Soldiers patrol riot-hit Myanmar town

TROOPS are patrolling the streets of a central Myanmar (Burma) town after Buddhist-Muslim unrest tore through the area leaving at least 20 dead and spurring the government to declare emergency rule.

Around 50 military trucks were deployed in Meiktila on Saturday, where homes and mosques have been torched by mobs armed with with knives and sticks in three days of communal rioting.

The clashes are the latest sign of worsening tensions between Muslims and Buddhists, presenting a serious challenge for the quasi-civilian regime as it looks to reform the country after decades of iron-fisted military rule.

Violence in Meiktila, located 130 kilometres north of the capital Naypyidaw, began on Wednesday after an apparent argument in a gold shop spiralled into pitched battles.

Mosques have been reduced to ashes, while gangs of young men, including monks, have roamed the streets.

The town's sports ground has become a makeshift refuge for at least a thousand local Muslims, according to a journalist at the scene.

Kyaw Kyaw, a 27-year-old Muslim religious leader who has lived in the town since his childhood, said some Buddhist monks and local people had helped them escape.

"We could not take anything when we left our homes. We had to run for our lives," he said, adding that he was not sure what was behind the sudden explosion of violence.

Meiktila remained tense on Saturday, although no new clashes were reported overnight.

The president's office said the state of emergency would enable the military to help restore order - a significant move in a country trying to emerge from the legacy of junta rule, which ended two years ago.

Journalists in the town have seen the charred remains of bodies on the roadside, while one group of reporters was threatened at knife-point by a group of men and monks who forced them to hand over a camera memory sticks.

The United Nations, US, Britain and rights groups have called for calm and dialogue between communities amid fears that the violence could spread.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW north coast to get NBN: Gillard

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the rollout of the NBN to the far north coast of NSW. Source: AAP

MURWILLUMBAH will be the first of many towns on the NSW north coast to be connected to the national broadband network under the next stage of the rollout, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced.

During a visit to the town, Ms Gillard said construction to 5000 homes and businesses would begin in the 2015/16 financial year, as part of a soon-to-be-released three year plan for the fibre network.

"Murwillumbah will be the first of a number of communities in this region to see the benefit of fibre to the premises," Ms Gillard told reporters on Saturday.

"(The NBN) will not only transform our economy, enable us to bring services, including health and education services, to people in new ways, but it will end the burden of distance for regional communities including regional communities here in the far north coast of NSW."

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fire at Myanmar refugee camp kills 42

AT least 42 people have died and dozens have been injured in a fire at a camp for Myanmar (Burma) refugees in northern Thailand, the provincial governor says, giving an updated toll.

"The latest death toll we can confirm through military walkie-talkies is 42," Mae Hong Son provincial governor Narumol Paravat told AFP by telephone on Saturday.

The toll from Friday's blaze was likely to rise further as rescue workers searched the area.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Martin Ferguson resigns from cabinet

KEVIN Rudd supporter Martin Ferguson has resigned from Prime Minister Julia Gillard's cabinet.

Mr Ferguson, who was the minister for resources and energy, and for tourism, made the announcement in Canberra on Friday.

He's the second cabinet minister to stand down.

Fellow minister Chris Bowen resigned on Friday morning as minister for tertiary education.

Simon Crean was sacked on Thursday by Ms Gillard, who retained her leadership unopposed at a caucus meeting following Mr Rudd's decision not to stand.

Mr Ferguson said he had come to his decision after considerable thought and had informed Ms Gillard of his intention.

"I have a view it is the only honourable thing to do," he told reporters.

Mr Ferguson supported Mr Rudd's challenge in February last year, when he said he was worried about the direction of the party.

"For those reasons I would have voted for Kevin Rudd yesterday and Simon Crean (as deputy) to try and give this party a fresh start," he said.

"Unfortunately the events of yesterday were not what we have hoped for.

"The caucus has made the decision. I respect that decision."

Mr Ferguson said by resigning he was giving the prime minister and the ALP the opportunity to regain the Labor legacy of reform and embrace an approach which looked after all Australians.

"In doing so, seek the best position for the party I have been a member for 35 years to win the next election," he said.

He also gave credit to Labor stalwart Mr Crean, who had planned to run for the deputy leader spot and called for the spill.

"I thought what he did yesterday was courageous. It was about trying to give the party a fresh start," he said.

"For this reason, I would have supported him."

Mr Ferguson said Labor needed to "reclaim the legacy of the Hawke and Keating governments".

"(The legacy of) being a reforming government, " he said.

He hoped the current government had learned from the "mistakes" made during the development of mining tax debate in 2010, which in part led to Mr Rudd losing the leadership to Ms Gillard.

"You don't have to agree but you need to consult, argue it out, and work out a balance in society," he said.

"That is what I learned as a young trade union official."

Mr Ferguson is one of the only ministers to have remained in the same portfolio since the election of the Rudd government in 2007.

He said he would stand for election for his seat of Batman in September and remain in parliament for the full term if elected.

Mr Ferguson said he had spoken to very few people about his decision to stand down.

"This is a personal decision, and having made it I sat down today and re-read my first speech," he said.

The final paragraph was along these lines: "If I leave parliament with the same sense of dignity and standing that that my farther did, having left school at 13 gone on to be a bricklayer and deputy premier of NSW then I will have achieved something and maintained my dignity and honour."

He said it was not an easy decision to resign but it was honourable and he did not resile from it.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

World Bank body labelled a kangaroo court

UNIONISTS and environmental activists have protested outside the World Bank in Sydney, accusing the organisation of siding with corporations who try to bypass national laws.

About 25 people gathered at Martin Place on Friday to rally against the World Bank's use of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

ICSID oversees investment disputes between national governments and global corporations.

It is currently hearing a case brought by Canadian mining company Pacific Rim against the government of El Salvador for refusing to issue it a mining permit on environmental grounds.

The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) has called on the World Bank to cut its ties with ICSID.

"The World Bank is supposed to have programs that alleviate poverty in the world, but it's actually organising tribunals for corporations to sue governments and bypass laws," AFTINET convenor Dr Patricia Ranald said on Friday.

"ICSID is a shonky tribunal which corporations use to evade justice in national legal systems."

Dr Ranald compared the ICSID process to the one used by tobacco giant Philip Morris to sue the Australian government over its plain packaging laws in an offshore court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

United States-based activist Ron Carver, from the Institute of Policy Studies, said ICSID rulings often circumvented a country's environmental, labour and health protections.

"It is a kangaroo court," he said.

A World Bank spokesperson in Sydney said the organisation was happy to pass on the protesters' concerns to its headquarters in Washington.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Riverbed remains belong to missing NSW man

REMAINS found in a Bathurst riverbed earlier this year have been identified as those of missing man Raymond Max Wehrstedt.

The remains were discovered on January 10 in Ray Morcom Reserve on Vale Road by a member of the public.

A post mortem confirmed they belonged to the 62-year-old Parkes man who was reported missing on June 8 when he failed to return home after visiting family in Bathurst.

Police investigations into his disappearance continue, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

No Afghan combat role for Aust post-2014

AFGHANISTAN'S foreign minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul appears to have ruled out a combat role for Australian special forces after the withdrawal of coalition forces.

Australia has long considered an ongoing deployment of special forces in a counter-terrorism role post-2014, but Dr Rassoul said Afghanistan now had its own well-trained military and police able to maintain security.

He said Afghanistan and the US were now in talks on how many American troops would remain after 2014.

Talks were also under way with NATO and International Security Assistance Force nations on their ongoing military contribution once the mission ends.

"Of course there is not going to be a combat contribution," Dr Rassoul told reporters.

"The security cooperation between Afghanistan and Australia is going to be on training of our security forces and special forces but also in the military academy. It is not going to be a combat mission."

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was open to making a contribution of special forces in a counter-terrorism role under an appropriate mandate.

"That will be the subject of discussions between Afghanistan and the US, Afghanistan and NATO. That may or may not be required, necessary or desirable," he said.

"We have certainly also made it clear that in terms of our training effort, our training can also include, if required or wanted, a special forces training component."

Dr Rassoul, making his first visit to Australia, said the Afghan government believed repatriation of Afghan Hazaras, whose bid for asylum in Australia had been rejected, should be voluntary.

"We have been in discussions with the Australian government on the conditions of their return," he said.

"I should mention that Afghanistan is a safe place. It is much safer than it was and we hope that our citizens should stay in Afghanistan and help Afghanistan to develop."

Dr Rassoul said the Afghanistan government remained ready to conduct talk with those members of the Taliban who wanted peace.

He said the best place to do that would be inside Afghanistan but it had been agreed that a Taliban contact office would be established in Doha, Qatar.

"All the Taliban's leaders are sitting in Pakistan so we need the cooperation of Pakistan in order for them to be allowed to travel. We are in very close discussion with Pakistan for that purpose," he said.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Large grassfire heading to Winchelsea

A FAST-MOVING fire is expected to encroach on the southwest Victorian town of Winchelsea.

The 350-hectare grass and scrub fire which began near Inverleigh is burning out of control and creating spot fires approximately one to two kilometres ahead, the CFA says.

It was expected to hit Winchelsea and Buckley between 1.45pm (AEDT) and 3.45pm on Thursday.

Northerly winds at nearby Geelong are gusting up to 63km/h.

A wind change is expected in the next five hours, which may cause the fire to change direction towards Wurdiboluc and Modewarre, the CFA says in a watch-and-act message.

Residents are urged to follow their bushfire survival plans.

Meanwhile, lightning strikes have sparked a number of fires in Victoria's west.

One larger fire at Lake Mundi burnt 27 hectares of bushland in Strathdownie State Forest.

Thunderstorms and strong winds are expected to continue throughout the day, creating potential for further fires, a joint CFA and DSE media release said.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbott calls motion of no confidence

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott (pic) called for a motion of no confidence in PM Julia Gillard. Source: AAP

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has called for a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Mr Abbott said his motion was about the decent, honest, hard-working people of Australia who deserve a strong, stable and confident government.

"This is about reassuring the Australian people that we are a great people and we are a great country, just momentarily let down by a very poor government," Mr Abbott said.

"(This is) an incompetent and chaotic government which just gets worse and worse with each passing day, let alone each passing day."

Mr Abbott said not only did the coalition have no confidence in the prime minister but now some of her ministers had no confidence.

"This is a government in deadlock," he said.

"This is a government in crisis.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Mr Abbott said a poor government had lost its way and most of its MPs were embarrassed.

"There has been policy failure after policy failure from this government," he said.

Mr Abbott pointed to Labor's failing in border control, the live cattle trade, school halls, the budget deficit and the national broadband network.

"It just gets worse and worse," he said.

Mr Abbott said he had seen enough of politics and enough of good people on both sides of politics to have some respect for the Labor Party.

Mr Abbott said it was time for Ms Gillard to go.

"For your party's good, you should go. For the nation's good, you should go," he said.

"We are a great people, we are a great country, I very much fear we can never reach our potential under this prime minister."

Opposition deputy leader Julie Bishop said the independent and Green MPs whose support allowed Ms Gillard to form a government now needed to search their consciences and decide whether that support should continue.

"The Australian people deserve so much better than this prime minister," she said.

Ms Bishop said no matter who won the leadership ballot for Labor, there would be no stability.

"Clearly the ALP is riven down the middle. There are irreconcilable splits between factions, between camps. It is deep, it is personal, it is vicious and it will not go away," she said.

Ms Gillard said this was the same "negative dummy spit" for the opposition leader and his deputy that they have been engaged in since the 2010 election.

"The leader of the opposition just had an opportunity to indicate to the Australian people, if he chosen to take it, what his vision was for the country," she said.

"Instead, because he is unable to do that, he filled the space with the only thing he knows how to do, and that is negativity, his bitterness and politics of personal assault."

Ms Gillard said this was the same "negative dummy spit" from the opposition leader and his deputy that they have been engaged in since the 2010 election.

"The leader of the opposition just had an opportunity to indicate to the Australian people, if he had chosen to take it, what his vision was for the country," she said.

"Instead, because he is unable to do that, he filled the space with the only thing he knows how to do, and that is negativity, his bitterness and politics of personal assault."

Ms Gillard listed the government's achievements in office, including growing the economy and bringing Australia through the global financial crisis.

"We've always understood that our nation faces a huge challenge, with instability in the global economy and reshaping of our economy through the high Australian dollar," she said.

"Day after day, piece after piece we have met that challenge to create jobs for Australians - more than 900,000 of them - and we will continue to create jobs."

Ms Gillard said her government wasn't done yet.

"We have got more to do," she said.

Ms Gillard said a Labor government would always work to ensure the benefit and spread across the nation.

"That is our mission, that is our creed," Ms Gillard said.

"That is what Labor governments do, that is what this Labor government has done.

"It is what it has done under my prime ministership and it is what it will do under my prime ministership from this day forth."

Ms Gillard said her government would "fight and fight and fight" until the election in September.

"We will prevail in that election because the choice will be so clear and the right path for a stronger, smarter, fairer future will be so clear as well."

The motion to suspend parliamentary business for a motion of no confidence was lost with votes split 73 in favour and 71 against, but short of the overall majority required.

Ms Gillard listed the government's achievements in office, including growing the economy and bringing Australia through the global financial crisis.

"We've always understood that our nation faces a huge challenge, with instability in the global economy and reshaping of our economy through the high Australian dollar," she said.

"Day after day, piece after piece we have met that challenge to create jobs for Australians - more than 900,000 of them - and we will continue to create jobs."

Ms Gillard said her government wasn't done yet.

"We have got more to do," she said.

Ms Gillard said a Labor government would always work to ensure the benefit and spread across the nation.

"That is our mission, that is our creed," Ms Gillard said.

"That is what Labor governments do, that is what this Labor government has done.

"It is what it has done under my prime ministership and it is what it will do under my prime ministership from this day forth."

Ms Gillard said her government would "fight and fight and fight" until the election in September.

"We will prevail in that election because the choice will be so clear and the right path for a stronger smarter fairer future will be so clear as well."

The motion to suspend parliamentary business for a motion of no confidence was lost with votes split 73 in favour and 71 against, but short of the overall majority required.

Meanwhile, the opposition's leader in the Senate Eric Abetz moved a no confidence motion in the government.

He told the Senate an historic day that should have focused on the national apology to forced adoption victims had been pushed aside by the "bloodlust of Labor".

Government leader in the house Anthony Albanese asked if they could finish sitting early on Thursday.

This would allow Labor MPs time for last minute vote haggling ahead of the leadership spill.

Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said Labor MPs should be given a seven week break.

"To give the government, that is crumbling before our very eyes, the opportunity should the prime minister be replaced, or even if prime minister is not replaced, to start regrouping and focusing on what matters to Australians today," he said.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

ICAC referral tipped for Richard Torbay

THE NSW government is expected to announce that information that led to Richard Torbay's dumping as a federal Nationals candidate and his resignation from state parliament has been referred to the corruption watchdog.

The independent MP resigned from parliament on Wednesday, a day after the National Party dumped him as its candidate for the federal seat of New England.

His announcement ends a 14-year political career, with Mr Torbay saying the events of recent days had taken a toll on his family.

It was reported on Tuesday that Mr Torbay was helped into politics in 1999 by former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid, who is now at the centre of the largest corruption investigation in NSW history.

Fairfax media on Wednesday reported that information that led to Mr Torbay's dumping as a federal Nationals candidate and his resignation from the NSW parliament had been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The government is tipped to make an announcement about the referral to ICAC on Wednesday.

An ICAC spokeswoman said in a brief statement that "the commission cannot confirm or deny if it has received information or referrals".

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Time for supermarkets talks over: farmers

THE peak farmers' body is stepping up pressure on the federal government to stop major supermarkets abusing their market power.

The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) on Wednesday said it was time for a mandatory code of conduct for supermarkets, as efforts to develop one voluntarily had failed.

After months of discussion with the giants Coles and Woolworths and other retailers, NFF president Jock Laurie says the group has "lost confidence" a voluntary code can deliver what producers need.

"We want to put some clout in this, so let's move it to the next step," he told reporters in Canberra.

The last thing the NFF wanted was to impose more red tape or compliance costs on the agricultural sector.

But the back and forth bickering wasn't resolving the situation and it was time for the government to get tough.

"Let's actually cut out all the rubbish and get down and find out what the facts are," Mr Laurie said.

He said this didn't mean the NFF was walking away from discussions with retailers.

A mandatory code would strengthen measures to stop supermarkets misusing their power, possibly through mandated financial penalties.

Importantly, it would address concerns about contract negotiations between farmers and retailers.

The NFF has also suggested setting up an ombudsman-like figure to independently resolve disputes.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria regime, rebels trade chemical claims

THE US and UN are attempting to verify claims and counterclaims by Syrian troops and insurgents that chemical weapons have been used for the first time in the two-year conflict.

NATO supreme commander Admiral James Stavridis, decrying the deteriorating situation, said in Washington on Tuesday that NATO members are mulling plans for possible military action in Syria.

However he stressed that any intervention would only occur with a UN security council resolution and agreement from the alliance's 28 members.

His comments came after Syrian state media reported that "terrorists fired rockets containing chemical materials on Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province," with Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi calling the attack a "dangerous escalation."

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad said 31 people had been killed, and state media added that around 100 more were injured.

The insurgents denied the charges and accused regime forces of a deadly long-range missile attack that caused "breathing problems".

The Russian foreign ministry said it had "information" from Damascus that insurgents used chemical weapons, and expressed concern such weapons falling into the hands of rebels "complicates further the situation in Syria."

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the US has "no evidence to substantiate the charge that the opposition has used chemical weapons."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, would be seeking clarification from the Russian authorities.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "remains convinced that the use of chemical weapons by any party (in Syria) under any circumstances would constitute an outrageous crime," the UN said.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the UN was "aware of the report" that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, but said "we are not in a position to confirm it."

Britain said that if the reports of chemical weapons usage were true it would "revisit" its approach to the two-year conflict.

Syrian state television showed ambulances arriving at a hospital in Aleppo carrying the wounded, with medical officials and residents saying the attack involved "toxic gas".

"We have neither long-range missiles nor chemical weapons. And if we did, we wouldn't use them against a rebel target," rebel Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Muqdad said.

"We understand the army targeted Khan al-Assal using a long-range missile, and our initial information says it may have contained chemical weapons."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a ground-to-ground missile had been fired at an army position in Khan al-Assal, killing 16 soldiers and 10 civilians.

The watchdog was unable to say if the missile contained chemical materials.

The international community has expressed repeated concern that Assad's regime might use chemical weapons against the rebels, and also that they could fall into the hands of militants.

Some 70,000 people have been killed in over two years of fighting in Syria, with millions displaced by the fighting. The Observatory said at least 112 people were killed on Tuesday alone in violence throughout the country.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW police bust counterfeit goods ring

NSW Police believe they have put a huge dent in a counterfeit supply ring after a raid at a storage facility in Sydney's southwest.

At around 10.45am (AEDT) on Tuesday, police raided the premises on Punchbowl Road, Belfield, as part of a joint investigation with the NSW Department of Fair Trading.

"We have seized what only can be described as a huge amount of counterfeit goods," Inspector Paul Warden from the Campsie Local Area Command told reporters.

He said a 50-year-old man was arrested at the scene and was helping police with their enquiries.

The goods seized in the raid are still being catalogued but are believed to include clothing, personal and electrical items.

"It's a huge amount of counterfeit goods and it is very difficult to put a figure on it but if these goods were genuine they would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars," Insp Warden told reporters on Tuesday.

"With this operation hopefully we have put a big dent in the supply chain of counterfeit goods in Sydney and in other places such as EBay."

The operation has been planned for several months after concerns were raised about the standard of some goods surfacing in Sydney.

Nike security and protection manager Matthew Layton told reporters it was concerning Australian consumers were being misled, but the fake products could also cause injury.

"There was a very high chance someone could do an injury with these products - one of the items found were actually children's shoes," he said.

It's believed the counterfeit goods were imported from Asia.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Drugs found after Vic raid on bikie house

DRUGS have been found during police raids on bikie hubs in the Victorian city of Geelong.

Detectives searched the Bandidos clubhouse and another property connected to the bikie group on Tuesday.

They have already found a small amount of illicit drugs, police say.

The detectives are still scouring the properties in the Geelong area.

There have been no arrests.

The raids are part of Operation Resound, a major disruption strategy run out of the anti-bikies Echo taskforce, in a bid to stop bikie violence before it occurs.

Bikie gang incidents prompted Victorian police to issue a warning the Bandidos had "declared war" on rival group the Hells Angels.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bullying 'part and parcel' of social media

YOUNG Australians have accepted bullies and trolls as an inevitable part of using social media websites, new government research suggests.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) study of 1500 children in NSW and South Australia showed one in five 14 and 15-year-olds have been bullied on the internet.

That's a slightly higher rate than found among other juvenile age groups.

But children of all ages said suffering or witnessing bullying is now an unavoidable part of social media sites, with the potential anonymity afforded to users a key driver of the abuse.

"It's sort of part and parcel of it all. You use social networks and you're going to see cyber bullying," one child told the ACMA.

The communication watchdog's senior adviser Rosalie O'Neale said 14 and 15-year-olds are most vulnerable to online bullying because many don't have the social skills to manage difficult situations online.

The age group was also identified as the most likely to engage in risky online behaviour, including becoming friends with or exchanging information with strangers.

Ms O'Neale believes slightly older children are less vulnerable because they are "less insular" and generally spend a little more time on other activities, including schoolwork.

Youngsters do take action against trolls and bullies, with some either defending victims or asking the perpetrators to stop, the ACMA found.

"The good news is that these young people are prepared to stand up and speak out about cyberbullying," ACMA deputy chairman Richard Bean said.

The overall level of online bullying was found to be steady, despite increased participation online.

The findings, part of the ACMA's Cybersmart online safety initiative, were presented at the sixth World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights in Sydney on Tuesday.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

China looks beyond mining in Australia

AUSTRALIA is the third most popular investment destination for Chinese companies and funds are being directed not just to mining and resources.

Chinese companies with operations in Australia are investing more in high-end manufacturing and non-mining industries than mining, a HSBC survey found.

Twelve per cent of the 250 respondents said they had set up an operation in Australia, behind the US with 22 per cent and Singapore at 18 per cent, the China Outbound survey said.

The figures excluded Chinese investment in neighbouring Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

HSBC Australia head of commercial banking James Hogan said Australia's business-friendly conditions made it an attractive investment destination for China.

"While 80 per cent of China's investment into Australia to date has been in mining, its increasing demand for high-end manufacturing, renewable energy and agriculture will open up new opportunities for Australia," Mr Hogan said.

Companies that hadn't previously done business in Australia were focused on non-mining sectors.

While Chinese investment in Australia accounted for less than three per cent of the nation's total foreign investment in 2011, it has ranked in the top-three sources for proposed investments in the past three years.

"We are clearly front of mind for Chinese companies for exports and imports," Mr Hogan said.

Australia is now China's seventh-largest trading partner.

The survey showed 52 per cent of Chinese companies in Australia were involved in manufacturing and 28 per cent were in non-mining import/export industries, while just 20 per cent were involved in mining.

Mr Hogan said China's total direct outbound investments were expected to exceed $US150 billion ($A145.57 billion) per year, growing at around 17 per cent per annum.

"This diversification of Chinese investment beyond mining, particularly by middle market and corporate Chinese businesses, aligns with the Australian economy's re-balancing towards non-mining sectors," Mr Hogan said.

He said Australia's key advantages were its proximity to China, and its legal infrastructure and good governance.

The companies already investing and doing business overseas found it easier to do business in Australia as the new Chinese leadership begins focusing on outward investment.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

US arental concerns rise over HPV vaccine

A GROWING number of US parents oppose doctors' recommendations to vaccinate teenage girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer.

Parents cited reasons such as believing their child was too young or not sexually active, concerns about safety and side effects, or lack of knowledge about the vaccine, said the study published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

In 2008, 40 per cent of US parents surveyed said they did not want the HPV vaccine for their daughters. In 2010, that figure rose to 44 per cent.

"That's the opposite direction that rate should be going," said senior researcher Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician with the Mayo Clinic Children's Centre, noting that studies have continually shown the HPV vaccine to be safe and effective.

"HPV causes essentially 100 per cent of cervical cancer and 50 per cent of all Americans get infected at least once with HPV. It's a silent infection. You cannot tell when you've been exposed or when you have it," he said.

"While most HPV infections clear, a percentage linger and start the process of cancerous changes. The HPV vaccine is an anti-cancer vaccine."

Still, the number of young women getting vaccinated is on the rise -- 16 per cent of teenage girls in 2008 compared to one third in 2010, said the study.

The analysis came from national vaccination data for those age 13 to 17 in the 2008-10 National Immunization Survey of Teens.

Australian scientist Ian Frazer and his colleagues developed and patented the HPV vaccine, the first vaccine designed to prevent a cancer.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that girls and boys age 11 to 12 get vaccinated against HPV, as well as women up to age 26 and men up to age 21 if they were not vaccinated when they were younger.

The CDC also recommends the HPV vaccine -- which is typically administered in three separate shots over six months -- for men who have sex with men.

HPV vaccines are "safe and effective" and have been "tested in thousands of people around the world", the CDC said on its website.

"These studies showed no serious side effects. Common, mild side effects included pain where the shot was given, fever, headache and nausea."

HPV has been linked to cervical cancer, genital warts and cancers of the penis, anus and throat.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

THE number of dead pigs found in a river running through China's commercial hub Shanghai has reached more than 13,000, as mystery deepened over the hogs' precise origin.

Shanghai had pulled 9,460 pigs out of the Huangpu river, which supplies 22 per cent of the city's drinking water, since the infestation began earlier this month, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Shanghai has blamed farmers in Jiaxing in neighbouring Zhejiang province for dumping pigs which died of disease into the river upstream, where the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday another 3,601 dead animals had been recovered.

The Jiaxing government has said the area is not the sole source of the carcasses, adding it had found only one producer that could be held responsible.

Shanghai said it had checked farms in its southwestern district of Songjiang, where the pigs were first detected, but found they were not to blame, the Shanghai Daily said.

The scandal has spotlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy.

Samples of the dead pigs have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

"Due to some farming households having a weak recognition of the law, bad habits, and lack of increased supervision and capability for treatment have led to the situation," the national agriculture ministry's chief veterinarian Yu Kangzhen said.

Yu attributed a higher mortality rate among pigs to colder weather this spring, though he ruled out an epidemic, the ministry said in statement posted on its website over the weekend.

The thousands of dead pigs have drawn attention to China's poorly regulated farm production. Animals that die from disease can end up in the country's food supply chain or improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.

In Wenling, also in Zhejiang, authorities announced last week that 46 people had been jailed for up to six-and-a-half years for processing and selling pork from more than 1,000 diseased pigs.

China faced one its biggest food-safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK poll points to rise of anti-EU party

A NEW poll has confirmed a surge in support for Britain's anti-EU UK Independence Party, as Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives fall further behind the Labour opposition.

UKIP hit 17 per cent - a record high in a ComRes poll - in the survey conducted for The Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Mirror newspapers.

The poll put Labour on 37 per cent, the Conservatives on 28 per cent and the Liberal Democrats - their centrist partners in the governing coalition - on just 9 per cent.

Recent poor poll showings have fuelled calls from restive backbench Conservative MPs for a decisive shift to the right to counter the electoral threat posed by UKIP, although Cameron has resisted the notion.

UKIP came a shock close second to the Liberal Democrats in a by-election last month in a key Conservative target seat, pushing Cameron's party into third place.

Despite the poll gloom, Cameron remains the only leader more popular than his party.

ComRes interviewed 2015 British adults online on Wednesday and Thursday.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan PM gives farewell address

Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has given his farewell address. Source: AAP

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has hailed parliament's historic completion of a full term in office as a victory for democracy in his farewell address to the nation.

The nuclear-armed country of 180 million, where Taliban attacks and record levels of violence against the Shi'ite Muslim minority have raised fears about security for the polls, is due to elect new leaders by mid-May.

Parliament, which held its last session on Thursday, has now become the first in Pakistan's history to complete a full term, ending on Saturday.

Its dissolution is a milestone in a country where the military has seized power three times in coups and ruled for around half the country's existence.

"It is matter of pleasure for me that an ordinary person like me is today prime minister of Pakistan and giving a hope of continuation of democracy to the nation," Ashraf said in a nationwide televised address on Saturday.

"There is a long history of tussle between the democratic and undemocratic forces in Pakistan, but the democratic forces have finally achieved a victory."

Analysts attribute the successful completion of the parliamentary term to Zardari's wheeler-dealer ability to keep the coalition intact, the army chief of staff's determination to keep out of politics and the opposition's unwillingness to force early elections.

But despite passing key legislation, which rolled back decades of meddling by military rulers, parliament has presided over staggering economic decline and worsening security over the last five years.

Ashraf said key achievements in his party's rule included the devolution of power to the provinces, but he admitted the government had been unable to solve the energy crisis.

He appealed for people to participate in the May elections, assuring voters that they would be fair.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Defeated Kenyan PM challenges poll result

Outgoing PM Raila Odinga has lodged a petition to challenge the outcome of the Kenyan election. Source: AAP

OUTGOING Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has lodged a petition with the country's top court to challenge the outcome of the presidential election that saw him defeated by his rival Uhuru Kenyatta.

The move will be seen as a test of democracy in Kenya, which was rocked by bloody violence after the last disputed polls in 2007, when more than 1100 were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Odinga's Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) claims the poll was marred by irregularities including changes to the voter register and inflated numbers of registered voters.

They also accused the electoral commission of using "poorly selected, designed" electronic equipment to transmit the results.

With the petition, Odinga is asking the court "to set aside the results of the presidential election as announced on March 9 and the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as president-elect ... and declare null and void the whole electoral process," according to a CORD statement.

The party filed the suit at the Supreme Court in the capital Nairobi on Saturday after Odinga spoke to supporters and reporters outside his offices.

"I have no hesitation whatsoever in lawfully challenging the election outcome," he said.

"To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the new constitution and therefore of everything that Kenyans hold dear."

Earlier, police used tear gas to disperse around 100 people demonstrating in favour of Odinga at the court.

An AFP photographer saw one young man bleeding from a wound to the forehead. Bystanders said he had been struck by a tear gas cannister.

Kalonzo Musyoka, Odinga's running mate in the March 4 election, accused the police of being heavy-handed and said Kenyans had simply "been trying to exercise their constitutional right to freedom of movement".

But he called on party supporters to remain calm.

Kenyatta, who avoided a second-round run-off vote by the slimmest of margins to win a majority with just 50.07 per cent, beat Odinga - his closest rival - by more than 800,000 votes.

Odinga won 43.31 per cent of the votes in his third failed attempt at the top job. He said he would abide by the decision of the court and urged Kenyatta to do likewise.

The Supreme Court has 14 days in which to hand down a ruling.

11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More