UN Syria report expected Monday

A REPORT by UN inspectors investigating a chemical weapons attack in Syria could be released shortly, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn says.

"According to my information, the inspectors' report will come next Monday," Asselborn told Deutschlandfunk public radio on Wednesday.

Asselborn appealed to the Security Council's five veto powers to reach a consensus on dealing with the conflict, now in its third year. Luxembourg is a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

US President Barack Obama said in an address to the nation on Tuesday that, while diplomatic initiatives related to a Russian plan to place Syria's chemical weapons under international control had produced some "encouraging signs," it was too early tell if they would work.

Obama said the US would hold off on a planned military strike to give the diplomatic efforts a chance and would give UN inspectors the opportunity to report their findings.

In a televised speech from the White House, he cited Russia's willingness to push Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish chemical weapons and Damascus's sudden willingness to join the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

The US has repeatedly accused Assad's regime of using chemical weapons in an attack near Damascus on August 21, which Washington says killed 1429 people. The Syrian government has denied responsibility.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for the UN experts investigating the use of chemical weapons near Damascus to complete their work as soon as possible.

"It is now of the utmost importance that they complete their report as soon as possible, that the work going on in laboratories in Sweden and Finland and elsewhere gives us the information ... that is already established through other reports that many member states and international partners have been engaged in," she told the European Parliament in Brussels.

The European Parliament is expected to vote on a Syria resolution on Thursday.

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Abbott urged not to rush first 100 days

PRIME Minister-elect Tony Abbott should not be aiming for a long list of accomplishments in his first 100 days of power - he should instead use this period to set out his reform agenda timetable.

That's the view of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia in a report on Thursday of what it believes should be the priorities of a coalition government in its first 100 days.

The institute's chief executive Lee White believes economic success would be increased if the government takes the time to set up robust policy-making processes from the outset.

"Setting up good processes isn't glamorous," he said in a statement.

"It won't deliver an overnight win but it's important work and if they get it right it will pay huge dividends throughout their time in office."

However, the report urges that the fixation on a set timetable to return the budget to surplus must change because it inflicts further stress on sectors that are already doing it tough, which could result in a worse economic outcome.

It says the new government must provide a budget update or mid-year economic and fiscal outlook within the 100 days, given some of the big ticket items it intends to roll out, such as Mr Abbott's paid parental leave scheme.

The institute believes the government has a big opportunity to kick-start the tax reform agenda, but warns Australia will be taking a step backwards if the carbon price is repealed.

"Driving businesses to become more carbon efficient is critical for our future," it says.

It says repealing the carbon price 18 months or more after it has been implemented will have a significant impact on business.

"While a transition 'back in time' might sound simple enough in theory, in reality, there will be a broad range of potentially significant consequences that government and business haven't yet fully considered, such as the potential impact on financial reporting and profit results."

It also says some concessions linked to the mining tax should be kept, even if the tax itself is scrapped.

"We are not looking for a long list of accomplishments at the end of the first 100 days. Quite the reverse," Mr White says.

"We want the new government to set out its agenda, engage in consultation and work through a structured deliberative process of decision making before embarking on reforms."

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Asthma prevention vital for pregnant mums

PREGNANT women with asthma should continue taking their medication to prevent complications, says an Australian professor.

The problem is some fear side effects and stop doing so.

But taking medication is safer than going without, says Professor Guy Marks of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.

He's co-author of a report that says women who stop using their preventer medicines are at risk of developing pre-eclampsia, giving birth early or having an underweight baby.

If asthma is well controlled during pregnancy the prospects for the mother and child are the same as for women who do not have asthma, Prof Marks says.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting pregnant women in Australia, yet little is known about how many continue to use their preventer medication, says the paper published by the Institute of Health and Welfare.

It calls for population-level monitoring of asthmatic women and for them to have a health check in the first trimester and every four to six weeks thereafter.

Studies of pregnant women in Western Australia, Newcastle and Melbourne suggest about 12 per cent have asthma, but many women and health professionals are concerned about the side effects of medication.

Current clinical guidelines recommend continuing to take medication throughout pregnancy.

"But we really don't know how many women are sticking to the guidelines, or how well," says Prof Marks.

Better data collection would also help paint a clearer picture of who is getting care and who is missing out.

"The problems and solutions we identify along the way could also be used to help with the management of other common chronic diseases, like diabetes and epilepsy," Prof Marks says.

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Deloitte buys Aussie firms for domination

EDS: Embargoed until 0100 AEST, September 12.

BRISBANE, Sept 12 AAP - Multinational professional services giant Deloitte is buying up Australian software design companies in a bid to become the world's biggest business technology provider.

The UK private firm wants to become a $US1 billion digital player within five years, and will announce another three Australian technology acquisitions during the next six weeks.

"Because we have quite aggressive growth targets for the next couple of years, we're looking at additional acquisitions right now in the marketplace," Deloitte Digital lead partner Frank Farrall said.

Deloitte's latest acquisition, Digicon, was established by long-time friends Lola Weller and Nick Jaco in 1997 from a home office in the south-west Brisbane suburb of Fig Tree Pocket.

The Queensland government was among their early clients.

Two years after setting up, during the dial-up connection era, Digicon was advising the Brisbane Lions AFL team on the need for a catchy domain name.

"We were the ones that had a discussion with their management team at the time: 'No it shouldn't be BrisbaneLions.com.au, it should be Lions.com.au'," Ms Weller said.

"People have got to be able to remember and in those days it was foreign."

Digicon now employs 20 staff in a second-floor office in inner-city Spring Hill.

From early October, the web designers will also move into a new office on the 26th floor of Deloitte's Eagle Street offices in downtown Brisbane, as Deloitte expands its digital presence in Queensland.

But Mr Farrall insists the staff will still be allowed to wear neat casual attire instead of a suit and tie.

"You'll see a few more jeans, particularly on a Friday," he said.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu last year bought business technology group Logro in Melbourne, and acquired Australian corporate advisory firm Jackson Browne in 2011.

Its main rival PricewaterhouseCoopers is marginally the world's largest professional services firm by revenue.

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Southeastern takes 12% stake in News Corp

SOUTHEASTERN Asset Management, the investment firm that along with activist investor Carl Icahn opposed the proposed buyout of Dell, says it's taken a nearly 12 per cent stake in News Corp.

According to the Tuesday Securities and Exchange Commission filing in the US, Southeastern now owns 23.8 million News Corp Class B shares for an 11.9 per cent stake in the company, making it the largest institutional shareholder of the company, according to FactSet.

Earlier this week, Southeastern and Icahn dropped their opposition to Dell's plan to sell itself to its company founder Michael Dell in a $US24.8-billion ($A26.7-billion) deal.

New York-based News Corp owns both The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

Last week, it announced a deal to sell off 33 smaller publications, including eight dailies.

In morning trading, shares of News Corp added 11 cents, to $US16.83.

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US marks September 11 anniversary

FAMILIES of the victims of the worst terror attack in US history have gathered to mark their 12th anniversary with a moment of silence and the reading of names.

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Blood and horror on the Black Cat track

IT was supposed to be an exhilarating trek across some of Papua New Gunea's most unforgiving terrain to visit remote WWII battle sites.

Australian, NZ trekkers attacked in PNG

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Amy Winehouse celebrated in London

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WACA Test dropped for 2014-15

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Ricky Stuart quits the Eels for job with Raiders

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Lismore overturns ban on fluoride

RESIDENTS of Lismore will get fluoride in their water supply after a ban was overturned in a close six to five vote.

Tourist falls 7 floors down lift shaft

THE man who died after falling seven storeys down an elevator shaft after the lift broke down between two floors was an Italian tourist.

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