Qld draws line in the sand for bikies

Queensland plans to ban bikies who break the law from gathering in groups and wearing colours. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND'S government has "drawn a line in the sand" for Gold Coast bikies, but it could get washed away like the glitter strip's beaches.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie wants to ban bikies who break the law from gathering in groups, wearing colours and working in or owning tattoo parlours.

He also wants to confiscate their motorbikes and vehicles.

"We have drawn a line in the sand and said enough is enough," Mr Bleijie told reporters on Monday.

The government has cracked down after two bikie brawls in the popular tourist area on Friday night.

An extra 50 officers will be on the Gold Coast every day for the next month and Police Minister Jack Dempsey will also push the federal government to enact tougher unexplained wealth and firearms laws.

"These criminals, they don't have boundaries and we can't just set up a temporary fence around Queensland," Mr Dempsey said.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney was expecting legal challenges to the proposed laws, but said the government was ready for them.

He said the proposed laws would be put to parliament in two weeks.

When asked if the laws would intimidate bikie gangs, Mr Seeney said: "Yes, yes I do. We will pursue them."

But Bond University bikie gang expert Dr Terry Goldsworthy poured cold water on the government's "line in the sand" saying tougher laws would not deter hardcore bikie criminals.

"The more you make these people notorious, the more attraction (there is) to the outlaw psyche," he said.

"You can say to them we're going to ban your colours and we're going to bring in more draconian laws, it'll just add to their mystique."

Dr Goldsworthy added that the only way to fight bikies was by beefing up Gold Coast police numbers for an extended period of time.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stuntwoman gives cruising a new edge

P&O have used a stuntwoman to draw attention to its new adventure program on its cruise ships. Source: AAP

CRUISING has traditionally been viewed as a fairly sedate holiday option but on Monday P&O launched a bid to change that image - with the help of a stuntwoman.

Janene Carleton, who has performed stunts for the likes of Angelina Jolie and Jessica Biel, sped upside-down on a zip line across the Pacific Jewel's Level 14 deck as the ship stood at Sydney's White Bay terminal.

Carleton not only hooked herself to the zip line, she also posed for a Titanic moment, arms spread out at the bow of the ship, in imitation of the famous scene in James Cameron's 1997 film.

It was all to publicise the cruise company's new P&O Edge program, which gives thrill-seeking passengers on the Pacific Jewel the chance to climb, swing, race and jump.

The ship offers 20 activities including a funnel climb, flying-fox lines, high rope swings, laser tag, slack lines and Segway obstacle courses.

"We're proud to offer passengers the most comprehensive range of onboard adventure activities ever seen in the cruising world," said Ann Sherry, head of P&O Cruises.

"Whilst other cruise lines offer passengers a limited selection of activities, P&O Edge is the first to roll out a fully integrated program - something we're confident our passengers will love."

The program of activities caters for all ages, said John Sharpe of Pacific Adventures, who devised the P&O Edge program to incorporate many of the ship's existing features.

At the moment the program is available on Pacific Jewel cruises but P&O has plans to roll it out in 2014 across its fleets.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three boats reach Australia in past week

Three boatloads of suspected asylum seekers have been intercepted by authorities in the past week. Source: AAP

THREE boatloads of suspected asylum seekers have been intercepted by Australian authorities in the past week, and 128 people have been sent for offshore processing in line with the government's new measures to combat people smuggling.

The first vessel was found on Tuesday carrying 18 people from India, who are being interviewed in Darwin, Operation Sovereign Borders acting commander Air Marshall Mark Binskin told reporters on Monday.

The group is expected to be returned to India.

Seven West Papuans were dropped off on an Australian island in the Torres Strait on Wednesday.

"All seven persons were returned to Papua New Guinea on Thursday," Air Marshall Binskin said.

On Thursday, 70 people from a third boat were transferred to detention on Christmas Island.

Air Marshall Binskin was giving an update on border protection operations on Monday where he said 128 asylum seekers had been transferred to offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru during the week.

He made only brief reference to a vessel intercepted overnight on Sunday, which carried 78 people, but was detected outside the weekly reporting period.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the arrivals for the latest period included two nationality groups, which were subject to a different process to asylum seekers automatically taken to Manus Island or Nauru.

"A first group of Indian nationals is currently being interviewed by their own consular officers in Darwin and they will be removed directly back to India," Mr Morrison said.

"A second group of West Papuans were transferred back to PNG on Thursday within 24 hours of arrival under a concession provided by the PNG government under a 2003 memorandum of understanding put in place by the Howard government, to enable returns in these circumstances."

The group of seven West Papuans, believed to be a family including one child, arrived on Boigu Island on Wednesday by speedboat and said they feared persecution after being returned to PNG.

Mr Morrison said he had reached a formal agreement with his PNG counterparts to ensure the prompt return of other asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by similar circumstances.

During his visit last week to Manus Island, Mr Morrison delivered a "clear message" to detainees.

"They will not be getting what they came for," he said.

"They would remain there at that centre until they went home, or were settled in a country other than Australia.

"I confirmed that the new government had implemented a more comprehensive and strengthened set of measures that we would not be putting up with people coming to Australia illegally by boat and that they should warn others not to follow them."

Under the government's policy, asylum seekers are moved from Christmas Island to offshore detention facilities within 48 hours of their arrival.

Mr Morrison said the target was being achieved and "working well", and health checks were being undertaken.

"The most important for their welfare is their fitness to fly," he said.

Asked about vaccinations, Mr Morrison said it was his understanding these were being done on Manus or Nauru.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Typhoon hits Vietnam, dozens missing

More than 70 people are missing after three boats sank in a powerful typhoon in the South China Sea. Source: AAP

VIETNAM has evacuated tens of thousands of people from coastal areas as a powerful typhoon that left dozens of fishermen missing in the South China Sea slammed into the country.

China deployed navy warships and aircraft to search for survivors after three Chinese fishing boats sank in rough waters whipped up by Typhoon Wutip.

More than 70 people were missing, Beijing's official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, citing maritime authorities.

Vietnam closed schools, ordered all boats ashore and moved some 70,000 people to shelters in vulnerable areas along its central coastline, as high winds and heavy rains uprooted trees and tore the roofs off houses.

Wutip made landfall on Vietnam's central coast soon after 5pm (2000 AEST), packing winds of up to 103 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 133km/h, Vietnam's National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre said.

Authorities scrambled to move people from areas at risk of landslides and flash floods, as soldiers joined efforts to build walls of sandbags around coastal villages.

"We have evacuated thousands of people, prepared vehicles, mobilised 5000 police and soldiers," Nguyen Duc Cuong, a local communist party official in Quang Tri province, told state-run VTV.

Torrential rain and strong winds battered neighbouring Quang Nam province, with the popular tourist town of Hoi An also affected by heavy flooding.

"This is a big typhoon with strong wind and heavy rain and we urge people to stay overnight in shelters," Nguyen Van Bong, an official in nearby Ky Anh district, told state television.

Local authorities will be "on duty around the clock" to ensure the area's reservoirs and vast hydro-electric dams are not damaged or made unsafe by the typhoon, he added.

People in central Vietnam said that there were already sporadic power cuts in several districts.

Vietnam is hit by an average of eight to 10 tropical storms every year, often causing heavy material and human losses, as well as frequent flooding.

In recent weeks floods have killed at least 24 people in Vietnam and claimed 30 lives in Cambodia, as well as 22 in Thailand.

Cambodian police said four people - believed to be Syrians, including two children - died late on Sunday when their car was swept away in floodwaters.

In China, President Xi Jinping called for an "all-out rescue effort" urging local authorities to "do their utmost to find the missing or stranded and minimise casualties" caused by the typhoon, Xinhua said.

Rescue efforts had been hampered by strong gales and high waves, it said.

The Chinese boats, which were together carrying 88 fishermen, sank after they attempted to navigate gales near the disputed Paracel Islands, about 330 kilometres (200 miles) from China's southern coast.

China's maritime authority on Sunday raised its alert on the typhoon to orange, its second-highest of four levels, Xinhua reported.

Storm tides might strike the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi, it added, citing the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Morrison rejects claims of boat delay

The Greens want an inquiry into the government's delayed response to the latest asylum seeker boat. Source: AAP

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has defended Australia's response to an asylum seeker boat that sank off Indonesia as survivors claim the tragedy could have been prevented.

With Prime Minister Tony Abbott flying to Indonesia on Monday for his first overseas visit, his government is under fire for its handling of the disaster, which left up to 50 people dead or missing.

Indonesian authorities say there is little hope of finding more survivors from the boat that sank off Java on Friday, with searchers being hampered by rough seas on Sunday.

Twenty-eight people, including seven children, have so far been confirmed dead while more than 20 remain missing.

One survivor told ABC TV that a GPS location was sent to Australian authorities when multiple distress calls were made on Thursday.

"We called the Australian government for 24 hours. They were telling us 'we're coming, we're coming, we're coming', and they didn't come," he said.

"This is because of the Australian government. I want them to know that," he said of the tragedy.

The survivor has also implicated Indonesian authorities as playing a role in getting passengers to the boat.

"The army took us," he told the ABC. "The army was driving the cars."

A spokesman for Mr Morrison said suggestions Australian authorities were slow to act were "absolutely and totally wrong".

"The government completely rejects allegations of a 26-hour delay in response to this tragic incident by Australian agencies," Mr Morrison's office said in a statement issued on Sunday.

"Australian agencies acted on the information provided on this tragic incident."

Mr Morrison said initial searches failed to find the boat, which was reported to be about 25 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast.

"The Australians who work for our rescue and border protection agencies respond to all such events with great professionalism and a keenly felt sense of duty, as they did on this occasion," the statement said.

"This is a tragic event. The Australian government's thoughts and sympathies are with those affected by this tragedy. The government will continue to provide any assistance required by the Indonesian government."

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne called for an immediate inquiry into the government's involvement in the "heartbreaking" tragedy.

"I would expect that to happen before the next parliament sits," Senator Milne told Sky Agenda on Sunday.

Labor leadership candidate Bill Shorten criticised the Abbott government's approach to asylum seekers, saying "sooner or later they're going to work out that three-word slogans don't solve issues, and don't solve refugees or immigration".

People smuggling is expected to be high on the agenda when Mr Abbott meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa last week warned any violation of his country's borders could damage neighbourly relations, in a pointed criticism of the coalition's policy to turn back the boats.

Mr Shorten accused the coalition of "bagging" Indonesia in the stand-off over asylum seeker policy.

"One of the key platforms or planks to making sure we've got a safe and sustainable policy is to have a good relationship with Indonesia," he told ABC television.

"I'm not sure that getting out and bagging the Indonesians is really helpful.

"If they can't work out that Indonesia and working co-operatively with Indonesia's important to handling the challenging issues of asylum seekers and refugees, then that's a worry."

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW firefighters contain most fires

FIREFIGHTERS have managed to contain a majority of the 60 bushfires burning across NSW after a day of favourable conditions.

The Rural Fire Service expects the milder temperatures and slight winds to flow into Monday but Tuesday could see more winds.

"There has been an indication from the Bureau (of Meteorology) that Tuesday may be warm and windy," RFS spokesman Brendan Doyle said.

"But we are keeping a close eye on these conditions tomorrow..."

On Sunday, firefighters remained at the Barrenjoey Headland on Sydney's Northern Beaches where a blaze broke out a day prior and threatened an iconic lighthouse.

Fire crews managed to save the structure but a nearby cottage sustained some damage.

Visitors to the headland were warned to shelter near its historic lighthouse after an access trail was cut off but no one was injured.

The fire burned through 17 hectares of bushland around Summer Bay, made famous in the long-running television soapie Home and Away.

There are still 60 fires burning across the state, but Mr Doyle said only 25 were uncontained and not threatening properties.

One major fire is still burning in the Great Lakes area.

The blaze burning through forested country near Bulahdelah has burnt more than 458 hectares.

Residents in the Markwell Valley area are urged to know what to do if the fire impacts property.

Meanwhile, a RFS truck returning from battling a blaze on the Northern Tablelands crashed on Sunday.

The truck, driving through thick smoke and haze, left the road and crashed into a tree, police said.

The driver was taken to Walcha Hospital with minor injuries.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kings Of Leon's new album debuts at No.1

Kings of Leon have landed their third consecutive No.1 album on the ARIA chart. Source: AAP

KINGS of Leon have landed their third straight No.1 on the ARIA albums chart after their new album Mechanical Bull debuted at the top.

The Nashville rockers' sixth studio release bumps off Keith Urban's album Fuse, which drops down two spots to No.3.

Another new entry is Drake's Nothing Was the Same at No.2, which becomes his first Top 10 entry and highest charting album all in the same week.

Jason Derulo's third album Tattoos has debuted at No.5, becoming his third Top 10 album.

Jack Johnson is down three places to No.6 with From Here to Now to You, while the fourth Top 10 debut is Jessie J with Alive at No.7.

Pink's The Truth About Love has dropped two spots to No.8 and Rudimental's Home moves up five places to No.9.

Avicii's album True plummets eight places round out the Top 10.

Meanwhile Katy Perry's Roar has spent another week at No.1 on the singles chart.

The top three all hold steady this week, with Miley Cyrus at No.2 with Wrecking Ball and Redfoo at No.3 with Let's Get Ridiculous.

The big mover is John Newman with Love Me Again, which charges up four places, pushing Derulo's Talk Dirty down to No.5.

OneRepublic spends a third straight week at No.6 with Something I Need, Lana Del Rey is down a couple of places to No.7 with her Summertime Sadness and Drake climbs a place to a new peak of No.8 with Hold On, We're Going Home.

Avicii has slipped to No.9 with Wake Me Up, while Lorde is back up two places to No.10 with her EP The Love Club feat Royals.

AUSTRALIAN SINGLES CHART

1(1) Roar - Katy Perry (CAP/EMI)

2(2) Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus (RCA/SME)

3(3) Let's Get Ridiculous - Redfoo (INR/UMA)

4(8) Love Me Again - John Newman (ISL/UMA)

5(4) Talk Dirty - Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz (WAR)

6(6) Something I Need - OneRepublic (INR/UMA)

7(5) Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais (INR/UMA)

8(9) Hold on, We're Going Home - Drake Feat. Majid Jordan (UNI/UMA)

9(8) Wake Me Up - Avicii (UNI/UMA)

10(12) The Love Club Feat. Royals - Lorde (UNI/UMA)

AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS CHART

1(-) Mechanical Bull - Kings Of Leon (RCA/SME)

2(-) Nothing Was The Same - Drake (UNI/UMA)

3(1) Fuse - Keith Urban (CAP/EMI)

4(3) AM - Arctic Monkeys (DOM/EMI)

5(-) Tattoos - Jason Derulo (WAR)

6(3) From Here to Now to You - Jack Johnson (UNI/UMA)

7(-) Alive - Jessie J (UNI/UMA)

8(6) The Truth About Love - Pink (RCA/SME)

9(14) Home - Rudimental (WAR)

10(2) True - Avicii (UNI/UMA)

AUSTRALIAN STREAMING CHART

1(1) Roar - Katy Perry (EMI)

2(2) Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus (SME)

3(3) Wake Me Up - Avicii (UMA)

4(4) The Love Club EP - Lorde (UMA)

5(6) Counting Stars - OneRepublic (UMA)

6(5) Talk Dirty - Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz (WAR)

7(9) You Make Me - Avicii (UMA)

8(7) Burn - Ellie Goulding (UMA)

9(8) La La La - Naughty Boy Feat. Sam Smith (EMI)

10(10) Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke Feat. T.I. & Pharrell (UMA)

AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY CHART

1(1) Fuse - Keith Urban (CAP/EMI)

2(2) The Very Best Of Slim Dusty - Slim Dusty (EMI)

3(-) The Buegrass Album - Alan Jackson (SME)

4(3) The Great Country Songbook - Troy Cassar-Daley & Adam Harvey (SME)

5(-) A.M - Chris Young (RCA/SME)

6(6) Red - Taylor Swift (BIG/UMA)

7(3) 40 Years Of Pride - Charley Pride (RCA/SME)6 (WAR)

8(6) A Hell Of A Career! - John Williamson (WAR)

9(7) Crash My Party - Luke Bryan (CAP/EMI)

10(8) The Story So Far - Keith Urban (CAP/EMI)

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Italy grapples with new Berlusconi crisis

Five cabinet ministers from former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi's party have quit the government. Source: AAP

ITALY is mired in a fresh political quagmire after Silvio Berlusconi pushed his party's ministers to quit the fragile coalition government, a move Prime Minister Enrico Letta has called a "crazy act".

All five ministers from the People of Freedom (PDL) party on Saturday took the decision to step down at Berlusconi's urging, said deputy prime minister Angelino Alfano, the number two in government who was among the resignations.

Italy newspapers put the blame for the new government crisis squarely at the ex-prime minister's feet.

"The convict has made Italy fail," read the headline in the leftist daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, alluding to Berlusconi's conviction for tax fraud.

The centre-right La Stampa and business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore decried "the madness" of the actions taken by the media mogul who has dominated Italian politics for most of the last two decades.

The flamboyant billionaire, who turns 77 on Sunday, dismissed as "unacceptable" a demand by Letta on Friday for parliament to express support for the government next week, in a bid to end a crisis that has plagued the bickering ruling coalition.

Now President Giorgio Napolitano will have to mediate to find a way out of the latest political impasse. He is expected to meet Letta on Sunday.

Letta's government was cobbled together following a two-month stand-off after an inconclusive general election in February.

The premier of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) had won the confidence of financial markets by managing to keep together the improbable right-left coalition.

Italian media on Sunday speculated that if the crisis deepens there could be a reversal in market confidence, making it harder for Italy to deal with its economic difficulties and enact needed reforms.

The revolt among Berlusconi's backers boiled over on Thursday when they first threatened to resign over the former leader's legal problems.

A Senate committee was preparing to vote on whether to eject Berlusconi from the chamber after he was sentenced to a year in prison for tax fraud, a ruling that was upheld by Italy's top court in August.

Letta on Friday told a cabinet meeting tasked with approving key measures to rein in the recession-hit country's budget deficit that no further legislation would be enacted until the political crisis was resolved.

The cabinet had convened to determine how to delay a controversial planned rise in value-added tax, but the meeting ended in disarray amid the escalating tension over Berlusconi's conviction.

As a result, the VAT hike from 21 per cent to 22 per cent will go ahead, with effect from Tuesday, as economists worry that it will dampen consumption.

In encouraging the PDL ministers to resign, Berlusconi said they should not be "complicit in the latest vexation imposed on Italians by the left".

Letta retorted: "To try to justify his crazy and irresponsible act, aimed fully at protecting his personal interests, Berlusconi is... using the VAT as an alibi."

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Roadside bombs kill five in Afghanistan

PROVINCIAL officials say two separate roadside bomb attacks have killed five Afghan civilians in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Shafiqullah Nang, who is spokesman for the eastern province of Ghazni, said three civilians died Saturday when their minivan was struck by a roadside bomb as they were driving from Dayak district to Ghazni city.

He says that another eight people were wounded, including two women and two children.

In a second explosion, Fared Ayal, a spokesman for the police chief of southern Uruzgan province, said two men died when their car ran over a bomb on Saturday.

Roadside bombs are the number one cause of civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and casualties have risen as insurgents step up attacks as foreign troops withdraw.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two ships crash off Japan

Two cargo ships have collided off Tokyo leaving five crew members injured, and another missing. Source: AAP

TWO cargo ships have collided off Tokyo leaving five Japanese crew members critically injured, and another missing.

The five sailors rescued on Friday evening from the Japanese-flagged Eifuku Maru No 18 were found in a state of cardiorespiratory arrest, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The coast guard was searching for the sixth crew member, the Kyodo News Agency reported.

The 498-tonne ship and the 2,962-tonne Jia Hui, registered in Sierra Leone, collided at about 1.25am on Friday near Izu Oshima island, 100km south of Tokyo.

The Japanese vessel, found capsized with all its crew missing, was heading for Chiba, east of Tokyo, from Nagoya, central Japan.

The 13 Chinese and Myanmar nationals that made up the Sierra Leone freighter's crew were rescued from waters nearby, Kyodo said.

The Jia Hui was on its way to Busan, South Korea, from Kawasaki, south of Tokyo.

18.59 | 0 komentar | Read More