customs officers plucked people from the water, but two, a woman and a boy, were dead, believed drowned.

Australian authorities formally suspended their search at 1700 AEDT on Monday after reports that all passengers had been recovered.

Two more suspected asylum-seeker boats, carrying 105 and 83 people, were intercepted by the Australian navy near Christmas Island on Monday.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said 35,000 people had arrived by boat under Labor.

"Only a change of government will restore the proven measures of the Howard government," Mr Morrison said.

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Runner remains in critical condition

Brisbane's Twilight Running Festival was blighted by a fierce storm. Picture: Debbie Lawrence Source: Supplied

A RUNNER hit by a tree branch during yesterday's fierce storm remains in a critical condition tonight.

The incident happened when a fun run at St Lucia, in Brisbane's inner-west, was interrupted by the wild storm that lashed southeast Queensland.

The man, 58, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

A spokeswoman said he was still critical tonight.

Earlier, a volunteer at the run has told of watching a large tree branch fall into a group of runners, knocking a 58-year-old man unconscious. 

Hannah Vermeulen was at a volunteer station on Sir William McGregor Drive, St Lucia,  when she saw the tree branch crack during the Twilight Running Festival.

"It got really, really windy all of a sudden so we pulled everyone back and a massive branch came down," she said.

The storm approaches at University of Queensland during the fun run. Pic: Glenn Alexander

"It went in the middle of four or five runners though, it was really unlucky."

She said the man was unconscious the whole time volunteers were waiting for an ambulance.

"We had a few umbrellas and things like that, we were holding umbrellas up over him. It was terrifying," Ms Vermeulen said.

"We were really lucky because a guy stopped who had first aid experience then we called out to see if someone was a doctor and we got one in two minutes."

She said the rain and wind was "insane" but volunteers were unsure how the race was going.

"Some people wanted to keep going but they called off the race about 10 minutes after that happened," Ms Vermeulen said.

The storm approaches at University of Queensland during the fun run. Pic: Glenn Alexander

"It was hard because there wasn't much communication, we didn't have radios or anything and we were so far away from the main finish line or anything so we didn't know what was going on."

Bureau of Meteorology weather services manager Richard Wardle said storms for Sunday afternoon had been forecast since Friday and severe weather warnings were put out yesterday afternoon.

"The first mention of Brisbane CBD was at 5.20pm when we issued a state based warning that included Brisbane," he said.

"A severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and large hailstones that was likely to produce damaging winds, heavy rainfall that (might have) lead to flash flooding and large hailstones over the next several hours."

A further metro warning for Brisbane and south-western suburbs was issued at 5.27pm.

"We're saying that the storm hit the CBD at 6pm but of course in southern suburbs you get it sooner," Mr Wardle said.

The storm approaches at University of Queensland during the fun run. Pic: Glenn Alexander

 Competitors have continued to debate the Twilight Running Festival despite no word from the organisers themselves.

Aside from a Facebook comment issued from Intraining, attempts to contact the organisation have gone unanswered.

"Well done everyone. Torrential rain and still a myriad of smiles. We hope you still enjoyed the event. Please note, we will be working on results and will announce what will happen with official results. Enjoy the night everyone and well done!," message was posted on Twilight Running Festival last night.

More than 140 people have commented on the post, thanking volunteers and discussing the event.

"This was my first run, which I really enjoyed, shame it was cut short, but the right decision was made, I'm sure everybody will learn from this and the event will return bigger and better from the experience next year, I will try and return for sure, wishing everybody a speedy recovery, including the guy at the start," competitor Dave Ash said.

The storm approaches at University of Queensland during the fun run. Pic: Glenn Alexander

Earlier, The Courier-Mail reported that questions are being raised over the organisation of the Twilight Running Festival after a man was seriously injured by a branch brought down by the storm that ripped through Brisbane last night.

The festival included a 1km run, a 5km run, 10km run and half marathon around the University of Queensland, all starting from 4pm yesterday.

But the races turned to tragedy after a competitor - a man aged 58 - was hit by a tree branch and suffered severe head injuries.

Fellow racers stopped to help, including a doctor, before the man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The man remains in a critical condition Monday morning.

• Were you there? Should the event have been cancelled earlier? Tell us below

Competitors involved in the race have taken to the event's Facebook page to vent their frustration, with 130 comments posted by 10.30am Monday.

Reader pic of the fun run.

"I'm sorry but it was ridiculously dangerous, the organisation was very poor and I won't be back!," posted competitor Sallie Lawrence.

"Why did it take so long for the roads to be opened! People were put in serious danger and the event should have been cancelled long before it was.

"My issue is not with the traffic but the fact that there were trees falling on the roads and NO marshalls and really didn't see anyone in charge making the correct decisions!"

Other competitors paid tribute to the man hurt during the race.

"Our prayers and thoughts are with the unfortunate runner and his family and all the other runners who were injured. The race pales into insignificance," Chris Taylor said on Facebook.

Many competitors said they embraced the challenge created by the severe thunderstorm and were thankful to the volunteers who helped keep the race running.

A reader who took part in the fun run took this photo of a fallen branch.

"Volunteers were amazing. Gutted it had to be cut short due to weather but wise decision!" competitor Leonie Cameron posted.

Brisbane City Council shared a severe weather warning on social media about 5.50pm Sunday.

• Were you there? Send us a picture via SMS to 0428 258 117

Hail, flash-flooding and lightning were just some of the sudden obstacles that competitors in the annual Twilight run faced.

With the 1km and 5km run finished before the storm hit, it was the 10km and half-marathon competitors who had to battle against the elements.

Darrell Giles was one of the runners who took on the half marathon and said the run, which resulted in a 58-year-old suffering severe head injuries after being hit by a falling tree - was "terrifying".

"Ferocious winds hit first then the rain came in. I got to the turning point - around the 12km mark - and all trees started coming down either because of the lightning hitting it or wind cracking the timber."

Mr Giles was one of the few who managed to cross the Green Bridge on the return trip, with the bridge closed soon after due to the gales.

"I just got pelted with hail," he said.

Telling how he was forced to duck behind a building for several minutes to avoid a falling tree, Mr Giles said the storm was a surprise, with many believing it would pass over the area.

"Having been there, I saw how sudden and unexpected it was. They did the 1km and 5km in perfect sunshine and even at 5 o'clock, while it was cloudy, didn't look bad."

He said parts of the Brisbane Corso lost power, forcing competitors to run in the dark.

"You had to wait for lightning bolts and strikes to see where you were going. It was the most terrifying experience."

It is believed several more people were hurt after falling over in the storm.

Mr Giles said he believed the organisers did the best they could in the sudden circumstances.

But complaints have continued to flow into the Twilight Run festival's Facebook page with Andrew Forrest critical of the organisers.

"The organisers did have access to BOM and should at the very least had said before the half marathon started at 5, Look guys there is a severe weather warning which could hit the event'. That way we could have made informed decisions on whether to continue with a second lap or come in.

"I'm not hanging crap on the volunteers or organisers as they did a marvellous job, However the decision to say nothing at all looks poor in retrospect, especially with the totally shite weather that has been hitting Brisbane in the previous months. If this was a BCC event they would be bricking themselves today and waiting for the lawsuits from those injured," he said.

Glenn Alexander, of Gympie said: "I was in the stand while my wife and friends competed in the half marathon. Looking at the radar and the warning before they shouldn't have started or even let them turn at the halfway mark having already ran back to the start (two lap 10km course).

"It was lucky there weren't more injured particularly in such a windy storm. Sitting under the cover of the grandstand at UQ we all got wet too - the wind was that strong!!"

The Twilight Run festival, with the slogan, "run under the moon and stars on a cool Autumn evening", had about 4000 competitors involved.

The University of Queensland has voiced its sympathies to the family of a man who was injured during a fun run on its St Lucia campus.

A university spokesperson said the Twilight run was an independent event and not organised by the university.

"UQ had made part of its St Lucia campus available for this independently organised event, and UQ staff provided some assistance to the event organisers and runners during and after the storm.

UQ extends its sympathies to the person who was injured and their family."

Read more coverage of the storm here

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Car thief shot over drug debt: WA court

WHAT began with a $20,000 car being stolen as collateral to settle a drug debt ended in Jeremia Iskander's murder, a West Australian court has heard.

Damien Phillip Mathews and Hayden Shane Wayne Joseph are on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court for the murder of the 21-year-old, who was shot in the chest at close range on December 2, 2011.

Prosecutor Amanda Forrester said in her opening address on Monday that Mathews fired the fatal shot, but Joseph was involved in its planning and therefore equally culpable.

The court heard Mr Iskander had been friends with Joseph for several years, but they had fallen out because Joseph owed him money.

Ms Forrester said two of Joseph's cars, including one he estimated to be worth $20,000, were stolen to force him to pay his debt.

She said Joseph believed Mr Iskander was driving the car and doing burnouts, "rubbing his nose" in his loss.

The court heard Joseph and Mathews confronted Mr Iskander in a driveway and the three men, as well as a woman who accompanied the accused men, had an argument.

Mr Iskander said he wanted to have a "one-on-one" with Joseph, Ms Forrester said.

Instead, Mathews had shot Mr Iskander in the chest and then fled with Joseph.

An ambulance took Mr Iskander to Joondalup Health Campus, where he died.

In the lead-up to the murder and the hours after it, Joseph sent many text messages to friends, indicating in one message he was responsible for Mr Iskander's death, Ms Forrester said.

Joseph and Mathews set fire to the car to destroy evidence and went missing for nine days until they finally turned themselves in, she said.

Police say they found four unfired bullets in the driveway that the prosecution claims came from the gun used in the killing, but no weapon has been found.

However, defence lawyer Vesna Amidzic, representing Joseph, said the entire incident was "completely unexpected".

Colin Lovitt, representing Mathews, said one of the key witnesses, who claimed to have seen his client with a gun, was unreliable and biased.

"A man is dead, but that doesn't mean he's been killed by someone," he said.

Mr Lovitt said Mr Iskander was a violent bully who had a "keen interest" in guns.

"He was someone who liked to throw his weight around," Mr Lovitt said.

It was Mr Iskander who had a gun in his trousers and who struggled with Mathews over the weapon, Mr Lovitt said.

He said it was during the struggle that a shot was fired, but not deliberately.

"They (the accused men) shouldn't be made to pay a price over and above for what they did," Mr Lovitt said.

"There's no criminal responsibility at all."

He said the fact that they did something as "stupid" as burning the car did not mean they were guilty of murder.

The trial is set down for four weeks.

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Motorcyclist injured in collision

A MAN is fighting for his life after his bike and a car collided at Jimboomba this afternoon.

The 45-year-old man was at the intersection of Camp Cable and Edelsten Roads about 3.30pm when the crash occurred.

The man suffered serious internal and leg injuries and was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The 41-year-old car driver was not hurt.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

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