Sex of second Royal baby still unknown

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have thanked the public for their warm wishes ahead of the birth of their second child - but they still don't know if it will be a boy or girl.

A HEAVILY pregnant Kate is expected to give birth towards the end of April and for the delivery will return to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington where Prince George was born.

The Duke and Duchess have sent a message saying they are very grateful for the warm wishes they've received from people throughout the UK and around the world over the last few months.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Fake relative' claims Germanwings flights

GERMAN police are looking into an allegation that a woman got free flights to the south of France by pretending to be a relative of one of 150 people killed in the Germanwings crash.

GERMANWINGS, the budget airline in the Lufthansa group, provided free flights for mourners visiting the French Alps scene of the March 24 crash, which French and German prosecutors believe was deliberately caused by the plane's co-pilot.

The freeloader claimed to be a cousin of a female teacher who died, reported the Halterner Zeitung, a newspaper in Haltern, Germany, quoting the teacher's father. Haltern's high school lost 16 schoolchildren and two teachers in the disaster.An airline spokesman told DPA, "The incident is known to Lufthansa," but would not discuss details, except to say Lufthansa lawyers were examining if they could sue her.A fraud inquiry had begun in Hoexter, another town in North Rhine Westphalia state, police there told DPA. They said they were acting on a complaint from Lufthansa.The father said the phantom cousin, who was neither a kinswoman nor friend of his daughter, flew twice to the Alps and back, taking three other unidentified persons with her, according to the newspaper.She even received the counselling that was offered free to the rest of the mourners.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lego toys to 'come to life'

LEGO has announced a new line of toys that will combine with virtual worlds in video games, enabling players to build models from real bricks and then drop them into a game on a console.

CALLED Lego Dimensions, the new line of toys and video game is a partnership between the Scandinavian toy manufacturer, Warner Bros and several big names in the entertainment world, including DC Comics - the creators of Batman - the Lord of the Rings franchise, and movie franchises Back to the Future and The Wizard of Oz.

A starter pack will be released in September this year that will include the game and a Lego Toy Pad, on which users will place Lego characters and models to drop them into the virtual world.The style of play is called toys-to-life and has already been successfully brought to market by the Skylanders series and Disney, whose Infinity game allows players to change which Marvel superhero they play as by placing a real life figurine on their own trigger pad. Lego's take on this idea will also see players first build items, for example the Batmobile, from Lego bricks before dropping it into the game as a usable vehicle.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraqi militants 'executed 300 civilians'

ISLAMIC State extremists have executed around 300 Sunni Iraqis in retaliation for the government's launch of a major offensive to regain the western province of Anbar from the radical militia, security sources say.

THE victims, members of local Sunni tribes, were shot dead in the Islamic State-held western town of Qaem near the border with Syria for alleged collaboration with government troops trying to recapture Anbar, the sources said, without giving details.

The Iraqi government started the onslaught to drive Islamic State out of Anbar - the country's largest province - on Wednesday.Last week, Iraqi troops, backed by Shi'ite militiamen and US-led airstrikes, recaptured the strategic northern city of Tikrit in the hardest blow yet to the jihadists, who control vast parts of northern and western Iraq.A security official said that government troops were on Thursday making significant advances in their push to retake mostly Sunni Anbar.Security forces, backed by Sunni and Shi'ite loyalists, have made "big progress" in driving militants out of the area of Sijariya, east of Anbar's capital city of Ramadi, Mohammed Hamed, a senior officer in the province's police, told DPA."Security forces are about to fully liberate Sijariya from the grip of Daesh," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.Six soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in battles with the jihadists in Sijariya, military sources said.Government forces and volunteers were meanwhile imposing a complete siege on Fallujah, a main Anbar city that has been under Islamic State's control for months, Shi'ite militia commander, Juma al-Jamili, said."The next few hours will witness the storming of Fallujah, which is being besieged from all directions," al-Jamili told independent Iraqi news site Almada Press.Most of Anbar, which stretches from Baghdad to the Syrian border, has been under the control of radical Sunni Islamic State and anti-government Sunni insurgents since last year.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Average US rate on 30-year mortgage falls

AVERAGE long-term US mortgage rates declined this week, approaching historically low levels with the spring home-buying season underway.

MORTGAGE giant Freddie Mac says the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.66 per cent from 3.70 per cent last week.

The average rate for a 15-year mortgage, popular with homeowners who refinance, fell to 2.93 per cent from 2.98 per cent last week.A year ago, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 4.34 per cent and the 15-year rate was 3.38 per cent.Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its monthly bond purchases, designed to hold down long-term rates.The Fed signalled recently that it's still not ready to start raising short-term rates, after keeping them near zero for over six years.

09.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gauge of US economy posts slight 0.2% gain

AN index designed to predict the future health of the US economy rose in January by the smallest amount in five months, indicating the economy's momentum may have slowed a bit.

THE New York-based Conference Board says its index of leading indicators increased 0.2 per cent in January, the weakest gain since a 0.1 per cent rise in August. In addition, the December increase was revised lower to a 0.4 per cent rise instead of the initially reported 0.5 per cent increase.

Conference Board economists say that the lack of strong momentum in residential construction and a weak outlook for new orders in manufacturing pose some downside risks for the economy.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Be respectful in representations: Bali duo

The Bali Nine pair are enjoying extra time with their families after their executions were delayed. Source: AAP

ANDREW Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have asked that any representations to save them from execution are made firmly, but with respect.

MELBOURNE barrister Michael O'Connell SC visited the condemned Australians in Kerobokan jail on Thursday, where he said they were remarkably well under the circumstances, but concerned that representations were "firm but respectful".

"I think Andrew and Myuran are very concerned that people remain respectful when they make representations on their behalf," Mr O'Connell said."But of course they want those representations to be firmly made."The pair's concerns follow a sharp reaction from Jakarta to Prime Minister Tony Abbott linking the men's fate to Australia's donation of $1 billion in aid following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.Mr Abbott had said Indonesia should "reciprocate in this way at this time".Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, hit back, saying "no one responds well to threats".Mr Abbott on Thursday said he had only meant to recall the long-running friendship of the two nations.Chan and Sukumaran are enjoying a few days' reprieve from the firing squad after Indonesia was caught unprepared for the executions and delayed moving them from their Bali jail cells.Mr O'Connell says the Bali Nine drug smugglers have also been briefed on arrangements for Tuesday's administrative court challenge.A panel of judges will question their lawyers on their argument that President Joko Widodo did not properly examine their requests for clemency before rejecting them.There are reports Mr Joko did not have documentation before him that outlined the men's rehabilitation before he denied them mercy.Mr O'Connell said his clients' case was strong regardless.Mr Joko has already proclaimed publicly that he will reject clemency in all death row drug cases, he said."The public position taken by the Indonesian government and particularly the president ... demonstrates there was not a genuine and realistic consideration of the clemency application that had been made," he said.Indonesia has not announced a new schedule for the men's move from Kerobokan prison, or their execution date.But planning goes on regardless, with more meetings to discuss security arrangements for the Australians' transfer to Nusakambangan island scheduled for Friday.Almost 2500 people were in Melbourne's Federation Square on Wednesday night when a letter from Sukumaran was read."Whatever happens, I know that me and Andrew are good people now, and even though we have been in prison with a death sentence, we have been truly blessed," he wrote.Mr O'Connell said both men were grateful for the public's support."They're humbled really by the depth of support that has been coming from Australia and to some extent in Indonesia as well," he said."They are very grateful for it and they simply wait and hope."

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Applications for US unemployment aid dive

THE number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a sign that a recent string of strong job gains may continue.

THE US Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 21,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 283,000. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile number, fell 6500 to 289,750, its lowest level in 15 weeks.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have been near or below 300,000 since September, a very low reading by historical standards that points to solid hiring. The average has dropped 16 per cent in the past year.That decline has coincided with much stronger job gains. Employers added more than 1 million jobs from November through January, the strongest three-month pace in 17 years.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wal-Mart beats 4Q profit forecasts

WAL-MART Stores Inc. has reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $US4.97 billion ($A6.36 billion).

ON a per-share basis, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said it had net income of $US1.53. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $US1.61 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $US1.54 per share.The world's largest retailer posted revenue of $US131.57 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Analysts expected $US132.32 billion, according to Zacks.Wal-Mart expects full-year earnings to be $US4.70 to $US5.05 per share.Wal-Mart shares have climbed slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 2 per cent. The stock has increased 14 per cent in the last 12 months.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Freddie Mac posts $US227m profit in 4Q

MORTGAGE giant Freddie Mac has posted net income of $US227 million ($A290.36 million) for the fourth quarter.

THE government-controlled company's profit was down sharply from the same period of 2013, as it sustained losses on the investments it uses to hedge against swings in interest rates.

Nonetheless, the October-through-December results reported on Thursday marked Freddie's 13th straight profitable quarter.McLean, Virginia-based Freddie also said it will pay a dividend of $US900 million to the US Treasury next month. Freddie will have paid $US91.8 billion in dividends, exceeding its government bailout of $US71.3 billion.The government rescued Freddie and larger sibling Fannie Mae at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008.

08.16 | 0 komentar | Read More