Relatives seek new Malaysia plane search

THEIR hopes raised and dashed, relatives of passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines plane want a new plan to find it after the search was suspended following a new setback.

The 84-year-old mother of Australian passenger Rod Burrows no longer expects to live to see the mystery of Flight 370 solved.

"I doubt it will be in my lifetime," Irene Burrows said on Friday from her home in Biloela in Australia's northeast.

"All I just want is a bit of plane. It's all I want to know - where they are."

Tempers flared on Thursday after the joint centre set up to oversee the search for the jetliner that vanished March 8 said a robot submarine had found no trace of it in a section of the southern Indian Ocean where acoustic signals, or "pings," were detected.

Investigators have concluded that the area where the signals were detected is not the final resting place of the plane.

The search for the plane and the 239 people on board will be suspended for two months while more powerful sonar equipment is brought in, according to the Australia-based Joint Agency Coordination Center.

"Now they say the pings are not from the plane. It's March 8 all over again and I don't like March 8 at all," said an emotional Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was the flight supervisor.

"We are on a roller coaster ride and we have just hit bottom again," she said.

Gonzales said sometimes she is an "emotional wreck" thinking about the fate of her beloved husband but wills herself to be strong. Their 29th wedding anniversary is on Sunday.

"Please find the plane, find my husband and all our loved ones," she said.

Authorities believe the plane, bound from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, turned sharply and flew to the southern Indian Ocean.

Yet not a single piece of the missing Boeing 777 has been found.

The Malaysian official in charge of the search, Defence Minister Hishamuddin Hussein, visited Beijing this week, and relatives asked to meet him but got no reply, said Steve Wang, whose mother was on the plane.

"Something very disappointing has been announced and we want to know what his plan is," Wang said.

This week, the Malaysian government gave in to pressure from families of passengers and released 45 pages of satellite data it used to determine that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

"It feels like we have been fooled by the authorities. We are now back to square one. I expect them to keep searching. There can't be any closure until we find something," said Lee Khim Fatt, whose wife Christine Foong was a stewardess on the plane.

Lee said he cannot believe that such a big plane can't be detected by satellites and modern technology.

"If satellites can capture the image of a small car with its number plate, why is there no satellite image of this big bird, the 777? Are they hiding something from us?" Lee said.

China renewed diplomatic pressure on the Malaysian government on Thursday in a meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Beijing has tried to placate Chinese relatives of missing passengers by pressing their case with Malaysia while trying to avoid damage to relations with an important trading partner.

"We expect Malaysia to take the leading and coordinating role, come up with a new search plan for the jet at an early date, and take the investigation seriously," Li told Najib, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

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One dead and six injured in NSW crash

A MAN is dead and six people, including two children, have been injured in a head-on collision at Coffs Harbour on NSW's north coast.

The 58-year-old was killed when a Nissan Pulsar and Ford Falcon collided on Hogbin Drive just before 1pm on Saturday, police say.

The man, a rear passenger in the Falcon, was taken to Coffs Harbour Health Campus but died a short time later.

The driver of the Pulsar - a 31-year-old woman - was taken to hospital with leg and wrist injuries.

Among her passengers, a nine-year-old girl and five-year-old boy were also hospitalised with serious injuries.

The 59-year-old female driver of the Falcon suffered multiple fractures to her arms and legs.

And a 19-year-old man, a passenger in the Falcon, was taken to hospital with internal injuries.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway with police urging witnesses to come forward.

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Sydney teen critical as party gatecrashed

A teen is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed at a party in Sydney's inner west. Source: AAP

IT was meant to be a small gathering of friends for a 14-year-old girl's birthday.

But the get-together at a house in Five Dock, in Sydney's inner west, turned into a violent brawl after gatecrashers showed up.

Now a teenage boy is fighting for his life in hospital after being stabbed several times at the out-of-control party on Friday night.

Another is facing criminal charges.

Police were called to the home on Charles Street and found two injured teenagers in the backyard.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest and in his side and is in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

On Saturday a 16-year-old, who also sustained minor head injuries during the brawl, was charged with assault and affray. He was released on bail and is expected to appear at a children's court on June 20.

Another teenager, 17, was allegedly hit in the head with a bottle and was also taken to hospital. He was discharged on Saturday.

It is understood a 14-year-old girl, who was staying at the dual-level brick home with her grandparents, was having friends over for her birthday.

Her grandmother told AAP she allowed the girl to have half a dozen people over but the gathering was gatecrashed.

She said she was coming home from the Blue Mountains when she received a call from her daughter telling her the party had escalated.

"I went straight to Burwood police station," she said on Saturday morning.

It is understood most of the party-goers were from Concord High School.

The granddaughter is now with her father and on her way to Canberra, the woman, who did not want to be named, said.

Burwood police Inspector Michael Penfold said officers faced chaotic scenes when they arrived on Friday night.

He said there was at least one adult home.

Surrounding residents of the usually quiet suburban street heard bottles smashing and people screaming.

Jay Nam looked out her window to see young people on the street yelling at each other.

"Some of the residents came out and tried to get them away from the street," she said.

Next-door neighbour Ed White said the party-goers were about 15 or 16 years old.

"They were really young," he said.

"There was just lights flashing, sirens and cops up and down the street."

Insp Penfold had a warning for parents planning a party for their children.

"One of the main issues is make sure only invited guests attend and adequate security provisions beforehand," he said.

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Ash grounds flights to Darwin, Bali

A massive ash cloud from an Indonesian volcano may disrupt aviation in parts of Australia. Source: AAP

DARWIN remains cut off to all air services until Sunday, and flights from Australia to Bali are now affected, as three separate ash plumes billow from an Indonesian volcano.

The Sangeang Api volcano off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa is now erupting continuously after an initial blast on Friday afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin said on Friday.

Darwin International Airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights on Saturday, while Bali's airspace is now also affected.

The major plume affecting Australian aviation is sweeping southeast over the west side of the Northern Territory as far south as Alice Springs.

The plume that is affecting Darwin would be around for the next 18 hours to 24 hours, said Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre assistant manager Cyndee Seals.

"It is starting to pull more westerly and it may move a little bit more to the north," she told AAP.

"We can see it right down to the Kimberley."

A second plume, hovering north of Darwin between 9.5km and 16km in the air, may cause problems for flights between Australia and Malaysia and Singapore..

A third, lower-level plume is drifting west from the volcano and is within 100km of Bali.

"The volcano is still erupting as it has done for most of the day, but not as violently as initially erupted but there is a steady plume," VAAC spokesman Tim Birch said.

Virgin Australia spokeswoman Jacqui Abbott confirmed two Saturday afternoon flights to Denpasar - one from Adelaide and on from Melbourne - have now been cancelled.

Qantas Group spokeswoman Kira Reed said Jetstar has cancelled an Adelaide-Denpasar flight that went via Darwin, and all its services to and from Darwin remain grounded.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said it may be days before flights through northern Australia return to normal.

"Depending on wind and other weather conditions, the ash has the potential to affect flights to and from other airports, including Brisbane, during coming days. This is currently being fully assessed," he said.

"Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for further information."

Airservices Australia has begun diverting international flights around the ash cloud.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority says volcanic ash can affect all aircraft with piston or jet engines at all flight levels.

Fine particles of pulverised rock consisting mainly of silica contained in volcanic ash clouds can be highly abrasive and damage aircraft engines, structures and windows.

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Man found on outback Qld cattle station

A CATTLE station worker has been found after disappearing late Friday in outback Queensland.

Police found the man on the cattle station he worked on near Julia Creek in the state's northwest on Saturday morning.

The 52-year-old had last been seen on Friday afternoon working with a grader on the isolated property on Old Normanton Road, about 97km north of Julia Creek - the largest nearby town.

However, police say other station staff found the grader unoccupied when they went looking for him after he failed to return.

The man was suffering from exposure and taken to Julia Creek for treatment.

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Experienced drivers' test struggle

MOST experienced motorists might struggle to pass the driving test if they had to take it now, according to a survey.

A total of 50 experienced drivers took a test in an experiment organised by car insurance company Direct Line, with more than three quarters of them failing.

Those who failed recorded an average of three serious or dangerous faults, with one participant committing 10 major faults.

Just one major fault, or more than 15 minor faults, can fail a candidate. In the mock test, the experienced drivers who failed committed an average of 16 minor faults, with one driver recording as many as 42.

One motorist drove at 65km/h in a 50km/h zone, and another failed to see the kerb when doing a three-point turn. One driver even failed to spot a pedestrian by not properly checking his blind spot, forcing the pedestrian to move back onto the footpath.

The vast majority of drivers were awarded minor faults for a lack of concentration behind the wheel and a lack of control over the vehicle, most commonly using the wrong gear and failing to check their mirrors. One driver received 14 minor points for misuse of gears.

Direct Line said complacent driving and a lack of concentration at the wheel could be caused by an over-reliance on in-car driving aids, such as parking sensors or blind spot monitors.

Further research by Direct Line among 4000 UK adults revealed that 68 per cent of UK drivers rely on driving aids behind the wheel, with almost half (48 per cent) of motorists stating that they use a sat nav.

Direct Line's motor director Rob Miles said: "While drivers gain experience with age, it's easy to pick up bad habits that could be potentially dangerous and put other road users at risk.

"Driving aids are becoming increasingly common, and when used correctly, can result in a safer, more-comfortable driving experience.

"However, it's important that drivers don't rely too heavily on these aids, as it can be to the detriment of both their overall ability and concentration on the road ahead."

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NBN chief denies role in US disaster

THE executive appointed to run the national broadband network will "vigorously defend" the actions he took while boss of an American gas company before two of its pipelines exploded and killed nine people.

Bill Morrow was appointed as chief executive of NBN Co by the Abbott government in December after stints at major overseas infrastructure companies.

One was at Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in the US, where he was chief operating officer in 2006 and chief executive a year later, before leaving in August 2008.

Four months later, a man was killed and five others were injured in Rancho Cordova after a PG&E pipeline explosion was triggered by a teenager lighting a cigarette.

Two years after that, another pipeline exploded in San Bruno, killing eight people, injuring 58 and destroying 38 homes.

Investigations found safety faults with both pipelines. Hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, compensation and restitution have been paid by the company.

Mr Morrow is named in an unsettled consolidated shareholder lawsuit along with 21 other PG&E executives. The company stands accused of putting profits and bonuses before safety.

The suit was filed by PG&E shareholders, who are seeking the return of "lucrative executive compensation packages allegedly approved by senior management at the same time safety budgets were being slashed".

Mr Morrow told a Senate estimates hearing into NBN Co on Thursday he would "continue to vigorously defend the proceedings".

"When the legal process runs its course, it will confirm that my fellow directors, officers and I acted with care, in good faith, and in the best interests of PG&E at all times," he said.

Mr Morrow brought up the issue with the board of NBN Co and the government before his appointment.

He said parties named in the suit included almost every person who was a director or senior officer at PG&E between 1995 and 2013.

"As the matters are still before the US courts, I am unable to comment any further, other than to make one final important point.

"I regard safety as paramount."

Labor senator Stephen Conroy spent the next hour unsuccessfully attempting to extract more information from Mr Morrow.

Committee chairman and Nationals senator John Williams ruled Mr Morrow could decline to comment further because parliamentary privilege would not extend to US courts.

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Cash to Vic athletes to Commonwealth Games

The Victorian government has granted $450,000 to help athletes travel to the Glasgow Games. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S Commonwealth Games team has received a $450,000 boost from the Victorian government to help them to travel to Scotland for the Games.

Premier Denis Napthine and Sports Minister Damian Drum announced the grant on Thursday, with the money going to the Victorian Commonwealth Games Association to assist Victorian athletes with travel costs.

"We expect that Victoria will once again punch above its weight. We expect that while we are only 25 per cent of the Australian population, over 30 per cent of the selected teams will be Victorians," Dr Napthine said.

"That's a great tribute to the skill of Victoria and also our grassroots sports, our VIS (Victorian Institute of Sport), and our coaches and our sports system.

"We wish all the athletes well, and our $450,000 will help our athletes as they go for gold in Glasgow."

The Commonwealth Games begins in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 23.

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State Of Origin tops 2.4 million viewers

More than 2.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Wednesday's State of Origin opener. Source: AAP

NSW'S State Of Origin victory over Queensland was watched by more than 2.4 million viewers, with about half of the audience living in Sydney.

Game one of the series filled the first three spots on OzTAM's overnight ratings because the Nine Network breaks down the coverage into three segments.

The match (2.487 million) was number one in the ratings followed by the pre-match coverage (1.714 million) and the post-game segment (1.348 million) was third.

Of the 2.487 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Blues win at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, 1.288 million lived in Sydney.

There were 747,000 viewers in Brisbane, 426,000 in Melbourne and 86,000 in Adelaide. The game was not screened in Perth.

It was a solid ratings figure for State Of Origin, but well short of the record.

Nine says Game Three in 2012, watched by 2.626 million viewers, was the biggest audience ever for a State of Origin match since official ratings began.

State Of Origin's dominance in the ratings took its toll on a few shows.

Network Ten's reality cooking series MasterChef and its quality drama Offspring were shunted out of the top 10.

MasterChef was 11th with 779,000 viewers and Offspring was a spot further back with 766,000 viewers.

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Buffett's older sister called in to help

Warren Buffett's older sister is helping to ensure the billionaire's fortune goes to just causes. Source: AAP

WHEN Warren Buffett announced in 2006 that he would give away his billions, he was flooded with individual requests for help that still flow in today.

Instead of tossing the letters aside, Buffett packages them up and sends them to his big sister Doris. With the help of seven women, her Sunshine Lady Foundation scrutinises each request to find people who have come upon bad luck through no fault of their own.

"She just believes that a lot of people got short straws in life, and she wants to help them," Warren Buffett said.

It's rare for philanthropists to respond to individual requests, said Northeastern University professor Rebecca Riccio, who teaches philanthropy and interviewed the siblings last year. Buffett, 83, and his 86-year-old sister worked out the unusual arrangement because neither wanted to disregard the requests, but Buffett also wanted to focus on running Berkshire Hathaway.

"I think Warren and Doris do not have it in them to ignore those letters," Riccio said.

Warren Buffett sent his sister $5 million initially to cover the cost of responding to his letters and promised more money if she needed it. The siblings didn't want to say exactly how much Doris has given to the letter writers so far.

Many of the requests are simple: A man who needed a new glass eye. The grandmother who wanted a tombstone for the three children she lost. A disabled woman who needed a car to visit her daughter and grandchildren.

"These are decent people who just didn't have the breaks somebody else did," Doris Buffett said.

She said her drive to help people developed during the Great Depression, when she saw people struggling with such basic needs as hunger and shelter. That desire grew as she faced her own disappointments, including four divorces and the loss of a $12 million fortune in the stock market crash of 1987.

Doris Buffett started the Sunshine Lady Foundation in 1996 after inheriting money. Through it, she has also given away $150 million of her own money, focusing primarily on larger programs such as scholarships for domestic violence victims, college education for prison inmates and efforts to help people with mental illnesses.

Riccio says Doris Buffett's personal connections to recipients and her willingness to provide so many small gifts sets her apart.

"She cares about people, not about the prestige or the perception of her as a philanthropist," Riccio said.

Doris Buffett focuses her foundation's main giving on the communities where she lives: Fredericksburg, Virginia; Wilmington and Beaufort, North Carolina, and Rockport, Maine. But she doesn't confine her gifts to those places.

Steven Lewicki spent 15 years in prison for a string of bank robberies, but during that time earned his associate's degree thanks to a college program inside Maine State Prison funded by Doris Buffett's foundation.

When he was freed, Lewicki finished his bachelor's degree at the University of Maine at Augusta and got a job with a group that advocates for prisoners.

"I feel an obligation to Doris," Lewicki said. "I feel an obligation to honour her philanthropy and her integrity and her guidance and all of that."

Doris Buffett's main goal is to provide one-time aid and, whenever possible, connect people with other forms of help. But she knows there are limits to what she can do.

"I can't change somebody's life, but I can make it possible for them to do so," she said.

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