NT: NT free of dengue despite Queensland outbreak

AAP General News (Australia)
02-04-2009
NT: NT free of dengue despite Queensland outbreak

By Tara Ravens

DARWIN, Feb 4 AAP - Potentially fatal dengue fever has not spread to the Northern Territory,
despite infecting nearly 300 people in neighbouring Queensland.

But NT health authorities warn there is "an imminent risk" of another mainland outbreak.

As of Wednesday, there were 250 cases of dengue confirmed in Cairns and 40 cases in
Townsville, including several babies and young children.

Queensland health experts say it is one of the worst outbreaks of dengue fever in several years.

On Wednesday, NT authorities …

Republican Craig Huey Unveils New Radio and TV Campaign Ads for Special Election in California's 36th Congressional District

Wireless News
05-21-2011
Republican Craig Huey Unveils New Radio and TV Campaign Ads for Special Election in California's 36th Congressional District
Type: News

Friends of Craig Huey for Congress announced that it began airing new television, Internet and radio ads in the critical days before the Special Election, May 17 for the 36th Congressional Seat.

According to a release, the newest television commercial titled "Lemonade Stand" focuses on the burden of the $14.3 trillion national debt on future generations as well as fiscal irresponsibility in Washington.
Craig Huey's new radio ad "Battle for Prosperity" features an endorsement by Congressman Tom McClintock and highlights Huey's fight to stop reckless spending, ruinous borrowing and crushing regulations.

The new ads will be running in the 36th Congressional District.

Craig Huey is the Republican candidate endorsed by Congressmen Tom McClintock, Mike Pence and Dana Rohrabacher. He is also endorsed by the American Independent Party and the former libertarian candidate against Janice Hahn.

More information:

www.CraigHuey.com

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

NSW:Human remains found in NSW Manning River

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
NSW:Human remains found in NSW Manning River

SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - Human remains have been found in the Manning River in northern NSW.

The remains, which were discovered on Sunday afternoon, are being forensically examined.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the discovery are underway.

No further information was available, police said.

AAP ct/tr/jlw

KEYWORD: REMAINS

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

Hollywood hurries to distance itself from Libya

MICHAEL CIEPLY
International Herald Tribune
03-10-2011
Hollywood hurries to distance itself from Libya
Byline: MICHAEL CIEPLY
Type: News

Producers and actors are said to be distancing themselves from projects in which Saadi el-Qaddafi might be financially involved.

Things have gotten chilly for Natural Selection, a film production company backed by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's son Saadi.
On the company's office line, a recorded message has been the only answer for much of the past week.

Outside its suite on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, a parking spot identified as being reserved for Natural Selection is blocked by a battered white van with four flat tires. An attendant's notice taped to the back is dated Feb. 2.

And Mathew Beckerman, the producer who made a splash last year in the weekly magazine Variety when he rounded up $100 million in financing from Saadi el-Qaddafi and others, is suddenly getting a very cold shoulder.

Over the weekend, Mr. Beckerman's name was deleted from the producer credits of a documentary, "Live at Preservation Hall: Louisiana Fairytale," on the official Web site of the South by Southwest festival, which begins Friday in Austin, Texas.

In an e-mail on Saturday, Theresa Vibberts, who works with Danny Clinch, the director of the movie, said simply, "Natural Selection is not involved in the film."

Neither Ms. Vibberts nor Mr. Clinch responded further to questions about the sudden disappearance of Mr. Beckerman's credit, or a listing that shows Natural Selection among the movie's backers on the Internet Movie Database.

So it goes when Hollywood begins to suspect it has made a mistake.

Speaking through an intermediary Monday, Mr. Beckerman declined to discuss his company, or the Qaddafi investment that had been treated as routine until the uprising against the Qaddafi regime in Libya turned bloody.

In recent days, the pop singers Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Usher have announced that they will give away money they had received for entertaining at Qaddafi family events. Hollywood, meanwhile, has pretty much joined Mr. Beckerman in doing what it does best when trouble crops up -- hiding out.

The writer David McKenna and the actors Mickey Rourke and Eva Amurri, who is Susan Sarandon's daughter, have all been connected to some extent with film projects financed by Natural Selection since Mr. Qaddafi signed on.

A spokesman for the Paradigm agency, which represents Mr. McKenna, said Tuesday that the writer could not be reached. A representative of One Talent Management, which represents Ms. Amurri, and a spokeswoman for International Creative Management, which represents Mr. Rourke, had no comment.

But several people who have been involved with Mr. Beckerman's list of films, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid conflict, described a scramble by major Hollywood players and institutions to distance themselves from projects in which the Qaddafi family might be involved.

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, which had been identified in several reports as a distribution partner on Natural Selection's planned crime film "The Ice Man," for instance, is now unlikely to get involved because of concerns about the Qaddafis, two people with knowledge of the situation said. A spokesman for the agency said its policy was not to comment on individual projects.

Kevin Iwashina, whose Preferred Content production and sales company has been lined up as a sales agent for "Isolation," which has already been shot and stars Ms. Amurri, declined to comment. Schuyler Moore, an entertainment lawyer who was identified in a 2009 news report as having helped Mr. Beckerman assemble the Qaddafi deal, did not respond to queries.

Meanwhile at 42West, an entertainment public relations firm, a letter to the news media that identified Natural Selection as handling the "Preservation Hall" documentary at South by Southwest is now being described -- in conversations conditioned on anonymity to minimize conflict -- as having been in error.

According to people familiar with the discussions, 42West planned to help Mr. Beckerman when insiders thought his involvement with the documentary was purely personal. But it backpedaled when it appeared that Natural Selection and Mr. Qaddafi might have a role.

As Mr. Beckerman has not been returning calls, the future of the company remains unclear, as does the extent of Mr. Qaddafi's involvement with its various films.

Two people who have dealt closely with Mr. Beckerman said they had been introduced to Mr. Qaddafi at film festivals outside the United States, though never in Los Angeles. Both said that they had found the man, a former professional soccer player, to be vibrant, forthcoming and committed to the notion of building a rapport between Libya and the United States.

Neither expressed qualms about past allegations that Libya had backed terrorists or abused its people. Both pointed out that Hollywood had routinely welcomed investors whose peripheral connections might not be the purest.

The news and politics Web site The Daily Beast reported in September that Mr. Beckerman, who once worked in the music business, was introduced to Mr. Qaddafi on a beach in Mauritius at a time when he was looking for funds.

The Qaddafis are not the first among African strongmen to have flirted with the film world. In 1990, the Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti tried to line up the Liberian government as an investor in a company he was using to buy MGM/UA Communications. But the relationship ended when Mr. Parretti's ally, the Liberian president, Samuel K. Doe, was tortured and killed by his opponents.

During the uprising in Libya, Mr. Qaddafi has given speeches and appeared on television to defend his father's regime.

In 2009, Natural Selection made "The Experiment," a psychological drama that starred Forest Whitaker and Adrien Brody, and released the film on video through Sony Pictures. It shot "Isolation" early last year and has been selling distribution rights to the movie through what appears to be a shifting team of partners since then.

In perhaps its most prominent move, the company also bought rights to Philip Carlo's book "The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer," about the American mobster Richard Kuklinski. Filming was to have begun as early as this spring. But the script is still being written, say people who were briefed on the project.

Mr. Rourke, one of those people said, had expressed interest in the lead role but had made no formal deal and will not face any decision about working with a Qaddafi-backed company until the screenplay is done.

Until then, a world away in Libya, Mr. Beckerman's major backer has a lot on his mind.

Copyright International Herald Tribune Mar 10, 2011

WA:Barnett and Carles cleared of corruption

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2010
WA:Barnett and Carles cleared of corruption

The West Australian corruption watchdog has cleared Premier COLIN BARNETT and independent
MP ADELE CARLES of any wrongdoing .. over the so-called `staff-for-votes' scandal.

Ms CARLES and the premier met in his parliamentary office in october .. to discuss
the issue of additional staff for the independent.

The MP .. who resigned from the Greens earlier this year .. left the meeting believing
she'd come to an agreement with Mr BARNETT to gain an extra staff member .. if she supported
the government.

But Mr BARNETT says Ms CARLES volunteered her support .. and any decision to grant
additional staff wouldn't be conditional.

The Corruption and Crime Commission said legal advice indicates the alleged arrangement
wouldn't have been in breach of the Criminal Code.

AAP RTV anr/jsj/tm

KEYWORD: BARNETT (PERTH)

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

Vic: Main stories in the Melbourne newspapers=2

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2010
Vic: Main stories in the Melbourne newspapers=2

THE AGE:

Page 1: Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has rejected the idea of a big Australia
of 36 million people. A third of patients in Victorian emergency departments were not
moved to hospital beds within eight hours in the second half of last year, casting serious
doubt on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's pledge to reduce waits to four hours.

Page 2: Tony Abbott has refused to back Kevin Rudd's $5 billion tobacco crackdown -
a push to ban brand logos from cigarette packs and increase tax by more than $2 a packet
- arguing it is just a panic tax by a government addicted to spending.

Page 3: Planning Minister Justin Madden has fuelled fresh speculation about his role
in the Windsor Hotel affair, repeatedly refusing to say if he was aware of a scheme to
pervert the planning process for the hotel's redevelopment.

World: Europe's debt crisis has deepened with the downgrading of Spain's credit rating
and rising pressure to approve a bailout for Greece that could run to 120 billion euros
($A172 billion).

Finance: ANZ chief executive Mike Smith has described Australia as two-thirds of the
way through the global downturn, but cautioned that the economy remains vulnerable to
external shocks, with the Greek debt crisis sparking fears of a chain reaction across
Europe.

Sport: An offensive YouTube video which depicted West Coast cult hero Nic Naitanui
as a native tribesman who speaks in clicks has been taken off the internet after complaints
from anti-racism campaigners.

AAP jrd/sn

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS VIC 2 MELBOURNE (REOPENS)

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

Fed: A380 fleet facility needs to be in Australia, workers say

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2009
Fed: A380 fleet facility needs to be in Australia, workers say

EDS: Reissuing to correct percentage of total holdings by foreign airlines in 4th par



CANBERRA, Dec 16 AAP - Aircraft engineers are demanding Qantas that maintain its A380
fleet in Australia and not overseas.

The engineers are concerned an easing of foreign ownership limits might prompt Qantas
to use maintenance facilities outside Australia.

The federal government's white paper on aviation, released on Wednesday, flags a change
to the laws governing the ownership of Qantas.

While the airline will remain 51 per cent owned by Australian interests, the restrictions
on individual foreign shareholdings (25 per cent) and total holdings by foreign airlines
(35 per cent) are to be removed.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, in cautiously welcoming the
white paper, says Qantas is the big winner out of the white paper.

"We say that it is about time that Qantas reinvested some of those savings into maintenance
of aircraft within Australia, particularly the A380 fleet," the association's federal
secretary Steve Purvinas told reporters in Canberra.

Presently no heavy maintenance facility exists for the A380 aircraft as the fleet has
been in service for only two years.

Heavy maintenance is undertaken for aircraft more than three years old.

Undertaking fleet maintenance in Australia would initially provide an additional 250
jobs, Mr Purvinas said.

"But over time as the full complement of the A380 fleet are required by the airline,
we say this would provide jobs for 1000 Australians."

The association has written to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce asking him to commit to building
the facility in Australia.

MORE srj/rl/jl/rl

KEYWORD: AVIATION REAX (REISSUING)

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

Fed: Modest recovery dependent on stimulus package: Swan

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2009
Fed: Modest recovery dependent on stimulus package: Swan

BRISBANE, Aug 7 AAP - Treasurer Wayne Swan says the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA)
forecast of a modest recovery is based on the full implementation of the government's
stimulus package.

In its monetary policy statement released on Friday, the central bank forecast gross
domestic product (GDP) to rise by 0.5 per cent over the year before lifting to one per
cent in the year to June 2010.

In its last statement, the RBA forecast GDP to contract by one per cent in calendar
2009 and grow by half a per cent in the year ended June 2010.

Mr Swan said the improved outlook was dependent on the government carrying out its
stimulus package in full.

"The Reserve Bank points to substantial headwinds in the global economy," Mr Swan told
reporters in Brisbane.

"But the one thing we can see here in the Reserve Bank forecasts is that they are predicated
on a modest recovery and economic stimulus being fully implemented."

Australia would still see higher unemployment and lower business investment, he said.

But he said the RBA saw no risk associated with Australia's inflationary outlook.

AAP jmm/pjo/jfm/mn

KEYWORD: RBA SWAN

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

AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Feb 13

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Feb 13
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


Bushfires Vic Wrap (MELBOURNE)

Police in Victoria are hunting a firebug whose actions briefly threatened the Mornington
Peninsula town of Baxter last night .. while the Nine Network aired its bushfire relief
telethon.

Country Fire Authority crews put out the fire before it took hold .. but police say
it had the potential of becoming a major fire in the area.

Meanwhile a spell of cool .. calmer weather has allowed firefighters to build new control
lines and extend others as the bushfire crisis enters its sixth day with 15 blazes still
out of control.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment says fire crews have been able to
backburn .. fortify control lines and black out areas they haven't previously been able
to reach.

But the race is on to get on top of the blazes before next week's expected extreme
temperatures and hot northerly winds.

And KEVIN RUDD says it's important for the nation to grieve .. as it struggles to come
to grips with the devastation wrought by the weekend's horror bushfires.

The PM's told parliament there will be a national memorial service and day of mourning
to remember the victims of the fires .. with the date to be announced soon.



Stimulus (CANBERRA)

The Rudd government will have a second crack at getting its 42 billion dollar economic
stimulus package through the Senate today .. after a new version passed the lower house
late last night.

The amended package will see cash handouts to low and middle-income earners and single-income
families cut by 50-dollars .. a concession won by the Australian Greens.

The original package was torpedoed yesterday .. after independent Senator NICK XENOPHON
sided with the coalition when the government refused to fast-track funds allocated for
improving the Murray-Darling Basin.

Senator XENOPHON says he's willing to return to the negotiating table.



Climate (CANBERRA)

Plans for emissions trading appear to be up in the air after the federal government
called a fresh inquiry into the scheme.

The surprise move has sparked speculation the government could delay .. overhaul or
ditch its main plan to tackle climate change.

Labor has promised to start emissions trading next year and has finished an intensive
process to design the scheme.



Floods (BRISBANE)

The Governor General flies into the Queensland town of Ingham this morning for a first
hand look at the region's flood damage.

QUENTIN BRYCE will arrive by chopper just before 10 am (AEST) to be briefed on the
flood status .. before inspecting disaster control and SES centres and meeting community
members.

She'll host a sausage sizzle at the Shire Hall at the end of the day.



Sorry Rudd (CANBERRA)

The prime minister's own assessment of last year's apology to the stolen generations
warns .. the historic event risks becoming a dead letter .. unless the government successfully
tackles indigenous disadvantage.

KEVIN RUDD says the apology .. delivered on February 13 last year .. built a bridge
of respect from non-indigenous people towards indigenous Australians.

He says having crossed that bridge .. the land on the other side of it is all about
closing the gap.



Shark Bondi (SYDNEY)

A man attacked by a shark at Bondi last night is the first victim of a shark attack
at the beach in 80 years.

Police say the 33-year-old Dover Heights man was surfing at the southern end of the
beach about 7.30 pm (AEDT) when he felt something bite him on the arm.

He's been taken to St Vincents Hospital with severe injuries to his left arm.

Police say the man was fortunate to receive assistance from a number of off-duty doctors
who were on the beach at the time he was bitten .. and helped stem the massive bleeding.

Fairfax newspapers report there have been no shark attacks at Bondi since 1929.



Patel (BRISBANE)

Staff from the Bundaberg Base Hospital will continue to give evidence today at JAYANT
PATEL's committal hearing in Brisbane.

The hearing was told yesterday .. the former head of surgery at the hospital was a
difficult man who'd lie to families about the success of operations .. even when his patients'
health was deteriorating.

A nurse told the court on video link she heard PATEL telling a patient's family he
was stable after an operation .. when in fact he was deteriorating and died days later.



Briefly in other news ..



Babies (CANBERRA)

A lesbian couple .. who said having two IVF babies instead of one damaged their relationship
.. have won an appeal against their doctor .. and awarded 317-thousand dollars in compensation.



Vatican Fischer (LONDON)

Pope BENEDICT the 16th has personally welcomed TIM FISCHER as Australia's new ambassador
to the Vatican .. telling him he's praying for the victims of the Victorian bushfires.



in Sport ..



AFL Bulldogs (MELBOURNE)

The AFL are hoping for a record crowd when the Western Bulldogs and Essendon meet in
an NAB Cup match which will double as a fundraiser for bushfire relief at Telstra Dome
tonight.

All money from ticket sales will go towards the relief effort .. while players from
all 16 AFL clubs will be collecting donations at the ground.



Cricket Aust (BRISBANE)

Australia's cricketers are sweating on the fitness of vice-captain MICHAEL CLARKE who
is battling a back injury ahead of today's Chappell-Hadlee series decider against New
Zealand at the Gabba.

Captain RICKY PONTING says CLARKE will be given every chance to play the day-night
match .. with a decision to be made later this morning.

Queensland all-rounder JAMES HOPES is in the running for CLARKE'S opening position
while West Australian ADAM VOGES looms as a possible call-up to the middle-order.



Cup Vic (MELBOURNE)

Victoria must gain a bonus point in tonight's one-day cricket match against New South
Wales at the MCG if they're to have any chance of hosting the domestic competition's final.

The Bushrangers have regained opening batsman CHRIS ROGERS .. but will be without paceman
CLINT McKAY due to injury.


Golf Women (MELBOURNE)

KARRIE WEBB will take a comfortable three-shot lead into today's second round of the
Women's Australian Open at Melbourne's Metropolitan course.

She's ahead of Spain's TANIA ELOSEGUI and one shot ahead of a group of four players
three under the card.

WEBB is aiming for her third straight Australian Open and her fifth overall.



Super (PERTH)

Western Force skipper NATHAN SHARPE says the player group is closer than ever following
the Super 14 club's drama-filled off-season.

Coach JOHN MITCHELL was temporarily stood down last December during an independent
inquiry into his behaviour but SHARPE says the turmoil has strengthened the group.

The Force kick off their season against New Zealanders the Blues at Subiaco Oval tonight

.. while the Brumbies are taking on the Highlanders in Dunedin.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

Broadcast Desk inquiries 24 hours: 02 9322 8714

AAP RTV tm

KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

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

NSW: Funeral to remember 'giving' NSW murder victims

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2008
NSW: Funeral to remember 'giving' NSW murder victims

By Katelyn John

SYDNEY, Aug 25 AAP - An elderly couple murdered in their NSW south coast home will
be remembered as "ordinary" people who worked hard for their community, says the minister
who will lead their funeral service.

Ken Keyte, 86, and his wife Margaret Keyte, 71, were found by police at their home
in Beach Road, Batehaven, about 9.30pm (AEST) on August 10.

They had severe head injuries which police believe were caused by a blunt instrument.

Neighbour Tracey Lee Pratt, 42, has been charged with the double murder after being
arrested yesterday at her home in the same street.

A funeral service for the couple will be held at 11am (AEST) tomorrow at the Broulee
Memorial Gardens.

Reverend Ian Lambert, from Batemans Bay Anglican Church, will conduct the service,
which he says will remember two long-standing members of the close-knit south coast community.

"They were long-term residents in the bay - Margaret and Ken had been here for over
40 years," Mr Lambert told AAP.

"They were ordinary people. That's what has struck everybody.

"They were your grandmother, your grandfather, your mum and dad. There was nothing
pretentious about them."

He said Margaret was a St Vincent de Paul Society volunteer and a regular member of
St Bernard's Catholic Church.

Ken worked for free at a local petrol station just to "keep in contact" with the community
after his retirement, he said.

Mr Lambert said the couple's two sons Donald and Garry had opted not to speak at tomorrow's
"simple" service, with a friend of the family to give the eulogy.

The couple was last seen at the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on the Saturday night prior
to their deaths.

Garry Keyte called police after he could not get his parents to answer the door on
the Sunday morning.

Mr Lambert said it was a small blessing that Garry had not been able to enter the locked
house to find his parents bodies.

He said the community was rallying behind the Keyte's sons and their families.

"There's been a fair bit of support for the family, whether it be meatballs or letters
- that sort of thing," Mr Lambert said.

"They're doing well considering the nature of the event.

"I've been speaking with them regularly over the last few days and considering what
they've gone through they've got incredible support from the community and family and
friends."

The family has requested donations be made to the Heart Foundation in lieu of flowers.

Pratt appeared briefly in Batemans Bay Local Court today. She did not apply for bail
and it was formally refused.

Magistrate Robert Rabbidge adjourned the case to September 22 at Wollongong Local Court,
where she will appear by video link.

AAP kaj/evt/tnf/de

KEYWORD: PRATT NIGHTLEAD

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

Fed: Nelson promises to examine 2020 ideas

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2008
Fed: Nelson promises to examine 2020 ideas

By Peter Veness

CANBERRA, April 20 AAP - The federal opposition says it will carefully examine all
the ideas that have come from the Australia 2020 summit.

More than 1,000 delegates came up with ideas across areas as diverse as health, governance
and education in the two-day summit at Parliament House this weekend.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has promised the Liberal-National coalition will take
the ideas seriously.

"From my perspective the priorities amongst those that have been given to us are taxation,
getting the federation of Australia to work effectively for the 21st century and drought-proofing
our country and focusing on food security," Dr Nelson told reporters.

Dr Nelson, a constitutional monarchist, did not mention the summit recommendation to
move towards an Australian republic.

But he warned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd not to forget the day-to-day running of the
country in his bid to focus on planning for the future.

"Tomorrow Mr Rudd needs to get back to work and focus on the things that are really
concerning Australians and families especially and that is the budget for the 13th of
May," he said.

Dr Nelson did offer some tentative criticism of the summit.

"There seemed to be a disproportionate number of people who already have prominence
in Australian public life," he said.

"Many of the ideas and proposals are things that I've either seen before or heard before
or considered before.

"Much of it was more about the aspirations and the things we want to achieve for our
country and a little less about the actual things that we might do to get there."

He also reiterated his criticism that delegates had been chosen because they supported
government policy.

"There was more than a similarity and I've got to say that whilst I have high regard
for all of those who came to the conference it seemed not to be fully representative of
Australian society."

AAP pv/mfh/ht/nf

KEYWORD: SUMMIT NELSON (PIX AVAILABLE)

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

Fed: Rescued Indonesians not granted refugee status and returned home

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2007
Fed: Rescued Indonesians not granted refugee status and returned home

CANBERRA, Dec 16 AAP - A group of Indonesians rescued off the coast of Darwin last
month has been returned home after being denied refugee status by the new government.

The three families had been detained on Christmas Island since they were rescued from
their sinking wooden boat by the Royal Australian Navy in the Timor Sea on November 20.

The group of men, women and children were suffering financial hardship from an ongoing
crackdown - involving joint Australian-Indonesian patrols - on illegal fishing in Australia's
northern waters.

Under a 1974 memorandum of understanding between Indonesia and Australia, Indonesian
subsistence fishermen are allowed to fish off Australia's northern islands and reefs within
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but not within territorial waters.

An increase in the number of Indonesian motorised fishing boats operating in the Australian
EEZ prompted a crackdown with boats routinely confiscated and crews prosecuted.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said being poor was not grounds to be granted refugee
status and the group was returned to Jakarta last night.

"The group did not engage Australia's protection obligations under the Refugees Convention,"

he said.

"People from other countries do not have a right to stay here on the basis they would
be economically better off."

A spokesman for Senator Evans told AAP Labor would soon make announcements regarding
unauthorised boat arrivals to Australia.

AAP mj/jt/de

KEYWORD: BOAT

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

Fed: Australia could have bridge collapse next: engineer

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2007
Fed: Australia could have bridge collapse next: engineer

By Shelley Markham

MELBOURNE, Aug 4 AAP - Australia could have a bridge collapse similar to the US one
that killed at least five people, a Melbourne-based engineering expert warns.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor Priyan Mendis said more money needed to
be devoted to monitoring ageing bridges across Australia.

Professor Mendis said there was a strong possibility of a similar bridge collapse occurring
in Australia.

Five people have been confirmed dead and nearly 100 injured after a bridge across the
Mississippi river in Minneapolis collapsed on Thursday (AEST).

"Yes, we could have a (similar type of) bridge collapse," Professor Mendis told AAP.

"It can happen anywhere around the world," he said.

Prof Mendis said that road authorities in NSW had done a good job of monitoring bridges
in Sydney, but there were many other vulnerable bridges in other cities and regional areas
of Australia.

"I don't think we are spending enough money on our ageing infrastructure, such as bridges,"

he said.

"We have a shortage of civil engineers with experience in Australia.

"It's not a problem with the design. It's just the maintenance of the ageing structures,"

he said.

"The (state and federal) governments have to employ more experienced engineers to carefully
monitor what is happening to these bridges."

Prof Mendis, who is the head of Melbourne University's Infrastructure Protection Group,
said governments could also adopt new technology to monitor bridges for signs of structural
fatigue.

"There are some new techniques using sensors, so you can monitor continuously these
bridges," he said.

"Some of the cracks you can't see, they are hidden, and once they start it's hard to
get rid of them."

Prof Mendis worked as a consultant in Minneapolis in 1996 and lived near the bridge
that collapsed.

He said the bridge had begun to show signs of structural fatigue 17 years ago.

"As early as 1990 the authorities found problems with this bridge and there were some
repairs done," he said.

"They had been monitoring it but I don't think they spent enough time and money on repairing it."

AAP sam/arb/cdh

KEYWORD: US FREEWAY AUST

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

WA: RAAF poised to help WA girl get heart-lung transplant

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2007
WA: RAAF poised to help WA girl get heart-lung transplant

PERTH, Feb 11 AAP - The RAAF is on stand by to fly a mercy mission for a teenage West
Australian girl in need of a life saving heart-lung transplant.

Aimee Blakiston, 17, is in Royal Perth Hospital suffering primary pulmonary hypertension
and has just weeks to live unless she gets a transplant.

Donors are being sought Australia-wide but there's concern that if a heart and lungs
are found in the eastern states a commercial flight might not be able get the organs to
Perth fast enough.

A heart and lungs can only be out of a body for five or six hours before they begin to fail.

Aimee's desperate plight has prompted WA Health Minister Jim McGinty write and ask
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson to authorise the use of a military jet if required.

A spokesman for Dr Nelson confirmed today a military jet would be scrambled at short
notice if needed.

Mr McGinty said Aimee's doctors describe her as a "wonderful and typical" teenage girl.

"She averaged more than 80 per cent in her high school exams even though she was so
sick that her school attendance was less than 10 per cent," Mr McGinty said in his letter
to Dr Nelson.

"She comes from a supportive and caring family who have been devastated by her illness,
especially as multiple doctors misdiagnosed her condition over the past two years as chronic
fatigue syndrome."

The minister said that before her illness Aimee loved sport, playing basketball and
taking part in competitive show riding.

AAP lk/wjf/it/bwl

KEYWORD: BLAKISTON

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

Diary Events for Friday, August 25, 2006

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2006
Diary Events for Friday, August 25, 2006

EVENTS LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND LOCAL TIME UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED:


ADELAIDE


0915 - South Australian Farmers' Federation annual general meeting. The Observatory Function
Centre, 23 Hackney Road, Hackney. Contact: Carol Vincent 0414 916 884.

1115 - Port Adelaide Football Club news conference with coach Mark Williams. SuiteOne,
AAMI Stadium. Contact: Daniel Bryant 0410 553 706.

1200 - Adelaide Crows news conference with coach Neil Craig. Media Room, AAMI Stadium.

Contact: David Burtenshaw 0409 798 044.


BRISBANE


1000 - Queensland Education Minister Rod Welford will conduct a lunch for the RSL Civics
and Citizenship education program which has been crafted for secondary school students.

Premier's Hall, level 4, Parliamentary Annexe, Brisbane. Contact: Melanie Mead 0432 820
370.

1000 - Whistleblowing: What Are We Learning? National conference with guest speakers including
Tony Morris, QC, and UQ's Professor of the School of Journalism Bruce Grundy. Emmanuel
College, Sir William McGregor Drive, St Lucia, Brisbane. Contact: Kev Lindy 3390 3912.

1045 - Federal Treasurer Peter Costello will attend a community morning tea with Nationals
Ron Boswell and Bruce Scott. Millmerran Civic Centre, Campbell Street, Millmerran. Contact:
Rena Stoikos 0418 568 434.

1340 - Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott will speak on developing partnerships to ensure
the future of public hospitals in Queensland. Russell Strong Auditorium, Princess Alexandra
Hospital. Contact: Penny Geraghty 0412 548 872, 3240 7899.


CANBERRA


1130 - Victoria Cross awarded to Captain Alfred Shout for action at Lone Pine, Gallipoli,
will be donated to the Australian War Memorial. Gallipoli Gallery, Australian War Memorial,
Canberra. Contact: Emma Tinkler 6243 4575.

1215 - Senate Occasional Lecture Series presents Senior Lecturer in politics Dr Paul Strangio,
who will speak on Incumbency Dominance: An Unhealthy Trend? Main Committee Room, Parliament
House, Canberra. Contact: 6277 3074.


DARWIN


No items listed.


HOBART


No items listed.


MELBOURNE


- No time given - Transport Minister Peter Batchelor in Drouin, Morwell and Traralgon
for local announcements. Contact: Louise Perry 0414 456 015.

- No time given - Victorian Communities Minister John Thwaites in Dederang for local announcements.

Contact: Martin Curtis 0400 512 618.

- No Time given - Consumer Affairs Minister Marsha Thomson in Bentleigh for local announcements.

Contact: Licardo Prince 0439 333 153.

0830 - The Nationals spokesman for Water Peter Walsh and candidate for Gippsland East,
Chris Nixon, will tour the Lindenow Flats, near Bairnsdale, prior to water policy launch.

Bulmers Farm Fresh Vegetables, 30 Bulmers Road, Lindenow. Contact: Darren Chester 0418
390 229.

0930 - Federal Parliament's Public Accounts and Audit Committee public hearing into certain
taxation matters will be held. Parliamentary Committee Rooms, level 8, 35 Spring Street.

Contact: 02 6277 4615.

1030 - Tourism Minister John Pandazopoulos to launch the Murray Region campaign. Trentham
Estate Winery, Sturt Highway, Trentham Cliffs, NSW (20 minutes from Mildura).

1030 - Leader of The Nationals Peter Ryan and spokesman for water, Peter Walsh, will launch
The Nationals Plan for Water Management. Covinos Farm Produce, Seaspray Road, Longford.

Contact: Darren Chester 0418 390 229.

1445 - LPG-powered car arrives in Melbourne at completion of circuit of Australia using
only LPG. Ford Australia Head Office 1735 Sydney Road, Campbellfield. Includes V8 supercar
driver Jason Bright and Ford Australia president Tom Gorman. Contact: Sinead McAlary 0412
254 388.

1800 - Guests arrive for the Melbourne Premiere of Clerks II. 1830 - Screening of Clerks
II with actors Kevin Smith and Jennifer Schwalbach attending. The Astor Theatre, cnr Chapel
Street and Dandenong Road, St Kilda. Contact: Georgina Thompson 9829 0614.

2000 - Opening of The Age Melbourne Writers' 10 day festival, with keynote address delivered
by Tim Flannery (scientist, explorer and conservationist) on global warming. Melbourne
Town Hall. Contact: Shirley Hardy-Rix 0412 057 288, 9842 9740.


PERTH


0730 - Human Services Minister Joe Hockey and Kyle Vander-Kuyp will address the APSC Breakfast
seminar. The Argyle Ballroom, Parmelia Hilton Hotel, Mill St, Perth. Contact: Wendy Black
0437 978 028.

0900 - Human Services Minister Joe Hockey will open a new Health for Industry and Work
Solutions office. Level 3, 553 Hay St, Perth. Contact: Wendy Black 0437 978 028.

1300 - Human Services Minister Joe Hockey will visit Clontarf Aboriginal College. 295
Manning Rd, Waterford. Contact: Wendy Black 0437 978 028.


SYDNEY


0930 - Education Minister Julie Bishop will attend the National Literacy and Numeracy
Week Awards. Australian National Maritime Museum, 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour. Contact:
Murray Hansen 0417 886 155.

1130 - Actor Anthony LaPaglia will unveil the winner of an honorary signing to the Sydney
Football Club. Aussie Stadium, Driver Avenue, Moore Park. Contact: Claire Hosegood 0411
253 663, 9271 1829.

1230 - Dr Cindy Pan will help launch HeartKids Australia Children's Charity to raise awareness
of congenital heart disease. Rydges North Sydney. Contact: Alison Byrne 0419 576 448 or
Maggie Frawley 0406 424 511.

1630 - Communications Minister Helen Coonan will be the guest of honour at the launch
of the 2006 McNair Community Radio National Listener Survey. Cruise Bar, Overseas Passenger
Terminal, level 2, West Circular Quay. Contact: Danny Chifley 9310 2999.

1715 - Former National Museum of Australia director Dawn Casey will give a public lecture
titled Being Collected, the first in the Indigenous Collections, Indigenous Museums? series.

Old Geology Lecture Theatre, Science Rd, University of Sydney. Contact: Katrina O'Brien
9036 7842 or Kath Kenny 9351 2261.

1800 - Stop the War Coalition will hold a War, Terror and Civil Liberties public forum,
with lawyer Rob Stary to speak. Room 29, ground level, Tower Block, University of Technology,
Broadway. Contact: Anna 0401 900 690 or Alex 0413 976 638.


SPORT


AFL -
Round 21 - to August 27 -
1940 - Western Bulldogs v St Kilda, Telstra Dome
RUGBY LEAGUE -
Round 25 - to August 27
1930 - Manly v Bulldogs, Brookvale Oval
SOCCER - 2006/07 A-League Season Draw -
Round 1 - to August 27
2000 - Melbourne Victory FC v Adel United FC, Olympic Park
NETBALL - Commonwealth Bank Trophy -
Preliminary Final -
SWIMMING - Australian Short Course C'ships - to August 28
Tattersall's Hobart Aquatic Centre, Tas
BASKETBALL - FIBA World championships (Mens) -
Japan - to September 3
GOLF - PGA Tour European Invitational - to August 27
Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio
GOLF - Reno-Tahoe Open - to August 27
Montreux Golf and Country Club, Reno, Nevada
GOLF - LPGA Tour - to August 27
Tartan Fields Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
ATHLETICS - IAAF World Athletics Tour -
Golden League, Brussels, Belgium
ROWING - Senior World C'ships - to August 27
Eton, UK
SURFING - 2006 ASP Women's WTC - to August 28
Billabong Girls, Praia da Tiririca, Itacare, Bahia-Brazil
GALLOPS -
Mornington
Townsville
Scone
Canberra
TROTS -
Harold Park
Moonee Valley
Redcliffe
Globe Derby
Charlton
Bathurst
Gloucester Park
GREYHOUNDS -
Richmond
Geelong
Albion Park
Casino
The Gardens
Mandurah
Traralgon

AAP RTV cj/cjh/wz/psm/

KEYWORD: DIARY EVENTS FRI AUGUST 25, 2006

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

NSW: Packs of chocolate-coated peanuts mislabelled = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2006
NSW: Packs of chocolate-coated peanuts mislabelled = 2

The manufacturer, Ernst Hillier, said the batch number of wrongly branded packets was D6089.

AAP cj/was/tnf

KEYWORD: PEANUTS (2 SYDNEY REOPENS)

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

Home-Link Gets $25 Mil Boost.

Home-Link Services Inc. has completed a $25 million second round of private funding.

Canaan Partners, Rowaton, Conn., Whitney & Co., Stamford, Conn., and Trilon Inc., Toronto, Canada, provided the financing.

Home-Link, a provider of Internet-enabled software for residential real estate brokers, said the proceeds will be used to develop new products and services, complete the development of a national call center for small- to medium-sized brokers and hire support staff for the projects.

Home-Link's Internet-enabled software allows brokers' customers to manage moving through a personal Internet portfolio that maintains ownership documents, records purchases, and calculates savings gained from using Home-Link marketing partners. The portfolio can also be used for record-keeping and expenses for tax and accounting purposes.

Copyright c 2000 Thomson Financial Media. All Rights Reserved.