NSW:NSW Labor leader unaware of Thomson payo=3

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2011
NSW:NSW Labor leader unaware of Thomson payo=3

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell described Mr Thomson as a "disgrace".

"Frankly, I think Mr Thomson is a disgrace and the sooner he's out of federal parliament,
the better for the country," Mr O'Farrell told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

AAP ih/

KEYWORD: THOMSON 3 SYDNEY (REOPENS)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Ship heads for Black Hawk crash site

AAP General News (Australia)
02-23-2007
Fed: Ship heads for Black Hawk crash site

A survey ship is on its way to conduct a deep water inspection of a crashed Black Hawk
helicopter .. and perhaps find the body of a missing soldier.

The helicopter sank off Fiji on November 29 .. while trying to land …

In child sex case, more facets than meet the eye

KATRIN BENNHOLD
International Herald Tribune
04-26-2011
In child sex case, more facets than meet the eye
Byline: KATRIN BENNHOLD
Type: News

With arrests quietly continuing in a dozen European countries, it may turn out to be something more: the clearest test yet of whether the prosecution of child molestation has come of age.

The site was called BoyLover.net, and on it the authorities say they found thousands of lurid comments, including conversations about performing sexual acts on boys sometimes barely out of infancy.
Europol, the European Union police agency, cracked the site's server and developed intelligence reports on 4,200 participants in 35 countries, 670 of whom are suspected of downloading illegal images of child abuse or engaging in illegal acts with minors. The police have made more than 180 arrests and say they have taken 230 children out of harm's way.

It was, Europol said with some hyperbole, "probably the biggest online pedophile network in the world." But with arrests quietly continuing in a dozen countries (at least one as recently as last week), it may turn out to be something more: the clearest test yet of whether, after 25 years of intense focus on this particularly disturbing set of crimes, the prosecution of child molestation has come of age.

As countries around the world have ramped up their investigations of pedophile rings and the sexual abuse of children in recent years, they have achieved some notable successes: in February, for example, a Canadian who was convicted of running a brothel in Thailand of boys as young as 3 years old was sentenced to 25 years in prison after Interpol and the U.S. police tracked him down. In September, a six-year trial of a high-society pedophile ring in Portugal that included a former ambassador and a prominent television celebrity concluded with prison sentences of 5 to 18 years for six of the seven defendants.

But with the alarming nature of the crime provoking sometimes rushed action, there is also a record of highly publicized prosecutions gone awry, with innocent people imprisoned for years, other cases eventually dismissed for lack of evidence and physical attacks not only on suspects but on people mistaken for them.

With the latest case, the authorities say, they have learned hard lessons about how to home in on predators while ensuring that the nature of the crime does not lead to prosecutorial excess. If anything, said John Carr, a member of the British Home Secretary's Internet task force on child protection, "It is more likely that fewer people were prosecuted than should have been rather than more were prosecuted than should have been."

That notwithstanding, experts who have long tracked the record of pedophile prosecutions say there is a need to monitor every aspect of the emerging cases closely. "This is really excellent police work and I would have no doubt that they have caught some very dangerous and predatory pedophiles in this net who meet the stereotype the public are afraid of," said Mary de Young, a professor of sociology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan who has written about the issue extensively. "The danger is that the net is very wide and that there are a lot of different fish in this net."

The issue is so fraught, she said, that even basic the terms used are very much in dispute -- starting with the term pedophile itself.

In the narrow sense, a pedophile is defined as a person who has a sexual interest in children. But colloquially the term is often understood to mean someone who goes beyond mere interest to sexual abuse. That blurs the line between molesters and those who view images of molestation, a disturbing but different crime.

Investigators point out that the demand for images drives their supply and therefore the molestation. Interviews with investigators involved in the Europol operation suggest that most of those arrested so far have been people suspected of downloading and exchanging illegal images of child abuse rather than abusing children themselves.

In Britain, for example, where most arrests have been made -- 121 as of mid-March -- one in five are suspected of child molestation, said Kelvin Lay, a senior investigating officer on the case. The others are what police call "image offenders" of different degrees, he said.

Even the term "child pornography" is controversial, because some people feel that pornography can involve consenting adults and thus be legal. This confers a sense of legitimacy to the images, according to this reasoning, and can belittle the crimes involved. (Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency, which led the Europol operation, makes a point of only referring to "illegal images of child abuse.")

Held to this light, by what standards did Europol crack what it called the "biggest" pedophile network? Indeed, was it a "pedophile network" at all?

The number of suspects in the current case is small compared to others. In 2001, for example, U.S. investigators handed a list of more that 7,000 people suspected of illegally downloading child abuse images to the British authorities, and the police subsequently made more than 3,700 arrests that led to at least 1,450 convictions.

BoyLover.net was a legal online chat forum based in the Netherlands with 70,000 members at its height that was protected by Dutch free speech laws so long as members engaged in nothing more than talk, however disturbing. It alerted investigators to the 670 individuals later identified as suspects. As the head of the British Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency, Peter Davies, put it: "It's important to emphasize that not all members committed a crime. Some might have just been curious and logged on once."

Even seasoned child protection experts like Mr. Carr say they interpreted the language to mean that the suspects were alleged child molesters who met online and then abused children in real life.

"It certainly is at variance with the way it was first reported," said Mr. Carr. "When I read about a 'pedophile network' I thought these people were swapping children. The word pedophile implies more than just looking and downloading. It conjures up an image of hands- on abuse."

Still, if ambiguous language in the past has fueled public hysteria and rushed investigations, the Europol operation appears so far to have avoided these pitfalls. The police and prosecutors say they have been scrupulous, not least as a result of lessons learned about how children and others are questioned, how information is released and how the safety of the accused is protected.

Misleading testimony by children has been one catalyst to investigative reforms over time. In one of the more recent such cases, in the French town of Outreau in 2004, six people were wrongly convicted of raping and abusing their own children and those of others. In pretrial detention since 2001 and separated from their children, they were given prison sentences before being cleared on appeal in 2005. A seventh innocent person died in custody.

Child psychologists and specially trained pediatricians have since helped improve interrogation techniques and investigative procedures. In Britain, for example, new interviewing techniques have become mainstream in these kind of cases, said Hugh Davies, a prosecutor who has been involved in dozens of child abuse cases over the past decade. Child witnesses are questioned close to the event, and footage of the interview is shown to a specialist prosecutor early on in the investigation. In the past, the police would involve prosecutors much later, leaving less time for holes in the evidence to be identified, Mr. Davies said.

Over the past two years, many cases featuring child witnesses have also begun involving trained intermediaries between the children and the lawyers or police officers doing the questioning, he said. In several past cases, the way young children were questioned was deemed flawed because of inappropriate phrasing. This month, Britain's Advocacy's Training Council released a report urging more generalized training of police officers, prosecutors and lawyers in questioning vulnerable witnesses and defendants.

"There is still room for improvement," Mr. Davies said, "but we're miles from where we were 15 years ago."

Following dozens of suicides among suspects (39 people killed themselves in the 2001 case), most European countries now also systematically assess suspects of child abuse-related crimes for suicide risk and, in the case of a prison sentence, protect them from other inmates.

The police also appear to be much more alert to the risk of public panics. When the British tabloid News of the World ran a naming-and-shaming campaign in 2000, publishing the names of those on the British sex offender registry for crimes related to children, several were attacked and forced to leave their neighborhoods, including some who just happened to have the same name as someone on the list.

This was one reason, experts say, that the British authorities have been cautious in rolling out Sarah's Law, which gives parents the opportunity to find out whether particular adults with access to their children are on the sex offender registry. The measure was first rolled out in four pilot areas in 2008 and is going national this year. In contrast to Megan's Law in California, which publishes lists of names, Sarah's Law provides information only case by case when deemed relevant.

Evaluating the quality of child abuse cases is made more difficult because they get filtered through a welter of different laws in different countries and the details are often shielded from public view by laws protecting information in continuing investigations and in cases involving minors.

But even when they are most effective at protecting children from predators, some experts believe their next great challenge is to focus on a much greater incubator of abuse and molestation: the home.

Much child molestation takes place there, far away from Web cameras and Internet chat rooms, said Liz Kelly, director of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University. (And despite the fact that the site behind the investigation was called BoyLover, it has also been noted that most abuse cases involve girls, not boys.)

"All the emphasis is now on investigating digitally," she said. "We're forgetting that many abused children are living with their abusers and they're not broadcasting the abuse online. I fear that the emphasis has shifted to the detriment of focusing on the everyday, common forms of child abuse."

Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect (Des); Sex Crimes (Des); Europe (Geo)

Copyright International Herald Tribune Apr 26, 2011

Early warning

New Straits Times
02-09-2011
Early warning
Edition: Main/Lifestyle
Section: Main Section
Type: Editorial

ALERTING the public on impending floods some two days before their actual occurrence will be a great boon towards ensuring the success of relief operations. In short, lives are not lost and damage to property is minimised because the flooding has been anticipated. And all of this is set to happen in June, according to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID). From June onwards, the monitoring of four of Malaysia's major river systems, in conjunction with meteorological indicators such as air pressure, humidity, wind speed, temperature and previous flood patterns, can be interpreted using a RM5 million software to produce an early flood warning system. This is said to be of similar standards as those used in Japan for prediction of tsunamis.

The usefulness of such a system cannot be underestimated given the recent loss of lives and damage to both public and private property running into millions of ringgit due to floods in areas prone to flooding and otherwise. Nevertheless, it is not meant to replace flood mitigation projects. The latter is meant to prevent floods from happening. The early warning system, though, is accepting of the floods but expects to produce a state of preparedness at every level of relief work, which currently is handled at the state and district levels and coordinated at the federal level by the National Security Council.
At present, the DID is designing an early warning dissemination platform which includes the use of the short messaging service (SMS), radio, television and the Internet because (as argued by the department) the data is only as good as its dissemination. How the data is disseminated is, of course, important because the need is to find out which, among the many ways of broadcasting the alarm, is the best. However, even with the most effective dissemination platform identified, there remains a need to properly target the risk signals gathered. For who receives the alarm calls early is what determines success. While the public must be warned about the danger that is about to befall them, without proper coordination, this could lead to panic on the ground. Therefore, other than the community at large, those who must receive the warning early are risk-management workers trained to put the relief operations on alert and ready for action. Consequently, for any early warning system to work the drill, involving the workers and the community is pivotal. No early warning system for whatever form of disaster relief is going to work if a state of preparedness at the community and other relevant levels is absent.

(Copyright 2011)
016

VIC:Vic MP quits parliament months from poll

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2010
VIC:Vic MP quits parliament months from poll

A Victorian MP has quit parliament just three months out from the state election.

Government lower house whip .. CRAIG LANGDON .. resigned from parliament today .. despite
the state poll due on November 27.

Mr LANGDON was elected as the Member for Ivanhoe in 1996.

MORE RTV mj/crh

KEYWORD: LANGDON (MELBOURNE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Fraser Island 4WD joint inquest begins

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2010
Qld: Fraser Island 4WD joint inquest begins

BRISBANE, April 19 AAP - A joint inquest into the deaths of three international tourists
in two separate four-wheel drive crashes on Fraser Island will begin on Monday.

Counsel assisting the coroner Peter Johns in January requested the two inquests be
joined as they would be focusing on the same issues.

The joint inquest will explore the reasons why a Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier rolled
on the eastern beach of Fraser Island on April 18 last year, killing 26-year-old Concetta
Dell'Angelo from Italy, and 22-year-old Ian Davy from Skipton in the UK.

It will also look into the death of 25-year-old Japanese tourist Takeshi Sakai, who
died on December 13 last year, when his hired four-wheel drive rolled on the same beach
just 10km from the other crash site.

Both inquests were opened as a matter of urgency in the weeks following each crash
so the court could hear evidence from the drivers, who have each since returned to their
respective countries of residency.

Other passengers in the cars will be called during the inquest in the hope they could
shed light on the events leading up to the accidents.

The joint inquest will also focus on assessing the adequacy of regulations, training
and qualifications of drivers of hire vehicles on the World Heritage-listed island.

It will also explore whether certain four-wheel drive models should be restricted.

The inquest, which will be presided over by Queensland's state coroner Michael Barnes,
is expected to run for one week.

AAP djb/rs

KEYWORD: FRASER

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Water for drought-stricken farmers a focus for Keneally

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2009
NSW: Water for drought-stricken farmers a focus for Keneally

New New South Wales Premier KRISTINA KENEALLY says she will focus on ensuring drought-stricken
farmers have enough water .. but it will require a joint approach with the federal government.

Ms KENEALLY .. who was elected by the Labor caucus as their new leader last night ..

has told Macquarie Radio she's been struck by the challenges rural communities faced.

She says the first thing they need to do is ensure the states rural towns and regional
communities have the confidence that they will have the water they need.

AAP RTV bzs/wjf/sw

KEYWORD: DROUGHT NSW KENEALLY (SYDNEY)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Signs are good for bumper snow season

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2009
Vic: Signs are good for bumper snow season

By Jeff Turnbull

MELBOURNE, April 27 AAP - The signs are looking good for another bumper ski season.

There has been a heavy dump of snow in the alps six weeks ahead of the traditional
opening on the Queen's Birthday weekend, Lake Eyre is filling up with water and Wangaratta
farmer John Moore is forecasting a heavy snow season.

But on the flipside we are in the deepest recession in living memory, unemployment
is on the rise and the elephant in the room, global warming, are making it that much harder
to take a break in the snow.

Skiing is not a cheap holiday - a family of four is up for around $350 a day just for
lift tickets. Throw in ski lessons, ski hire, accommodation and meals and a week on the
slopes is starting to look like serious money.

But if the predictions of long-range weather forecaster John Moore are close to the
mark, dedicated skiers and boarders - even those without a job - will find a way to get
up the hill.

Mr Moore is predicting a "very heavy snow season" and is comparing it to 2000 when
almost a metre of snow fell in the last week of May and it was the last time Lake Eyre
had water in it.

He has been keeping records since 1978 and says he takes in factors such as ocean currents,
air currents, sun spot activity and the moon and its effect on the tides.

"I look back over past records at when these influences were in the same position -
it's a bit like the hands of a clock," he told AAP.

One long-time Mt Buller skier, who has a house and an apartment on the Victorian mountain,
says the recession will hit the ski industry this year but on the other hand, more people
will opt for a cheaper domestic holiday rather than heading overseas.

"This winter will be a good test for the industry," said the skier, who declined to be named.

"People will be pulling their heads in but if you haven't lost your job then your lifestyle
wouldn't have changed that much."

But Townsville chemist Kevin Galloway, who has been skiing for the past 30 years, won't
be hitting the slopes in Australia - he spends his hard-earned on skiing holidays in New
Zealand and North America.

"The snow overseas is reliable and their worst season is generally as good as our best
season," Mr Galloway said.

"Australian lift tickets are outrageously expensive. This year I spent five weeks in
Colorado where I got a 29-day pass for $US543 ($A753) which included a group lesson."

He said the lift queues were also shorter and the runs longer.

The Australian ski fields can't do much about extending the length of their runs but
they have been investing heavily in their snow-making ability and enhancing the value
of their lift tickets.

This season, Victorian resorts Falls Creek and Mt Hotham have teamed up with Perisher
in NSW to create the season-long Super Pass.

It entitles the holder to ski and board at all three resorts for the entire winter.

They are being offered at a discount to the regular full-season pass price, at $1,099
for adults and are available until May 28.

There are ways of cutting costs for families, especially if John Moore is right and
there will be plenty of snow.

Many resorts offer kids-for-free weeks in off-peak periods.

Falls has an offer from July 19 to August 1 from $1,250 where where mum and dad pay
their way for five nights but the kids - a maximum of two - get free lodging and free
lift tickets.

Falls Creek also boasts the most comprehensive network of snow-making activity in the
Australian alps with mounted water guns and new underground pipes enhancing snow production.

Perisher has been working in the off-season to increase its snow-making with new pipelines
and 68 automated snowmaking guns in Happy Valley, the Towers Run and Mt Perisher.

AAP jxt/tnf

KEYWORD: SKI (NEWS FEATURE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Body pulled out of Yarra

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2008
Vic: Body pulled out of Yarra

MELBOURNE, Dec 22 AAP - A body has been pulled out of the Yarra River in Port Melbourne.

Police say the body was found with its hands bound and they are treating the death as suspicious.

Homicide squad detectives were investigating the scene at Lorimer St, Port Melbourne.

AAP pmu/jlw

KEYWORD: RIVER

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

0900 B105 News Headlines

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2008
0900 B105 News Headlines





++ GRANT HACKETT has swam his second fastest 1500 metres at the Beijing Olympics ..

cruising into the final.





++ Action returns to the Water Cube today while there are plenty of aussies in action
at the Birds Nest and at the velodrome .. and the first of the finals in the rowing are
being held today.





++ Aussie climbers found alive in New Zealand.





++ People have the chance today to walk the decks of a tall ship .. with the young
endeavour docked in Brisbane.





++ and the final days of the ECCA have been blessed with great weather.





AAP RTV sw

KEYWORD: 0900 B105

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Experts cast doubt on Ngo conviction

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2008
NSW: Experts cast doubt on Ngo conviction

Eds: Story embargoed until 1800 (AEST) April 7, 2008



SYDNEY, April 7 AAP - A cold case study of old evidence has raised new doubts about
the conviction of former councillor Phuong Ngo for the political assassination of NSW
MP John Newman 14 years ago.

Corrosion and communications experts have questioned the evidence presented at the
trial of Ngo, and a law professor describes the case as a "miscarriage of justice".

Ngo, a local councillor from Fairfield in Sydney's south-west, was convicted of murdering
Newman outside his home in southwestern Sydney in 1994.

After three trials he was sentenced never to be released and has been in jail for 10 years.

He is currently in solitary confinement at the Supermax jail in Goulburn.

Corrosion expert Dr Ian MacLeod has challenged the Crown's allegation that Ngo left
the vicinity of Newman's Cabramatta house and disposed of the murder weapon in the Georges
River.

Three years and nine months after the murder, police divers found a rusty .35 Beretta
handgun in the river.

Dr MacLeod said he believed the gun should not have gathered so much rust in that time.

"Either the gun was significantly corroded before it went in or there's something,
something very strange about the amount of decay on that gun. It just doesn't stack up,"

Dr MacLeod says on the ABC's Four Corners program tonight.

He said it was "extraordinarily lucky" that police divers found the gun within 20 minutes
of being told to look near a pylon.

"The only way in which these two pieces of evidence can stack up together is that somebody
knew exactly where the gun had been deposited and that it was a gun that had previously
been corroded, and you know it could have been corroded either naturally or artificially,"

he said.

"But the amount of decay on that gun just isn't consistent with what I have experienced
in the corrosion world in the last 30 years."

Also, telecommunications specialist Professor Reg Coutts, of Adelaide University, who
examined phone tower records used by the crown to show Ngo lied about his whereabouts
20 minutes after the murder, says Ngo could have been where he said he was.

"I've spent more time than I thought I was going to spend on this case because it does
concern me that too much is made of too little, that really the way the evidence is presented
and not actually challenged is potentially misleading," Prof Coutts said.

Ngo's co-accused Quang Dao, who was found not guilty of the murder, says Ngo did not
murder Newman.

Tonight's Four Corners program also describes how key witnesses against Phuong Ngo
- "Tony" and "John" - changed their stories, with investigators allegedly offering John
money, overseas protection and an indemnity against prosecution.

Professor of Law Don Greig, who recently reviewed the case, said: "In my view, this
is such a miscarriage of justice - not just from Ngo's point of view, but from the public's
point of view".

Asked if police would revisit the Ngo case as a result of the claims about the strength
of the evidence, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione today told reporters: "I'm not
aware of the claims at this stage, so I haven't revisited anything".

AAP krc/hn/jt/cdh

KEYWORD: NGO NIGHTLEAD (EMBARGOED)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

National Newslist for Wednesday, Decmber 5, 2007

AAP General News (Australia)
12-05-2007
National Newslist for Wednesday, Decmber 5, 2007
Good Morning News Editors and Chiefs of Staff
AAP's National Newslist for today (not for publication):
This is a guide only and stories are subject to change.

AAP's news editors Joanne Williamson and Nalita Ferraz can be contacted on 02 93228611/8610.

NATIONAL:
ECONOMY:
- RBA leaves interest rates on hold, as expected
- RBA signals still very concerned over economy, inflation
- Several leading economists say economy too strong
- ABS releases national accounts for the September quarter.

- Treasurer Kevin Swan presser at midday in Sydney

CLIMATE:
- UN's top climate change official says developing countries unlikely to agree to setting
emission-reduction targets while they are trying to eradicate poverty
- Climate conference continues in Bali
- Gillard defends decision to not allow Garrett to answer questions on climate change in lower house
- Rudd on Environment Minister Peter Garrett's status within cabinet.

- Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research join
forces to focus their weather and climate research efforts into a new joint research centre

ENTERTAINMENT:
- Leading Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil in a stable condition in a Sydney hospital after
he became ill with suspected heart problems on a flight last night

COURTS:
BRISBANE
- Former Queensland Minister Gordon Nuttall in court on additional corruption charge
ADELAIDE
- Magistrate to decide on whether to lift suppression order on identity of man charged
over the murder of SA woman Glenys Heyward.

SYDNEY
- Mamdouh Habib defamation trial continuing.
MELBOURNE
- Trial continues of farmer accused of murdering his wife at their farm 16 years ago
- Man charged over stabbing murder of a 17yo first appearance
CANBERRA
- Man to be sentenced for bashing his partner's four-year-old daughter to death
- High Court: Accused war criminal fights extradition appeal from Republic of Hungary
- High Court: NT Government appealing Federal Court decision which could see about 80
per cent of coastal waters transferred to Aboriginal control

CANBERRA:
- Education Minister Julia Gillard blames Howard government for a decline in the literacy
and numeracy standards of Australian students.

- Rudd says he wants to restore principles of Westminster system in ministerial code
- The federal government may not fully support the ACT government's latest attempt to
introduce same-sex civil unions
- Two Howard government frontbenchers appear to have held onto their seats as counting
of federal election votes reaches its final days
- A small hospital on Victoria's popular Phillip Island, where the Australian motorcycle
grand prix is held each year, is selling off equipment to pay its staff.
- 20th annual Security in Government Conference.

SYDNEY:
- Rudd among mourners at a state funeral this morning for asbestos disease campaigner
Bernie Banton; funeral starts at 1030 AEDT
- Housing NSW says it has been helping to find accommodation for the family of a newborn
baby found dead in a roadside paddock. (NEWBORN)
- Iemma facing opposition pressure to confirm if he intends to remain in the top job
- Canberra man fined $2000 for trying to move two riding ponies across NSW-Victorian border
- City of Sydney to unveil plans for its New Year's Eve celebrations.
- Menzies Art Brands fine art works sale, including Brett Whiteley classic Arkie Under the Shower.

MELBOURNE:
- Vic parly sitting - question time 1400.

- Education Minister Pike doorstop on Australian students beginning to fall behind their
counterparts overseas
- Police union reverses held opposition to establishment of independent corruption commission

BRISBANE:
- Queensland Liberal Party meeting cancelled because of sickness
- 6yo boy feared missing after a housefire on Sunshine Coast; outseeking more

ADELAIDE:
- Woman dies in housefire
- Poverty persistent feature of SA society, despite the economic boom, welfare group
- SA govt to announce plans for a desalination plant for Adelaide and to reveal new water pricing.

- Car and truck sales figures for November to be released.

PERTH:
- Premier Alan Carpenter second attempt to expel two MPs in the upper house fails

FINANCE:
ECONOMICS NEWS:
SYDNEY - Reserve Bank leaves interest rates on hold; still concerned about inflation
SYDNEY - ABS releases national accounts data for September quarter
SYDNEY - The Australian Industry Group/Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services
Index (Australian PSI) for November is due
SYDNEY - The SEEK employment index for November is due
CANBERRA - The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFACTS motor vehicle sales survey
for November is due

EQUITIES NEWS:
SYDNEY - COCA-Cola Amatils Ltd releases its latest trading update
MELBOURNE - Nufarm Ltd holds its annual general meeting

SPORT:
CRICKET
BRISBANE - Australian squad to be named for Twenty20 international v New Zealand on Tuesday.

SYDNEY - Media conference with leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, who will undergo wrist surgery, 1100, SCG
HOBART: Pura Cup: Tas v WA, Bellerive Oval, day 3
BRISBANE - Ford Ranger Cup: Qld v SA, Gabba.

GOLF
COOLUM, Qld - Preview Australian PGA Championship starting Thursday, interviews including
Adam Scott and Rory Sabbatini

RUGBY
SYDNEY - SANZAR meeting finishes in Sydney.

LEAGUE
HUNTER VALLEY, NSW - NRL club chief executives annual conference begins at Crowne Plaza
in Hunter Valley.

SYDNEY - Wests Tigers presser 1130.

GOLD COAST - Broncos, Cowboys, Titans players at Dreamworld.

SOCCER
PERTH - Perth Glory announcement 1000AEDT at Members Equity Stadium

HOCKEY
KUALA LUMPUR - Men's Champions Trophy: Australia v Spain, 2135AEDT

BASKETBALL
GOLD COAST - NBL: Gold Coast v South Dragons, GCCC, 2030AEDT
WOLLONGONG - NBL: Wollongong v Singapore, WIN Ent Cent, 1930
AAP jlw

KEYWORD: NATIONAL NEWSLIST

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Govt funds asthma research

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2007
Fed: Govt funds asthma research

CANBERRA, April 22 AAP - The federal government will fund research aimed at preventing
health complications in babies whose mothers suffer asthma.

Health Minister Tony Abbott said the government would provide $590,000 to the Hunter
Medical Research Institute in NSW for research into the effects of maternal asthma on
the growth and survival of infants.

"Researchers have found that maternal asthma during pregnancy affects human foetal
growth, with males more at risk than females," Mr Abbott said.

"Complications include placental insufficiency, pre-eclampsia, infection, intra-uterine
growth restriction and pre-term delivery.

"This project will help researchers better understand under what conditions the human
foetus is at risk and will ultimately contribute to knowledge about better treatment and
management of asthma."

Mr Abbott said asthma was Australia's most widespread chronic health problem, affecting
more than two million people.

AAP jb/cp/cdh

KEYWORD: ASTHMA

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Beattie to ask DPP to consider independent review

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2006
Qld: Beattie to ask DPP to consider independent review

PETER BEATTIE will ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider seeking an independent
review of her decision not to charge a police officer over a death in custody on Palm
Island.

The Queensland premier visited the island off Townsville yesterday to meet the Palm
Island Council and address a public rally protesting the decision.

36 year old MULRUNJI died in a police cell on Palm Island after his arrest for public
drunkenness in 2004.

Palm Island Council chief executive BARRY MOYLE says the premier's promised to ask
Ms CLARE to consider an independent review.

But Mr MOYLE says Mr BEATTIE has made clear he can't order her to do so because she
is an independent officer.







Mr BEATTIE addressed a large rally gathered on the island which have demanded justice
.. but MULRUNJI's family did not meet the Premier as planned.

AAP RTV jmm/sc/crh/wz/wf

KEYWORD: MULRUNJI REVIEW (BRISBANE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Govt withdraws migration bill=3

AAP General News (Australia)
08-14-2006
Fed: Govt withdraws migration bill=3

Liberal senator Judith Troeth has led coalition dissent against the legislation, under
which all boatpeople would have been processed in offshore detention centres even if they
reached the Australian mainland.

Critics of the legislation said it was designed to appease Indonesia, which protested
strongly when Australia granted asylum to a group of Papuan refugees who landed on Cape
York earlier this year.

Family First senator Steve Fielding had said he would vote against the bill, while
maverick Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce had threatened to follow suit.

Last week, Liberal MPs Petro Georgiou, Russell Broadbent and Judi Moylan crossed the
floor of the House of Representatives to vote against the legislation, while fellow moderate
Bruce Baird and Nationals MP John Forrest abstained from voting.

AAP dcr/sb/cdh/de

KEYWORD: MIGRATION WITHDRAW 3 CANBERRA

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Australia says 'no means no' to telemarketing calls

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2006
Qld: Australia says 'no means no' to telemarketing calls

By Johanna Leggatt

BRISBANE, April 7 AAP - Australian households have finally had enough.

The pervasive, nightly calls from telemarketers have taken their toll on the nation's
patience, prompting the federal government to announce a free national "do not call" register
to come into effect next year.

Under legislation expected to be put before federal parliament in June, telemarketers
who revert to their old, cold-calling ways face hefty fines up to $220,000.

Standards will also apply across the industry to telemarketers making legitimate calls.

These laws are expected to include a ban on any phone calls after 8pm (AEST) on weekdays
and 5pm on weekends and the companies will be required to immediately terminate calls
if requested.

However, it's not entirely a consumer's paradise.

Groups who fall under the wide brim of "specified public interest bodies" - political
lobbyists, opinion pollsters, charities, market researchers and religious bodies - will
be exempt from the "do not call" register.

This exemption list has left consumer advocates a little nervous telemarketers will
outsmart the laws, leaving Australians just as harassed and reluctant to answer the phone
during the evening.

"If you have a situation where a business tries to pass themselves off as an exempt
body, then that may be a problem," said Alison So, policy officer of IT and Telecommunications
with the Australian Consumers' Association.

"Consumers in general find this kind of calling annoying; it is a major nuisance to them."

Ms So has heard countless tales of people's dealings with the $9 billion telemarketing
industry, many of whom have come off second best.

"We get retirees emailing us asking what they should do about the large number of calls
they are fielding," she said.

"Some people, single mums for example who may be home all day, get up to 15 calls a day."

Whatever the rate of calls, the scourge of phone spamming is familiar to most Australians,
many of whom have chosen to not answer home phones unless they have caller identification.

Opting for a silent phone number may not make that much difference either, according
to Ms So, who said companies may still be able to access the number if the person residing
in the house before you did not list silently.

The tenacious qualities of the telemarketers is not confined to Australia's shores either.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have moved in recent years to introduce
"do not call" registers.

It has been eagerly taken up by consumers in both areas, with more than 55 million
people signing up in the US and around eight million declaring their home a telemarketing
free zone in the UK.

It is expected around one million households in Australia will follow suit.

However, Australian Direct Marketing Association chief executive Rob Edwards said companies
would not stop in their attempts to reach consumers.

"In the UK there are no exemptions available for any companies and as a result the
streets are littered with business and charities attempting to reach people that way,"

said Mr Edwards.

"My feeling is that perhaps they will start mailing things instead or even people will
return to door knocking.

"But companies need to seek out business, that in itself is understandable, so it will
just be funnelled elsewhere."

The fact that some companies are aggressively seeking out their business over the phone
in a manner unheard of 10 or 15 years ago, is attributable to technology, according to
Mr Edwards.

"It is so much harder to reach consumers now because of their sheer amount of technology,
so businesses are finding ways to to cut through the clutter."

While Mr Edwards may front a group representing the interests of direct marketers,
he has enormous sympathy for those who have to deal with aggressive salespeople.

"I'm in this job but when I go home, I'm a consumer as well," he said.

"And frankly it's just poor business to harass and annoy people if you want them to
buy your product."

As for how Ms So handles it, she recommends stating calmly but firmly to the telemarketer
that you do not take part in telemarketing and ask them never to call you again.

If they persist, make a complaint to the Department of Fair Trading.

Or wait until 2007 rolls around.

AAP jtl/sc/nf

KEYWORD: TELEMARKETERS (AAP BACKGROUNDER)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

ASIA: RAAF to fly surgical team for Nias to meet Kanimbla

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2005
ASIA: RAAF to fly surgical team for Nias to meet Kanimbla

A team of Australian airborne military doctors will today fly to the Indonesian island
of Sabang to rendezvous with the warship HMAS Kanimbla on its mercy mission to quake-devastated
Nias and Simeulue islands.

A 60-strong parachute surgical team and their equipment will be flown to Sabang from
Jakarta at dawn on two C-130 Hercules transports in time to meet the Kanimbla as it passes
on its way to west Sumatra from Singapore.

Australian defence attache Brigadier KEN BROWNRIGG says there is only a short window
of opportunity for the team to meet up with the ship.

Brigadier BROWNRIGG says if they can get them on board, then the Kanimbla will arrive
on Saturday with a surgical capability ready to go.

The team, which arrived in Jakarta last night on an RAAF 707, are specialist medics
trained to go into battle alongside Australia's elite parachute brigade soldiers.

Their mission in Sumatra will be to staff a field hospital and surgical wards on board
the Kanimbla, caring for earthquake survivors.

AAP RTV rft/cdh/it/psm/

KEYWORD: QUAKE INDON AUST (JAKARTA)

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

STUNAM demands 40% pay rise.

MEXICO CITY, Sep 4, 2002 (El Economista/Corporate Mexico by Internet Securities, Inc. via COMTEX) -- The union of Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) workers has scheduled a strike for Nov. 1, and is demanding a pay rise of 40% with a 60% to 80% hike in benefits. Union leader Agustin Rodriguez said that the request is based on the historic losses the members' wages have suffered. He warned that the members do not look favorably on the 5.25% or 5.5% increase that has prevailed in the education sector. The UNAM has 24,000 unionized workers.

URL:              www.securities.com Copyright 2002 Internet Securities, Inc., all rights reserved. A Euromoney Institutional Investor Company. 

News Provided by COMTEX (http://www.comtexnews.com)

DFJ New England Signs On Industry Veterans to Lead Fund's Growth.

Business Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2000

Cambridge Incubator and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partnership Enhances

Executive Team; Brings Todd Hixon and Peter Crisp on Board

DFJ New England (DFJNE) today announced that Todd Hixon, a senior vice president with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has agreed to join the Fund as managing director. In addition, Peter Crisp, a veteran in the technology industry and director of Venrock, Inc., as senior advisor. The two join a team of seasoned business professionals who will lead the growth of the recently launched DFJ New England Fund, a venture fund that combines the acceleration services of Cambridge Incubator and the global network of the West Coast venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ).

Todd Hixon is an experienced venture investor, and a 24-year veteran of providing strategic advice to leading technology companies worldwide. He brings a strong investment track record from BCG, where he was co-founder of their "e-Ventures" global venture capital group. Before that, he founded and grew BCG's highly regarded Technology and Communications practice to over $100 million in global revenue. Hixon is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.

Peter Crisp is a founding partner of Venrock Associates and vice chairman of Rockefeller Financial Services, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of numerous for-profit and nonprofit organizations and holds corporate directorships at several leading U.S. corporations, including U.S. Trust Corporation and American Superconductor Corporation. Crisp is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School.

"Both Peter and Todd bring decades of invaluable experience, a wealth of established industry contacts and a proven record of success to the management of the DFJ New England Fund," said Scott Johnson, managing director of DFJ New England. "Their combined expertise will be essential in identifying promising investment opportunities and growing them into large, profitable enterprises."

"I am thrilled to take a key role with the DFJ New England Fund and extend my involvement with Cambridge Incubator," said Hixon. "The quality of the Fund's management team, and the extensive capabilities of our partners, DFJ and Cambridge Incubator, promise to offer emerging companies a unique combination of capital and strategic guidance to support the rapid growth of their businesses."

About DFJ New England

Launched in May in partnership with Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cambridge Incubator, DFJ New England Fund offers a powerful combination of experienced, hands-on early-stage investment management, and access to DFJ's expanding global network and Cambridge Incubator's acceleration services. Please visit the Fund's website at www.dfjne.com.

About Cambridge Incubator

Based in Cambridge, MA, Cambridge Incubator has pioneered Active Incubation, a new business model that creates successful e-businesses in record time, bringing together an unprecedented level of collaboration, applied industry experience and capital. Through its unique Venture Campus environment, Cambridge Incubator helps emerging e-businesses develop and execute winning strategies to rapidly navigate the course from idea inception to market success. A partial list of Cambridge Incubator's member companies includes: BrandStamp, Peoplestreet, Veritas Medicine and Secure Sponsorship. Visit www.cambridgeincubator.com for more information.

About Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is the leading early stage information technology venture capital firm. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Draper Fisher Jurvetson manages over $1 billion in committed capital and has developed a large network of highly successful Internet portfolio companies including Digital Impact, FogDog, Wit Capital, GoTo.com, Tumbleweed Communications, Kana Communications and NetZero. Draper Fisher Jurvetson pursues a people/market/technology approach to venture capital investing, funding entrepreneurs with the energy, vision, experience and desire to build great companies. For more information about Draper Fisher Jurvetson see www.dfj.com.

Galaxy Internet Sponsors National Promotion With Herff Jones Kicking Off Year 2000 College Ring Sales.

Business Editors

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2000

Galaxy Online Inc. (CDN:GOLI.) , d.b.a. Galaxy Internet, has partnered with Herff Jones College Division, kicking off their year 2000 class ring sales promotion. The promotion entitled &uot;Our Rings Come Wired to the World, with a Laptop to Boot&uot; was presented to the Herff Jones regional sales managers and college specialists at their annual sales meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

The promotion allows for all college students that purchase a Herff Jones class ring, or non-ring-purchasing college students that register by mail, to be eligible for a random drawing with prizes that include Toshiba Laptop Computers, CompUSA Training Courses, and Galaxy Internet annual access packages. In addition, all registrants receive a free 30 day trial of Galaxy Internet's access service. The promotion begins January 31, 2000 and ends August 31, 2000.

&uot;The students now graduating from college are the first of the new generation of graduates that have grown up with personal computers and the Internet,&uot; said Dan Shaffer, Marketing Director for Galaxy Online/Galaxy Internet. &uot;They understand technology and very shortly will be in decision making positions that require knowledge of technology products and services. Through our relationships with CompUSA and Toshiba, we were able to put together a promotional package that builds brand awareness with the students as well as promotes the Herff Jones product line.&uot;

About Galaxy OnLine

Galaxy OnLine Inc., d.b.a. Galaxy Internet, is an Internet Access and Services provider specializing in delivery of high quality Internet access to rural and metropolitan areas. Galaxy Internet also provides a co-branded &uot;Powered by Galaxy&uot; connectivity solution for technology companies, media companies, school systems, and entrepreneurs. Galaxy Internet is positioned through partnerships with top level hardware, software, and infrastructure companies to offer affordable high speed internet access via bi-directional satellite and traditional land lines.

The Company is presently in the process of installing ISP &uot;Points of Presence&uot; in the Midwest, Southeastern states, and Ontario, offering service to many areas that until now had limited or no Internet access available. The Company plans to make Internet access available to additional regions in the US, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America. Galaxy OnLine has 49,730,367 shares outstanding and is currently quoted on the Canadian Dealing Network (CDN) under the symbol GOLI.

About Herff Jones

Herff Jones, Inc. is an employee-owned (E.S.O.P.) company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since 1920, the company has manufactured and sold, through its exclusive sales force, products designed to reward excellence in the educational and corporate communities.

Herff Jones manufactures a wide variety of products in its 17 facilities located throughout the United States. Herff Jones' products include Class Rings, Graduation Announcements, Diplomas, Yearbooks, Photography and Nystrom Educational Aides. In addition, Collegiate Cap and Gown, a division of Herff Jones, is the industry leader in the provision of graduation apparel, choir robes and judicial robes. Herff Jones is also renowned for its provision of numerous high profile awards and products including the Heisman(r) Trophy and the US Supreme Court Justice Robes. Additional information about Herff Jones can be found at our official website http://www.herff-jones.com.

This press release was prepared by Galaxy Online, Inc., which accepts the responsibility as to its accuracy. No regulatory authorities or similar body have approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The Company relies on litigation protection for &uot;forward looking&uot; statements.

http://www.galaxyinternet.net (corporate site)

http://home.galaxyinternet.net (user home page)

Peak of despair.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

The climbers were heading for western Europe's highest peak in perfect weather conditions. But suddenly a block of glacier ice broke free and sparked a giant avalanche, killing eight of them in what a mountain guide described as "a scene from the apocalypse". "I saw a wall of ice coming towards us and then we were carried 200 metres," said Italian Marco Delfini, one of the survivors of the tragedy that struck on Sunday on the Mont Blanc range on the French-Italian border.Another survivor who fractured his ankle said his group was three-quarters of the way up the Mont Blanc du Tacul, one of the peaks in the range, when the guide suddenly shouted: "Run fast! Run fast!""There was absolutely no noise, it was very disturbing. We only had time to swerve to the right before being mowed down," Nicolas Duquesne said from hospital in the nearby town of Sallanches.The 30-year-old Frenchman - one of eight survivors who were injured in the avalanche - said he had to "swim" through the snow to survive.By yesterday the eight missing climbers - five Austrians, one of whom was a guide, and three Swiss - had still not been found, but rescuers said there was no hope of finding any of them alive.Three helicopters, dozens of rescuers and sniffer dogs had searched frantically but found only bags, socks, ice picks and other personal belongings.

The search was called off late on Sunday for fear of new avalanches.Yesterday rescuers were due to fly over the area where they disappeared to try to spot signs of them in the snow."If the snow melts, and this might not happen because we're close to the end of the summer, it's possible that the bodies will come to the surface. If that happens we'll go and get them," said a police official.The Mont Blanc range is popular with hikers but every year claims numerous lives.This summer season more than 30 people have died in the French Alps.

2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company