Rickets makes a comeback in Britain

RICKETS, the childhood disease that caused an epidemic of bowed legs and curved spines during the Victorian era, is making a shocking comeback in 21st-century Britain.

Rickets results from a severe deficiency of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. Rickets was historically considered a disease of poverty among children who toiled in factories during the Industrial Revolution.

Last month, Britain's chief medical officer Sally Davies proposed the country give free vitamins to all children under five.

Most people get vitamin D from the sun, oily fish, eggs or dairy products. Rickets largely disappeared from Britain in the 1950s, when the country embarked on mass programs to give children cod liver oil. But the number of reported cases of rickets in hospitalised children has increased from 183 cases in 1995 to 762 cases in 2011. With no official surveillance system, experts said the actual number is probably even higher.

"Children come in with bendy legs, swollen wrists and sometimes swollen ribs," said Dr Mitch Blair, an officer for health promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Blair cited several reasons for the rise in rickets cases, including children spending more time playing indoors, the stringent use of sunscreen and religious beliefs that mean skin is covered.

In the US, doctors say there has also been a rise in rickets, though there are no solid national figures to confirm it.

"Kids with rickets are children who don't have exposure to safe places to play and (who) stop drinking milk as soon as they're weaned," said Dr Laura Tosi, an orthopedic surgeon in Washington, DC.

"If the vitamin D deficiency is ongoing for a long time, these kids come in with horrific bowing of the legs and I have to think about breaking the bones to straighten them," she said.

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Rommel, son of German field marshal, dies

MANFRED Rommel, the longtime mayor of Stuttgart and only son of Germany's most famous World War II military commander, has died aged 84.

The City of Stuttgart said Rommel, who served as mayor from 1975 to 1996, died on Thursday of unspecified causes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday she considered him a "remarkable" politician and notable member of her party.

Rommel was born in 1928 to Lucie-Maria Rommel and Erwin Rommel, who eventually rose to Field Marshall rank and was widely known as the "Desert Fox" for his deft command of Nazi Germany's troops in North Africa.

Field Marshall Rommel, who was respected by both his own troops and his enemies, committed suicide when Manfred was 15 after being implicated in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

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Severe thunderstorms forecast for NSW

A SEVERE thunderstorm warning has been issued for large swathes on NSW's central west.

Damaging winds are forecast to hit parts of the central west slopes and plains and parts of the upper western forecast districts on Friday evening, the Bureau of Meteorology saysd.

Locations which may be affected include Dubbo, Parkes, Wellington, Condobolin, Coonamble, Nyngan, Bourke, Brewarrina and Enngonia.

The State Emergency Service (SES) is advising people to move their cars away from trees and secure loose items around homes.

People are also being urged to stay indoors and away from windows.

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Third suspect chemical haul found in WA

A THIRD suspicious package has been discovered in the same region south of Perth where highly volatile explosive chemicals were recently found.

Bomb squad technicians are at a disused caravan park at Peppermint Grove Beach in the Capel region working to render the area safe, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said roadblocks were in place around the caravan park.

The discovery comes after a Tactical Response Group dawn raid of a Bunbury home on Friday, which led to a man being taken into custody for questioning over the chemicals.

Last Tuesday, a member of the public discovered about 3kg of the substance - TATP - hidden underwater near a jetty at Leschanault Estuary, Australind.

A second package was found at the same site 36 hours later.

Both packages were destroyed in controlled detonations.

On Friday, police resumed scouring the waterway, having previously scaled back the search for more of the chemicals.

Four jetties were cleared on Friday, Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson said.

Road blocks have been put in place at the raided house on Moore Street and at an industrial facility in Harris Road, Picton, which is believed to be the workplace of the man in custody.

Police guards are at both locations, which are not at this stage considered unsafe and have been declared 'protected forensic areas'.

Homes in the Peppermint Grove Beach area may be evacuated while the package is detonated, police say.

"The only location that we are presently concerned about is the Peppermint Grove caravan park," Mr Dawson said.

He said the four jetties were not considered unsafe, but divers would search the entire estuary on Saturday.

"That will be an ongoing operation," Mr Dawson said.

"We have no reason to believe at this point there are any matters that will cause any immediate (risks) to the safety of the public, but we are broadening our search and that's because we need to be thorough."

He said no charges had yet been laid against the man in custody.

TATP, also known as "Mother of Satan", was used in the London terrorist bombings in 2005.

It is created through the chemical reaction between hydrogen peroxide and acetone, is highly volatile, and particularly susceptible to heat, friction and shock.

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Clergy inquiry to call for reporting laws

VICTORIA'S landmark inquiry into child sex abuse by clergy is expected to demand priests and religious leaders be forced into reporting abuse allegations against their colleagues or face jail themselves.

A final report from the state's parliamentary inquiry into institutional responses to child abuse is due to be released within days.

The inquiry's report will recommend the state government create a criminal offence "for ministers of religion who fail to report physical or sexual abuse of children by other clergy", News Corp Australia says.

Clergy who don't pass on abuse allegations they have heard within their organisations "should face jail", the report recommends, according to News Corp on Saturday.

Victoria's parliamentary committee heard evidence from dozens of victims, church leaders, police officers and other officials.

Mandatory reporting laws were suggested several times during a years' worth of public hearings.

The committee's final report is expected to be tabled in parliament by November 15.

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Govt urged to help NSW first home buyers

IT has long been touted as the dream all Australians share.

But the NSW Real Estate Institute says unless the state government intervenes, new homebuyers will only be imagining packing their bags and moving interstate.

The institute's Young Agents Chapter Chair Eddy Piddington said the state government's move to restrict first homebuyers' incentives to new properties was simply not working.

"Most people don't really want to move to Penrith to build a new house and you can't get a brand new property for $500,000 anywhere else (in Sydney)," he told AAP.

He said those looking to enter the market for the first time were being "smashed by investors" taking advantage of low interest rates.

This was exacerbated by ever-increasing prices.

The 27-year-old Sydney agent, who is also an investor, said figures released by Bankwest last week showed the number of first homebuyers had fallen by 44 per cent.

"My tenants pay more than what the mortgage is costing me ... it makes me worry for the future," Mr Piddington said.

"Incentives for first homebuyers purchasing existing properties must be reintroduced or NSW must face the reality that they will relocate out of the state where it is more affordable."

The comments come after Treasurer Mike Baird last month announced the state had posted a $239 million surplus for 2012-13, thanks mainly to stronger-than-expected stamp duty receipts which added around $198 million to the coffers.

The government announced last year that it was dumping the $7000 first home owner grant and end stamp duty exemptions worth up to $17,990 for first homebuyers purchasing existing homes.

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Controversial health website launched

PRIVATE health fund nib has launched a controversial website that allows patients to rate the cost and service levels of health practitioners.

The searchable Whitecoat website is open to all Australians and lists 30,000 "extras" providers such as optometrists, dentists and chiropractors.

"Whitecoat represents a new way of connecting consumers and providers," says the fund's Rhod McKensey.

It is particularly useful for people who have moved to a new area or need a treatment for the first time.

The 13,000 comments featured so far have been collected from clients over the past 12 months and are 90 per cent positive, he says.

The fund says it has consulted widely to overcome issues and providers will be able to opt out of the ratings and comments.

But some health organisations are concerned the ratings system will be unfair and that the site breaks advertising guidelines.

The Australian Dental Association has advised members not to participate at all.

"We can't see the benefit," says vice president Dr Carmelo Bonanno.

Cost comparisons are difficult because treatments might appear the same but might involve different materials and different degrees of difficulty, he says.

"We also have concerns about breaching advertising guidelines for dentists."

The Dietitians Association of Australia is advising its members to opt out of the rating and comments section.

"A directory showing people what's available in their area is fantastic," says spokesperson Kate Di Prima, and accredited practising dietician.

But she is concerned the ratings system will reflect the subjective view of a single person and there are too many variables for valid price comparisons.

"A consumer-driven health profession that embraces choices is the future," says Chiropractors' Association of Australia CEO Andrew McNamara.

He is concerned, however, that the site complies with health profession guidelines.

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Govt gives $522m for research projects

RESEARCH into bushfire behaviour is among almost 1200 projects to get a government-funded boost in the latest round of grants.

Across the country, 1177 projects will share $522 million from the Australian Research Council's Future Fellowships and major grants schemes.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales will get $370,000 to help improve understanding of bushfire behaviour.

It's hoped this will lead to better advice for fire authorities about how fires flare up.

Other projects receiving funding look at children's behaviour, including how primary school students use the internet and what influences children to be physically active or sedentary.

Universities will share in $32 million, to be matched by the institutions, for building infrastructure and buying equipment.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne says a strong investment in research is needed to make sure Australian scientists and academics keep having "eureka" moments.

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Help Bougainville or risk new unrest: ASPI

AUSTRALIA must ramp up aid to Bougainville Island or risk the return of local civil unrest that could result in a more costly military response, a think tank says.

Island dwellers will vote on independence from Papua New Guinea in a referendum expected to be held between 2015 and 2020.

But if PNG declined to ratify the result, Bougainville could descend into a conflict like the bloody unrest of 1988-97, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) warns.

Special report authors, ASPI executive director Peter Jennings and analyst Karl Claxton, say Australia has a significant interest in stability in the region to its north.

"If a new generation slides into bloodshed on Bougainville, Canberra couldn't wait a decade for a military stalemate to reappear before intervening," ASPI says.

This could cost as much as operations in East Timor ($4.3 billion) and the Solomons ($350 million).

"Australia should lead a new international assistance effort to avoid the need for another military intervention," ASPI said.

This would include additional aid funding, development and police training and defence assistance.

The new coalition federal government has pledged to cut $4.5 billion from the foreign aid budget over the next four years.

Bougainville, with a population of about 175,000, became a province of PNG on independence in 1975.

In 1988, landowner disaffection and rise of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army sparked widespread unrest that approached civil war.

Under a 1998 ceasefire, Australia led a 300-member peace monitoring group.

The 2001 Arawa Peace Agreement ended hostilities and in 2005 the first Autonomous Bougainville Government was elected, with PNG agreeing to a referendum on independence.

More than $250 million in Australian money has gone towards reconstruction on Bougainville since 1997.

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Australian bulls mistreated in Mauritius

MORE video of apparent cruelty to Australian animals has emerged, this time of bulls being mistreated in Mauritius.

After releasing footage of sheep being treated cruelly in Jordan in October, Animals Australia is claiming breaches of live export regulations have been committed in Mauritius after bringing it to the attention of the Department of Agriculture.

The animal welfare group's investigators filmed Australian bulls being dragged on and off trucks by ropes, falling onto concrete, collapsing in exhaustion and distress, and being restrained and slaughtered during the Festival of Sacrifice.

Animals Australia also said it had gathered evidence of Australian cattle being loaded on trucks and transported out of the approved feedlot for private and backyard slaughter, breaching the federal government's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance Scheme (ESCAS) brought in after the Indonesian abattoir scandal in 2011.

The department said it had started investigating the claims.

Animals Australia said the exporter involved, International Livestock Exports - under investigation for ESCAS breaches in Kuwait in January - had reported the breaches to the department, but the animal welfare group dismissed that as an attempt to mitigate penalties.

The company was being sought for comment.

Animals Australia's legal counsel Shatha Hamade said the cruelty endured by the bulls was horrendous.

"Without strong regulatory sanctions, exporters will not take their legal responsibility seriously," Ms Hamade said.

"The only way that this will not be repeated is fear of consequences ... loss of export licence by exporters or the associated loss of the supply of animals for importers."

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who described last month's Jordan revelations as sickening, said Animals Australia's latest footage was further proof that ESCAS had failed and that the live export trade should be stopped.

"The live export trade is systemically cruel, not in Australia's economic interests and contrary to the vast majority of public opinion," Mr Wilkie told AAP.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the footage from Jordan was disturbing but added the government would not make policy "on the basis of one or two media reports", while Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said halting trade to that market would only harm farmers.

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