Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Residents flee as Qld's Dalby floods

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 02 Maret 2013 | 20.47

RESIDENTS in the southeast Queensland town of Dalby are fleeing floodwaters as the expected peak of 3.2 metres could go even higher.

Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown says water from the Myall Creek started entering homes when the level reached 2.8m.

"Power has been off to some homes since 4.30pm (AEST), which is what we knew would happen when water flooded in, and residents and the travelling public are being moved to safe areas," he told AAP just before midnight on Saturday.

The peak was expected to be 3.32 metres before midnight but could go higher, Mr Brown said.

Dalby Showgrounds has become a safe area but Mr Brown said it wasn't a fully-fledged evacuation centre.

Visitors to the area had moved their caravans from camp grounds to the showgrounds.

"Residents in southeast Queensland have been given flood warnings, with people in the Lockyer Valley told to evacuate if needed.

An emergency alert was issued for the Lockyer Valley region, west of Brisbane, on Saturday night.

The Lockyer Valley regional council has advised residents to monitor the situation and evacuate themselves if necessary.

Flooding is expected for Forest Hill, Laidley, Glenore Grove and areas downstream.

An emergency flood warning has also been issued for Banana Shire Council.

"There is an imminent threat through a Grevillea Creek flood," a statement from the Department of Community Safety said at 10.30pm on Saturday.

"There is an immediate threat to life or property. Leave the area now or go to higher ground."

It's another blow to residents who experienced significant flooding on the Australia Day weekend and a severe flood two years ago.

The council is also monitoring the nearby towns of Chinchilla and Moonie which are on flood alert.

Heavy rain has also fallen in the regions around Mackay, Bundaberg and Rockhampton on the state's central coast and the Gold Coast in the southeast.

Forecasters expect about 100mm of rain to fall on Bundaberg in the next 24 hours.

The Bureau of Meteorology has advised the rain will continue in the short term and there will be heavy falls later this month.

It has issued 13 flood warnings, most of which are for the state's southeast region.

Bureau of meteorology senior hydrologist Andy Barnes said late on Saturday the impact of the floods affecting the state were relatively minor at the moment.

"It's fairly widespread flooding affecting quite a few catchments," he said.

"Although we'll see continued rain over the southeast for about the next 12 hours it won't be too intense.

"At this stage we're not expecting there to be any real worsening of the situation we've got."

Mr Barnes said moderate to heavy rain may fall on Sunday, but that that is expected further west to where most of the flood warnings have been issued.

Meanwhile the government is keeping a close eye on its dams in the southeast.

Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle says releasing water from the dams will reduce the risk of flooding.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pedestrian dies in Latrobe road accident

A WOMAN has died after being hit by a car while crossing a road in the Latrobe Valley in eastern Victoria.

Police said the woman was crossing the road at Morwell when she was hit by a west-bound car on Princes Drive just before 7.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

She was critically injured and taken to hospital, where she later died.

The driver of the car was taken to hospital for shock.

He is helping police with their investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

The incident takes Victoria's road toll to 41, compared to 50 at this time last year.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

End gay and lesbian discrimination: ACOSS

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 01 Maret 2013 | 20.47

AS Sydney prepares for the 35th Mardi Gras parade, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has called on the federal government to better address legal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

"There is no doubt there is more acceptance today and we've seen key reforms in areas such as social security, tax and superannuation," ACOSS chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said.

"However, the denial of the right of people to marry regardless of their sexuality, and inconsistent approaches to parental recognition and alternative gender identities amount to a denial of rights. It is discriminatory and needs to end."

Dr Goldie says it's disappointing the LGBTI community still has disproportionately high rates of negative mental health issues compared to the general population.

"We need policies which address the longstanding legislative, human rights, community and health issues that impact on the LGBTI communities," she said.

Around 10,000 performers will take part in Saturday night's Mardi Gras parade as the colourful festival commemorates 35 years in Sydney.

"Today's Mardi Gras parade will celebrate all the community activism and ongoing resilience of the LGBTI communities and all that has been achieved in the past four decades," Dr Goldie said.

"It's time for a deeper commitment and action by Australian governments to true inclusion and participation of LGBTI people."


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

China executes 4 foreigners over murders

CHINA has executed four foreigners for the killing of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in an attack that highlighted drug smuggling and extortion rackets along the vital waterway and led to a major expansion of Chinese police powers in the region.

State broadcaster CCTV showed the four being led in shackles and handcuffs from their cells at a jail in southwestern Yunnan province's capital of Kunming prior to their execution by lethal injection. Their deaths were announced two hours later by the Yunnan provincial police department.

Accused ringleader Naw Kham and accomplices Hsang Kham, Yi Lai, and Zha Xiha were found guilty of the murder of the 13 Chinese sailors. The four are of Myanmar (Burma), Thai, Laotian, and unknown nationality. Two others were given a suspended death sentence and eight years in prison for involvement in the killings.

The gang was accused of ambushing two flat-bottomed Chinese cargo ships on the upper reaches of the Mekong River on October 5, 2011, in Myanmar waters infested with gangs that make their living from protection rackets and the production and smuggling of heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. The Mekong flows south from Yunnan through the infamous Golden Triangle region, where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, and provides a vital trade and transportation route between southwestern China and Southeast Asia.

The ships were recovered downriver later that day by Thai police following a gun battle with gang members, and the bodies of the 13 victims, some bound by the hands before being stabbed and shot, were fished from the river over the following days. Methamphetamine was found on the boats, leading to speculation they had been hijacked as part of a drug smuggling plot.

However, gang members later testified the killings were in retaliation for the ships refusing to pay protection money and allowing themselves to be used by Thai and Laotian soldiers in attacks on warlord bases. They said the drugs were placed on board to make it look like there had been a struggle between smugglers.

Because the killings took place on board Chinese-flagged vessels, Beijing, whose massive economy and powerful military give it considerable sway over its smaller southern neighbours, ruled the trials should take place in China.

The four were sentenced to death in November in a two-day trial, and the judgment was upheld by China's Supreme People's Court in Beijing following an automatic appeal in accordance with Chinese law.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

HMAS Yarra crew to receive unit citation

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 28 Februari 2013 | 20.47

CREW members of HMAS Yarra, lost in a one-sided battle with Japanese warships, will be awarded the Unit Citation for Gallantry to right a wrong dating back to World War II.

The Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal says recommendations for recognition of extraordinary gallantry were mishandled in the Yarra case.

In light of the extraordinary gallantry, resolve and audacity of Yarra's ship's company in February and March 1942, the long-standing injustice would be remedied, the tribunal said.

The case was considered in an inquiry into retrospective awards of the Victoria Cross for 13 servicemen, including Yarra's Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin and crewman Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor.

Both died in Yarra's final action.

Rankin, who has a Collins submarine named in his honour, was clearly gallant although not to the stringent criteria of the VC for Australia, the tribunal said. In Taylor's case there was insufficient evidence for an individual award.

But all the crew receive the unit citation for two actions aboard the 1500-tonne sloop in South-East Asia at the outbreak of WWII with Japan.

As Japanese aircraft attacked Singapore on February 5, Yarra, then commanded by Wilfred Harrington, went alongside the burning troop transport Empress of Asia, rescuing more than 1800 soldiers.

On March 4, Yarra was escorting a convoy of merchant ships to Australia when three Japanese heavy cruisers and two destroyers approached.

Cmdr Rankin ordered the convoy to scatter while the sloop held off the Japanese warships. The Yarra was struck repeatedly by enemy shells but the 151-strong crew fought on.

Of the 13 survivors, none are alive.

Four Australian ships have been named Yarra - the latest is one of the navy's Huon class minehunters.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

No VC for Simpson or 13 other diggers

THE Victoria Cross won't be awarded retrospectively to World War I digger John Simpson or a dozen others, despite calls for their gallantry to be rewarded.

The Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal has concluded no award of the VC or any other medal should be made to the 13 soldiers and sailors who were the subjects of its year-long inquiry.

The tribunal's decision, released on Friday, is supported by the federal government, after the cases were reviewed by independent experts.

"For reasons of process, for reasons of history, for reasons of fact, it is not appropriate to award retrospectively a Victoria Cross," the parliamentary secretary for defence David Feeney told AAP.

In the 454-page report, the tribunal chaired by former attorney-general's department secretary Alan Rose found it wasn't possible for Australia to recommend honours in the imperial awards system.

It is possible to make retrospective recommendations in the Australian system, which replaced imperial honours in 1991, but only if there's a clear case of maladministration or the emergence of compelling new evidence.

"Extreme practical difficulties, such as gathering reliable evidence about past actions as well as the problem of second-guessing the commanders of the time make retrospective recognition difficult and likely to damage the integrity of the Australian honours and awards system," the tribunal said.

The inquiry into the vexed issue of retrospective VC awards to long-dead servicemen, some of whose deeds occurred almost a century ago, began last April.

It considered 11 former sailors and two soldiers from three wars. Among them was Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, known as John Simpson, famed for transporting wounded men from the Gallipoli frontline to field hospitals on his donkey.

Despite an abundance of gallantry, none of the 99 VCs awarded to Australians has ever gone to a sailor.

The tribunal concluded that contrary to some submissions, there was no British bias against Australians.

Statistically, far fewer VCs go to sailors, with only 53 of 1354 imperial VCs going to members of Britain's Royal Navy.

A number of submissions suggested awarding a VC to the Unknown Soldier in lieu of unrecognised acts of gallantry.

The tribunal disagreed, citing former prime minister Paul Keating's 1993 speech that recognised the very ordinariness of the Unknown Soldier and argued he should not stand above any of the 102,735 listed on the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour.

The VC is awarded for exceptional conduct.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Draft plan for Rookwood Cemetery released

THE NSW government has released a draft plan to better manage Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney's west.

The plan involves ensuring environmental impacts are managed, heritage values are protected, and the use of burial resources is sustainable.

The operation and visual appeal of the cemetery would also be enhanced under the plan.

"This is the next step of the NSW government's most significant cemeteries reforms in over 100 years," NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson said in a statement.

Ms Hodgkinson said the plan was developed with the involvement of all the former denominational trusts at Rookwood Cemetery, the new Rookwood General Cemeteries Reserve Trust, the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and other stakeholders.

"I am now seeking comment on the draft plan from the broader community before it is adopted," she said.

The historic Rookwood Necropolis cemetery has been in operation since 1867 and is the largest multicultural necropolis in the southern hemisphere.

The draft management plan will be advertised for six weeks and submissions should be made by April 12.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gunmen kill journalist in Pakistan

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 27 Februari 2013 | 20.47

UNIDENTIFIED attackers shot dead a senior local journalist in Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal region on Wednesday, witnesses said.

Malik Mumtaz, who worked for the Geo television channel as well as English and Urdu newspapers from the same media group, was shot in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district.

The tribal areas along the Afghan border are a haven for Islamist militants, but the Pakistani Taliban condemned the murder of Mumtaz, who was president of the local press club and had reported on the area for more than 20 years.

"Gunmen opened fire on his vehicle when he was driving back to his home and he died on the spot," a local intelligence official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

Noor Behram, the president of the Tribal Union of Journalists, confirmed the killing and announced one week of mourning.

A spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants condemned the killing and denied any involvement by the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction.

"He was a good reporter and was serving tribal people, we condemn his killing and salute his services for tribal people," TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Mumtaz is survived by his wife, two sons and one daughter.

According to the press campaign group Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan was the third deadliest country for journalists last year, behind Syria and Somalia, with 10 killed in connection with their work.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aged facility evacuated due to Vic floods

WILD weather in country Victoria has lifted the roof off a shopping centre, left motorists stranded and led to the evacuation of an aged care facility.

The State Emergency Service (SES) has received more than 200 calls for help since midnight Tuesday (AEDT) as flooding and strong winds hit parts of the state.

About 70 of the requests were from Shepparton where five people were trapped in their vehicles due to flooding.

There were 12 calls for help at Rushworth in the state's northwest, where 25 people were evacuated from a flooded aged care facility on Wednesday night.

High winds also forced the roof off the IGA supermarket next door, SES spokesman Toby Borella said.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain for people in the northern country, north central, north east, west, central and South and East Gippsland areas.

Senior BoM forecaster Dean Stewart said heavy rain had lashed the Benalla and Shepparton areas in northeast and northern Victoria.

Shepparton received 38mm of rain between 6.30pm and 9.30pm (AEDT).

Mr Stewart said the rest of north east Victoria is likely to experience heavy rain overnight with the chance of thunderstorms.

"It's still going to rain pretty hard through parts of northeast Victoria, and places like Mount Hotham could get quite a bit more overnight," he said.

Since 9am Wednesday (AEDT), Benalla has received 76mm of rain, Mt Hotham 69mm and Mt Bulla 61mm.

AAP mi/je


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Beijing restaurant sign triggers fury

A SIGN at a Beijing restaurant barring citizens of nations involved in maritime disputes with China - along with dogs - has triggered a wave of online outrage among Vietnamese and Filipinos.

The Beijing Snacks restaurant near the Forbidden City, a popular tourist spot, has posted a sign on its door reading "This shop does not receive the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)."

Photographs of the controversial sign have gone viral in Vietnamese-language forums and featured heavily in Philippine newspapers and websites on Wednesday.

Vietnam's state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper ran a story saying the sign had "ignited online fury". It claimed many Vietnamese feel this is another example of Chinese "extreme nationalism that deserves to be condemned".

"It's not patriotism, it's stupid extremism," Sy Van wrote in Vietnamese in a comment under the story, published on the paper's website.

The sign provoked thousands of posts on Vietnamese social networking sites and newspaper comment threads.

"This is teaching hate to the younger generation," Facebook user Andrea Wanderer wrote in Vietnamese. "The owner of the restaurant has obviously been brainwashed by their government," added Facebook user Chung Pham.

Filipinos greeted the photo with a mixture of fury and amusement.

"Blatant racism at Beijing Restaurant," journalist Veronica Pedrosa wrote in one widely-shared tweet, while Facebook user Rey Garcia used a comment thread on a news site to retort: "Who cares, they almost cook everything, even foetus and fingernails."

Vietnam and the Philippines are locked in a longstanding territorial row with China over islands in the South China Sea. China and Japan have a separate acrimonious dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

The sign's wording is particularly inflammatory as it recalls China's colonial era, when British-owned establishments barred Chinese from entering.

A sign supposedly reading "No Dogs and Chinese allowed" became part of Communist propaganda after it was said to have hung outside a park in Shanghai when Western powers controlled parts of China.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Africa unveils tough budget

SOUTH Africa finance minister Pravin Gordhan has unveiled a bootstraps budget of spending curbs and increased "sin taxes" for Africa's largest economy, predicting slow growth and a swollen budget deficit.

Gordhan told parliament that growth would be a modest 2.7 per cent this year and the government's budget deficit would hit 5.2 per cent amid "enormous" challenges facing the country.

"South Africa's economic outlook is improving but it requires that we take a different trajectory to move it forward," said Gordhan.

Growth had previously been forecast to hit 3.0 per cent this year.

The minister said that a growing economy - and widening the tax base - was the best way to address the budget shortfall.

"All of you must pay a little more tax thank you very much," he said to mixed reactions from MPs.

But he admitted, "the growth outlook for the next three years has weakened, and government's net debt is now expected to stabilise marginally higher than 40 per cent of" gross domestic product.

To close the 16.3 billion rand ($A1.77 billion) gap in tax revenue versus previous estimates, in the short term he announced cuts to planned spending of 10.4 billion rand over three years.

He also announced an increase in fuel levies as well as taxes on beer, wines, spirits and tobacco, while announcing some tax incentives for consumers and youth employment.

A carbon tax will be increased from 2015.

More tax increases may well be on the way.

"There will be significant adjustments in revenue, which means that taxes may go up later," he said.

Gordhan presented his 2013 budget under pressure to provide assurance on South Africa's path after credit rating downgrades from all three major agencies in recent months.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 dead, 7 hurt in Swiss factory shooting

A GUNMAN has killed two people and wounded seven others when he opened fire in a Swiss factory, police say, adding the shooter also died.

"There are three dead and seven wounded, a number of them seriously," a police spokesman in the central canton of Lucerne told AFP.

The gunman was among the dead, the spokesman added, without saying whether he had committed suicide or been shot by police.

Three helicopters from the Swiss emergency service REGA evacuated four seriously wounded people from the scene of the shooting at the Kronospan wood panel plant in Menznau, near Lucerne, a spokesman told AFP.

Some Swiss media claimed the gunman was a disgruntled Kronospan employee, but police declined to elaborate.

Local newspaper Willisauerer Bote said the company had just announced it was cutting production after a poor logging season.

Witnesses quoted by local media said the shooting started in the factory canteen around 9:00 am (1900 AEST), as workers on an early shift took their lunch break.

"We're all in shock. We'll do everything we can to help the victims' loved ones and support them financially," Urs Fluder, a member of Kronospan's board, told local station Radio Pilatus.

"The company will keep going as normally as possible," he added.

Owned by Austrian group Kronospan, the factory is the top employer in Menznau, giving jobs to about 400 people in the community of almost 2,600.

"This is a tragedy," Menznau's mayor, Adrian Duss, told AFP.

Switzerland has a longstanding tradition of gun ownership, rooted in the fact that the bulk of its military are reservists, rather than professionals.

The country ranks third in the world for the number of guns per inhabitant, after the United States and Yemen.

On January 2, a 33-year-old drifter wielding two weapons killed three women and wounded two men in the village of Daillon in southern Switzerland.

The biggest gun massacre in recent Swiss history occurred in September 2001 in the central city of Zug, claiming 15 lives including that of the shooter.

A local man with a history of legal clashes with the authorities dressed in a fake police uniform attacked the regional parliament armed with several weapons including an assault rifle.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

NT has future beyond resources: Mills

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 26 Februari 2013 | 20.47

NORTHERN Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills says the resources sector is booming but his jurisdiction should also look to opportunities in other sectors.

Speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) dinner in Darwin, Mr Mills spoke about the NT's future business options.

He said the NT punched above its weight, with average annual economic growth in the NT expected to be 4.4 per cent through to 2016/17.

"We have natural resources both on and offshore and yes, we are in close proximity to our nation's major markets," Mr Mills said.

But other opportunities existed too.

"We see that our opportunities include energy and resources, export, tourism and agri-businesses, defence and education facilities," Mr Mills said.

He said the NT should leverage its close proximity to Asia to encourage students from the region to study in Darwin.

"Regional partnerships in the field of higher education can enhance both skills at home and overseas," Mr Mills said.

He said China had 20 per cent of the world's population but less than 10 per cent of the world's arable land, and the NT should take advantage of that.

Around Tennant Creek there were immense amounts of land, good soil, sunlight and water.

Mr Mills later told AAP there were challenges facing the NT over the cost of housing.

"Great opportunity won't mean anything if no-one can afford to live here," Mr Mills said.

ANZ senior economist Justin Fabo also addressed the CEDA meeting and said things were going well in the NT.

"In the longer run I think the challenges, once you get over that hump of strong investment, will be to seek out other sources of growth," he told reporters.

"I am quite positive that being close to Asia means that opportunities will be there for the Territory.

But he said the NT would need to grasp the opportunities that came its way.

"I am quite conscious that politicians can say one thing and do the other," Mr Fabo said.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

More warnings on Cyclone Rusty

TROPICAL Cyclone Rusty is squatting over the Pilbara, bringing extremely heavy rainfall and very dangerous winds to a vast swathe of the West Australian coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a cyclone warning for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream.

The State Emergency Service (SES) says communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland are on a Red Alert and people need to go to shelters immediately.

A Yellow alert has been extended inland to include Marble Bar as well as communities between Wallal and Pardoo.

At 5.00 pm (WST) Tropical Cyclone Rusty, a Category 3 storm, was estimated to be 125 kilometres north-northeast of Port Hedland and moving south-southwest at 4 kilometres per hour towards the coast.

The Bureau warns the slow motion and large size of Rusty means very destructive winds will hit the WA coast well before the eye of the storm.

Wind gusts of 120 kilometres per hour have already hit Port Hedland and gale force winds will rip along the coast between Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek, with the destructive winds extending from near Port Hedland to around Wallal.

The Bureau is warning of very destructive winds of up to 165 kph between Whim Creek and Pardoo during Wednesday.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a very dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre nears the coast.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tamara Ecclestone blackmail:ex-beau jailed

A FORMER boyfriend of British socialite Tamara Ecclestone has been sentenced to four years in prison for plotting to blackmail her for STG200,000 ($A297,000).

Derek Rose was convicted of the extortion attempt against Ecclestone, daughter of Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.

Rose dated Ecclestone, now 28, in 2002. Prosecutors said that after Ecclestone appeared on a reality TV show called Billion Dollar Girl in 2011, he sent an email threatening to reveal personal details to a tabloid newspaper unless she paid. In fact, no newspaper had bought his story.

Passing sentence on Tuesday, Judge Andrew Goymer told Rose he was guilty of a "cynical and greedy" crime.

Bernie Ecclestone is one of Britain's wealthiest men, with a fortune estimated at 2.5 billion pounds, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ela Gandhi: education can beat violence

THE granddaughter of Indian peace icon Mahatma Gandhi hopes a new institute in Sydney will help Australians re-think our approach to moral education.

Ela Gandhi told an audience at the University of New South Wales on Tuesday that existing education strategies were allowing a culture of violence to flourish.

An International Centre of Nonviolence to be opened in Sydney on Wednesday would examine education "as a way of transforming the community", she said.

Ms Gandhi, a former South African parliamentarian who has spent her career promoting civil rights, said she feared social justice teaching was losing traction.

"The basic issue that we face is that our present education system is geared towards providing skills and knowledge," she said.

"Certainly there is something that needs to be corrected in our system, which is giving rise to the growing culture of crime, corruption, entitlement, consumerism, violence, impatience (and) exploitation."

She said social media had a role to play in effecting political change, but compared platforms like Twitter to a tactic she employed during her activist days in South Africa.

Then, she said, she spread her message by climbing to the top of tall buildings and bombarding the streets below with hundreds of written notes.

"When you take social media, you can only transmit a message one way," she told the audience.

"Dialogue is very important."

She also had a word for athletes caught up in the recent Australian Crime Commission doping allegations.

Her grandfather was a keen cricketer, Ms Gandhi said, but would probably not approve of the intense competition that had become a feature of contemporary organised sport.

"You've seen that it destroys people," she said.

"It induces people into taking drugs, it's induced people into corruption ... That's not healthy competition."


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

AirAsia profit soars, bullish on outlook

AIRASIA, Asia's largest low-cost carrier by fleet size, says its fourth-quarter profit has jumped 168 per cent year-on-year amid increased passengers.

AirAsia said in a statement that net profit for the quarter ending December 31 stood at 350.65 million ringgit ($A111.42 million), up from 130.68 million ringgit in the same quarter the previous year thanks to "a seasonally strong quarter".

Revenue for the quarter was a record 1.41 billion ringgit, up 10 per cent, as more people flew the airline, which increased its aircraft in Malaysia to more than 60.

"It has been another good quarter and overall a great year for AirAsia as we continue to defy the industry in terms of operational and financial performance," said Malaysia AirAsia chief executive officer Aireen Omar.

For the full financial year, AirAsia recorded a 238 per cent jump in net profit to 1.88 billion ringgit despite a 1.0 per cent rise in the average fuel price this year.

Its 2012 revenue increased by 11 per cent to 5.0 billion ringgit.

Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes was bullish about the year ahead as AirAsia expands its model - no frills and keeping operational costs low.

"The aviation landscape is constantly changing with high fuel prices and new competition, but through all these challenges AirAsia will continue to defend our leadership titles," he said.

AirAsia has grown rapidly since Fernandes, a former record industry executive, bought the failing airline in 2001. It initially had only two aircraft in operation.

The group now has a total fleet of 120 A320s and has set up subsidiary budget carriers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan.

The airline, one of the biggest customers for European aircraft maker Airbus, is expecting 360 more aircraft to be delivered by 2026.

Last week it announced a new airline joint venture with India's Tata conglomerate.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police rescue walkers in Blue Mountains

Written By Unknown on Senin, 25 Februari 2013 | 20.47

POLICE have rescued bushwalkers left stranded after a torrential downpour in the Blue Mountains National Park.

At about 2.40pm (AEDT) on Monday the Wentworth Falls area of the park experienced a severe storm that dumped a lot of rain in a short time.

Police said they received emergency calls from bushwalkers in the park during the storm, saying they had become stranded due to fast-rising waters at creek crossings.

Police aircraft flew over the valley and found about 20 people stranded by rapid flowing high water near Empress Falls on the National Pass walking track.

Police Rescue officers entered the area and located nine people who were able to make their own way out.

Another nine people located near the base of the falls required police and NSW Ambulance rescue teams to rig safety lines and utilise swift-water rescue techniques to safely escort them through fast-flowing water.

All bushwalkers were accounted for and no injuries were reported.

AAP ldj/


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

New pope alone to see Vatileaks inquiry

THE Vatican says a secret report on a leaks scandal in 2012 had revealed human "imperfections" in the running of the Catholic Church and would be shown exclusively to the future pope, not to voting cardinals.

"The Holy Father has decided that the documents, which only he has seen, will be exclusively available to his successor," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a media conference.

Italian media reports had suggested cardinals set to vote in a new pope once Benedict XVI has resigned would be given access to the report.

The Pope met on Monday with the cardinals who investigated the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal, Lombardi said.

The run-up to next month's conclave to elect a successor to Benedict has seen new scandals and allegations emerge, including claims of "inappropriate behaviour" on the part of one of the cardinal electors, Keith O'Brien of Britain.

O'Brien has resigned as head of the Catholic Church in Scotland and said he would not take part in the conclave. The Pope has accepted his resignation, effective Monday.

Already four other members of the conclave are associated with the pedophile priest scandals that have dominated Benedict's eight years on the papal throne.

The Vatican says the Pope has signed a special decree giving cardinals "the possibility to bring forward" a conclave to elect his successor.

"I leave the College of Cardinals the possibility to bring forward the start of the conclave once all cardinals are present, or push the beginning of the election back by a few days should there be serious reasons," the Pope said.

The conclave is traditionally held between 15 and 20 days after the papal seat is left vacant, but that period normally includes a nine-day period of mourning for a deceased pope.

Benedict is the first head of the Roman Catholic Church since the Middle Ages to resign of his own free will.

The 85-year-old German pontiff cited his age as the main factor in his nearly unprecedented decision, but observers said Vatileaks may have been the last straw in a scandal-ridden papacy.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

John Kerry embarks on Europe, Mideast tour

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 24 Februari 2013 | 20.47

AMERICA'S top diplomat John Kerry has started his first official trip as secretary of state, a marathon get-acquainted tour of America's closest allies in Europe and the Middle East.

A plane carrying the new US secretary of state and his team took off from Joint Base Andrews outside Washington about 7.15am (2315 AEDT) on Sunday.

Kerry will visit the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar until March 6.

The first stop will be London, where Kerry will meet with senior British officials, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Friday.

Kerry travels on to Berlin where, in addition to meeting Germans, he will encounter his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for a tricky exchange at a time when Moscow and Washington are at loggerheads on many issues.

"Obviously, they know each other well from when Secretary Kerry was Senator Kerry, but it will be their first opportunity to sit down bilaterally as foreign ministers," Nuland said.

The marathon trip underscores Washington's new foreign policy imperative, which is subtly pivoting away from Asia and increasingly towards Europe.

Tyson Barker of the Bertelsmann Foundation think tank said that, after a first term focused on relations with Pacific countries, President Barack Obama hopes "to consolidate and retro-fit some of our legacy relationships".

Among the issues high on his agenda during the marathon series of talks is a newly announced effort to agree a mammoth free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union.

Obama announced the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in his annual State of the Union address last month, and said the agreement would boost economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vic TAFE cuts 'hit women harder'

YOUNG women and people in rural and regional Victoria are likely to be the biggest losers from state government cuts to TAFE.

The state's peak youth advocacy group has released a report on the impact of the government's $290 million cut to TAFE.

It has called for a special fund to be set up to ensure Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers can continue to offer courses for Victoria's most disadvantaged young people.

Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) chief executive Kate Colvin said young women and people living in rural areas are likely to be the hardest hit by the funding squeeze.

She said young women and people living in the country tended to favour courses in areas such as hospitality and sport, which had had funding reduced.

Young people were also more likely than older people to be enrolled in certificate I and II courses, which were not funded at the same rate as previously.

Ms Colvin said the government was on the right track in trying to encourage young people to enrol in courses that were more likely to lead to a job.

"But the problem, we think, is that young people might choose not to do any courses at all," she said.

The YACVic wants the state government to set up an equity fund that would deliver money through a tender process open to public and private VET providers.

Providers of programs that helped young, disadvantaged students gain ongoing employment could apply for the extra cash.

"Often young people will enrol in a course and not complete it or it doesn't lead to a job," Ms Colvin said.

"There is a body of evidence that shows what it is that's needed to encourage young people to take that full pathway from studying into a job.

"Programs that deliver that should get some additional resources."


20.47 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger