Plane isolated at Madrid airport for Ebola

SPANISH authorities have isolated an Air France plane at Madrid's airport and activated emergency health procedures after a passenger's reported fever and shivers was treated as a suspected Ebola case, officials say.

A SPANISH Airport Authority spokeswoman said the passenger jet had arrived in Madrid from Paris on Thursday.

She said the plane was taken to a special area of the airport and the passengers were being kept on board.A health ministry spokeswoman said they were treating it as a suspected case of Ebola.Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with the regulations of their respective offices.The private Europa Press news agency said there were 183 passengers on the plane.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

US factory output rises 0.5% in September

US manufacturing output rose in September, led by gains for aerospace products, furniture, clothing and plastics.

THE Federal Reserve said on Thursday that factory production rose 0.5 per cent in September after falling 0.5 per cent in August. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing output has increased 3.7 per cent.

The continued pace of manufacturing output will likely be a bellwether for the broader economy.Job growth has been solid for much of 2014, yet the stock market has been hammered over the past week over concerns about Europe's financial footing, the slowdown in China's economy and Ebola outbreaks across three continents.Stalled growth - if not the risk of recession - in much of Europe could cut into demand for US exports.Total industrial production surged 1 per cent last month, as output from mines and utilities both increased.Despite the gains, autos appear to have downshifted after driving much of the output growth of the past year.Factory production of motor vehicles and parts slid 1.4 per cent in September, the second straight monthly decline after tumbling 7 per cent in August.Most economists expected a decline after auto production soared in July, largely because there were fewer plant shutdowns in July made output look stronger after the government adjusted the figure for normal seasonal variationsThat decline was more than offset by improvements in other sectors. Furniture output rose 2.4 per cent in September, while aerospace products climbed 1.7 per cent. Clothing increased 1.5 per cent, as plastics, rubber, chemicals and computer production also improved.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

US jobless aid claims fall to 14-year low

THE number of people seeking US unemployment aid dropped to the lowest level in 14 years last week, the latest signal that companies are cutting few workers and hiring could remain healthy.

THE Labour Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000, the lowest level since April 2000.

Given that the US population has grown considerably since then, the proportion of the US workforce applying for benefits is even smaller. Applications are a proxy for layoffs.The figures come as concerns about slowing global economic growth have roiled financial markets for the past week. A drop in US retail sales, reported on Wednesday, intensified the volatility.The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, dropped 4250 to 283,500, the lowest level since June 2000.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Travel for free around NZ as an intern

IF you do, you could be eligible for an internship which requires you to travel around New Zealand and convince Aussies to do the same.

Holiday operators Experience Oz + NZ have launched a competition for what it says is New Zealand's ultimate internship.The program includes 10 days of travel for four people through Queenstown, Milford Sound, Rotorua, Taupo, Waitomo, Matamata and Auckland.Accommodation, experiences, car hire and flights - valued at $NZ30,000 ($A27,929) - will be paid for, and in return interns have to share their trip through photos, social media and video."We are looking for four New Zealanders to showcase their backyard to their Aussie mates across the ditch," says business manager Michelle Woodroff.Some of the tasks interns must fulfil includes bungy jumping, sky diving, jet boating, visiting an active volcano, and going on a tour of The Hobbiton movie set.To apply, candidates must submit a visual resume with their best photos or videos of their favourite landmarks or experiences from their hometown.Applications close on October 27, with the winner announced in the first week of November so interns can start working and travelling during the semester break.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

NZ wins UN Security Council seat

NEW Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

THE UN's 193 member states voted by secret ballot early on Friday morning (AEDT and NZT), with New Zealand topping the vote ahead of competing nations in their group, Spain and Turkey.

Turkey and Spain will compete in a second ballot for the remaining spot.New Zealand secured 145 first round votes, compared to Spain's 121 and Turkey's 109.The nations needed a majority of 129 to claim the seat.The three other new non-permanent members elected at the UN's headquarters in New York, Malaysia, Venezuela and Angola, ran unopposed for their three regional seats.A seat on the Security Council gives nations a high-profile opportunity to weigh in on world issues and events, just as outgoing member Australia did with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine and the formation of the coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.There are 15 seats on the Security Council, which is charged with responsibility for world peace and stability.There are five permanent members, the US, Britain, China, France and Russia.The 10 non-permanent seats rotate on two-year terms and are based on five regions.New Zealand was in the Western European and Others group.The last time New Zealand held one of the non-permanent seats was 1994.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Glitter faces child sex charges

FORMER pop star Gary Glitter is to be charged with eight sex offences involving underage girls, the UK Crown Prosecution Service has announced.

Glitter, 70, whose real name is Paul Gadd, became the first person to be arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, the national investigation launched in the wake of abuse claims against Jimmy Savile, when he was held at his home in central London in October 2012.

He was later released on police bail, which was extended in March this year.

Announcing the decision to charge him Baljit Ubhey, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said the evidence had been carefully considered.

"He was arrested on 28 October 2012 over allegations of sexual offences and the police have been providing material to the CPS since July 2013, with the most recent material submitted in March 2014.

"Having completed our review, we have concluded, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Gadd to be charged with eight offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956."

The charges relate to two female complainants who were aged between 12 and 14 at the time of the alleged offending between 1977 and 1980.

"We have also decided that no further action should be taken in relation to five allegations made by two further complainants as we determined there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."

Glitter is accused of four counts of indecent assault involving the first complainant, who was aged 12 or 13 at the time, between 31 January and 31 May 1977.

He is also accused of one count of "administering a drug or other thing in order to facilitate sexual intercourse" and one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 between the same dates.

He is also charged with two counts of indecent assault between 1 October 1979 and 31 December 1980 involving the second complainant, who was aged 13 or 14 at the time.

Glitter is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 19.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

BBC staff warned of redundancies

BBC staff have been warned that a "significant" number of redundancies are likely to be made in the corporation's news department.

Director of news and current affairs, James Harding, said in an email to staff that the division had to make savings of "tens of millions of pounds" as part of the so-called Delivering Quality First programme.

The former editor of The Times, who joined the BBC last August, said he would share his proposals in July, having taken a "long, hard look" at the budgets over the past couple of months.

"I am afraid that there is no escaping the fact that there are likely to be a significant number of redundancies - most of our costs are tied up in people so there is limited scope for other big savings elsewhere," he said.

There has been speculation that between 500-600 jobs could be cut.

A BBC spokesman said they are working to deliver savings of STG800 million ($A1.46 billion) a year by 2016/17 and that there are difficult decisions ahead.

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said NUJ members are already gearing up to ballot for industrial action over what the BBC has tried to pass off as a pay offer.

"Cutting 500 jobs in areas of news that are badly over-stretched, where staff are already suffering unacceptably high levels of stress and pressure and in a working environment where bullying has been rife is wholly unacceptable and will inevitably damage the quality of journalism and programming," she said.

"If senior salaries were capped at 150,000 - massive wages by anyone's reckoning, and more than enough for the prime minister - an immediate and annual saving of 20 million would be made, money that could go straight into quality programming, the one thing that licence fee payers actually care about."

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bush-Blair talks disclosure agreed

AN agreement has been reached over disclosing sensitive documents detailing discussions between Tony Blair and George Bush.

Sir Jeremy Heywood, the UK Government's most senior civil servant, who was principal private secretary to Blair in 10 Downing Street in the run-up to the war, has agreed the principles of handing over information, which includes 25 notes from former the UK prime minister to the former US president and more than 130 records of conversations between the two.

Sir John Chilcot's inquiry completed public hearings in 2011, but publication of its report is understood to have been held back by negotiations over the publication of private communications.

Officials said a timing has still not been set for the date of publication.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukrainian journo arrested in Pitt attack

A MAN arrested after rushing up and touching Brad Pitt on a Hollywood red carpet is a Ukrainian journalist with a history of getting too close to celebrities.

Los Angeles Police officer Sally Madera identified the suspect as Vitalii Sediuk who was jailed on suspicion of misdemeanour battery on Wednesday before the premiere of the movie "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theatre.

After touching Pitt, Sediuk was wrestled away by security guards and led off in handcuffs.

Pitt kept greeting fans and walked into the theatre.

In February, the 25-year-old Sediuk was cited for trespassing after grabbing the microphone before Adele accepted an award at the Grammys. and last year, Will Smith slapped Sediuk after he tried to kiss him on a red carpet.

Sediuk is being held in lieu of $US20,000 ($A21,600) bail.

A man was jailed on suspicion of battery after rushing up and touching Brad Pitt on the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the movie "Maleficent," witnesses and police said, though Pitt was apparently unhurt and soon resumed signing autographs.

Witnesses saw the man from the fan area jump over a barrier onto the red carpet at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and rush at Pitt, touching him briefly before security guards wrestled him back across the barrier.

Pitt kept greeting fans and walked into the theatre.

Pitt's longtime partner Angelina Jolie stars in "Maleficent," Disney's new live action spin on its animated classic "Sleeping Beauty."

Before the incident, Jolie told The Associated Press that the El Capitan is like a local theatre for herself, Pitt and their kids, who usually don't attend her premieres but did on Wednesday night.

"Well, oddly, we usually go to the El Capitan, that's where we take the kids. That's the closest theatre to us," Jolie said.

"This is the first time they were able to come to mommy's premiere."

The man got to Pitt despite security that was heavy for a movie premiere, with guards keeping a large gap between the stars and the crowd.

Email messages left for representatives for Pitt and Disney were not immediately returned.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

White men dominate at Google

IN a groundbreaking disclosure, Google revealed how very white and male its workforce is; just two per cent of its Googlers are black, three per cent are Hispanic, and 30 per cent are women.

The search giant said on Wednesday that the transparency about its workforce - the first disclosure of its kind in the largely white, male tech sector - is an important step toward change.

"Simply put, Google is not where we want to be when it comes to diversity," Google Inc senior vice president Laszlo Bock wrote in a blog.

The numbers were compiled as part of a report that major US employers must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Companies are not required to make the information public.

The gender divide is based on the roughly 44,000 people Google employed throughout the world at the start of 2014.

The company didn't factor about 4000 workers at its Motorola Mobility division, which is being sold to China's Lenovo Group for $US2.9 billion ($A3.14 billion).

The racial data is limited to Google's roughly 26,600 workers in the US as of August 2013.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg recently said the social networking company is headed toward disclosure as well, but it was important to share the data internally first.

Apple Inc., Twitter, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. did not respond immediately to queries about possible plans to disclose data.

Bock said Google has been working to diversify, not just its offices, but in the broader tech sector.

Since 2010, the firm has given more than $US40 million to organisations working to bring computer science education to women and girls, he said.

The company also is working with historically black colleges and universities to elevate course work and attendance in computer science, he said.

"But we're the first to admit that Google is miles from where we want to be, and that being totally clear about the extent of the problem is a really important part of the solution," he said.

Earlier this year, the Rev Jesse Jackson launched a campaign to diversify Silicon Valley, asking to meet with leaders of several iconic technology companies about bringing black and Hispanics into their workforce and leadership.

Since then, he's been leading delegations to annual shareholder's meetings at firms including Google, Facebook, eBay Inc. and Hewlett-Packard, but on Wednesday he commended Google.

"It's a bold step in the right direction. We urge other companies to follow Google's lead," he said.

"Silicon Valley and the tech industry have demonstrated an ability to solve the most challenging and complex problems in the world. Inclusion is a complex problem - if we put our collective minds together, we can solve that too."

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Contracts to buy US homes on the rise

THE number of contracts signed to purchase homes in the US is on the rise, with more Americans sealing a deal in April than the prior month.

But the pace of buying is still weaker than last year, as higher prices and relatively tight supplies have limited sales.

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 0.4 per cent to 97.8 last month. The index remains 9.2 per cent below its level a year ago.

Pending sales are a barometre of future purchases.

A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The gain in signed contracts partly reflects the slight decline in mortgage rates and the economic rebound from the brutal winter.

The number of signed contracts increased in the Northeast and Midwest month-to-month, more than offsetting declines in the West and South.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

US economy shrank 1pc in first quarter

THE US economy was battered even more than first suspected by the harsh winter, actually shrinking from January through March, marking the first retreat in three years, but economists are confident the downturn was temporary.

Gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of one per cent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

That was worse than the government's initial estimate last month that GDP during the period grew by a slight 0.1 per cent.

The economy last posted a decline in the first three months of 2011 when it dropped 1.3 per cent.

This year's weakening reflected slower stockpiling by businesses, a cutback in business investment and a wider trade deficit.

Economists expect a robust rebound in the April-June quarter as the country shakes off the effects of a severe winter.

Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, called the drop in growth "backward looking".

"We knew that weather dramatically impacted growth in the first quarter and we fully expect a bounce back in the second quarter," he said in a note to clients.

Indeed, there are a number of recent signs pointing toward a strengthening economy.

The government released a separate report on Thursday that showed applications for unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, fell by 27,000 last week to 300,000.

The result is nearly a seven-year low.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that the big drop in unemployment benefit applications was more significant than the latest GDP figure because "it strongly supports the idea that the labour market conditions are improving markedly, despite the weak headline growth during the winter".

The report was the government's second look at first quarter GDP, the country's total output of goods and services.

The data primarily reflected a sharp slowdown in businesses stockpiling, which subtracted 1.6 percentage points from growth, a full percentage point more than the initial estimate.

The trade deficit was slightly larger than previously thought.

Business investment in structures fell at an annual rate of 7.5 per cent in the first quarter, also worse than the initial estimate.

The one per cent decline in the first quarter was only the second negative quarterly GDP reading since the current recovery began in June 2009.

In the fourth quarter, the overall economy had grown at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent.

While one definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP, there is no concern that a negative reading in the first quarter is a sign the economy is about to topple into a downturn.

The widespread belief among analysts is that the weakness in the first quarter was based on a variety of temporary factors that will be quickly reversed once the weather warms up.

Many economists estimate that GDP will post a sizeable rebound to growth of around 3.8 per cent in the current April-June quarter, fuelled by pent-up demand.

Analysts are also optimistic that growth will remain above three per cent in the second half of this year, giving the economy the kind of momentum that has been lacking for much of the first five years of recovery from the country's worst recession since the 1930s.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor pounce on second staffer conflict

Federal Minister Nigel Scullion is under fire over a staff member cited for conflict of interest. Source: AAP

LABOR has vowed to continue probing a second Abbott government minister over conflict of interest allegations.

William "Smiley" Johnstone resigned as an adviser for Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion after it was revealed he was also chief executive and majority shareholder of the Indigenous Development Corporation.

Senator Scullion has defended Mr Johnstone's employment, saying his sole role of devising the school attendance strategy meant his private activities did not create a conflict of interest.

But Opposition Senate Leader Penny Wong says Mr Johnstone's employment showed an "arrogant disregard" for the standards for ministerial staff.

Senator Scullion told the Senate on Thursday there had been "a couple of items that required follow up" in Mr Johnstone's private interests disclosure, filed at the time of his employment.

Five months later, that process was still under way when a media inquiry forced Senator Scullion's office to address the potential conflicts and ask Mr Johnstone to "amend some of his personal affairs".

Mr Johnstone never intended to stay on fulltime and chose to resign, Senator Scullion said.

Senator Wong promised to explore that in more detail.

"The Australian people are entitled to know why not one but two ministers in this chamber happen to have staff who have interest in the portfolio that they administer."

In February, Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash's staffer Alastair Furnival resigned over conflict of interest allegations.

Mr Furnival had a shareholding in his wife's public relations company, which has links to the junk food industry.

Unlike the case of Mr Furnival, who was accused of ordering the removal of a Health Department healthy food-rating website, there are no allegations Mr Johnstone made calls that affected his private interests.

The Abbott government's revised guidelines for ministerial staffers require divestment from private companies with a direct interest in their minister's portfolio.

The standards also forbid directorship of any company without written agreement of their respective minister and of the Special Minister of State.

Senator Wong asked Special Minister of State Michael Ronaldson if he had provided a written agreement regarding Mr Johnstone's employment on Thursday, which he took on notice.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt cuts big on social studies fees

SOCIAL studies students will be the biggest losers once the government cuts its contribution to course costs.

Details of the new Commonwealth contributions, to apply from 2016, show government funding for social studies will drop by more than one-third.

Engineering, science, surveying and visual and performing arts courses face cuts of about one-quarter of present amounts.

But for maths courses, the government will pay about a quarter more than it does now.

It will also pay more of the costs for humanities, clinical psychology, foreign languages and allied health.

Tuesday's budget revealed the government contributions would drop by an average of 20 per cent across the board.

It's likely students will have to make up the difference.

The categories of Commonwealth funding have been streamlined from eight clusters of disciplines to five.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rudd accepts batt deaths responsibility

FORMER prime minister Kevin Rudd has accepted "ultimate responsibility" for Labor's home insulation debacle, but has used secret cabinet documents to deflect blame onto his ministers and public servants.

On a day when confidential cabinet processes around the scheme were made public, Mr Rudd told a royal commission in Brisbane that bureaucrats failed to bring any safety risks, including the potential for death, to his government's attention.

Queenslanders Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes and Mitchell Sweeney, and Marcus Wilson from NSW lost their lives while working under the $2.8 billion scheme.

Mr Rudd's uncensored statement says reports to the cabinet committee designed to alert ministers to programs "going off the rails" stated the pink batts scheme was "on track" even after the deaths.

But he says the buck stops with him because as prime minister at the time he has to accept the "good and bad" outcomes of his government's policies in 2009 and 2010.

"I have accepted ultimate responsibility for what was not just bad, but in this case a deep tragedy," he told the inquiry on Thursday.

But during his evidence, Mr Rudd suggested the senior ministers responsible for the scheme, Peter Garrett and Mark Arbib, were also to blame.

"The position in which I found myself in was to take advice from the portfolio minister responsible and the public servants advising me," he said.

But the former Labor leader was hesitant to point the finger at anyone in particular.

"I'm reluctant to say x, y and z failed because a, b and c didn't do their job," he said.

Mr Rudd also refused to point out specific problems with the rollout, saying it was the commission's role, not his, to judge what went wrong.

But he said if his children were victims, he would be just as eager as the affected families to find answers.

"All the families are entitled to feel confused, angry, let down by this system, which ultimately didn't perform to protect the lives of their loved ones," he said.

At the heart of the system, he said, were public servants who failed to brief senior ministers on serious safety concerns.

He said he only became aware of flaws after Mr Sweeney became the fourth installer to die in February 2010, eight months after the program's rollout.

This left him "exasperated, disappointed and despairing".

While Mr Rudd said one industrial fatality was one too many, he never considered suspending the program after Mr Fuller's death because nobody told him to.

"That advice was not put to me," he said.

Mr Sweeney's father, Malcolm, said on Thursday the commission "will go a long way in helping to make sure something like this doesn't happen again".

Mr Rudd has been excused from the inquiry, but might be recalled even though he is flying back to the US on Thursday night.

Former Labor frontbencher Greg Combet, who oversaw the program's closure, will take the stand when the commission resumes on Friday.

Mr Fuller's father, Kevin, and Mr Barnes' sister Sunny, are expected to address the inquiry after Mr Combet's testimony.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Johnston fights for more funds for defence

DEFENCE Minister David Johnston needed to convince colleagues defence would be unable to mount short-notice missions such as its search for the missing Malaysian airliner if it did not get more cash.

In hard negotiations before the government's expenditure review committee, Senator Johnston made the point that defence would face serious problems if it had to endure more cuts.

As it turned out, defence was a big winner from the tough budget, with an increase of more than six per cent, taking funding to $29.3 billion in 2014/15.

Senator Johnston said finance and treasury officials acknowledged that defence had done it hard in the past five years, losing $16 billion.

"If we had to endure more cuts or absorb measures, there would be serious capability issues and we would be courting substantial difficulties," he told AAP.

Missions such as the ongoing search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which at its peak featured four Orion maritime patrol aircraft and five ships, could only be launched at short notice because these units were maintained at a high level of readiness, he said.

The same applied to aid missions following the Japanese earthquake and the Philippines typhoon.

Most recently, at Christmas, two RAAF transport aircraft were despatched to help the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Senator Johnston said it was expensive to maintain the level of readiness needed to be able to launch such missions at short notice.

"Those are the sorts of things we would not be able to do (without sufficient funding) and we would have to tell the national security committee and the prime minister we can't do this because we haven't got the money," he said.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Uncensored Rudd reveals batts flaws

Kevin Rudd move to expose cabinet discussions about insulation scheme had a short-lived opposition. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION to Kevin Rudd's plan to reveal the innermost secrets of the federal government lasted for a little less than 16 hours.

The former prime minister's 31-page statement to the royal commission into the 2009 home insulation program was initially heavily blacked out or "redacted" at the insistence of government lawyers intent on protecting cabinet confidentiality.

Mr Rudd's lawyer had insisted his client could not tell the truth about the disastrous program that claimed the lives of four young workers if he was not permitted to tell his story in full.

Resistance was strong on Wednesday afternoon but evaporated on Thursday morning, when government lawyer Tom Howe QC said the Commonwealth supported "public ventilation" of everything Mr Rudd wanted to say.

What emerged from the document was Mr Rudd's portrait of the prime minister and his ministers as entirely reliant on the information and advice placed before them by the public service - the people he described at the commission as the "wicketkeepers" of his home insulation scheme.

Starting with the reason for implementing the insulation scheme, Mr Rudd reveals that an all-weekend sitting of senior cabinet ministers - Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Lindsay Tanner and himself - in October 2008 was warned that Australia faced recession and a nine per cent unemployment rate if nothing was done to combat the unfolding global financial crisis.

One response was the $2.8 billion home insulation scheme, devised as a make-work scheme to boost the economy.

Much of what was initially redacted from Mr Rudd's statement is simply anything mentioning cabinet processes, however mundane, but some reveal that even after people started dying, no alarm was raised about the program.

Mr Rudd described a briefing system used by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to warn cabinet about "any programs going off the rails".

The reports were colour-coded: green for "on track", amber for "maintaining close watch" and red for "in difficulty".

From its July 2009 inception to until February 2010 when its immediate closure was urged, the program was never rated anything other than green for "on track".

Among other details is Mr Rudd's recollection of a January 28, 2009, cabinet meeting that considered the rollout of the Home Insulation Program.

Issues discussed concerned timelines and costs, Mr Rudd says, but workplace safety standards never came up.

The statement also shows a public service task force was set up four days after the February 4, 2010, death of Mitchell Sweeney, who was the last worker to die during the life of the scheme.

On February 17, the taskforce advised Mr Rudd's cabinet committee of senior ministers of "significant program design risks, notably safety risks ... and the need to exit the overall program".

The same day the committee accepted the taskforce's recommendation to terminate the program.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbott hits back over state budget riot

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is confident he can get controversial budget measures through parliament. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has told the states they must accept there are "swings and roundabouts" when it comes to federal money.

Angry state and territory leaders have organised a meeting for this Sunday in Sydney to discuss the federal budget's $80 billion cut to school and hospitals funding.

The meeting comes as Labor and the Greens are poised to block many of the federal budget measures, with the government left to horse-trade with new Senate cross benchers after July 1 to pass a new Medicare co-payment and pension and welfare changes.

The next state leader to face an election, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, said he had a long and strong conversation with Mr Abbott on Thursday about the budget.

"We have from between 2014 and 2017 to absolutely shake the federal government from their top to their bottom so they understand their responsibility to meet their share of public hospital payments," the Liberal premier said.

Mr Abbott told parliament he had made it clear to all the states and territories that in 2017/18 there would be a "lower rate of increase" in funding.

"Not a cut," he said.

Arguing that road funding was boosted in the budget, Mr Abbott said: "As far as the states are concerned there are swings and roundabouts."

Treasurer Joe Hockey backed up the prime minister, saying the states would still receive $400 billion in the six years from 2017 for schools and hospitals once agreements signed with the previous Labor government expire.

"It is not cost-shifting because we don't run the schools or hospitals," he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused the prime minister of "deceit", having promised before the election no cuts to health or schools, no new or raised taxes and no changes to pensions.

He said modelling from NATSEM (National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling) showed that some families would lose $6000 a year by 2016 because of budget measures.

Labor would fight for those families.

"If you want an election try us ... bring it on," he said in his budget reply.

Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey admitted getting the budget through the Senate could take some horse-trading, but said Labor should pass the legislation and take responsibility for leaving the books in a mess.

"I've got some advice for Tony Abbott ... why don't you horse-trade away your paid parental leave scheme and leave the pensioners alone," Mr Shorten said.

Labor has yet to decide whether to support a temporary income tax rise for people earning more than $180,000 a year, but it will oppose the Medicare co-payment, pension changes and the fuel tax lift.

Mr Hockey said the $7 Medicare co-payment was only about the cost of two "middies" of beer and much less than the $22 cost of a packet of cigarettes.

The Greens will support the fuel tax rise.

The treasurer rejected a challenge from shadow treasurer Chris Bowen to debate the budget at the National Press Club next week.

Delivering his budget-in-reply speech to parliament on Thursday, Mr Shorten said Labor would oppose deregulated university fees, the Medicare co-payment, the fuel tax rise and hits to pensions and the dole.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boat turn-back lawful: border commander

THE army general leading Australia's border security crackdown is confident authorities did not commit a people-smuggling offence when turning an asylum seeker boat back to Indonesia this month.

Indonesian navy officers have claimed Australian authorities added three people to an asylum seeker boat before sending it back to their country.

The Australian Federal Police are considering a request to investigate the matter, which legal experts say might constitute a people-smuggling offence under Australian law.

But Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell maintains the boat turn-backs being carried out are consistent with international obligations and domestic law.

"I am confident ... we have taken lawful procedures to conduct operations," the Operation Sovereign Borders commander told an Australian Strategic Policy Institute dinner in Canberra on Thursday.

The federal government has declined to comment on the incident, citing "operational issues".

No people-smuggling ventures to Australia have been successful since late December, but Lt Gen Campbell warned that although the way to Australia was closed, it was not a case of mission accomplished.

"To modify a well-known and very apt phrase, the price of border security is eternal vigilance," he said.

Threats to Australia's border security remain as asylum seekers bide their time in Indonesia, holding out for changes to policy or operations, he said.

He expressed doubt about whether authorities could have reduced arrivals without the turn-back policy.

"There are too many prospective travellers susceptible to believing that Nauru is a town in Australia," Lt Gen Campbell said.

He said desperate smugglers were offering discounted rates and free travel for children.

Lt Gen Campbell said his team was proud to be preventing asylum seekers drowning during dangerous voyages.

Tuesday's budget allocated $480.5 million to establish a new super front-line agency, Border Force Australia, from July 2015, which will absorb Operation Sovereign Borders.

The new agency will replace customs and take on some functions of the immigration department. A commissioner will be appointed to lead the force.

"I look with interest to whoever might be appointed while I'm pursuing other pathways in my life," he said.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

US construction spending rises 0.2%

US construction spending rose slightly in March, fuelled by increases for apartments, single-family homes, factories, health care centres and office projects.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that construction spending increased just 0.2 per cent in March, after having fallen 0.2 per cent in February.

The March gains put construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $US942.5 billion ($A1.02 trillion), an 8.4 per cent increase year-over-year.

Construction spending dipped in January with the harsh winter weather and continues to run below its December 2013 levels.

Apartment construction spending increased 4.3 per cent in March, while single-family home spending inched up 0.2 per cent. Residential construction spending is at its strongest pace since May 2008, nearly five years ago.

Spending on government projects fell 0.6 per cent, including a 2.3 per cent drop for schools and educational buildings.

Despite the gains in residential construction, warmer weather has yet to produce much of a rebound for residential real estate.

Builders started work on 946,000 homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, up 2.8 per cent from 920,000 in February, the Commerce Department said last month.

Applications for permits, a gauge of future activity, fell 2.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 990,000.

Sales of new homes declined 14.5 per cent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, the second straight monthly decline and the lowest rate since July 2013. Sales have declined 13.3 per cent over the past 12 months.

New-home buying plunged in the Midwest, South and West in March. But they picked up in the Northeast, where snowstorms in previous months curtailed purchases.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index was 47 in April. Readings below 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as poor rather than good.

Sales have also been modest because of affordability issues as rising prices over the past year and higher mortgage rates have made it harder for many Americans to afford a home.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW students' paid trip to Anzac service

ONE hundred NSW school students will be among lucky ballot winners at next year's Anzac Day centenary service at Gallipoli.

The NSW government will put up $1 million to enable the students and chaperones to take part in the anniversary dawn service in 2015.

The service at Anzac Cove marks 100 years since the fateful Gallipoli landing on April 25, 1915.

Public and independent school students in Year 10, 11 and 12 next year will be able to apply for the school tour.

"The experience won't end when they return home," Premier Mike Baird said.

"Students will share their experiences and be leaders in honouring the Anzac legacy within their school and local community as the future guardians of our proud military heritage."

Australians hoping to attend the 2015 service had to enter a ticket ballot.

Following consultations between Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, attendance at the centenary service was capped at 10,500 with 8000 for Australians.

Of those allocated to Australia, 400 double passes were for sons and daughters of Gallipoli veterans, 400 were for school students and 400 double passes were for current defence personnel.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan airstrike kills 37

PAKISTAN Air Force jets have hit suspected Taliban hideouts in the north-western tribal region, killing at least 37 people and injuring 18.

The insurgents were attacked in Khyber, which borders Afghanistan, on intelligence that rebels involved in recent bombings were present, a military official said on Thursday, on the condition of anonymity.

The casualties could not be verified through independent sources because the area is remote and too dangerous for the media.

It was the first airstrike since a 40-day ceasefire with the Taliban ended April 10.

Violence has broken out again after the Taliban refused to extend the truce.

A policeman known for opposing the Taliban was the target of a suicide bombing Thursday that killed him and at least two civilians in the restive southern port city of Karachi, police officer Farooq Awan said.

"About two kilograms of explosives were used by the bomber," Awan said.

Another police officer said three people were injured in the attack.

No one took responsibility for the bombing, which came a day after government and Taliban representatives met in Islamabad to revive the stalled peace process.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

India election marred by rebel threats

INDIANS have cast their ballots on the biggest day of voting in the country's general election, streaming into polling stations even in areas where leftist rebels threatened violence.

Nationwide voting began on April 7 and runs through to May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament to be announced four days later.

Among the 13 key states voting on Thursday was Chhattisgarh, now the centre of a four-decade Maoist insurgency that has affected more than a dozen of India's 28 states.

With roadside bombings, jungle ambushes and hit-and-run raids, the rebels aim for nothing short of sparking a full-blown peasant revolt as they accuse the government and corporations of plundering resources and stomping on the rights of the poor.

But authorities say that amid the bloodshed, there are signs that the rebels have waning support - including lines of voters shuffling into polling booths in rebel strongholds.

"I want a good life for my baby, security and peace," said Neha Ransure, a 25-year-old woman who was voting in the Chhattisgarh town of Rajnandgaon.

"The rebels are bad. They kill our soldiers. I don't go outside of town. It is too dangerous."

Rebels always threaten to disrupt Indian elections, and this year is no different.

While Rajnandgaon was peaceful on Thursday, rebels set off a bomb near a group of polling officials and security forces in the neighbouring district of Kanker but no one was hurt, police said.

Another blast injured three paramilitary soldiers and a driver in the state of Jharkhand, where they also blew up railway lines.

More than 4800 people, including about 2850 civilians, have been killed nationwide since 2008 in what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called India's biggest internal security threat.

Despite the rebel calls for an election boycott, voter turnout was 59 per cent last week in the rebel's unruly heartland of Bastar.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Royals to visit Easter Show

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join thousands of Australians at the Royal Easter show, though it's not known if they'll have a chance to taste a Dagwood dog.

William and Kate are scheduled to meet students and teachers on Friday before viewing exhibits and a crafts exhibition at the show.

The pair will then view sheep shearing and wool handling, meet the 2013 Wool4Skool program winner - who designed a dress for the Duchess of Cambridge - and sign the visitor book.

They will then trade the show bags and rides for a visit to Manly's Bear Cottage palliative care hospice in the afternoon, where they will meet young patients, families, volunteers and staff.

Sydneysiders will be able to catch a glimpse of the royals when they visit Manly beach and view Surf Lifesaving activities on the sand.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan army assists polio vaccinators

THE Pakistani army is to assist in providing security to polio vaccinators in the country, after a series of deadly attacks against those involved in campaigns against the crippling disease.

Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), military, as well as civilian and tribal officials met at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad to discuss security and access to affected areas during anti-polio campaigns.

Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman, said the army had been asked to assist the civil government in making this campaign a success.

Bajwa said Pakistan may face an international travel ban because of the prevalence of the polio virus.

Last month, rebels killed at least 12 policemen guarding polio workers in two separate attacks in the restive north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Islamist militants have targeted vaccination teams in the past.

Insurgents accuse health workers of acting as spies for Western nations, and claim the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.

Following widespread vaccination campaigns since the 1950s, polio is now endemic only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

The contagious, crippling disease mainly affects children aged younger than five.

It cannot be cured, but it can be prevented with vaccination.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aust journalist faces 7 years in Thai jail

AN Australian journalist accused of defaming the Royal Thai Navy remains defiant, saying the case against him risks Thailand's reputation as a democracy.

Alan Morison, 66, formerly of Melbourne, and local reporter Chutima Sidasathien, face prison terms of up to seven years as well as fines of 100,000 baht (A$3,300) if found guilty of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Both were released on bail on Thursday from holding cells at a Phuket court.

Morison is editor of the online English language news service Phuketwan which last July published a story which carried excerpts from a Reuters report alleging the Thai military was involved in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority to Malaysia.

Outbreaks of ethnic conflict in Myanmar in recent years have led to thousands of Rohingya, who are largely denied citizenship in Myanmar, to flee the country.

The Reuters report alleged Thai naval forces and police cooperate with people smugglers to hold Rohingya in camps while ransoms are demanded from their families.

Speaking to AAP soon after his release on bail, Morison said the Thai navy was acting as if its reputation "is much more important than Thailand's reputation as a democracy".

But he also lashed out at Reuters, saying that like the navy, the news agency was putting its reputation "above the principles of media freedom".

"We still have Reuters not really coming out and saying 'this is our paragraph and we'll fight to the death to make sure that everybody who publishes it has the right to (do) so."

Morison believes the charges, filed by the navy, are a "set up" and part of efforts to shut down his website.

Human rights organisations and the media have called for the charges to be dropped.

A spokesman from US-based Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, called the trial "unjustified".

The navy "should have debated these journalists publicly if they had concerns with the story rather than insisting on their prosecution under the draconian Computer Crimes Act and criminal libel statutes," Mr Adams said.

The Bangkok-based Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand said it shared the view of the UN Human Rights Commissioner "that such a prosecution serves only to stifle media freedom on an issue of profound importance to the rights of a persecuted people".

The next hearing date is set for May 26.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hybrid engines help Toyota gas cars

TOYOTA has developed an efficient gasoline engine using technology fine-tuned with gas-electric hybrids, in which the Japanese carmaker is an industry leader.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday the engine will be rolled out in 14 models this year and next year.

The technology is common in hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion, which switch back and forth between an electric motor and a gas engine for better mileage, but it is relatively rare in vehicles with gas engines alone.

Japanese rivals Mazda Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co have developed similar engines.

Toyota said the new engine will deliver 10 per cent better fuel efficiency than comparable current engines.

It uses an old-style engine type called the Atkinson cycle, which reduces heat through greater thermal efficiency.

Toyota also used other features such as better combustion and reduced friction to boost efficiency.

The new engine will come in 1.0 litre and 1.3 litre versions, but will be expanded to other types, and variations of it will also be used in future hybrid models, according to Toyota.

"They show the future direction of Toyota engine development," said Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons.

Toyota has been worried about the reliability of the oil supply for decades and has focused on green cars, especially hybrids.

The maker of the Lexus luxury model and Camry sedan has sold more than 6 million hybrid vehicles around the world, more than any other manufacturer, since the Prius was introduced in late 1997.

Hybrids are popular but remain a niche market, and competition has been intensifying from efficient gas engines.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM to push for freer trade in China speech

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott will wrap up the formal side of his North Asia visit with a dinner at China's ceremonious Great Hall of the People with President Xi Jinping.

Mr Abbott's visit to Shanghai on Friday will coincide with Australia Week in China, an inaugural trade fair being spearheaded by the largest business delegation ever sent abroad from Australia.

The prime minister will address the expected 1500 guests at the Shanghai showcase lunch, promoting the benefits of freer trade and greater investment with Australia's largest trading partner.

Nearly all state premiers and chief ministers, plus a delegation of Australia's leading corporate CEOs, are expected to attend.

The prime minister has spent a week in North Asia shoring up free trade deals and after finalising agreements with Japan and South Korea hopes to make significant progress with China.

Mr Abbott will then head to Beijing for bilateral talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping, before capping off the formalities of his visit to the region with dinner at the Great Hall of the People.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK slams Malaysian Air over 2012 incident

BRITAIN'S air accidents investigator has criticised Malaysian Airlines for its lack of proper oversight in preserving flight recordings during an incident at London's Heathrow Airport in 2012.

A Boeing 747 bound for Kuala Lumpur, carrying 340 passengers, had to return to Heathrow soon after takeoff because of engine and electrical failure on August 17, 2012.

The pilots flew the plane manually and returned to the airport safely.

In a report issued on Thursday, Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch said all the audio information relating to the incident was lost because the cockpit voice recorder ran on long after the landing.

The body said the airline's "procedures for the preservation of flight recordings were not sufficiently robust".

The Heathrow incident was not related to Flight MH370, which went missing last month.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Will's fighting talk in race against Kate

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are due to face off, putting their sailing skills to the test on competing America's Cup yachts.

Prince William and Kate will compete in opposing boats on Auckland Harbour on Friday, in an event free of the pomp and formality typically associated with the monarchy.

William told Prime Minister John Key at Government House on Thursday night he expected the race to be "a bit of healthy competition" - although he said he'd already been telling everyone he would win it.

The yachts will be manned by Emirates Team New Zealand crews, and the race is expected to last two hours.

Afterwards, the royal couple will take a spin in an amphibious car before jetting back to Wellington.

The royal trip has been marred by weather thus far, and Friday is no different, with fog and showers being forecast.

But MetService duty forecaster David Miller said the weather wouldn't be too bad.

"It'll be an improvement on what they've had in Wellington for the past few days."

Royal visit media manager Allen Walley said he couldn't comment on contingency plans, and a decision would be made on Friday.

But before all the high-adrenalin excitement, the duke and duchess will be greeted off the plane at Whenuapai military air base by Auckland Mayor Len Brown.

They'll then meet Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel and their families.

Little Prince George will again miss out on the action - he'll stay in the capital with his Spanish nanny, Maria Borrallo.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Death toll in US mudslide rises to 30

AS medical examiners painstakingly piece together the identities and lives of the 30 people known killed when a mudslide wiped out a small Washington community, one mystery troubles them.

One set of remains does not fit with the description on the missing persons list, which, as of Thursday, includes 17 people.

The medical examiners know it is a male, but his remains give no clue as to who he was, or who might be looking for him.

They can't even identify his age range, and at this point, gold teeth are all they have to go on.

The mystery underscores the tedious process of identifying remains more than a week after the March 22 landslide that broke off a steep hill, roared across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River and buried a community at Oso, about 90km north of Seattle.

Like the homes, the cars and the other parts of people's lives swept away by the torrent of mud, some bodies are in pieces.

Norman Thiersch, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner, said the goal of the team - made up of medical examiners, detectives, dentists and others - is to make sure there's no doubt as to the identities of the victims.

"This is not television," he said.

"These are methodical, painstaking processes we go through."

Although the identities of 28 of the 30 confirmed dead have been determined, officials have so far released the names of only 27.

Other names are expected to be released by the end of the week.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rate rises may be limited: IMF

AS consumers and businesses worry about an interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank before long, a new analysis suggests any increases are likely to be limited.

The International Monetary Fund says worldwide interest rates are expected to increase in the medium term with global economic conditions normalising, reversing the decline into negative territory due to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

But in the analytical chapters of its forthcoming world economic outlook, the IMF does not believe real, or inflation adjusted, interest rates will return to high levels.

"The increase from current levels is expected to be modest, because the factors that have mostly contributed to low real rates in the past recent years are unlikely to reverse substantially," the report released in Washington on Thursday said.

It says the "scars" from the GFC have resulted in a sharp and persistent decline in investment in advanced economies, while there will be only a modest impact from lower savings in emerging market economies as a result of slower economic growth.

There has also been an investment shift to safer interest-rate yielding bonds away from riskier equities, which has kept rates low.

Using data from a number of countries, including Australia, it found that 10-year real interest rates declined from an average of 5.5 per cent in the 1980s, to 3.5 per cent in the 1990s, to two per cent between 2001 and 2008 and to slightly negative territory of 2012.

While continued low real rates will help borrowers to lower debt ratios, they also raise new policy challenges.

"The envisioned low real rate environment ... may re-emerge as a constraint to monetary policy should risks of very low growth in advanced economies materialise," it said.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Queen meets Pope Francis at Vatican

BRITAIN'S Queen Elizabeth II has paid a private call on Pope Francis at the Vatican, making him the fifth pontiff she has met.

She arrived on Thursday afternoon wearing a lilac-coloured spring coat and matching hat that are practically the same colours as the wisteria blooming over much of the Italian capital.

The monarch, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, was ushered into a small room near the Vatican's public audience hall for the 30-minute meeting.

Previously, Elizabeth had met with four pontiffs, starting with Pius XII in 1951, a year before her accession to the throne.

Earlier in the day, Elizabeth lunched with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinal palace.

Illness had forced her to cancel a 2013 trip to Rome when she was supposed to see Napolitano.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Four dead in Bangladesh gas blast

AT least four workers have been killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a ship-breaking yard in southern Bangladesh, police said.

The explosion occurred while workers were removing parts from an old ship in the Kadam Rasul area of Sitakunda, 200 kilometres southeast of the capital Dhaka.

Six people were injured, four of whom later died in hospital, police officer Iftekha Hasan said.

"The workers might have died of inhaling toxic gas," the officer said.

Bangladesh is the third largest country in terms of dismantling obsolete ships.

Safety measures in the yards are still inadequate.

At least 20 people were killed in 2013 in Bangladeshi ship-breaking yards, which are mostly located in Chittagong district, according to a human rights group.

09.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

US retail sales rebounded 0.3 per cent

US retail sales have bounced back after suffering a steep decline during a bitterly cold January, with people spending more on cars, clothing and furniture.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday seasonally-adjusted retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in February. Spending had fallen 0.6 per cent in January and 0.3 per cent in December.

The increase suggests consumer spending has started to recover after being tempered by snowstorms and freezing temperatures that blanketed much of the country.

Auto sales rose 0.3 per cent. Excluding volatile spending on cars, petrol and building supplies, retail sales increased 0.3 per cent from December.

Last month's rebound almost brought retail spending back to its December levels. Purchases at restaurants, online retailers and department stores also improved.

Over the past 12 months, retail sales have risen 1.5 per cent.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Children get wake-up call about sleep

CHILDREN and parents need a wake-up call about the importance of sleep, say medical experts who are visiting schools in Australia and New Zealand with their message.

They say too many children are not getting the good night's sleep they need to grow strong, think clearly and feel good.

Children aged five to 12 need nine to 11 hours a night. Older children need 8.5 to 9.5 hours until the age of 18.

But research shows 20 per cent don't get the recommended amount and up to 40 per cent have poor sleep schedules.

"Undoubtedly their physical and mental health is suffering," said sleep researcher Dr Sarah Biggs.

"We're on a mission to turn this trend around."

Increasing awareness and teaching good habits would ultimately boost health and learning, said Dr Biggs, co-ordinator of the Australasian Sleep Association and Sleep Health Foundation campaign.

Volunteers from the organisations will speak to 6000 students at 23 schools on Friday, world sleep day.

Their message includes the need for children to have a regular bed time, and to limit the use of electronic devices before bed.

Devices including televisions, computers and mobile phones should be kept out of the bedroom at night.

The volunteers will also promote MWorld smartphone app that teaches children about sleep and other interesting science topics.

"Sleep is regularly ignored, even though it's a pillar of healthy living alongside sensible eating and regular exercise, said Sleep Foundation chair Professor David Hillman.

Research shows short sleep duration and poor sleep scheduling are associated with health problems such as obesity, behavioural problems and poor academic performance.

"Healthy sleep is important for physical growth, learning, positive mood, energy and daytime concentration," said Associate Professor Nick Antic, who heads the Australasian Sleep Association.

"Healthy sleep is not just about duration. It's about quality and having a consistent sleep routine that keeps your body clock in sync."

Symptoms of a child being sleep deprived include being overactive or moody, struggling to concentrate, falling asleep during short car trips or while watching TV, or having problems at school.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hip-hop pioneers want NYC museum

THE pioneers of hip-hop are hoping to create a museum in the Bronx dedicated to the genre.

Organisers say the project would be called the Universal Hip Hop Museum.

Afrika Bambaataa says the museum would look at the historical and cultural roots of hip-hop and the contributions made by break dancers and disc jockeys.

Bambaataa is frequently called the father of hip-hop. He would serve as the museum's chairman.

The museum hopes to open in 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory, which is being redeveloped into a national ice sports centre. The plan was announced at a news conference on Wednesday.

Bambaataa says many people think of rappers when they hear the word hip-hop. But he says there's a whole culture and movement behind it.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Americans spend $56 bn on pets

AMERICANS spent an all-time high of $US55.7 billion ($A62.20 billion) on their pets in 2013 and will creep close to $US60 billion this year.

Bob Vetere of the American Pet Products Association told buyers and exhibitors at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday food accounted for $US21.6 billion of the spending.

In 1996, when the not-for-profit trade association started tracking pet spending, pet owners spent $US21 billion on everything. Adjusted for inflation, that's $US31.3 billion.

Vetere says the humanisation of pets and the many positive effects pets have on human health should keep the industry vibrant for many more years.

For the long term, he says, he expects to see a pet health craze that starts for humans and pets much earlier and younger.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Percentage of women on Aust boards doubles

THE percentage of women on Australia's top corporate boards has more than doubled in the past four years, but is still only at 17.6 per cent.

Australian Institute of Company Directors' chief executive John Colvin said the figures showed that while progress still needs to be made, significant ground has been gained as Australian companies embrace the need for greater gender diversity on their boards and senior management.

The percentage of women on ASX200 boards more than doubled since 2010 to 17.6 per cent.

In the ASX20 the percentage of women in directorships was higher at 23.8 per cent.

The number of female chairs on ASX200 boards also doubled over the four years to five per cent.

Mr Colvin said just over four years ago Company Directors instigated a plan to increase the number of women on Australian boards.

"We felt that the proportion of women on major company boards was not good enough and needed to be increased," Mr Colvin said.

"We believed that we had to take a leadership role on this issue."

The organisation's plan to increase the number of women on Australian boards included a chairman's mentoring program and a board diversity scholarship program.

It has also encouraged companies and boards to establish a diversity policy which has measurable goals.

Mr Colvin said he was confident the improvement in females in top positions would continue without the need for quotas or other new regulation.

"The idea of mandated quotas for female representation on boards is wrong in principle, has difficulties in practice, is tokenistic and is counterproductive to the end goal of increasing board diversity," he said.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors provides education, information and advocacy for company directors Australiawide, catering for more than 34,000 members.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK star publicist's sex trial starts

CELEBRITY publicist Max Clifford, whose clients have included Muhammad Ali and Frank Sinatra, has gone on trial in London accused of a string of sex offences against children and young women.

Clifford used his celebrity connections to "bully and manipulate" his victims into sex acts, prosecutor Rosina Cottage told the jury on Thursday, adding that the defendant knew "how to manipulate, lie and get what he wants".

The 70-year-old is accused of 11 counts of indecent assault against seven victims, who were aged between 14 and 19 when the alleged attacks took place between 1966 and 1984.

"Many of you, but not all of you, will have heard of the name Max Clifford," Cottage said.

"He is wealthy, he is well connected. He is the maker of the kiss-and-tell celebrity and the breaker of reputations."

Clifford had been "at the top of the media game for many years" and "must have thought he was untouchable", she continued.

The publicist, who denies the charges, told journalists outside the court that the 15 months since he was first arrested had been "a very dark cloud for myself, my family and loved ones".

A string of celebrities have gone on trial for sex offences since the death of high profile BBC presenter Jimmy Savile in 2011 prompted hundreds of people to come forward with accusations that he had sexually abused them.

The publicity around the case prompted other sex abuse victims to come forward and police launched a wide-ranging investigation.

Stuart Hall, another top BBC presenter, was last year jailed for child sex abuse as a result of the inquiry, while children's entertainer Rolf Harris is due to go on trial for indecent assault in April.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bishop plays down China's public rebuke

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has revealed she shared a delightful evening meal with her Chinese counterpart after his public rebuke last year.

Ms Bishop was upbraided by Wang Yi during a press conference in Beijing in December.

The foreign minister was criticised for "irresponsible" comments after Australia condemned China's declaration of an air-defence zone over an island chain also claimed by Japan.

He accused Australia of "jeopardising bilateral mutual trust".

Last week, Australia's top diplomat for north Asia, Peter Rowe, described the incident as the rudest display he'd seen in his 30-year career.

But Ms Bishop has played down the exchange.

"He made a very robust point, to which I responded equally robustly," she told ABC TV.

"There might have been some staging of events for the media."

Asked if it was a bullying effort by the Chinese, Ms Bishop replied: "Well it didn't work if that was the intention."

Ms Bishop said after the press conference the meeting continued for three hours and then the pair had a "delightful evening" sharing dinner together.

In the past, former foreign ministers Stephen Smith, Kevin Rudd and Bob Carr had robust discussions with the Chinese behind closed doors, Ms Bishop said.

She denied that her gender had played a role.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pollies to put Stevens under the spotlight

FEDERAL politicians will get the chance to tease out the Reserve Bank's current thinking on the economy and interest rates when its boss goes under the spotlight.

Governor Glenn Stevens and his top officials appear before the House Economics Committee in Sydney on Friday, the first of two public hearings held each year.

The three-hour grilling comes after a week of largely upbeat data, including strong retail spending and building approvals figures, along with the national accounts that showed the economy growing at a smarter pace of 2.8 per cent over 2013.

But in leaving the cash rate unchanged again at an all-time low of 2.5 per cent at this week's board meeting, Mr Stevens warned that unemployment could rise further, while mining investment is set to decline significantly.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deregulation on TV networks wish lists

MORE freedom over programming standards is on commercial television networks' wish lists as they face increased pressure from the internet.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is holding talks with telecommunications and media broadcast chiefs in Sydney on Friday to discuss deregulation of the industry.

The meeting is part of the Abbott government's plan to remove $1 billion of regulation from business each year and rebuild bridges with an industry put offside by the previous Labor government.

Free TV chief Julie Flynn said in a submission to Mr Turnbull's review that commercial networks were being squeezed by twin pressures.

Revenues were under pressure from competition for advertising dollars and eyeballs from new entrants such as Google, YouTube, Netflix, Telstra and Fetch.

At the same time, broadcasters were having to invest in new content and technology.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Experts to give verdict on direct action

KEY climate change experts are set to deliver their verdicts on the Abbott government's proposed alternative to the carbon tax - its direct action plan.

Heavyweights from the CSIRO, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Climate Change Authority will front a Senate committee hearing in Canberra on Friday.

Ross Garnaut, who conducted two reviews into global warming for the previous Labor government, will also give evidence.

Climate Change Authority chair Bernie Fraser says major political parties need to show more than lip service to climate change science.

"It has to be backed by policy measures commensurate with the challenges identified by climate scientists," he said in a submission to the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Abbott will deliver an address to the United Nations International Women's Day breakfast in Sydney on Friday.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pacific kids more depressed: NZ study

A NEW study has found relatively high levels of depression among Pacific Island children in New Zealand, particularly bullies and their victims.

The Pacific Islands Families Study, published in the latest issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal, found seven per cent of nine-year-old Pacific children showed depressive symptoms compared with the one-to-three per cent prevalence generally in children.

Depression was also associated with internalising behaviour problems and low maternal education, with better educated mothers more likely to recognise depressive symptoms and embrace health services.

Low depression scores among the 858 children surveyed were linked with their positive self-perception, physical abilities, parental and peer relationships, high verbal intelligence and high performance at school.

"Child depression manifests as feelings of sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, agitation and guilt, and is a debilitating problem than can significantly impair social and school functioning," the study authors said.

Building up self-esteem and social skills, combined with anti-bullying measures in school, were likely to reduce childhood depression, they said.

In a journal editorial, child psychiatry academics Stephanie Moor and Sally Merry, from Otago and Auckland universities respectively, say the relationship between bullying and depression is complex.

But the Christchurch Health and Development Study had previously shown that if a parent or teacher reported that a child aged seven to 12 was a bully, then as an adolescent and adult they were at risk of mental health problems including depression.

"Moreover, parental reports of their child being a victim of bullying in early teen years in this study were associated with a range of mental health problems including depression and suicidality over adolescence and adulthood."

Interventions tackling bullying at school have been shown to improve not only the health of victims but also to have economic advantages, with increased school attendance and attainment leading to better employment and earnings, Dr Moor and Dr Merry say.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or follow @LifelineAust @OntheLineAus @kidshelp @beyondblue @headspace_aus @ReachOut_AUS on Twitter.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Viacom fiscal net income up 16%

VIACOM is reporting a 16 per cent jump in net income for the first quarter thanks in part to smaller losses at its film division.

The New York company, which owns Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures, earned $US547 million ($A628 million), or $US1.20 per share for the quarter ended December 31.

That compared with $US470 million, or 92 cents per share, in the same quarter the year before.

Revenue fell 4 per cent to $US3.2 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of $US1.16 per share on $US3.3 billion in revenue.

Revenue from media networks increased six per cent to $US2.54 billion, while filmed entertainment revenue dropped 30 per cent to $US681 million.

But losses related to filmed entertainment shrunk as a result of lower movie-related expenses.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

French ex-first lady reveals shock

FRANCE'S former first lady says she and the president had grown detached recently but she was caught totally by surprise by his affair with an actress.

Valerie Trierweiler gave interviews to two French publications coming out this week describing for the first time some of what led to their break-up last weekend.

Trierweiler told the weekly Paris-Match, where she long worked as a journalist, that she didn't believe rumours about the affair until a gossip magazine report earlier this month.

"When I found out, it was like I had fallen from a skyscraper," she is quoted as saying.

She told the weekly Le Parisien Magazine that she and the president exchanged text messages while she was in India this week because he was worried about her health.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Trust in government bucks global trend

AUSTRALIA appears to be bucking a global trend of distrust in governments since the election of the coalition last September.

But a new global survey suggests Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his team still have work to do.

The 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer showed trust in the Australian government as an institution jumped 14 points in the past year to 56 per cent, compared to a global average of 44 per cent.

"While trust levels in the United States and Europe have witnessed historic declines, Australia has bucked the trend and found confidence in the new government," Edelman Australia CEO Michelle Hutton said on Friday.

In its 14th year, the barometer is a global study of 27,000 participants across 27 countries examining levels of trust across the institutions of government, business, non-government organisations and the media.

Ms Hutton said the latest survey has seen a significant rise in trust across all of Australia's institutions and sectors, rebounding from the crisis in leadership.

However, before the Abbott government gets too smug, the survey also sends a warning it must work harder to engender trust among everyday Australians.

It found that three in five Australian respondents do not trust government leaders to tell the truth, while two in five do not trust them to make ethical and moral decisions.

"Last year, our new prime minister announced Australia was 'open for business' with the intent to rebuild trust among Australians and sustain confidence in business," Ms Hutton said.

"While this year's results paint a rosy picture for government and business, expectations are high - and as recent history has shown us, Australians have a low tolerance for leaders that fall short of what was promised."

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Elton John, Lady Gaga get GLAAD award bids

ELTON John, Lady Gaga and the movie Dallas Buyers Club are among the nominees for awards presented by the gay advocacy group GLAAD.

The 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards honour outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in categories including music, movies, TV and journalism.

On Thursday, GLAAD announced 93 nominees in the English-language categories, with cable channels earning 28 bids and broadcast networks receiving 11.

Netflix earned its first nomination for the series Orange Is the New Black.

There are 37 Spanish-language nominees, including a stand-alone bid in the novella category for Univision's Amores Verdaderos, which included the wedding of a gay couple.

The GLAAD Media Awards will be presented in Los Angeles and New York this spring.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld family sleep in pub to escape cyclone

NORTH Queenslander Bruce Marshall reckons his 150-year-old pub is the safest place to be when a tropical cyclone bears down.

"She's been through a fair few cyclones... she's real sturdy," Mr Marshall told AAP as he poured a beer at the Grandview Hotel in Bowen, north of Mackay.

The 51-year-old, his partner Toni Bradtke, 42, her daughter Emma, 12, and the family dog Maggie will be camped out at the hotel when Cyclone Dylan makes landfall in the early hours of Friday.

The category two cyclone is expected to reach the mainland at Ayr or Bowen, bringing with it furious winds, torrential rain and storm surges.

Forecasters predict winds up to 150km/h.

Mr Marshall, who has managed the Grandview for about three years, reckons it's the safest place to be because its survived numerous cyclones and a couple of fires.

On Thursday night, hours before the cyclone was expected to hit, locals sat at the bar sipping beer making predictions about the severity of the storm.

It will be Bowen chef John Williams' first cyclone experience.

"We don't get anything like this in England," Mr Williams, who has lived in Australia for the past three years, told AAP.

He says it'll be something to write home about.

"I've heard a lot about cyclones but I've never witnessed one."

Meanwhile, Mr Marshall and his family have laid out mattresses on the ground floor of the pub ready for what they say will be a sleepless night.

They've decided to stay at the pub because their house, just down the road, often floods during severe storms and they're not taking any risks.

"It was terrible here today, we had two big boats come up on the foreshore," he said.

"The glass here has been covered in seaspray and the windows have been rattling.

"We've just got to see how it goes."

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Heavyweights front probe on boat secrecy

FIVE border protection heavyweights are set for a grilling over secrecy in the federal government's asylum seeker boat crackdown.

Operation Sovereign Borders commander Angus Campbell, Defence Force Chief David Hurley, Customs boss Michael Pezzullo and Defence and immigration department secretaries Dennis Richardson and Martin Bowles are scheduled to give evidence at a Canberra hearing on Friday.

A Senate committee is examining the government's reliance on "public interest immunity" to deny the upper house access to official documents.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Almost 8000 Kiwis enter Gallipoli ballot

The Block to film in Prahran

THE Block is coming to Prahran after producers of the Channel 9 show bought an office block that will be converted into apartments.

Raunchy pic teacher gets job back

A SPECIAL education teacher's aide who was suspended after semi-nude online modelling pictures were sent to the school has been reinstated.

Falconio footage 'years old'

TODAY Tonight claimed to know the location of Peter Falconio's body, but now they've revealed it was filmed three years ago.

Sam stacks it on AACTAs stage

AS The Great Gatsby took home the most gongs at the AACTA Awards, actor Sam Worthington fell over on stage in an awkward moment.

Your chance to join Modern Family

EXCLUSIVE: QANTAS will give two lucky Australians the chance to have a role in Modern Family, when the US comedy jets in to film in Sydney.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tassie freight schemes need change: report

TASMANIA'S freight headache looks set to continue with a Productivity Commission report finding the island state requires ongoing and improved support to maintain viable links to mainland Australia and international ports.

The draft report released on Friday recommends updates to current arrangements, which see the federal government subsidise goods and passenger services to help offset the cost disadvantage of Bass Strait.

"The design and administration of the current subsidy schemes are out-dated, resulting in outcomes not well-aligned with the schemes' underlying objectives," Commissioner Karen Chester said.

"The embedded administrative complexity also gives rise to anomalies and some perverse incentives."

Without change, the federal government will pay $2 billion over the next 15 years to fund the schemes.

There is a risk that subsidy recipients will become reliant on the funds, which will subsequently reduce the productivity of the Tasmanian economy, the report said.

The commission recommends the schemes are regularly and independently reviewed.

After a period of public consultation the report - titled Tasmanian Shipping and Freight - will be submitted to the Australian government in March.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Afghan boys playing volleyball shot dead

AT least five boys have been shot dead after a group of militants attacked them on a volleyball court in eastern Afghanistan.

"The young boys, who were school students, were playing volleyball in a village in Alingar district at 12.30pm ... a group of gunmen from the nearby village came and shot them," Sarhdai Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Laghman, said on Thursday.

"The shooters, who are surely members of the armed opposition, fled the area," Zwak said, implying the attack was carried out by Taliban militants.

"It is not clear yet why they shot dead the boys, but it is clear that the enemies of Afghans cannot tolerate our sports achievements. So, they restore cowardly attacks."

Last week, four young footballers were killed in the southern province of Kandahar when a rocket, allegedly fired by Taliban militants, struck the football field.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Zara Phillips names baby Mia Grace

THE Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, has named her baby Mia Grace.

The champion horse rider and her rugby-player husband Mike Tindall announced the name of their daughter on Thursday, with Tindall tweeting "For everyone who has asked what our daughters name, it's Mia Grace Tindall."

Zara gave birth last week to the 7lbs 12oz (3.5kg) girl, who is 16th in line to the throne and is the Queen's fourth great grandchild.

Tindall took to Twitter after the birth to describe his joy at becoming a father for the first time, saying it was "definitely the best day of my life".

Zara, a silver medal-winning Olympian, who is one of Britain's leading equestrian riders, gave birth to her first child at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in southwest England with her husband at her side.

Like her mother, the baby will not bear a royal title and will be known as plain "Miss Tindall".

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Southwest's 4Q profit rises on fuel costs

SOUTHWEST Airlines is making more money thanks to a lower fuel bill and higher average fares.

The company says fourth-quarter net income was $US212 million ($A240 million), up from $US78 million a year earlier.

The airline says that excluding special items it earned 33 cents per share.

Analysts were expecting 29 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue is up 6.1 per cent to $US4.43 billion, above analysts' forecast of $US4.39 billion.

The increase in net income can be credited to a 9.2 per cent drop in fuel spending, a savings of $US138 million.

However, labour costs are up 7.3 per cent.

The average fare on Southwest is $US156.05 each way, up $US8 or 5.4 per cent from a year earlier.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spending on the rise, survey

SPENDING has risen across the Australian economy for 16 consecutive months and a lower Australian dollar, along with improving consumer sentiment, should provide a further boost this year.

Economywide spending rose 0.9 per cent in December according to CBA's Business Sales Indicator, and was up 9.8 per cent over the year.

CBA local business banking general manager Lex Thornton said the BSI, which tracks spending across the bank's point of sales terminals, had shown growth for sixteen months straight.

"These latest figures build on what was a strong year across most states and industries," he said.

CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian said the fall in the Australian dollar should help lift spending with local businesses in 2014.

"The lower Australian dollar should also provide a boost to exports in coming months and help to alleviate the risks surrounding the rebalancing of the economy," he said.

"Dually, improving prospects for a broader global economic recovery are in part supporting a more positive outlook for consumer sentiment."

The BSI showed a 1.1 per cent increase in retail spending during December and a 3.4 per cent rise in spending on transport.

Meanwhile spending on hotels and motels rose 1.8 per cent in the month, while spending levels in mail and telephone orders fell 2.1 per cent.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Father and daughter still missing in NSW

POLICE want residents in the NSW towns of Katoomba and Mullumbimby to watch out for a missing father and daughter who may be in either area.

A new image of Greg Hutchings, 35, has also been released in a bid to locate him and his four-year-old daughter Eeva.

The search continued on Thursday for the pair who have not been seen since leaving the home of Mr Hutchings' mother at Pottsville in northern NSW on Saturday.

Mr Hutchings had arranged to meet his former partner and Eeva's mother in Pottsville at midday but he never appeared.

There have been no confirmed sightings of father and daughter, police say.

But inquiries have led investigators to two possible areas the pair might be - at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and Mullumbimby near Byron Bay.

Police are appealing for members of these communities to keep a look-out for the pair and to contact Crime Stoppers if they are sighted.

A new image of Mr Hutchings was released on Thursday.

He is of Caucasian appearance, about 175cm tall, with short brown curly hair and of a thin build.

Police say he was last seen wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, grey trousers and carrying a black backpack.

Eeva is also of Caucasian appearance, with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

She was last seen wearing an oversized blue and white-coloured shirt and multi-coloured board shorts.

Police are urging anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thousands of WA sheep die during export

REVELATIONS that thousands of sheep died while being exported from Western Australia to the Middle East has been described by activists as the worst live export disaster in recent history.

About 4000 sheep were exported by Livestock Shipping Services (LLS) on the Bader III five months ago, but details about their deaths from severe heat stress are only now being publicly revealed.

Federal authorities are already investigating LLS for breaches of live export regulations in Jordan and Gaza, and is now also investigating the August incident.

It is understood the same ship was back in Fremantle last weekend loading more animals in 44-degree heat.

The revelations have again prompted calls for an overhaul of the live animal export trade.

Animals Australia labelled the incident "the worst live export shipboard disaster in recent history".

"The suffering of these animals is too horrific even to imagine," Animals Australia campaign director Lyn White said.

"In these temperatures, the ship would have turned into an oven, with these thousands of individual sheep literally baking alive."

Animals Australia said the risks of lengthy sea voyages for animals were well known, with almost 20,000 sheep dying onboard every year.

Greens spokeswoman Lynn MacLaren said Australia's live export trade had repeatedly proven to be ineffective in delivering all sheep and cattle to a humane death once they left Australia.

"Not only is the system not working, but live export stakeholders are scrambling to keep the system's failings under wraps," she said.

"The Australian public should be outraged that this horrific incident was hidden in the weeks leading up to the federal election."

The Department of Agriculture is expected to release details of the incident later on Thursday.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cate Blanchett scores Oscar nomination

IT is shaping up as a golden year at the Oscars for Australia, with Cate Blanchett, Catherine Martin and a posse of other Australians nominated for Oscars.

Martin received a double Oscar nomination - costume design and production design - for The Great Gatsby, a similar feat she achieved for Moulin Rouge! more than a decade ago.

Martin's Aussie collaborator Beverley Dunn joins her on the production design nomination, but Baz Luhrmann was snubbed for a directing nomination for the film.

Battling Martin for the costume design Oscar is Sydney's Michael Wilkinson who was nominated for American Hustle.

Australian visual effects wizard Dave Clayton has been nominated for his work on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Clayton was also nominated last year for the first Hobbit film.

The film about Australian Mary Poppins author PL Travers, Saving Mr Banks, received a cold shoulder from the Academy.

It received just one nomination, original score.

It was hoped Saving Mr Banks' Australian producer Ian Collie would get a best picture nod and screenwriter Sue Smith for original screenplay, but they were bypassed.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theatre inside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters already had an Australian flavour before Blanchett and the other Aussie names were announced, with former Home & Away star-turned Thor superhero Chris Hemsworth on stage helping reveal the nominations.

Blanchett was nominated for her role as a New York socialite on the decline in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

The 44-year-old has been nominated five previous times - Elizabeth in 1999, The Aviator (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2007), I'm Not There (2008) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008).

The Aviator, as supporting actress, was her only win.

Blanchett is the red hot favourite to win the best actress Oscar for Blue Jasmine after claiming the Golden Globe on Sunday.

The Oscar ceremony will be held on March 2.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asylum seekers say navy gave them a boat

A GROUP of asylum seekers say they were given a boat by Australian authorities in which they were forced to return to Indonesia under their own steam after their own vessel's engine failed.

The development appears to be confirmation that Australian border-protection authorities have begun using lifeboats to return asylum-seekers to Indonesia, after the commander of Operation Sovereign Borders confirmed on Wednesday that a number of such vessels had been acquired.

One asylum seeker has told AAP he was with about 50 others from Bangladesh and Pakistan when they were intercepted close to Christmas Island about 10 days ago, after their boat's engine stopped working.

The man, from Bangladesh, who spoke through a translator, said they were then transferred to an Australian navy vessel, where they remained for several days, before being escorted back towards Indonesia.

They were then given a smaller boat that they used to make their own way to Pelabuuhan Ratu in West Java, which they say took about three hours.

The smaller boat was crewed by by the same Indonesian men that had attempted to take the asylum seekers to Christmas Island.

The group arrived at Pelabuuhan Ratu, about 12 hours drive from Jakarta, at about 11am on Wednesday morning.

It's believed they could be from a group of about 54 asylum seekers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma) who had reportedly set out for Christmas Island on about January 5 or 6.

The development comes after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday refused to comment on whether Operation Sovereign Borders had involved towing back or turning back boats into Indonesian waters.

However, Operation Sovereign Borders commander Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, speaking at the same media conference, confirmed that Customs had bought a number of lifeboats for its operations.

He would not say how they would be used.

The incident, if confirmed, is likely to prompt an angry response from the Indonesian government after Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa warned against the measure earlier this week.

"Developments of the type that has been reported in the media, namely the facilitation by way of boats, this is the kind of slippery slope that we have identified in the past," Dr Natalegawa said in response to the government's admission that lifeboats have been bought.

The asylum seekers involved in the incident were not in custody on Thursday night, with many having already made their way back to Bogor, near Jakarta.

Some of group said they were also on another boat which was turned back to Indonesia by Australia in December.

At least three other asylum-seeker boats are believed to have been towed back to Indonesia by Australian authorities since December 13.

A spokesman for Indonesia's Co-ordinating Minister for Politics, Security and Law Djoko Suyanto said his office was aware that two asylum-seeker boats had been turned back by Australia, in December and January 6.

08.17 | 0 komentar | Read More