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The discussion paper outlines 12 measures that were previously considered by former Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.

Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor, who was yesterday in Sri Lanka where he is meeting officials about people smuggling, has implemented five of the recommended changes with the remainder under consideration.

If the "genuineness" criteria was adopted a visa applicant could be scrutinised about "whether the nomination is genuine in circumstances where the nominee is a relation or personal associate of an owner or relevant person of the sponsoring business."

Businesses could also be required to account for the number of 457 visa holders after previously businesses who had intended to sponsor a small number of workers then employed hundreds.

Meanwhile, a 35-year-old Sri Lankan asylum seeker died of a suspected heart attack after arriving on an asylum boat at Christmas Island this week.

The man's distraught nine-year-old son travelled to Australia with him and has been comforted since the death of his father on Wednesday by an adult cousin who was also on the vessel.

Australian authorities rushed the man to Christmas Island Hospital, where he died.

A study aiming to increase the benefits to Scotland of the HS2 rail project has been announced by the UK government.

The work by HS2 Ltd suggests high-speed services to Scotland and the north of England will start as soon as Phase One opens in 2026.

Transport minister Baroness Kramer said the project would "bring the UK together."

Scottish transport minister Keith Brown said he was "excited" to work with the UK government on the plan.

Phase One will consist of a new high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands.

When Phase Two is completed, lines will run to Manchester and Leeds.

In June the government revised the estimated cost of building the high-speed link between London and the North of England from £32.7bn to £42.6bn.

The UK government, which has been holding talks with Transport Scotland, has instructed HS2 Ltd to look at further rail capacity and journey time improvements for northern England and Scotland.

This is to include the possibility of eventual journey times from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London of three hours or less.

Baroness Kramer said: "Our goal for HS2 is for a truly national network that will bring the UK and its cities closer together."

We are driving forward HS2 because the benefits it will bring are huge.

Without it we face a crisis in capacity on our rail network.

But it is also about connectivity, across the UK 18 cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh will be better connected because of HS2.

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael added: "Today's announcement is good news for Scotland."

For the Scottish government, Keith Brown called on Mr Carmichael to "unequivocally" back Scotland's inclusion in the HS2 network.

Mr Brown said: "High speed rail has the potential to bring huge economic benefits to Scotland, but also adds Scotland's economic weight to the overall case for high speed rail across Britain."

So we are excited to work in partnership with the UK Government to examine options for bringing high speed rail to Scotland, creating benefit for all and complementing the Glasgow-Edinburgh line which the Scottish Government is already planning.

I look forward to reviewing the report of the investigation with UK ministers next year and together decide on the next steps.

Aircraft electronic device rules to stay in force in Australia for now

Australian airline passengers will need to continue turning off their tablets and smart phones during take-off and landing despite moves in the US to loosen regulations covering the devices.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has left the way open for American carriers to change their procedures so that passengers will be able to read e-books, watch videos or play games on their devices during critical phases of flight provided they remain in "airplane" mode.

Passengers can already do this during the bulk of a flight but many people find it annoying to be unable to access their e-books during take-offs and landings.

Australian carriers are looking at the decision, which requires US carriers to undertake a massive amount of work to meet the requirements, but have indicated they have no immediate plans to change their procedures.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority also said it was looking at the announcement but emphasised that restrictions on the use of electronic devices in critical phases of flight were still in place in Australia.

CASA currently has no specific regulations governing the use of electronic devices in aircraft, it said " The issue is covered by regulations which require aircraft operators to ensure safety is maintained at all times and passengers to comply with the safety instructions given by crew members."

Virgin, which has already been talking to CASA about extending the use its in-flight wi-fi entertainment system, was amenable to a change but said it would take its lead from the regulator.

We would welcome a review by CASA into allowing the use of electronic devices because we really do think it will improve the customer experience now that we have (wireless in-flight entertainment) on our planes, a spokesman said.

Qantas said it would stick with the current rules for now.

Our current policy is that electronic devices cannot be used during take-off and landing and we have no immediate plans to change that, it said.

The FAA ruling applies to American airlines.

However, we are always interested in regulatory developments that could benefit passengers and we will certainly be taking a close look at the FAA's decision and the reasons behind it.

For US carriers, the impact of the ruling will vary from airline to airline and will depend on the age of their fleet.

Carriers will need to prove their planes can tolerate radio interference from mobile devices as well as revise manuals, training materials, carry-on baggage programs and passenger briefings.

Once an airline verifies the tolerance of its fleet, it can allow passengers to use handheld, lightweight electronic devices such as tablets, e-readers, and smartphones-at all altitudes, the FAA said.

In rare instances of low visibility, the crew will instruct passengers to turn off their devices during landing.

The group also recommended that heavier devices should be safely stowed under seats or in overhead bins during take-off and landing.

Pawnbrokers shine in Singapore as middle class feel the pinch

At a pawnshop in Bendemeer shopping centre in Singapore, Janani Amirthalinga is swapping a gold bangle, ring and pair of earrings to pay her daughters" school fees.

My husband and I have just bought a house so all my money's stuck there, Mrs Amirthalinga says.

Even though she earns S$3,000 ($2,400) a month as an administrator and her husband works as well, the monthly family income is insufficient, she says.

Indeed, such is demand across parts of southeast Asia - where household debt is rising - that ValueMax, where she is carrying out her transaction, this week became the third pawnshop to list on the Singapore stock exchange.

Pawning jewellery is not merely a fast way to land cash - S$1,300 in Ms Amirthalinga's case - but almost as cheap as unsecured bank loans.

Typically pawnbrokers in Singapore charge an effective annual percentage rate of 17 per cent, just above the 15.4 per cent offered at United Overseas Bank, a local lender with a branch in the same shopping centre.

However, pawnbrokers have the advantage of not requiring credit checks or proof of salary, and can arrange loans faster than banks.

Hence millions of people across the region are turning to pawnshops as families feel the squeeze from rising living costs and ballooning household and consumer debt.

After five years of robust growth since the global financial crisis, and cheap credit fuelled by loose monetary policy in advanced economies, lower- and middle-income families are turning to pawn shops to make up the difference as their economies slow.

This week Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, cited increasing household leverage, mainly from rising mortgages, as a risk factor for Asian banks" creditworthiness.

It said that Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore had the highest household debt to gross domestic product ratios in Asia.

Malaysia topped the list at 80 per cent of GDP, up from 60 per cent in 2008.

Economists are also worried about high levels of consumer debt in Thailand, which this week narrowly emerged from technical recession.

On Thursday, data showed continued export weakness, and a softening in consumer demand.

Bottom line is that with costs rising, people in the middle to lower end [of the income scale] will be looking to supplement their income wherever they can, says Song Seng Wun, economist at CIMB, a Malaysian bank.

Historically high prices for gold in the past two years have added to the rush to pawn personal belongings, as people take the opportunity to cash in the value of their family jewellery.

In Singapore, about 70 per cent of items pawned at the city-state's 200 pawn outlets are gold.

People are saying the gold price looks good, let's pawn grandma's gold chain and get it back next month,"" says Mr Song.

In Thailand the largest pawnshop operator, EasyMoney, has seen an up to 20 per cent rise in the number of customers using its outlets in recent months.

Such is the growth in the pawn business that ValueMax, operator of the outlet at Bendemeer and of 15 others like it in Singapore, plans to expand not only in neighbouring Malaysia - where it has four shops - but outside Asia too, says Yeah Lee Ching, ValueMax's executive director.

The company will fund that by using 60 per cent of S$66m it raised this week in a listing on the Singapore stock exchange.

While some discount lenders have come under fire for high interest rates, Ms Yeah says that not only does pawning offer cheaper rates than other lenders, it also does not add directly to debt.

Customers are mortgaging items that they already own, and monetising personal assets does not increase household debt, she says.

There's an increased social acceptance of pawnbroking as a means to secure short term, secured financing.

Nor are the types of people who use pawnbrokers only the financially stretched.

Wealthy people in Singapore also use ValueMax outlets, pawning gold bars or Rolex watches, which can command up to 60 per cent of their purchase price in cash.

We see customers from all walks of life.

They include wealthy individuals who need to borrow short term for business ventures or investments, or small businesses with a need to tide over their cash flow needs, says Ms Yeah.

Sometimes they just need the money very quickly.

Nita Ambani, the wife of India's most important businessman Mukesh Ambani, is celebrating her 50th birthday on November 1, 2013.

Nita is celebrating her birthday in Jodhpur and not in Mumbai.

She has organized a big party to mark the occasion.

Many big Bollywood stars have arrived in Jodhpur to the attend the party. In the late evening of October 31st many big stars were seen catching a flight to Jodhpur from Mumbai Airport.

Among these stars were Karisma Kapoor, Geeta Basra, Vinod Khanna and his wife Kavita Khanna, Abhishek Kapoor, Anu Malik, Shekhar Kapoor, Raj Kumar Hirani, Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, Rahul Bose, etc.

You can imagine, when such big names were invited, how big the party was.

$325m rescue package for Tassie health

The Federal Government insists a $325 million rescue package for Tasmania's ailing health system has tough conditions attached that will ensure the State Government can't waste the funds.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced the Commonwealth is taking "urgent action" to head off a crisis caused by the island state's aging population, higher rates of chronic disease and system constraints.

The funding, over four years, was decided after government consultations with Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie.

The Government has come up with an emergency rescue package we believe will address the unique challenges faced by the state, Ms Plibersek said today.

The $325 million package includes a $31 million elective surgery blitz.

An additional 2600 operations including orthopedic and cataract surgery will help clear a backlog.

There's also money for walk-in clinics in Hobart and Launceston, better after-hospital care, medical specialist training, mental health services and the rollout of personal electronic health record systems in local hospitals.

These investments respond to the ideas that front-line clinicians have told me will be the best ways to tend to Tasmania's health system, Ms Plibersek said.

The minister insisted the Tasmanian Government would face a strict reporting and accountability regime.

The state would have to maintain current funding levels in order to receive Commonwealth cash and report monthly on where it was spending the extra funds.

A three-person commission will be set up to ensure the state is delivering services as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Mr Wilkie today said the $325 million would count for little "unless it's followed by genuine reform to put Tasmania's public health system on a more sustainable footing."

He nevertheless praised the Government for responding to his request for urgent assistance which he first raised with the Prime Minister at the beginning of May.

I'm hopeful the federal assistance package will go a long way towards taking the state's public health system off the critical list, Mr Wilkie said.

According to the State Government these additional elective procedures will largely reverse the recent cuts.

But federal Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton believes today's announcement is a "band-aid solution."

The reason we are here is that the Labor State Government ripped $430 million out of its health system, he told ABC TV.

You can't have a state government ripping out almost half-a-billion dollars and the Commonwealth put in $300 million and pretend it's a good news day.

Mr Dutton called on Ms Plibersek to guarantee that not one dollar out of the rescue package would be spent on additional bureaucracy.

Guillaume Nicloux's adaptation of Denis Diderot's novel boasts exceptional production design and period detail but is also heavier going than it should be.