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WA facing day of fire danger

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 16 Februari 2013 | 18.59

LARGE sections of Western Australia are facing a day of serious fire danger on Sunday.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has declared a severe fire danger rating for the Gascoyne, Goldfields, Great Southern, Central West, Central Wheatbelt and the Goldfields Midlands regions.

The DFES expects hot, dry and windy conditions which could lead to a bush or grass fire taking hold and spreading quickly.

A catastrophic fire rating is in place for the Eucla.

A total fire ban is in place for the Goldfields Midlands, with offenders facing a fine of up to $25,000 or a 12-month jail term.


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'Climate change hurting economy'

THE president of the World Bank warned that global warming is a real risk to the planet and already affecting the world economy in unprecedented ways.

Addressing the G20 finance ministers at their meeting in Moscow, Jim Yong Kim called on the world powers to "tackle the serious challenges presented by climate change."

"These are not just risks. They represent real consequences," said Mr Kim, calling the lack of attention to the issue by finance ministers and central bank chiefs "a mistake".

He said failing to tackle the challenges of climate change risked having "serious consequences for the economic outlook".

"Damages and losses from natural disasters have more than tripled over the past 30 years," said Mr Kim, giving as examples the $45 billion of losses from the 2011 floods in Thailand, whose effects "spread across borders disrupting international supply chains."

"Years of development efforts are often wiped out in days or even minutes," Kim said, asking the G20 to "face climate change, which is a very real and present danger."

The G20 finance ministers' agenda in Moscow is dominated by concerns about competitive currency devaluations and a new drive by EU powers to force big business to pay a fair share of tax.


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Obama calls for reviving US manufacturing

US President Barack Obama has called for quick congressional action designed to grow the US economy, create jobs and make the US a magnet for manufacturing.

"After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday.

"What we need to do now is simple," he continued. "We need to accelerate that trend. We need to launch manufacturing hubs across the country that will transform hard-hit regions into global centers of high-tech jobs and manufacturing."

In his State of the Union address last Tuesday, the president called for a $US1 billion ($A970 million) investment to establish 15 new "manufacturing innovation institutes" in partnership with businesses.

Three of the facilities would be launched this year under executive authority.

He also renewed his push for more spending on infrastructure development to boost the economy and generate jobs, proposing to spend $US40 billion for "the most urgent upgrades" like 70,000 aging bridges around the country.

Obama reiterated his proposals to cut loopholes and special breaks for wealthy investors and large corporations, end tax breaks for US companies that "ship jobs overseas" and to enact an "offshoring tax" on companies' offshore earnings.

In his radio address, the president called for making the US tax code more competitive, and rewarding companies that create jobs at home.

He also suggested investing more money in research and technology.

"These steps will help our businesses expand and create new jobs," Obama said. "But we also need to provide every American with the skills and training they need to fill those jobs."

He called for redesigning US high schools so students graduate with skills employers are looking for and taking university affordability into account when institutions of higher learning apply for federal aid.


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Labor's Nicole Manison wins Wanguri

NICOLE Manison has won an overwhelming victory for Labor in the Northern Territory by-election for the seat of Wanguri.

Final figures for Saturday, released by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission, show Manison leads with 69.7 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.

The figures show the CLP's Rhianna Harker at 30.3 per cent.

Voter turnout in the electorate in Darwin's northern suburbs was 76.3 per cent.

The by-election was sparked by the resignation of former chief minister Paul Henderson.

The electoral commission says a check of all counts will take place on Sunday, when a decision on the timing of the declaration of the poll will be confirmed.


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Oscar Pistorius appears in court

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 15 Februari 2013 | 18.59

Olympic amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius (C) has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend. Source: AAP

A TEARFUL Oscar Pistorius has been remanded in custody after being formally charged with the murder of his girlfriend.

He was wearing a dark suit, tie and blue shirt when he appeared in the Pretoria magistrates court on Friday.

He broke down in the dock as magistrate Desmond Nair formally charged him with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, 29.

Prosecutors say they will pursue a premeditated murder charge against Pistorius, 26.

Pistorius stood with his face in his hands as he broke down in tears.

The magistrate delayed Pistorius' bail hearing until Tuesday and Wednesday and ruled that he must be held at a Pretoria police station until then.


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Passengers leave stricken US cruise ship

The crippled cruise ship making its way to the US has suffered a setback after a tow line snapped. Source: AAP

THE last passengers have left a stricken cruise ship in the United States, some kissing the ground, and many angry.

"All guests have now disembarked the Carnival Triumph," the operator Carnival Cruise Line tweeted on Thursday night.

Cheering passengers hung over rails or waited in lines to exit while others, unkempt and some wearing bathrobes, rushed down the single enclosed gangway of the 14-storey ship as they began disembarking at the US port of Mobile, Alabama.

Customs staff had earlier boarded the ship to speed up the process and the cruise line arranged around 100 buses to ferry passengers to Texas or New Orleans for an overnight stay.

No injuries were reported, but one guest with a medical condition was taken off the ship with the help of the Coast Guard.

After a fire on Sunday off the coast of Mexico caused the ship to lose power and left all on board in squalid conditions, the ship was towed towards port at the speed of a recreational jogger.

A tow line attached to one of four tugboats pulling the vessel broke, further hampering the operation.

The 3143 guests and around 1000 crew had been forced to relieve themselves in plastic bags and flee to the open deck to escape overflowing toilets and overheated rooms, CNN reported.

While they praised the crew for working long shifts to ensure guests were as comfortable as possible, many passengers voiced anger over the ordeal, the New York Daily News reported.

"Let us off! Let us off!" some chanted during a disembarking process that lasted several hours.

Passengers also poured scorn on Carnival chief executive Gerry Cahill, who had boarded the vessel to apologise.

"It was absolutely filthy," passenger Robin Burgess said.

"I'm feeling awesome just to see land," added Brittany Ferguson, 24.

Some rolled out banners with messages such as "Sweet Home Alabama" which others had sung on the slow approach into dock.

"Help, we need beer!", another sign said, as others had earlier created human SOS signs also spelling "H-E-L-P."

Passengers related stories of sewage pouring down walls, pungent smells and camping out on deck to avoid the odour.

The planned four-day cruise embarked from Galveston, Texas, on February 7.


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Mideast funeral picture wins top award

SWEDISH photographer Paul Hansen has won the 2012 World Press Photo award for a picture of two Palestinian children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their funeral.

The picture, published in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, shows a group of men marching the dead bodies through a narrow street in Gaza City.

The victims, a brother and sister, are wrapped in white cloth with only their faces showing.

"The strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children," said jury member Mayu Mohanna of Peru. "It's a picture I will not forget."

World Press Photo, one of photojournalism's most prestigious contests, issued awards in nine categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities.

Hansen's November 20 shot won top prize in both the spot news single photograph category and the overall competition.

The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. In all, 103,481 images were submitted by 5666 photographers from 124 countries.

Hansen will receive a 10,000 euro ($A12,998.83) prize.


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Deadly hepatitis E outbreak hits S Sudan

THE United Nations says an outbreak of hepatitis E has killed 111 refugees in camps in South Sudan since July.

UN refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards says the influx of people to the camps from neighbouring Sudan is believed to be one of the factors in the rapid spread viral disease of the liver.

Edwards said on Friday that 6017 cases had been diagnosed.

The virus is spread through contaminated food and water.


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Streets cordoned off in WA siege

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 14 Februari 2013 | 18.59

POLICE are negotiating with a man holed up in his house in Perth's northern suburbs.

Firefighters were called to the home on Mayflower Crescent, Craigie, mid-afternoon on Thursday because of a fire in the backyard.

The man became aggressive towards the firefighters and the Tactical Response Unit was brought in.

Several streets have been cordoned off.


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President's son quits Indonesia parliament

THE son of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has resigned from parliament following criticism over his absence at a recent plenary session of the House.

Edhie Baskoro announced his resignation on Thursday, two days after being caught on camera signing an attendance form, then skipping the plenary session of the 550-seat House.

The 32-year-old politician argued he missed the session because he was busy preparing for a meeting of the leadership of his father's ruling Democratic Party.

He also is secretary-general of the party, which has been plagued by a recent series of graft scandals.

In a move to save the party, President Yudhoyono last week relieved chairman Anas Urbaningrum of his duties to allow him to focus on legal issues following corruption allegations.

Edhie Baskoro graduated from Perth's Curtin University of Technology in 2005.


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'Axe the Tampon Tax' issue rises again

FEDERAL politicians are again under pressure to scrap the GST on tampons, with thousands of people signing an online petition calling for the 10 per cent levy to be dropped.

Perth student Sophie Liley launched the petition on change.org on Tuesday and within 36 hours had gained 15,000 signatures of support from men and women.

Labor had campaigned to have GST on tampons scrapped in 2000.

In September 2001 the Senate passed a bill exempting the products, breast pumps, funeral services, and caravan park and boarding house rents from GST - but the changes were vetoed in the House of Representatives.

The latest "Axe the Tampon Tax" petition says most women will end up being taxed $1000 over their lifetime for sanitary products and calls on Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to make scrapping GST on tampons a key 2013 election pledge.

"It's completely outrageous that women are forced to pay the GST on tampons because they're labelled as 'luxury' items - particularly when condoms, lubricants, incontinence pads and sunscreen are GST free," Ms Liley said.

"A government that charges women the GST as a direct consequence of their basic biology is a country that is fundamentally sexist.

"It sends the message that in this day and age, despite having our first female prime minister, we are okay with continued sexism in this country."

The issue has also gained support on social media sites, with plenty of people posting Twitter messages linked to the petition, with the hashtag #bloodyoutrage.

The issue also arose in 2009 after supermarket chain Coles reduced the price of female hygiene products by 10 per cent to offset the GST.

Coles said at the time it was removing the equivalent cost of the tax because tampons should be treated the same as basic food, education and medical services.

But the government refused to budge, with the then assistant treasurer Nick Sherry commenting: "The government has made a commitment to maintain the existing GST arrangements."


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Zygier did not appear suicidal: lawyer

A TOP-SECRET Israeli-Australian prisoner gave no indication he was about to commit suicide, says an Israeli lawyer who met him days before his death.

"When I saw him, there was nothing to indicate he was going to commit suicide," said Avigdor Feldman on Thursday.

Feldman is a respected human rights lawyer who met the man known as Ben Zygier before he was found hanged in his cell at Ayalon Prison near Tel Aviv in December 2010.

According to Australian broadcaster ABC, which broke the story on Tuesday, Zygier was a 34-year-old from Melbourne who moved to Israel in 2001 and was working for Israel's Mossad spy agency.

In an interview with Israel's army radio, Feldman said he had met the man formerly known as "Prisoner X" to offer him advice ahead of his trial.

"His family asked that I meet him to advise him. The trial hadn't properly started yet," he said, indicating the prisoner had already been indicted and that talks were under way with senior prosecutors to reach a plea bargain.

"He asked for advice and I sat and listened to him. Not that I'm a psychologist, but he appeared rational, focused, he spoke clearly about the issue and didn't exude any sense of self-pity."

A day or two later, Feldman's liaison at the prison rang him to say the prisoner had died.

The lawyer admitted he was surprised "that a man who was being held in a cell like that, a cell which was being monitored and checked 24-hours a day, could manage to commit suicide by hanging himself."

Feldman, who said he knew the prisoner's real name and had access to the file on his arrest but was unable to give any details for legal reasons, said it was clear the detainee was facing a very long jail term.

"I understood that he was told he was likely to face the longest possible jail term and that he was likely to be ostracised by his family," he said.

Until Wednesday night, Israel imposed a complete media blackout on the details of the case, but after easing the restrictions somewhat, the justice ministry admitted jailing an Australian with Israeli nationality on security grounds who had taken his own life in December 2010.

It said an inquest into his death had rendered a verdict of suicide in a decision reached just six weeks ago.


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Two homes destroyed in WA bushfire

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 13 Februari 2013 | 18.59

TWO homes have been destroyed in Western Australia's South West as a string of bushfires sparked by lightning strikes sweep through the region.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said just before 6pm (WST) that a homestead in Southampton, to the northwest of Bridgetown, had burnt down.

A home some 900 metres away had also been destroyed.

About 130 firefighters are battling the blazes, which span the South West and Lower South West.

An emergency warning has been put in place, meaning residents have to act now to survive.

The department says 1685 hectares have been burnt so far, and the fire is moving in an easterly direction.


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Energy agency cuts oil demand forecast

THE International Energy Agency (IEA) has cut its world oil demand forecast for 2013 on continuing fragility in the world economy despite signs of recovery in China and the US.

The IEA said the marginal cut of 85,000 barrels a day was in line with the prospect for slower economic growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund, which last month cut its world growth estimate for 2013 to 3.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent.

The agency now forecasts oil demand of 90.7 million barrels a day, with the eurozone and Latin America accounting for much of the revisions.

"The reduction in the IMF economic outlook for Europe seems particularly ominous," the agency said in its monthly report on the world oil market, in part because of "the sheer size of the region's economic footprint".

Oil demand across Europe is now forecast to decline 260,00 bpd, or down 1.9 per cent, instead of 235,000 bpd lower as forecast earlier.

The IEA said world oil supply hit 12-month lows in January, down 100,000 bpd on a monthly basis to 30.34 mbd, despite higher production from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.


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NATO raid kills civilians: Afghan official

A NATO airstrike has hit two houses, killing nine Afghan civilians and four insurgents in an eastern province near the Pakistani border, a local politician says.

The attack occurred during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district of Kunar province on Tuesday night. The US-led military alliance in Kabul said on Wednesday it was looking into the claim.

Wagma Sapay, a member of parliament from Kunar, said the civilians killed were in one house while four senior Taliban leaders were slain as they were gathering next door in the village of Sharpool in the Chawkam area.

She said the civilians killed included five children and four women. Police confirmed the death toll as nine but did not provide other details.

Provincial Governor Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi said the local government had not been informed about plans for the strike.

He put the death toll at eight - four women and four children.

The conflicting casualty numbers couldn't immediately be reconciled.

"This operation was by coalition and Afghan forces," he said. "We were not aware of it."

The killing of civilians at the hands of US and other foreign forces has been one of the most contentious issues in the 11-year war.

Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, said the alliance was aware of the allegations of civilian casualties in Kunar, but could not confirm any details.

"We take these allegations very seriously and we are in the process of determining the circumstances surrounding this incident," he said.

The reported attack came as President Barack Obama announced in his State of the Union speech that he will bring home within a year about half of the 66,000 US troops now in Afghanistan in a step toward withdrawing all foreign combat forces by the end of 2014.

The UN body monitoring the rights of children said last week that attacks by US military forces in Afghanistan, including airstrikes, have reportedly killed hundreds of children over the past four years.

The Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child said the casualties were "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."

ISAF, which is composed mainly of American forces, dismissed that claim, saying that it takes special care to avoid civilian casualties.


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Applause as outgoing Pope greets faithful

The Vatican has begun a momentous transition process following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Source: AAP

LOOKING tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI has told thousands of faithful he is stepping down for "the good of the church".

In his first public appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement of his resignation, the 85-year-old Benedict basked in more than a minute-long standing ovation when he entered the packed audience hall for his traditional Wednesday general audience.

He was interrupted by applause by the thousands of people, many of whom had tears in their eyes.

A huge banner reading "Grazie Santita" (Thank you Your Holiness) was strung up at the back of the hall.

Benedict appeared wan and spoke very softly, but his eyes twinkled with joy at the flock's warm and heartfelt welcome.

He repeated in Italian what he had told his cardinals on Monday in Latin: that he simply didn't have the strength to continue.

"As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005," he said, to applause.

"I did this in full liberty for the good of the church."

He asked the faithful "to continue to pray for the pope and the church."

Benedict is the first Pope to resign in nearly 600 years, and the decision has placed the Vatican in uncharted waters: No one knows what he'll be called or what he'll wear after February 28.

The Vatican, however, has made it clear that Benedict will play no role in the election of his successor, and once retired, he will be fully retired.

He plans to live a life of prayer in a converted monastery on the far northern edge of the Vatican gardens.

As a result, Benedict's final public appearances are expected to draw great crowds, as they may well represent some of the last public speeches for a man who has spent his life - as a priest, a cardinal and a pope - teaching and preaching.

And they will also represent a way for the faithful to say farewell under happier circumstances than when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, died in 2005.

"We were just coming for vacation, and now we are getting all of this!" marvelled Terry Rodger, a tourist from New Orleans as he headed to the audience.

"I am very excited. I'm surprised."

The audience was the start of a busy day for Benedict.

He will also preside over Ash Wednesday services later in the day to mark the official start of the Catholic Church's solemn Lenten season.

The service is usually held in a church on Rome's Aventine hill, but was moved at the last minute to St Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican said the shift was made to accommodate the crowds, though it will also spare the Pope the usual procession to the church.

The Vatican insisted no serious medical ailment was behind Benedict's decision to retire, though it admitted for the first time on Tuesday that Benedict has had a pacemaker for years and recently had it replaced.

The move sets the stage for a conclave by mid-March to elect a new Pope. Benedict's final general audience will be held February 27.

"It is the perfect occasion to give a cordial and affectionate goodbye to this Pope who has given us a great example of courage, humility, inner honesty, and a great love for the church," said Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican's communications office.


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UK inflation holds steady at 2.7 per cent

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 12 Februari 2013 | 18.59

BRITAIN'S inflation rate remained unchanged in January, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was unchanged at 2.7 per cent but economists predict energy price hikes and rising food prices could push the rate above three per cent by the summer.

The Bank of England (BoE) warned last week that inflation might remain above its two per cent target for the next two years.

The BoE will publish its latest quarterly economic forecasts on Wednesday.


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Train hits truck in Japan, 16 injured

A PASSENGER train has hit a truck at a level crossing in Japan with footage and reports from the scene showing it had mounted a station platform.

A picture published by the Yomiuri Shimbun showed a carriage half-on a platform in Hyogo prefecture. A spokesman for the local police confirmed Tuesday's accident and said the injury toll of 16 may rise.

"A train and a trailer collided at a crossing near Arai station on the Sanyo line in Takasago city at around 3.50pm (1750 AEDT)," a spokesman said.

"Sixteen people including the drivers of the truck and the train were injured. There is a possibility that the number of injured will increase. We don't know if any of them was seriously hurt."

The Yomiuri said the driver of the train was badly injured in the accident in which the first and second carriages of the six-car train jumped the tracks, moving around 200m before coming to a halt at the end of a station platform.

The accident occurred some 800m from the municipal office.

"According to people in the neighbourhood, the trailer stalled at the crossing and the express train crashed into it," the paper said.


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Iran calls for end to all nuclear arms

SANCTIONS-HIT Iran has called for the destruction of all atomic weapons in the world after North Korea announced that it had staged its most powerful nuclear test yet.

"We need to come to the point where no country has any nuclear weapons and at the same time all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arms need to be destroyed," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday when asked for a response to Pyongyang's claim to have detonated a "miniaturised" device.

"At the same all countries should have the right to make use of nuclear activities for peaceful purposes," Mehmanparast said at his weekly press briefing.

Iran has been slapped with numerous international sanctions due to its controversial nuclear program, which the West insists masks a drive for atomic weapons despite repeated denials by Tehran.

"For such a world to exist those who are the front runners in producing the nuclear ... who are proud of their nuclear stockpiles ... who upgrade them and allocate budgets to maintain them, need to be the first people to disarm so that no country would pursue these weapons," Mehmanparast said.

The test by the pariah nation has been met with the world condemnation.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he is "gravely concerned about the negative impact of this deeply destabilising act" as the UN Security Council prepared to hold an emergency session at 9am in New York (0100 AEDT on Wednesday) .

Tehran was among the few nations who congratulated North Korea on successfully launching a scientific satellite in orbit last December, but denied having a role in preparing the launch.

Iranian officials denied a South Korean newspaper report and a Western diplomatic source claim that a number of Iranian missile experts were in North Korea offering technical assistance for the launch.

Leaked US diplomatic cables in 2010 showed that US officials believe Iran has acquired ballistic missile parts from North Korea.

Pyongyang and Tehran are both under UN security council sanctions for their ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

A 2011 UN sanctions report said Tehran and Pyongyang were suspected of sharing ballistic missile technology.


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Man missing after Sydney speedboat crash

POLICE and emergency services continue to search for a man in the Georges River after a speedboat crash southwest Sydney.

Police said two men were on a boat on the river near Revesby when it overturned on Tuesday afternoon.

One man was rescued but police search teams have been looking for the other man for several hours.

Channel Seven reports that the missing man's distressed parents and friends have arrived at the scene and are also helping in the search.

The missing man is believed to be part of a big boating community.

The rescued boatie is being treated for minor injuries at St George Hospital.


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Federal money now for Qld flood victims

Written By Unknown on Senin, 11 Februari 2013 | 18.59

QUEENSLAND farmers and business owners hit by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald can start applying for money to rebuild.

Federal government clean-up and recovery grants of up to $25,000 are now available to people in Queensland's hardest hit areas.

The grants are designed to help cover clean-up costs, replace damaged equipment and stock, and ensure business aren't disrupted longer than necessary.

There are 53 local government areas in Queensland eligible for various types of disaster assistance under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

More information about eligibility can be found at www.disasterassist.gov.au and www.qraa.qld.gov.au

It is hoped the money will ensure business aren't disrupted longer than necessary.

The assistance doesn't compensate for income losses and is not intended to replace insurance.


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Ten killed in Russian coal mine blast

AT least 16 miners were killed when a methane explosion tore through a coal mine in the remote Russian Far North within the Arctic Circle, in the latest disaster to hit the country's mining industry.

Two miners were still missing after the explosion at the Vorkutinskaya mine controlled by Russian steel-making giant Severstal in the Komi region town of Vorkuta, the emergencies ministry said in a statement on Monday.

A total of 259 miners were working underground at the time, with 23 in the shaft where the explosion took place.

Five of the group in the shaft were rescued - two received treatment at the scene and three were hospitalised - with the rest either missing or dead.

"Rescue workers found 16 corpses and the fate of two more people is unknown," the emergencies ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that the explosion was caused by methane.

Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov will personally go to the mine to oversee the rescue operation, said ministry spokeswoman Elena Smirnykh.

The families of the dead miners will receive two million rubles ($A64,280) each, she said.

Some of the rescued workers were injured, said Smirnykh, adding that a plane was dispatched from Moscow to the mine to help hospitalise the miners.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal inquiry into a possible breach of safety rules at a mine.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked his deputy Arkady Dvorkovich with the responsibility to provide assistance to families of the dead miners.

"An accident took place in Komi," a grim-faced Medvedev said in televised remarks. "Put together the complete information and report on what is happening."

The mine in the northern city of Vorkuta is operated by Vorkutaugol, part of Severstal's coal mining division whose mills it provides with hard coking coal concentrate.

It has been working since 1973 with an output of 1.8 million tonnes of coal a year and its reserves of coal are estimated at 40 million tonnes.

Vorkutaugol spokesman Yevgeny Sukharev said the company paid "unprecedented attention" to safety standards. "Everyone is in shock," he told AFP.

According to the company's website, in 2011 the Vorkutinskaya mine won a corporate award for "worthy working conditions - the basis for respect in the workforce".

Known for its extremely inhospitable climate, Vorkuta was home to one of the most infamous Stalin-era prison camps, the Vorkuta Gulag.

Deadly blasts which are usually caused by a build-up in methane gas remain a frequent occurrence in the coal mining industry in Russia despite recent drives to improve safety.

In 2010, more than 60 people were killed in twin methane blasts at Russia's biggest underground coal mine, the Raspadskaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Siberia.


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Hostility over climate change cools off

VENOMOUS attacks against the scientific community have markedly decreased since the introduction of Labor's carbon pricing scheme, one of Australia's leading climate change experts says.

Professor Will Steffen, science adviser to the Department of Climate Change, also told senators on Monday that extreme weather events this summer weren't normal but "a climate on steroids".

Labor senator Doug Cameron told Professor Steffen he'd detected a drop in the public "venom" against climate change in the past few months, and asked if scientists had noticed the trend as well.

"Your perception is correct on that, senator," Professor Steffen told a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra.

"Certainly in my own case, the attacks have gone down quite considerably.

"I think that's generally true across the scientific community."

Professor Steffen said it was at its worst in public meetings as he toured the nation explaining the carbon pricing but since then scientists had noted a "marked decrease in attacks and angst" over climate change.

He warned that the extreme weather that rocked Australia recently was "simply unprecedented" and wasn't just natural patterns of drought and hot weather, but like an athlete on steroids.

"It's the same athlete, and they're doing the same sport, but suddenly their performance gets better," he told senators.

More extreme weather would occur in the future, and more intensely, he added.

The head of the Bureau of Meteorology Rob Vertessy echoed these warnings, saying average temperatures could be six degrees hotter by the end of the century if action isn't taken.

"Australia is definitely heating up, as is the rest of the world," Dr Rob Vertessy said.


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India's Kumbh Mela chief quits over deaths

At least 22 people died in a stampede at a railway station serving an Indian religious festival. Source: AAP

THE chief organiser of India's massive Kumbh Mela festival has quit after a stampede killed 36 people as the emergency services came under fire for their handling of the tragedy.

Dozens more were injured in the crush at a train station on Sunday evening at Allahabad, marking a tragic end to the most auspicious day of the 55-day Hindu festival in the state of Uttar Pradesh which had drawn some 30 million people.

Local officials said the railings on a bridge at the station had given way under the pressure of the mass of people, while witnesses said police had baton-charged the crowd and triggered panic.

After the state government ordered an investigation into the tragedy, one of the driving forces behind the festival said he was resigning as a matter of honour.

"I have resigned as the chairman of the festival committee," said Mohammad Azam Khan, who is also a cabinet minister in the state.

"Although the stampede happened beyond the scope of my jurisdiction, I am deeply disturbed and step down on moral grounds," he told AFP on Monday.

While the federal government insisted that the tragedy was due to the sheer numbers attending the world's biggest gathering, witnesses also faulted heavy-handed police.

"I saw the police pushing the crowd and they were using the baton and beating the pilgrims. Medical help did not arrive for nearly two hours," Abhijit Das, a 29-year-old pilgrim from West Bengal who was at the station, told AFP.

There was also criticism of the response to the disaster, with relatives recounting how the emergency services took hours to reach the scene. At least 10 corpses wrapped in white sheets could be seen on a platform several hours later.

Among the victims was an eight-year-old girl called Muskaan whose distraught parents said she had died while waiting nearly two hours for help.

"Our daughter still had a pulse. Had the doctors reached in time she would have been saved, but she died before our eyes," Bedi Lal, the child's father, told the NDTV news channel.

Apart from Muskaan, the victims included 26 women and nine men.

Hindus believe a dip in the sacred waters of the River Ganges cleanses them of their sins. This year's Mela is enormous even by previous standards, with astrologers saying a planetary alignment seen once every 147 years made it particularly auspicious.

Police had been stretched in controlling the vast crowds as they reached their peak on Sunday, with officials saying the numbers had passed the 30 million mark by the evening.

A spokesman for the state government said the crush began after joints broke on railings attached to the bridge. Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal attributed the accident to the sheer weight of numbers.

"There have been difficulties because a lot of people arrived over many days but tried to leave on one day," Bansal told reporters in the city.

"As far as fixing responsibility is concerned... how can I say who is responsible before the inquiry is completed?"

The Kumbh Mela, which began last month and ends in March, takes place every 12 years in Allahabad while smaller events are held every three years in other locations around India.

In 2003, 45 people died in a stampede during the festival in the western town of Nasik.

Crushes are a constant menace at religious events in India. The worst recent incident was in October 2008 when around 220 people died near a temple inside a famous fort in the northern city of Jodhpur.

At the Kumbh Mela on Sunday 30,000 volunteers and 7,000 police were on duty, urging pilgrims to take one short bath and then leave the waters to make space for the flow of humanity that stretched for kilometres.

The event has its origins in Hindu mythology, which describes how a few drops of the nectar of immortality fell on the four places that host the festival - Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.


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Hunt for fugitive LA cop continues

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 10 Februari 2013 | 18.59

THE hunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings is continuing for a fourth day in snow-covered mountains.

Meanwhile, officials will re-examine the allegations in 2007 by Christopher Dorner, 33, that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues, Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck announced on Saturday.

"I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do," the chief said in a statement.

Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that left three people dead.

They say Dorner had vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career.

The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.

A captain, named as a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook, told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.

"From what I've seen of (Dorner's) actions, he feels he can make allegations for injustice and justify killing people and that's not reasonable," said Captain Phil Tingirides, who chaired a board that stripped Dorner of his badge.

"The end never justifies the means."

On Saturday, a smaller search party took advantage of a break in stormy weather to look for Dorner in the San Bernardino mountains, about 130 kilometres northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where his burned-out pickup truck was discovered Thursday.

A law enforcement officer told The Associated Press that authorities found weapons in the truck.

Also, newly-released surveillance video showed Dorner tossing several items into a dumpster behind an auto parts store in National City on Monday.

The store's manager told FOX5 in San Diego an employee found a magazine full of bullets, a military belt and a military helmet.

On Friday night, authorities searched a Buena Park storage unit and collected evidence as part of their investigation but did not provide further details.

Earlier on Friday, another warrant was served at a La Palma house belonging to Dorner's mother. Officers collected 10 bags of evidence, including five electronic items.

In his online manifesto, Dorner vowed to use "every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I've been given" to bring "warfare" to the LAPD and its families.

Dorner served in the US navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal.

He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. Dorner took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

The flight training he received in the navy prompted the transportation security administration to issue an alert, warning the general aviation community to be on the lookout for Dorner.

February 1 was Dorner's last day with the navy and also the day CNN's Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note that read, in part, "I never lied."

A coin riddled with bullet holes that former Chief William Bratton gave out as a souvenir was also in the package.

Police said it was a sign of planning by Dorner before the killing began.

On February 3, police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage at their condominium in Irvine. The woman was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his sacking.

Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he believed the retired captain had represented the interests of the department over his.

Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an LAPD officer in Corona and then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers early Thursday, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

The crime spree spanned across a wide area of Southern California, prompting several police agencies, including the FBI, to form a task force.


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Four Qld councils to vote on reform

RESIDENTS of four former council areas in far north Queensland will vote to secede from their current councils next month.

The Queensland Electoral Commission announced on Sunday that residents of the former Douglas, Mareeba, Livingston and Noosa council areas will vote on March 9.

The Labor government forced 157 councils to amalgamate into 73 in 2008 to save money.

Queensland Local Government Minister David Crisafulli said in December last year the boundaries commissioner recommended that four councils wishing to scrap the mergers should each go to a referendum.

He said locals would need to weigh up whether it would be worth the costs.

Costs would include the wages of new mayors, councillors, and staff, IT equipment and conducting the referendum.


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Opera House turns red for Chinese New Year

THE Sydney Opera House has turned red to mark the start of Chinese New Year and recognise the contribution of Chinese Australians to the state.

The iconic building turned from white to red when NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and consul general of the People's Republic of China Duan Jielong sounded a gong on Sydney Harbour for the start of the year of the snake.

Mr O'Farrell, who was dressed in a traditional Chinese black satin shirt, said NSW had the largest population of Chinese Australians.

"This is a great opportunity to celebrate China's contribution to our economy," the NSW premier told reporters on Sunday.

"More importantly the significant contribution that Chinese Australians citizens have made to the development of this state and this city for more than 200 years."

It's been estimated that 80,000 Chinese tourists are spending Chinese New Year in Australia and especially in Sydney.

"The Sydney Opera is a world renowned architectural masterpiece and symbol of Australia in the eyes of many Chinese people," Mr Duan said.

"Therefore I'm sure this beautiful message of friendship will be well received and cherished by Chinese people around the world."

Despite the rain, tourists and Sydney residents went to Sydney Harbour to take pictures of the red Opera House.


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Second suicide bombing rocks northern Mali

The northern Malian city of Gao has been shaken by a large explosion, Malian military sources say. Source: AAP

NORTHERN Mali's largest city was rocked by its second suicide bombing in two days, a soldier said on Sunday, as Islamist rebels continued defying a security lock-down on territory reclaimed by French-led forces.

The twin suicide blasts, the first such attacks in Mali, underlined the threat of a drawn-out insurgency as France, whose warplanes were still bombing northern territory Sunday morning, tries to map an exit strategy nearly one month into its intervention in its former colony.

The bomber blew himself up late Saturday at the same army checkpoint in Gao where the first such attack occurred the day before.

His severed head was still lying on the ground Sunday morning.

Witnesses said Malian troops and Islamist fighters had also exchanged gunfire after the blast. French military helicopters could be heard in the air after the bombing.

No one else was wounded in the attack, said a soldier at the checkpoint, where troops had already placed two walls of sandbags, cut down trees to increase visibility and set up heavy machine guns to protect themselves after Friday's attack.

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Islamist groups that seized control of northern Mali for 10 months in the wake of a military coup, claimed the first attack and had threatened earlier Saturday that there would be more.

"We are dedicating ourselves to carrying out more attacks against France and its allies. We ask the local population to stay far away from military zones and avoid explosions," spokesman Abou Walid Sahraoui said.

The army closed the road where the blast occurred, which leads from Gao to Bourem and Kidal, two other key towns in the region.

French warplanes bombed a government building early Sunday morning in the town of Gourma-Rharous, between Gao and Timbuktu to the northwest, a local official said.

The building "held vehicles and military equipment belonging to the Islamists," the official said on condition of anonymity. "Three Islamist vehicles were destroyed."

The latest attack came as a report said several bodies, including those of three Arab shopkeepers recently arrested by Malian troops, had been discovered in a grave in Timbuktu.

The discovery was made Friday, Mauritanian online news agency ANI reported.

Timbuktu has been the scene of reprisal attacks by black Malians against Arab and Tuareg residents accused of supporting the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels.

Rights groups have already accused the Malian army of summary executions of Tuareg and Arabs and called on the government to protect them from reprisal attacks.

In the capital Bamako, a firefight Friday between rival army units killed two adolescents and wounded another 13 people, showing the deep divisions in the Malian military.

Paratroopers loyal to ex-president Amadou Toumani Toure, ousted in a March 2012 coup, were protesting an order absorbing them into other units to be sent to the frontline when the gunfight erupted.

The fighting overshadowed the arrival of 70 EU military trainers, the first of what is to be a 500-strong mission tasked with whipping the Malian army into shape.


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