CREDIT RATER OFFERS FREE LOOK AT RATINGS.(Living)

Byline: Rick Karlin Staff writer

In a move hailed by consumer advocates, TRW Corp., the giant credit-rating service, has decided to offer consumers a free annual look at their credit ratings. Under the program started this month consumers will get free credit reports by writing to the company.

It's an encouraging policy, especially in light of how important a person's credit rating is when it comes to getting things such as car or home loans, said Shirley L. Rooker, president of Call for Action, a Washington, D.C.-based group that follows telemarketing and credit issues.

Rooker offered some caveats, however. She said consumers should not simply rush …

US jet makes emergency landing in Aleutians

An American Airlines jet made an emergency landing on a remote island in Alaska's Aleutians after a fire warning light malfunctioned, the airline said Monday.

Flight 175, traveling from Dallas-Fort Worth to Tokyo, landed safely at Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American. The island base has a 10,000-foot (3,000-meter) runway.

It turned out there was no fire, despite the warning light from a cargo compartment of the Boeing 777.

Smith said the 197 passengers were evacuated while cargo was removed. No injuries were reported.

Once on the treeless, tundra-carpeted island, …

Michigan scores first 21, beats Towson 64-47

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points, and No. 17 Michigan started the game on a 21-0 run before cruising to a 64-47 victory over Towson on Monday night.

Freshman Trey Burke scored 13 points in his first career start, and Evan Smotrycz had 13 as well. The Wolverines (2-0) also started the second half with six straight points to take a 43-16 lead.

Robert Nwankwo led …

Rigid part holding. (In Gear).(Kurt Manufacturing's HD CarvLock towers)(Brief Article)

Who: Kurt Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis, MN)

What: HD CarvLock manual and hydraulic towers

Why you should care: Kurt says that its towers provide rigidity and long-term accuracy and are compact enough to be used with horizontal and vertical machining centers of practically any size. In fact, Kurt says these are the most compact, high-density vise tower available.

Pertinent Data: The manual tower produces 5556 lbs. of clamping …

Scientists at University of California target dairy science & technology.

"Fifty-one Jersey bull calves (5 +/- 1 d old) were assigned to 1 of 3 milk replacers to determine the effects of increasing doses of n-3 fatty acids from fish oil on the acute phase response after an endotoxin challenge. All calves were fed a 22.5% crude protein and 18% lipid milk replacer (Calva Products, Acampo, CA) supplemented with an additional 2% fatty acids," researchers in the United States report.

"Treatments differed only in the supplemental lipid source and included a 3:1 mix of corn and canola oils, a 1:1 blend of fish oil (Omega Proteins, Houston, TX) and the 3:1 mix of corn and canola oils, and fish oil only. On d 23, each calf was injected …

FCC ISSUES APOLOGY OVER E-MAILED DIRTY JOKE.(MAIN)

Byline: -- Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- A Federal Communications Commission employee mistakenly sent a dirty joke by e-mail to 6,000 reporters and government officials instead of a daily report on actions taken by the agency.

The FCC issued an apologetic e-mail Friday immediately after sending out the raunchy joke titled, ``Nuns in heaven,'' The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Saturday.

An Inquirer reporter received the e-mail, which was sent to a distribution list of …

Enhancement to Millennium Lock Core from Lock America.(Product News)

Lock America announced today the latest enhancement to its 600 Series Millennium Padlock. This new improvement is a revolutionary designed core system. The existing core has been replaced with its renowned High Security Pluglock, the same locking system used in standard T-handles. This Pluglock design is rear-loaded and constructed of hardened steel. The face of the lock is an extended hardened pulling attacks. The new …

Oil Prices Extend Decline, Dip Below $56

WASHINGTON - Crude oil futures tumbled below $56 a barrel Friday following a $2.50 selloff the day before as traders focused on a combination of mild autumn weather, ample winter fuel supplies and the collapse of a trading range that had been in place since the start of October.

"This is going to put pressure on OPEC to perhaps make bigger cuts," said BNP Paribas Commodity Futures broker Tom Bentz.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is scheduled to meet in Nigeria next month, announced an output cut of 1.2 million barrels a day last month, but traders have been skeptical that the Vienna-based cartel will stick to its pledge at a time of historically …

GenKyoTex's $20.4M Series C Funds NOX Inhibitor Progress.

BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON u GenKyoTex SA raised CHF18 million (US$20.4 million) in a Series C round, enabling it to take the lead product to the point where it is ready to deliver proof of concept for the company's NOX enzyme inhibition technology.

At the same time, it was announced that Ursula Ney, former chief operating officer of the UK biotech firm Antisoma plc, has been installed as CEO of Geneva-based GenKyoTex. Her appointment was a condition of the new investors in the round, led by Edmond de Rothschild Partners and including Vesalius Biocapital Partners and MP Healthcare Venture Management.

The existing backers, the business incubator Eclosion, …

CRITICISM OF STATE AUDIT SHORT ON SPECIFICS.(MAIN)

Byline: TOM SANZILLO First Deputy Comptroller Albany

In a Nov. 12 letter, Department of Civil Service Commissioner George Sinnott claims there were serious problems with the Office of State Comptroller's audit on the state's work force and succession planning efforts, but provides no specifics to back up that claim.

This issue is important because, as the baby boomers reach retirement age, tens of thousands of state employees will be retiring over the next few years, with some agencies at risk of losing as much as a third of their work force.

Sinnott talks at length about an article praising New York state's work force planning in the newsletter of …

Gene overexpression increased from low- to high-grade lesions to cancer.

2003 JUN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gene overexpression increased from low- to high-grade lesions to cervical cancer.

"The Pap test has effectively reduced the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer," investigators in the United States report.

"However, because of the morphological basis of this test, sensitivity and specificity are less than ideal, a situation that complicates the clinical management of women diagnosed with low-grade cervical abnormalities," wrote Y. Chen and colleagues, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Department of Cell & Molecular Biology.

"In an attempt to understand the molecular basis of cervical tumorigenesis and …

VENEZUELA OIL SALES TO RESUME.(after four month shipping suspension)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba under preferential terms should resume in September, next month after a four-month suspension despite mounting opposition by critics of President Hugo Chavez and some employees of the state oil firm, reports Reuters (Aug.2, 2002):

The shipments of 53,000 barrels per day (bpd) on favorable financing terms were suspended in April during the brief overthrow of Chavez, who had granted Cuba the generous oil deal. For Cuba, the suspension of oil sales has forced the cash-starved nation to buy crude on the spot market at higher prices. According to a May statement by the …

SCHENECTADY SCHOOLS CHIEF EYES IOWA POST.(CAPITAL REGION)

SCHENECTADY -- City schools Superintendent Michael J. Coury said Wednesday night that he is the finalist for the superintendency of the Bettendorf, Iowa, school district.

"I've been told I'm the top candidate at Bettendorf," said Coury, who notified the Schenectady Board of Education two weeks ago that he was resigning his $96,000-a-year job, effective Aug. 9.

Coury, who had been at odds with the Schenectady school …

USPTO ISSUES TRADEMARK: INSIGNIA

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 2 -- The trademark INSIGNIA (Reg. No. 3970274) was issued on May 31 by the USPTO.

Owner: BBY Solutions, Inc. CORPORATION MINNESOTA 7601 Penn Avenue South Richfield MINNESOTA 55423.

The trademark application serial number 85145477 was filed on Oct. 5, 2010 and was registered on May 31.

Goods and Services: Consumer electronics, namely, high-definition audio receivers; portable high-definition audio receivers, combination audio receiver and CD player with built-in electronic docking station for MP3 players; audio speakers, travel speakers, audio speakers for laptop and notebook computers that utilize USB (universal serial bus) to connect to the computer; high-definition video disc player, digital cameras and camcorders, GPS navigation devices, digital electronic devices for accessing, displaying and playing data, content, media and applications provided via the Internet and global computer networks; clock radio with built-in digital photo display, clock radio with built-in electronic docking station for MP3 players or mobile phones; metal mounting brackets for flat-screen televisions; HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) cables; digital photo frames. FIRST USE: 20080503. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20080503

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Champion of Minority Rights

OMAR KHALIDI (1953-2010)

Dr. Omar Khalidi, author of more than two dozen books and scores of academic articles on minority rights, history, architecture, economics, demography, politics, Urdu education, military history, library science, and cataloguing, died on 29 Nov. in an accident in Cambridge, MA. He will be remembered for his incisive writings that inspired the 2006 Sachar Committee, tasked by Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh with reporting on the social, economic, and educational status of Muslim Indians, to include a review of minority representation in the country's armed forces.

Born in Indian-occupied Hyderabad, Dr. Khalidi was initiated into the scholarly world by his father, Abu Nasr Muhammad Khalidi, a specialist in Islamic studies and Urdu literature at Osmania University. He earned a B.A. (Wichita State University, 1980), an A.L.M. (Harvard University School of Extension Studies, 1991), and a Ph.D. (University of Wales-Lampeter, UK, 1994). After spending part of the 1980s working at King Saud University, he joined MIT. At the time of his death, he was the librarian of MIT's Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture.

His scholarly venture began with "The British Residents at the Court of the Nizams of Hyderabad" (1981). His landmark "Hyderabad after the Fall" (1988) documents India's 1948 invasion (and subsequent fall) of independent Hyderabad and how this affected the Muslims. Before the publication of this book, the events surrounding Operation Polo and its aftermath were long forgotten and undocumented. It was Khalidi who unearthed excerpts from the Pandit Sunderlal Commission report that, for the first time, offered a glimpse into what really happened in 1948. He also was guest editor of "Islamic Horizons'" special Nov.-Dec.1998 issue on Hyderabad.

His attempt to broaden his scholarly horizons by researching the socioeconomic and political issues from the early 1990s culminated in his "Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India: Army, Police, and Paramilitary Forces during Communal Riots" (2003) and "Muslims in the Indian Economy" (2006). These two meticulously documented books were instrumental in exposing the institutional discrimination against Muslims in India. L. K. Advani personally held Khalidi responsible for the Sachar Committee's request for a community-wide census and attacked him for allegedly tarnishing the army's secular credentials. In addition to revealing the degree of entrenched Hinduism in the country's official machinery, in later years Khalidi called the Archaeological Survey of India a "Handmaiden of Hindutva" for its distortion of history. Despite his strong critique of the state machinery, he nevertheless retained a firm belief in the idea of India as a secular, democratic, and progressive nation that guarantees rights for all of its citizens.

Apart from his scholarly work, Khalidi was active in the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (the regional vice president), Indian Muslim Relief and Charities, the Indian Muslim Council, and the Association of Indian Muslims. He regularly wrote for the "Economic and Political Weekly," "Oudook," "India Abroad," "Two Circles," and other print and Internet media outlets.

He is survived by his wife Nigar and daughter Aliya.

[Author Affiliation]

- Mohammed Ayub Khan is a doctoral student in political science. (Excerpted with permission)

'Borat,' 'Brokeback Mountain' listed as human rights victims in '06

WASHINGTON - Fictional gay cowboys and a faux reporter fromKazakhstan suffered human rights abuses in 2006 as crackdowns onflesh and blood victims were extended to the Internet, award-winningfilms and noted plays worldwide, the State Department says.

From the movies "Borat" to "Brokeback Mountain," foreigngovernments banned or restricted access to a variety of big andlittle screen entertainment as well as live events, the StateDepartment says.

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen - creator of Borat, the crassKazakh chronicler of the American condition - and the gay cowboy lovestory that won three Oscars were hit with what it deemed violationsof freedoms of speech and expression.

So were the "The Da Vinci Code," "The Vagina Monologues" and eventhe popular Google Earth Web site, according to the department'sannual survey of global human rights practices released this week.

Amid a litany of deadly crackdowns on dissent, extrajudicialkillings, torture and arrests, the report suggests that traditionalcensorship of overtly political works of art, literature and film maybe entering new territory.

Baron Cohen, who has vexed the authoritarian Kazakh governmentwith his mocking and rocketed to fame in the film "Borat: CulturalLearnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,"became a victim when Kazakhstan moved against his satirical Web site.

Specifically, it took control of the registration of .kz Internetdomains in 2005 and then revoked Baron Cohen's Borat domain, sincerelocated, because it deemed his site offensive, the report said.

The movie depicting Borat's pseudo-documentary wanderings acrossthe U.S. became an unlikely hit and earned Baron Cohen a Golden Globeaward. It also generated complaints that he duped his Americansubjects into making racist and sexist remarks and portrayed Kazakhsin an unflattering light.

Borat, for example, asserted that Kazakhs are addicted to horseurine, enjoy shooting dogs, view rape and incest as respectablehobbies and are fond of "running of the Jew" festivals. Baron Cohenis an observant Jew.

The State Department report made no mention of the contents of thefilm or the Web site but said Baron Cohen's banishment wassymptomatic of repression in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic incentral Asia.

It accused the government of monitoring dissident e-mail andInternet activity, blocking or slowing access to opposition sites andplanting propaganda in Internet chat rooms.

Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" was banned in the Bahamas, wherecensors said it lacked public value and depicted extremehomosexuality, nudity and profanity, the report said.

Positive earnings propel stocks higher

NEW YORK -- Strong earnings from technology companies, includingIntel Corp., sent stocks sharply higher Wednesday. The Nasdaqcomposite index had its biggest one-day jump in a month, and the DowJones industrial average traded near a new high for the year. TheNasdaq rose 57.54, or 2.1 percent, to 2,802.51.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 186.79 points, or 1.5percent, to 12,453.79, its highest close this year, toppling the12,426 mark reached April 6.

Intel rose 6 percent, the most of the 30 companies in the Dowaverage, after the chip-maker reported that its income rose 29percent in the first quarter because of rising demand for personalcomputers. The results easily beat analysts' expectations andallayed concerns that surging sales of tablet computers would hurtIntel's results.

Amphenol Corp. rose 6 percent, the most of any company in the S&P500 index, after reporting that its earnings per share rose 31percent. The company makes fiber optic connectors and electricalequipment.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.74, or 1.4 percent, to1,330.36.

The stronger corporate earnings reports came after mainlydisappointing results released last week. Google Inc. and Alcoa Inc.were among the big companies whose earnings didn't live up toexpectations.

Technology Council seeks award nominees

The Connecticut Technology Council is seeking nominations for theMarcum Tech Top 40, a ranking of the fastest-growing technologycompanies in the state.

The awards program, which began in 2008, recognizes companies onthe basis of revenue growth. To be eligible, companies need to havebeen in business for at least four years and have fourth-yearrevenues of at least $3 million.

The 40 fastest growing companies will be compiled across sixcategories: software; IT services; new media, Internet and telecom;life sciences; advanced manufacturing; and energy and environmentaltechnolgy.

Applications are due May 31. For more information, includingfurther eligibility details, visit www.ct.org.

FRISKIT SCANS INTERNET FOR MUSIC

SAN FRANCISCO -- Search engines have always been among the Web'smost popular destinations. Then came multimedia and frustration.

How do you find music with a keyword search?

In a sunny San Francisco loft, a tiny company called Friskit Inc.has spent the last two years honing a search engine that scans theInternet for songs and music videos available to Web surfers forfree but often difficult to locate.

Other search sites also are seeking refinements they hope willmake them indispensable in the multimedia age. As more and more Webusers get broadband access, such tools are sure to becomeattractive.

Google recently began offering searches of images on the Web,rather than just words. Google performs that feat not by analyzingan image itself but by reading the text labeling the picture.

Researchers at the "Googleplex," the company's headquarters inMountain View, Calif., also are looking for ways to more directlyconnect Web surfers to online databases and to run voice-activatedsearches from wireless devices.

With better search techniques over hand-held computers, forexample, someone in a grocery store pondering an unfamiliar itemcould instantly call up product information or compare prices, saidCraig Silverstein, Google's director of technology.

"Our mission is to organize the world's information and make ituniversally accessible and useful," Silverstein said.

Friskit is based on the notion that many users want linksstraight to a certain experience such as hearing a song ratherthan to static information.

Though analysts note that several other multimedia search engineshave come and gone without leaving much of a mark, Friskit'sexecutives hope to cash in by licensing their technology to Webportals, music sites, record labels or companies that want tocatalogue their multimedia presentations.

"Whether you want to find a Moby track, a Steve Jobs interview oran Osama bin Laden interview, you should be able to find it with oneclick," said Jeff Morgen, Friskit's chief operating officer.

Morgen and Aviv Eyal, Friskit's co-founder and technology guru,are aiming at the rapidly changing market for online music, whichgained prominence with the popularity of Napster but has been boggeddown in legal squabbles over copyright protection.

Bill Rose, who has researched the market as vice president andgeneral manager of Arbitron Webcast Services, said a multimediasearch engine offers Web surfers more choice and control thancurrent Internet broadcast sites, which have a more limited pool ofavailable content.

Friskit can lump songs by genre or by musician, so users don'thave to be precise in what they're looking for.

But even with such thoughtful features, it appears certain thatFriskit's life will get helter-skelter.

At least one competitor with similar multimedia searchtechnology, Seattle-based Singingfish Inc., already has signedpartnerships with RealNetworks Inc., and Inktomi Corp. and ispursuing deals with the big portals as well.

ON THE WEB

www.friskit.com

www.google.com

www.singingfish.com

Sof: Collated Olympic softball results

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2004
Sof: Collated Olympic softball results

ATHENS, Aug 23 Reuters - Collated Olympic softball results.



Gold medal game

United States 5 bt Australia 1



REUTERS rca

KEYWORD: OLYR SOF COLLATED

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: More arrests over terror links expected

AAP General News (Australia)
04-16-2004
FED: More arrests over terror links expected

SYDNEY, April 16 AAP - More people suspected of having links to terrorists will be
found in Australia after this week's arrest of a 21-year-old Sydney student, authorities
said today.

Izhar Ul Haque, a medical student from Glenwood in Sydney's west, was charged yesterday
with training with the Pakistan-based terror group, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET).

Attorney General Philip Ruddock said today that Ul Haque had not been the target of
the police investigation that led to his arrest.

"It was part of a wider investigation in which the Commonwealth is involved that these
alleged crimes came to notice," he said.

NSW premier Bob Carr said his government had been warned to prepare for more arrests.

"We were told that there were arrests pending and we should have prison places available,"

he said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said a wider investigation was under way.

"People who may have some association with terrorism are being tracked down," he said.

Mr Downer also said Australian Federal Police would examine whether Ul Haque had links
to French terrorist suspect Willie Brigitte, who is being held by French authorities on
suspicion of terrorism after he was deported from Australia last October.

"He probably has some linkages I would imagine, that is for sure," Mr Downer told ABC Radio.

"But whether those are within Australia that'll be something obviously the Federal
Police will be investigating."

Ul Haque, who came to Australia in 1998 and attended Pennant Hills and North Sydney
Boys high schools, is the first person to be charged with training with a terrorist organisation.

If proven, Ul Haque could face 25 years in jail.

The third-year student at the University of NSW faced Central Local Court yesterday
afternoon and was remanded to appear again on May 5.

He was moved to the maximum security Goulburn Jail today where he was being kept in segregation.

Ul Haque's lawyer Adam Houda said his client was innocent.

"Our client is an innocent young man and a person of good character who hasn't hurt
anyone," Mr Houda said in a statement today.

"Nor has he ever possessed an intention to unlawfully hurt anyone."

Sujeet Rana, a former school friend of Ul Haque, today described the accused man as a "nice guy".

"He was a really nice guy, he was quiet, but he hung around with us all the time, he'd
be good for a laugh, he was religious but not fanatically," Mr Rana told Channel 10.

Ul Haque is alleged to have trained with LET in January and February last year in Pakistan.

LET is the same group Brigitte and Australian terrorist suspects David Hicks and Mamdouh
Habib are believed to be linked to.

Hicks and Habib are still being held without charge at the US military base Guantanamo
Bay in Cuba.

AAP nf/mo/jlw

KEYWORD: TERROR AUST NIGHTLEAD

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: NSW, Vic workers most likely to opt out early

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2004
Fed: NSW, Vic workers most likely to opt out early

MELBOURNE, Feb 10 AAP - White-collar workers in Australia's most populous states are
most likely to experience burn-out and opt out of the workforce earlier, a workplace survey
has found.

The survey of 7,500 companies found NSW and Victorian employees were the least likely
to be interested in working past retirement age.

Of all NSW managers surveyed, 63.5 per cent were interested in working beyond retirement
age, compared to 69.7 per cent of Victorian managers, 72 per cent in Queensland, 78 per
cent in South Australia, 82.4 per cent in West Australia and 85.2 per cent of managers
in the ACT.

Melanie Kontze, Victorian general manager of The Hudson Report, the company which carried
out the survey, said the results may be indicative of a greater burn-out factor in larger
states and a greater ability of people in the smaller cities to find a happy balance between
life and work.

"Therefore the idea of remaining in some form of employment is much more appealing,"

Ms Kontze said.

The survey also found that fewer than one in three Australian employers were trying
to attract mature-age workers.

Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews said Australia was
yet to seriously confront the trend of early retirement and the need to keep more mature-age
workers in the workforce.

He said companies which failed to employ mature-age Australians would not survive.

"We need an attitudinal sea change towards older workers and recruitment agencies and
human resource managers are on the frontline," Mr Andrews said.

Tasmanian managers were also surveyed, but the sample group was too small to give accurate
percentile figures.

AAP clm/gfr/jv/jlw/

KEYWORD: WORKERS

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Carr enjoys himself, Brogden gets set for generational mood shift

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2003
NSW: Carr enjoys himself, Brogden gets set for generational mood shift

By Jim Hanna, State Political Correspondent

SYDNEY, Dec 4 AAP - Forget Canberra, Bob Carr's real ambition is Washington DC.

On a recent bus trip, the NSW Premier had journalists in stitches with a convincing
impression of a tour guide in the US capital.

Legs astride at the front of the bus, Mr Carr pointed left and right as he reeled off
spontaneous, yet voluble descriptions of DC landmarks - until the driver asked him to
sit down so the bus could go.

Mr Carr has enjoyed himself immensely this year.

After holding his huge parliamentary majority at the March 22 election, he took the
chance to implement contentious social reforms, launch a revealing book culled from his
personal diaries and indulge in cameos in that long-running saga, the federal Labor leadership.

It's no secret Bob Carr would love to be prime minister or, better still, foreign minister.

But he knows the circumstances to move to the federal stage are no longer suitable.

Why give up the security of ruling NSW for at least three more years for another stretch
in opposition - in cold, unforgiving Canberra?

But he's enjoyed the next best thing to being in power federally - flattering speculation
(and polls) about a move to Canberra during a virtually untroubled third term as premier
of Australia's biggest state.

March 22 cemented Mr Carr's massive parliamentary majority, ensuring he had plenty
of electoral capital to leave behind a political legacy.

His first two terms were marked by a social conservatism increasingly common in the
modern day Labor Party.

But with a third (and possibly fourth) term safely in the bag, Mr Carr decided it was
safe to test the community's tolerance on potentially divisive social issues.

In May, he deftly sold equalising the age of consent for homosexual males as a piece
of legal housekeeping, ensuring objections were kept largely to fringe conservatives (on
both sides).

That same month, he announced a four-year trial to allow the medicinal use of cannabis
to relieve chronic suffering.

Patients would gain access to medical cannabis through a new Office of Medicinal Cannabis.

Later in the year, the government announced the controversial Kings Cross heroin injecting
room trial would continue for another four years - in other words, it will be up for review
once the 2007 election is safely out of the way.

All of these issues would have had their genesis before March 22.

But there was no way a cagey operator like Bob Carr was going to give the opposition
any chance to run a scare campaign during an election.

Mr Carr's handling of potentially perilous issues this year also showed an increasing
surefootedness.

His decision to present the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi
generated opposition from the coalition and sections of Australia's Jewish community.

But Mr Carr won the day when he took that criticism head on by pointing out his 30-year
support of Israel.

Privately, he is buoyed by the positive reaction he's received from ordinary members
of the public to his stance.

The same head-on strategy seems to have worked with the increased poker machine tax rates.

Despite a well-funded, professionally coordinated campaign by the clubs, the government
seems to have lost little public support by raising gaming machine tax rates on registered
clubs with the biggest turnover.

In fact, one television campaign that threatened to personally target Mr Carr was mothballed
after he took on its creator, advertising guru John Singleton, in the media.

He even managed to please the state's farmers - not exactly a typical Labor voting
constituency - on the contentious issue of clearing native vegetation on their land.

A $406 million package will pay farmers to set aside more land for conservation, plant
more native trees and manage their land sustainably.

And what of the NSW opposition?

Given the demoralising election loss - its second big loss in a row - it's a mark of
John Brogden's leadership the coalition has held together as well as it has, and even
landed a few punches on some ministers.

Questions are still being asked about standard of health care at public hospitals,
the whereabouts of the trouble-plagued Millennium train and gun violence on Sydney's streets.

But Mr Brogden faces a huge task to get the coalition ready for government while it
spends at least three more years in the political wilderness.

Much is being made of the generational change federal Labor is going through with the
relatively youthful Mark Latham now at the helm.

At 34, Mr Brogden is eight years younger than Mr Latham and has followed a similar
career path in terms of cutting his teeth in ministerial offices.

But whether he too can tap into the mood for a generational shift depends on whether
voters think Bob Carr - who will be 59 at the next state election - is getting on and
it's time for a fresher face.

Mr Brogden has three years to convince them, but no time to waste.

AAP jph/jc

KEYWORD: YEARENDER NSW POLITICS

2003 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: ABC should have reduced backroom staff first says Alston=2

00-00-0000
NSW: ABC should have reduced backroom staff first says Alston=2

Senator Alston also said the ABC could have looked at further reducing spending onadvertising, which has been slashed by $2.75 million, before axing programs.

"They have reduced for example some of its spending on advertising and self promotionbut that has doubled in the past four-and-a-half years," he said.

"In other words going up from four million in `99 to eight and-a-half million now,then there was obviously scope for taking it back (more)."

Senator Alston said the government had maintained the ABC's triennial funding in realterms in the next three financial years.

"The fact is that the ABC has known for many, many months it was going to be a verytough budget. I think even as far back as last year we were telling them it was unlikelythey would get an increase," he said.

"As it turned out we maintained funding in real terms for both the ABC and SBS.

"The ABC had to look within its means as regards what its priorities are.

"Now if you regard Behind The News as a very important program, then there's no reasonwith a budget of $760-odd million they can't maintain that program.

"We make a judgment out of what we can afford for the budget.

"It's always going to be tough. We had the drought we had Iraq and we just can't accommodatepeople's wish lists."

AAP lb/nf/cd/jlw

KEYWORD: ABC ALSTON 2 SYDNEY

NSW: Passenger suffers head injuries, severed ear in serious MVA

00-00-0000
NSW: Passenger suffers head injuries, severed ear in serious MVA

An 18-year-old passenger has suffered serious head injuries and a severed ear in acar accident north of Sydney.

Police say the driver of the Mazda RX7 escaped unhurt after failing to negotiate abend on the Old Pacific Highway at Brooklyn on Friday night.

Senior Constable SAMANTHA GROVES from Lane Cove investigators says the car hit a bank,overturned …

Fed: Nine killed on nation's roads over holiday period

00-00-0000
Fed: Nine killed on nation's roads over holiday period

SYDNEY, Dec 22 AAP - Two people were killed in accidents on the nation's roads today,taking the national holiday road toll to nine.

A South Australian motorcyclist died in hospital from injuries he received in a collisionwith a van at Wingfield, in Adelaide's north, on Friday at 3.10pm (CDT).

The 27-year-old man, from Elizabeth Downs, was the first death recorded on the state'sroads over the holiday period.

In NSW, police said a pedestrian was hit by several cars while crossing the westboundlanes of the M4 at Prospect, west of Sydney, about 4am (AEDT) today.

In Queensland, seven people have died on the state's roads over the holiday period.

The deaths in that state include five people who died in a head-on collision on theBruce Highway, about 20km south of Proserpine in the state's north, early yesterday.

Police blame fatigue for the accident.

In a separate accident, an 18-year-old woman was killed in a head-on smash betweentwo cars in Dayboro, north of Brisbane, yesterday afternoon.

And a 68-year-old man was killed after his vehicle veered off the Pacific Motorwaynear the Gold Coast and hit a tree on Friday.

No road fatalities have been reported so far in WA, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, orthe Northern Territory.

(Eds: National road toll figures are for the period 0001 December 20 to 2359 January5 AEDT. Some states and territories have different periods.)

AAP la/jtb/sco/de

KEYWORD: TOLL NATIONAL SECOND NIGHTLEAD

Vic: Elliott company falls into receivership

00-00-0000
Vic: Elliott company falls into receivership

A rice producer part-owned by high-profile businessman John Elliott has been placedin receivership.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu says it's been appointed receiver due to cash flow problemsat Australian Rice Holdings Pty Ltd.

Deloitte's representative ANDREW BECK says the company has been badly affected by worldrice prices, drought and the current difficult business climate.

Mr ELLIOTT is a former Liberal Party president and Elders IXL boss.

He originally registered Australian Rice Holdings in August 1997 in partnership withUS investor ROY DISNEY, a nephew of Walt Disney, through his private company Shamrock.

Australian Rice Holdings became the largest shareholder in grain miller and stock feedgroup Water Wheel Holdings, which they hoped would rise to the top of the local rice growingindustry.

But problems emerged with both Australian Rice Holdings and Water Wheel and the partnershipbetween Mr ELLIOTT and Shamrock dissolved.

Earlier this year Shamrock went to court seeking $500,000 in disputed payments by AustralianRice Holdings to Mr Elliott.

Mr BECK says the placing of Australian Rice Holdings in receivership has no connectionto problems at Water Wheel Holdings.

AAP RTV nc/gr/jlw/mo/gjr

KEYWORD: ELLIOTT (MELBOURNE)

Fed: PM and states agree to national framework on stem cells

00-00-0000
Fed: PM and states agree to national framework on stem cells

By Sandra O'Malley

CANBERRA, April 5 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard today bowed to state concerns overembryonic stem cell research, clearing the way for a national framework agreed by stateand territory leaders.

State leaders went into the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting confidentof a resolution but adamant they would not back down over conditions attached to Mr Howard'soriginal proposal.

Under the agreement thrashed out today, embryo donors will have to give consent onlyonce for stem cell research.

"Consent for research once given is good for all kinds of research," Mr Howard said.

And in a significant backdown for the prime minister, the leaders agreed that a banon the use of future surplus IVF embryos for stem cell research would expire in threeyears' time.

An ethics committee will also be established to advise COAG within 12 months on a regimeto prevent embryos being created for the sole purpose of research.

"If there were agreement on the regime then you could make a change at that 12 monthpoint. If there's not agreement, in any event it runs out in three years," Mr Howard said.

After that point each jurisdiction would develop its own legislation to deal with the issue.

The prime minister originally wanted research to only occur on the existing stock ofaround 70,000 surplus IVF embryos.

He had also wanted consent from a donor in every case where the human embryo was tobe used for research purposes.

Mr Howard told journalists he believed the agreement would be widely applauded in theAustralian community.

"It provides certainty, it provides opportunity, it provides hope," he said.

Mr Howard - the only Liberal leader at COAG - thanked the Labor leaders for their cooperation.

The outcome was unanimously welcomed by the leaders, who will now have to steer mirrorlegislation through their parliaments.

Federal MPs will have a free vote on the legislation which Mr Howard hopes to havethrough federal parliament by the end of June.

Cabinet ministers Alexander Downer and Brendan Nelson have already indicated theirsupport for the legislation.

NSW Premier Bob Carr said the agreement offered Australians suffering disease hopeof relief and predicted it would result in medical breakthroughs.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks described the agreement as a victory for common sense.

"I can go back to Victoria now comforted by the fact that we have a national position,which we will now legislate for in Victoria, which will allow that research to be undertakenin the future," he said.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the agreement meant human life would be improvedin Australia.

"This is the most positive and constructive COAG meeting I have attended," he said.

AAP so/daw/cjh/mo

KEYWORD: STEMCELL NIGHTLEAD

Fed: SA govt's response to uranium leak reckless - Democrats

00-00-0000
Fed: SA govt's response to uranium leak reckless - Democrats

CANBERRA, Jan 13 AAP - The South Australian government's response to a 60,000 litreradioactive liquid spill in the state's north bordered on reckless, the Australian Democratsdeclared today.

The Democrats today called for an immediate halt to operations at the Beverley UraniumMine, where the spill happened on Friday.

Democrats Leader Natasha Stott Despoja also demanded an independent inquiry and assessmenton the environment after groundwater containing sulphuric acid and uranium erupted froma pipe during routine maintenance at the mine.

"The inquiry must examine the …

NSW: Government, opposition support life jail for pack rapes

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2001
NSW: Government, opposition support life jail for pack rapes

Tough new laws to put pack rapists in jail for life look certain to come into force
in New South Wales with opposition leader KERRY CHIKAROVSKI pledging support for the government
crackdown.

Premier BOB CARR has announced his government is drafting new laws to increase the
maximum penalty for gang rapes from 20 years to life.

The move follows community outrage at the leniency of sentences handed down to two
brothers last week for a pack rape last year in Sydney's south-west.

Both political leaders say the courts need to take greater account of the community's
condemnation of pack rapes.

Neither will support laws to force judges to impose certain jail terms but Mrs CHIKAROVSKI
says judges must have the option of life sentencing available to them in appropriate circumstances.

AAP RTV gmw/jh

KEYWORD: GANGS (SYDNEY)

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Diary for Tuesday April 10, 2001

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2001
Diary for Tuesday April 10, 2001
EVENTS ARE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND IN LOCAL TIME UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.


ADELAIDE


1530 - Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Errol McCormack to announce winner of Fincastle
2001, RAAF Base Edinburgh, RAAF Base, Edinburgh. Contact: Mrs Deanna Nott 8305 6427 or
0417 887 040.


BRISBANE


0900 - International Natural Gas Vehicles Conference to be held at the Brisbane Convention
and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane. Info: Brett Jarman 0404 884 490.

0900 - Federal Forestry, Fisheries and Conservation Minister Wilson Tuckey news conference
Finger Wharf, River Terrace, Tweed Heads. Contact: Graeme Hallet 0419 688 440.

0930 - Minister for Public Works and Housing Robert Schwarten to launch a new bus service
in Logan City, Logan City Bowls Club, 4 Alba Lane, Kingston. Contact: Amanda Scanlan 3235
9077.

1200 - Tourism and Racing Minister Merri Rose to officially launch the 2001 Queensland
Winter Racing Carnival, Lower stage, Queen Street Mall. No contact number.

1245 - Federal Employment Services Minister Mal Brough and Local MP Margaret May to receive
a report card on the government's Work for the Dole program, Paradise Springs Golf Club,
Robina. Contact: Astra Harquitz 5525 0688 or 0402 297 030.


CANBERRA


1100 - Launch of Kings Hall 9, Characters of Federation come to life, a theatrical approach
to telling the stories of Federation, Old Parliament House, Canberra. Contact: Virginia
Jones 02 6270 8107
1130 - Olympic Archery Gold medallist Simon Fairweather, to present the lucky 100,000th
visitor to the National Museum of Australia with a museum gift-pack, National Museum of
Australia, Acton Peninsula, Acton. Contact: 02 6208 5338 or 0438 620 710.


MELBOURNE


1000 - Variety Club, Cadbury Confectionary and the Victoria Police Easter egg drop for
special kids and their families, Hanover Family Services, 217 Cecil Street, South Melbourne.

Contact: Andrea Lucas 9521 4566, 0417 558 126.

1030 - Premier Steve Bracks to open new business park, Ford Motor Company Research Centre,
1735 Sydney Road, Campbellfield. Contact: Graeme Domm or Joanne Gallpen 9600 0006, 0417
529 912.

1100 - Arts and Centenary of Federation Minister, Peter McGauran, to open the National
Gallery of Victoria's exhibition: Common Wealth - A Tribute to Federation, Murdoch Gallery,
NGV, 285-32 Russell Street. Contact: Tina Saccone 9208 0296, Sue Coffey 9208 0250, 0413
757 206 or Kylie Huang 9208 0221, 0402 468 323.

1200 - Fair Trade Alliance launch, Finance Sector Union, 4th Floor, 341 Queen Street.

Contact: Anne O'Rourke 0409 334 581, Ted Murphy 0419 517 288.

1200 - Minister for Energy and Resources, and Ports, Candy Broad to open the new RMIT
University Aquaculture Research Facility, SEAMEC, Cnr Church and Carpenter Streets, Lakes
Entrance. Contact: Andrew Yee 9925 3176, 0417 592 398 or Paula Benson 9925 2373, 0407
853 489.

1230 - Governor of the Reserve Bank Ian Macfarlane to address the Economic Society luncheon
on monetary conditions and prospects, Hotel Grand Hyatt, The Mayfair Room, Collins Street.

Contact: 9650 4028.

1730 - Melbourne Lord Mayor Peter Costigan and surviving Rats of Tobruk to open the Rats
of Tobruk 60th Anniversary Display, Administration Foyer, Melbourne Town Hall. Contact:
Andrew Hall 9658 9115, 0411 043 484.

1800 - International constitutional lawyer Michel Troper to present the third Rule of
Law Lecture: The Limits of the Rule of Law, presented by the University of Melbourne's
Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, The Judges' Trust and Melbourne University
Law School Foundation, Theatre D, Old Arts Building, University of Melbourne. Contact:
Emily Perry 8344 0181, 0412 205 635.


PERTH


TBA - Blessing of the Roads ceremony to take place throughout the state with a round trip
commencing in Albany, cavalcade to travel to Collie with ceremonies at Denmark and Bridgetown/Greenbushes.

No contact number.


SYDNEY


0800 - School closure students explain their reason for a planned strike on May 1, Outside
Hunters Hill High, Reiby Road, Hunters Hill. Contact: Sean Healy 0407 525 700
1200 - Health Minister Michael Wooldridge to launch the world's first guidelines for the
management of advanced breast cancer, Functions Room, Edmund Blackett Building, Prince
of Wales Hospital, corner High and Avoca Street, Randwick. Contact: Liz Potter 9334 1805.

1230 - Governor General Sir William Deane to launch the 2001 Red Shield Appeal, Sydney
Town Hall, George Street. Contact: Pat Daley 9266 9820.


SPORT


BASKETBALL - NBL Playoffs -
Game 3 (if required) - Perth v Wollongong, Perth Entertainment Centre
SURFING - to Apr 22 -
Rip Curl Pro (men) and SunSmart Classic (women), Bells Beach, Victoria
GALLOPS -
Yarra Glen
Wagga
Murwillumbah
Bunbury
TROTS -
Harold Park
Stawell
Gold Coast
Globe Derby
Ballarat
GREYHOUNDS -
Gosford
Warragul
Ipswich
Lismore
Beenleigh
Horsham


ENTERTAINMENT


No items listed


AAP Diary Contact: Nartira Carlson Phone: 02 9322 8673 Fax: 02 9322 8679.



AAP nac/cjh

KEYWORD: DIARY TUESDAY APRIL 10, 2001

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Designer of Australia s banknotes dies

AAP General News (Australia)
01-18-2001
NSW: Designer of Australia s banknotes dies

GORDON ANDREWS, who designed Australia's first decimal currency banknotes, has died
in Sydney, a week after celebrating his 87th birthday.

Mr ANDREWS also designed the coat of arms in the House of Representatives chamber in
the new Parliament House in Canberra, several postage stamps, and major Australian trade
exhibitions at World Fairs around …

Vic: Three survive "non survivable" accident

AAP General News (Australia)
08-28-2000
Vic: Three survive "non survivable" accident

MELBOURNE, Aug 28 AAP - Three people had survived a "virtually non-survivable" car
crash that killed three others as they returned home from a night out in country Victoria,
police said.

Inspector Chris Ferguson of the Major Collision Investigation Unit said it was a miracle
anyone survived the horrific two-car smash west of Melbourne last night.

"It was a high-impact collision and it was virtually non-survivable, and it is a miracle
that people have managed to live," he told reporters.

Insp Ferguson was referring to three passengers who survived the head-on smash - two
were taken to hospital with critical injuries and a third suffered minor injuries.

A 32-year-old dancing instructor and a 19-year-old who was one month short of his 20th
birthday were among those killed in what police described as "a very tragic accident".

Police are seeking a third vehicle whose occupants might be able to help them establish
the cause of the accident on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong about 7.45pm
(AEDT).

Insp Ferguson said they wanted to speak to the occupants of a white Commodore that
stopped at the scene of the crash.

The vehicle, fitted with L-plates, was overtaken by one of the crash cars just before
the accident, he said.

"We know for a fact one vehicle was overtaken by the north travelling vehicle and there's
a possibility there's a third vehicle involved from the point of view of the overtaking
manoeuvre," Insp Ferguson said.

He said both cars involved in the crash were travelling at the maximum speed of 100kph.

"Once again, it reflects the fact that people need to drive to the conditions. It was
raining at the time," he said.

"This collision occurred on a long, sweeping bend. Possibly speed may have been a factor
in this accident."

Asked his reaction to the accident in light of Victorian Premier Steve Bracks's challenge
to motorists last week to go one week without a road death, Insp Ferguson said: "Sadly,
this is the case and let's make it no more."

Killed in the crash were dancing instructor Peter John Dando, 32, of Geelong, who was
returning home from a class in Ballarat; local skating identity Brock Phelps, 19, of Ballarat,
who drove the other car; and his passenger Tristian Ives, 18, also of Ballarat.

AAP aj/jd/rs/br

KEYWORD: TOLL VIC NIGHTLEAD

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Main stories in today s Sydney newspapers = 4

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2000
NSW: Main stories in today s Sydney newspapers = 4

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Page 1: One billion dollars was wiped from the value of listed technology shares in
another sell-off on the Australian sharemarket yesterday. Treasurer Peter Costello has
insisted he can still deliver a Budget surplus in 2000-01.

Page 3: A third of NSW businesses could face financial ruin after the Olympics because
they had not developed plans to protect cashflows, a business group has warned.

Page 5: Tax Commissioner Michael Carmody has rejected claims he was behind the rise
of former first assistant commissioner Nick Petroulias.

World: Chinese authorities are bracing themselves for a new wave of protests by Falun
Gong activists. Chinese President Jiang Zemin has refused to rule out the use of military
force against Taiwan.

Companies: North Ltd shares were unmoved despite speculation the company had made a
$1.2 billion bid for a Brazilian iron ore producer. News Corp may delay the planned public
float of its $US36 billion satellite vehicle.

Markets: The Australian share market has suffered one of its biggest one-day falls
of the year. Australian underwriters are confident several coming floats will proceed
despite the global sell-off in technology and Internet stocks.

AAP km/apm

KEYWORD: FRONTERS NSW 4 SYDNEY

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Directions hearing for Ambulance Royal Commission today

AAP General News (Australia)
01-19-2000
Vic: Directions hearing for Ambulance Royal Commission today

done...







Senior KENNETT government figures are expected to be among witnesses announced at the
Victoria Supreme Court directions hearing to the long-awaited ambulance contracts Royal
Commission today.

Royal Commissioner LEX LASRY QC will give his opening address in an inquiry into contracts
awarded between April 1993 and March 1995.

Mr LASRY will also call on parties seeking leave to appear before the inquiry - which
is expected to last up to five months.

…

VIC: Democrats and Libs have same election slogan

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-1999
VIC: Democrats and Libs have same election slogan

MELBOURNE, Aug 26 AAP - The Liberal Party and the Democrats share little common ground
except in Victoria where they have the same campaign slogan for the upcoming state election -
Working for our Future.

The slogan for the Victorian Liberal Party was unveiled yesterday.

The Australian Democrats say they have been using the same slogan for about two months.

"Working for our Future" is the headline splashed across the state division's home page on
the Democrats' national website; the slogan has also been used on election material already in
circulation.

Democrats state president Andrew Potter told AAP today they were pleased to share the
slogan with the Liberals.

"We're quite happy to have the same slogan, it'll give us an opportunity to contrast their
future and ours," Mr Potter told AAP today.

"Certainly our future doesn't involve changing the state's name to Victoria Pty Ltd."

Mr Potter said the party hoped the election campaign would propel the party into a more
active role in state politics.

"We need to be honest, the Victorian division has not been active and we see this election
as an opportunity to launch ourselves into this state's politics," he said.

Mr Potter said the Democrats were targeting upper house seats because the Victorian upper
house had become a sleepy old boys' club, rubber-stamping whatever the lower house passed.

He said that as in the Senate, the Democrats held the balance of power in South Australia's
upper house and held it jointly with the Greens in Western Australia.

Liberal Party state director Peter Poggioli said the party had no intention of changing its
slogan.

"We will continue to use it, we have a plan for the future," Dr Poggioli said on ABC radio.

AAP ra/jlw/br

KEYWORD: POLLVIC SLOGANS

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC: More federal drug funding needed, says premier

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-1999
VIC: More federal drug funding needed, says premier

The thorny issue of fighting illicit drugs is set to head the agenda at tomorrow's
Premiers' meeting in Canberra.

Victorian Health Minister ROB KNOWLES says state and territory leaders will be seeking
extra commonwealth funds for expanded drug treatment services and education programs at the
meeting.

He says leaders will also be seeking support for heroin trials at the meeting.

Mr KNOWLES says heroin trials in the ACT and Victoria are not a dead issue despite the
staunch opposition of Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD.

A Melbourne youth worker says a new approach to heroin is needed at the conference
following a report revealing children as young as 12 are injecting the drug daily.

The report, by Melbourne's Youth Substance Abuse Service, says teenagers are trapped in
heroin dependency because they feel help is either not accessible or engaging enough to keep
them.

PAUL MCDONALD, the service's chief executive, says the report should send a clear message
that fighting the drug problem is not just about increasing police and getting people to say
no to drugs.

AAP RTV cmc/imc/lw/am

KEYWORD: DRUGS YOUTH (MELBOURNE)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Bird s nest starts house fire

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-1998
SA: Bird s nest starts house fire

ADELAIDE, Dec 19 AAP - A fire which began in a large bird's nest on top of a hot water
system caused more than $100,000 damage to a house in the Adelaide Hills last night.

The roof of the combined house and business at Mt Barker was destroyed, but the rooms were
saved and no-one was injured in the fire, which started about 5pm.

AAP tj/wjf

KEYWORD: NEST

1998 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:First carbon-neutral apartments coming

AAP General News (Australia)
02-28-2011
FED:First carbon-neutral apartments coming

Eds: Embargoed until 0001 AEDT Monday, Feb 28



By Melissa Jenkins

MELBOURNE, Feb 28 AAP - Australia's first carbon-neutral apartments will be on the
market this year, with the Melbourne dwellings expected to fetch about $1 million.

The 10-storey Delta complex, to include 50 apartments, is part of the $600 million
Carlton Brewery development to be completed in 2014.

The apartments will conform to the Passive House standard, which is the highest in
Europe for energy efficiency.

About 20,000 houses - mainly in Austria, …

NSW:Town planner breaks down after hearing plans of former lover

AAP General News (Australia)
02-27-2008
NSW:Town planner breaks down after hearing plans of former lover

EDS: Corrects literal in ninth par



EDS: Attention to language in 19th par



By Kim Christian and Simon Kirby

SYDNEY, Feb 27 AAP - Former Wollongong town planner Beth Morgan broke down at an inquiry
today after hearing her former lover used a conman to intimidate her against speaking
to corruption investigators.

An intercept of a telephone conversation between property developer Frank Vellar and
conman Ray Younan was today played to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)
inquiry …

ClearOne Communications Sets Date to Release Financial Results

Wireless News
05-11-2011
ClearOne Communications Sets Date to Release Financial Results
Type: News

ClearOne Communications announced it will release its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, on Thursday, May 12, before market opens.

According to a release, the company also said that senior management will host an investor conference call the same day at 11 a.m. Eastern Time to review the company's financial results.
The conference call will be available to interested parties through 877-407-4134 (domestic) or 201-689-8430 (international). The passcode is 372339. The call will also be available through a live, listen-only audio Internet broadcast at clearone.com.

ClearOne is a global communications solutions company that develops and sells conferencing, collaboration, streaming media and connectivity systems and other related products for audio, video, and web applications.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

QLD:Body of man found at Phantom Island

AAP General News (Australia)
08-29-2011
QLD:Body of man found at Phantom Island

BRISBANE, Aug 29 AAP - The body of a man who tried to swim to a boat at night in north
Queensland has been found.

An air and sea search was launched for the 48-year-old Victorian man after he attempted
to swim from Phantom Island to the nearby boat around 7.30pm (AEST) Sunday.

His body was found close to the island at 9.45am Monday.

AAP mf/goc/

KEYWORD: SEARCH UPDATE

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:eBay chief praises local online retailers

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-2011
FED:eBay chief praises local online retailers

SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - Australians are embracing online shopping and its our internet
retailers who are reaping the benefits.

eBay, the online auction site, says the sector is meeting the needs of the modern,
time-poor consumer.

The company's Australia and New Zealand managing director, Deborah Sharkey, has told
a conference in Sydney the local sector is looking at double-digit growth in 2011.

She rejected concerns that consumer spending is favouring offshore internet retailers.

"I am thrilled at the thousands of Australian businesses who are already capitalising
on this trend and evolving to meet the needs of the modern consumer," she said on Friday.

"I look forward to watching their ranks swell over the next few months.

"The statistics are clear, 10 million Australians are voting with their clicks and
they're telling us that the future of retail is online."

In 2010, the turnover of the top 2000 sellers on eBay was more than $120,000.

The top seller generated turnover of more than $12.6 million, Ms Sharkey said.

More Australians are buying online due to the strong Australian dollar exchange rate,
which is making offshore purchases cheaper than ever before.

But it's not all roses for Australian retailers.

On Thursday, local booksellers Borders and Angus & Robertson bookstores went into administration.

Book retailers across the globe have been hit in recent years due to the rise of internet-based
book sellers such as Amazon and electronic books.

Australian retailers, such as Gerry Harvey, recently called for offshore internet purchases
to be subject to GST, like goods sold in traditional stores.

Ms Sharkey said on average Australian spends an hour and 40 minutes shopping online each week.

Australia also had one of the the highest penetration of mobile smartphones in the
world, with a quarter of Australians using their phone to shop.

Every 15 seconds an Australian buys something using eBay's mobile phone app, she said.

Ms Sharkey was speaking at an Online Retail Forum, which is being attended by senators
Stephen Conroy and Nick Sherry.

The event was packed with guests having to watch the proceedings via a webcast in an
"overflow room" at the Westin Hotel in the CBD.

AAP lxs/klm/it

KEYWORD: RETAIL EBAY

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Gillard continues cabinet tradition

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2010
FED:Gillard continues cabinet tradition

In her first foray at community cabinet as prime minister .. JULIA GILLARD's faced
questions on immigration .. helping impoverished countries .. and Australia's World Cup
bid.

Ms GILLARD and a selection of her team have continued with the community meetings popular
with her predecessor KEVIN RUDD .. and today met with residents at Redcliffe .. north
of Brisbane.

But MR RUDD .. now the foreign minister .. was 12-thousand kilometres away in Kazakhstan
for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe summit.

A number of local issues were raised by attendees at the community meeting .. like
the lack of specialist services in the electorate .. poor internet availability .. and
asylum seekers.

Ms GILLARD ended the meeting by plugging Australia's credentials as a World Cup host
nation for the 2022 event .. but she insisted she didn't have any "inside knowledge".

AAP RTV jmm/cj/jr

KEYWORD: CABINET (REDCLIFFE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Govt won't confirm reports ETS on backburner

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2010
Fed: Govt won't confirm reports ETS on backburner

The federal government says it remains committed to its emissions trading scheme ..

despite talk it's been put on the backburner until after the election.

The Sydney Morning Herald says Labor plans to push back the proposed start date ..

from July next year to at least 2013 .. after a decision by cabinet's priorities and budget
committee.

Climate Change Minister PENNY WONG's office says the opposition's blocking of the ETS
legislation will obviously affect its treatment in the May budget .. but the government
still believes its scheme is the best and lowest cost way to reduce carbon pollution.

The Opposition's GREG HUNT has told ABC radio .. KEVIN RUDD's dropping the ETS because
it's an inconvenience .. and the decision will save Labor two and a half billion dollars.

His colleague GEORGE BRANDIS has told Sky News the government still wants to impose
a great big new tax on everything .. but doesn't want it to become an election issue.

AAP RTV gd/rl/jmt

KEYWORD: CLIMATE (CANBERRA)

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD: Firefighters working to protect homes from grass fire

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2009
QLD: Firefighters working to protect homes from grass fire

Firefighters are working to protect two homes in south-east Queensland .. with a large
grass fire burning out of control.

The blaze broke out at 11am (AEST) at Euleilah and is burning near two homes along Taunton Road.

Firefighters are backburning and reinforcing fire breaks .. while residents are advised
to be prepared to enact their bushfire plans.

AAP RTV ka/ajw

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES QLD (BRISBANE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NT: Anderson accuses NT govt of condoning racism

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2009
NT: Anderson accuses NT govt of condoning racism

Rebel MP ALISON ANDERSON has called on the Rudd government to condemn Northern Territory
Labor .. and stand-up for Aboriginal rights.

Ms ANDERSON has quit the party today over its handling of remote Aboriginal housing.

Labor now has only 12 seats in the 25-member parliament and Territorians could now
go to the polls within weeks.

Ms ANDERSON says she's also quitting because the Territory's Labor leader PAUL HENDERSON
failed to stand up for her after she was attacked in a weekend column.

She says the article was blatantly racist and Mr HENDERSON'S silence is a signal that
it's OK to beat up on black politicians.

AAP RTV tr/ka

KEYWORD: ANDERSON (DARWIN)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Search resumes for boy feared taken by croc

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2009
Qld: Search resumes for boy feared taken by croc

CAIRNS, Qld, Feb 10 AAP - The search for a five-year-old boy feared taken by a crocodile
in the Daintree River north of Cairns continued on Tuesday.

Five-year-old Jeremy Doble was playing with his brother Ryan, seven, around the croc-infested
river, where his parents run a tour company, when he disappeared after following his dog
into the water on Sunday.

His brother told police he spotted a crocodile in the area moments after Jeremy disappeared.

Police and State Emergency Service volunteers are carrying out a large-scale search
operation of the area, about 100km north of Cairns, but have yet to find any trace of
the boy.

AAP ews/pjo/apm

KEYWORD: CROCODILE

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

0600 2UE HEADLINES

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2008
0600 2UE HEADLINES

- Steve Hooker has become the first Australian to win a gold medal in pole vault.

- Sprint star Usain Bolt leaves Beijing with three gold medals and three world records.

- Australia could add to its 12 gold medals tonight when the Opals meet the US in the
final of the basketball.

- A man has been critically injured during a stab attack overnight in southern Sydney.

- It's claimed more than a dozen children stolen from Indian slums have been adopted
by Australian families.

- The defence department will investigate how two soldiers clipped down a steep slope
in East Timor .. acquiring serious injuries.

- And plans are being unveiled for a whale summit in Sydney after Colin was bought
down yesterday.

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