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Vics urged to dob in arsonists

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 10 Januari 2014 | 11.25

VICTORIANS are being urged to inform on anyone they suspect of starting fires this summer.

The state is predicted to face its hottest spell of the summer next week, and authorities are urging the public to be on the lookout for arsonists.

Acting Police, Emergency Services and Bushfire Response minister Edward O'Donohue said public information is crucial to solving arson-related crime.

"Arsonists are responsible for a significant proportion of bushfires, some of which have ended in tragedy, and the community has a part to play in stopping them," Mr O'Donohue said at the launch of the Crime Stoppers Bushfire Arson Campaign.

"There must be a zero-tolerance approach to deliberately or recklessly lit fires in our state, which means taking action to catch arsonists before their criminal behaviour has devastating consequences."

The campaign, a joint initiative between Victoria Police and Crime Stoppers Victoria, arose from the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission final report, which called for a comprehensive, coordinated statewide approach to arson prevention.

Victoria Police statistics indicate that there were 55 offences of intentionally causing a bushfire in 2012-13, up from 32 the previous year.

The temperature in Melbourne is expected to hit 41C on Tuesday, and some northern parts of Victoria will be above 40C from Monday until at least Thursday.


11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Drunk date turns to shooting, court told

SHAMIRAN Benjamin was expecting a dinner date with her new flame.

But after putting up with her short-term boyfriend's drunk and reckless behaviour at a casino, Benjamin found herself at the centre of a shooting investigation.

The 25-year-old has pleaded guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence after failing to tell police about Ali Khaled firing a gun.

The Downing Centre District Court was told on Friday that the pair had been in a relationship for a few weeks before the incident on January 29, 2012.

Benjamin went over to Khaled's home after he asked her out to dinner.

But when she arrived, Khaled was "drunk", the court was told, and they ended up at a casino with Khaled's friends.

"He started acting reckless in the casino and that's why I wanted to leave," she said during her sentencing hearing on Friday.

"He broke a glass, dropped a drink and started arguing with males."

After catching a taxi back to Khaled's Wiley Park home, Benjamin said she was crying in her car after an argument when she heard a "loud bang".

Benjamin initially drove off but returned to pick up Khaled.

She claimed that she did not see the gun Khaled carried into the car.

After police pulled the couple over a short time later, they found the gun under Khaled's seat.

Benjamin told the court that Khaled had told her not to talk to police.

Asked why she did not tell police about the gunshot she heard, Benjamin said she was in shock.

"He had been abusive to me hours before," she said. "I was scared because he was sitting right next to me."

Her barrister, who refused to provide his name to media, said Benjamin had suffered for a five-minute decision.

The court was told that her childcare employment had been put on hold because of her pending charge and her parents disowned her for four months.

Benjamin had also been excluded from her western suburbs community because she had brought shame to her family.

The court was told that Khaled had also pleaded guilty over the shooting.

He was sentenced in November to four years in jail, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years, on firearms offences including discharging a firearm in a public place.

Benjamin's sentencing was adjourned to January 16.


11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Curriculum review political, critics say

FEDERAL Education Minister Christopher Pyne is being accused of reigniting a culture war with a review of the national schools curriculum to ensure students "celebrate Australia".

Labor, the Greens and teachers have condemned a review of the curriculum Julia Gillard introduced in 2010, saying the coalition government is trying to impose its political ideology on children.

But the review has the backing of business, which says young people lack appropriate skills for work.

Announcing the review on Friday, Mr Pyne said the curriculum was too rigid and prescriptive.

He wants a more orthodox system and one free of what he calls "partisan bias".

The curriculum should not try to be "all things to all people", he said.

There should also be a greater focus on the influence of western civilisation on Australia, which he said was not being talked about in schools.

"I ... want the curriculum to celebrate Australia and for students, when they've finished school, to know where we've come from as a nation," Mr Pyne said.

Mr Pyne said he hoped that the review would report back by June, with a view to working with states and territories to improve the curriculum for 2015.

He played down concerns that the review was an attack on a perceived left-wing bias in schools, despite appointing two Labor critics to head the investigation.

Former teacher and Liberal staffer Kevin Donnelly and business professor Ken Wiltshire have been critical of the Gonski school funding reforms and what they see as a leftist cultural agenda in schools.

Mr Pyne defended the appointments, saying both men had a long history in the education sector.

"It's not possible to appoint anybody to review the national curriculum who doesn't have a view on education," he said. He said he was confident that the findings would be objective and fair.

But Mr Shorten told Prime Minister Tony Abbott to "stop trying to put your version of politics into the school books".

"Please keep your hands off the school books of Australian children," he said. He said their education should be above politics.

Mr Shorten said the review was nothing but a distraction from the government's backflips on schools funding, in reference to last year's failed attempt to walk away from Labor's deals with the states.

The Greens accused Mr Pyne of wanting to take Australian schools "back to the 1950s".

"The response from Christopher Pyne is pure ideology," acting leader Richard Di Natale said.

Australian Education Union president Angelo Gavrielatos said Mr Pyne had appointed "an ex-Liberal staffer and conservative ideologue" to head the review.

"Mr Pyne is clearly determined to play politics with the education of Australian children," he said.

But the business lobby is backing the review, with AiGroup saying it was important that school graduates had the right skills in maths, science and English.

"Employers have regularly raised concerns about low standards in these areas, which makes young people ill-equipped when they join the workforce," AiGroup chief Innes Willox said.


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Perth man fit to plead over NYE murder

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 Januari 2014 | 11.25

A 23-YEAR-OLD man charged with the murder of a young man at a New Year's Eve beach party north of Perth has been deemed fit to plead following an assessment at a psychiatric facility.

James Dorloff, 20, died after being attacked, possibly with a knife or machete, on the 400-metre-long Wedge Island, shortly before 1.30am (WST) on January 1.

Two other people also suffered injuries.

Joseph Robert Houston has been charged with murder and with intent to do grievous bodily harm unlawfully wounding another.

He appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday via video link from the Frankland Centre at Graylands Hospital where he underwent a seven-day mental health assessment and was deemed fit to plead.

Houston will be moved to a prison and will appear in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via video link on January 29.


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Mapping the risk of massive quakes

A TEAM of scientists, led by a Melbourne professor, has published research that shows where giant earthquakes are most likely to strike.

Monash University Professor Wouter Schellart says earthquakes mostly occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates when they rub together. But giant quakes happen only in "subduction zones", where one plate sinks below another into the earth's interior.

A global map has been created that highlights these, including an area off the east coast of New Zealand.

"These big earthquakes are most dangerous and destructive," Prof Schellart told AAP.

"We have built a global map which shows which plate boundaries are most likely to produce these massive earthquakes and this gives seismologists an idea of where they may occur."

Prof Schellart said the research can be used by engineers to inform them of where to avoid building homes and buildings.

The zones where earthquakes are likely to occur are located in Indonesia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Greece.

Dr Schellart and University of Aberdeen Professor Nick Rawlinson have been working on the research since 2009.

In 2004, a giant earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a tsunami which killed more than 200,000 people.

Earthquakes mostly occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates when they rub together, Dr Schellart said.


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Rudd speech put US defence sec to sleep

Robert Gates' memoir contains an anecdote about a dinner he shared with former PM Kevin Rudd (pic). Source: AAP

AS Kevin Rudd's long soliloquy about Australian history dragged on, the dinner's guest of honour - then-US defence secretary Robert Gates - couldn't help but nod off.

Gates' memoir Duty has been making international headlines due to his criticisms of US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, but it also contains an amusing anecdote involving Australia's former PM.

Mr Gates visited Australia in February 2008 as part of a global tour, but he says a broken shoulder made for some awkward moments.

"At a very nice dinner given in my honour by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, I was doing fine at table conversation until Rudd began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia," he writes.

"I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a painkiller, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep.

"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me."

Mr Rudd was "very gracious" about the whole thing, Mr Gates says.


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Segways to hit Melbourne city streets

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Januari 2014 | 11.25

TOURISTS will soon be gliding through the city of Melbourne on upright scooters to take in the sights.

Changes in state government regulation will allow tour businesses to apply for a permit to operate Segway tours around tourist attractions on the city's perimeter.

Until now, vehicle registration provisions have stopped businesses from operating tours using the two-wheeled machines.

The changes are among 36 announced by the Victorian government on Wednesday aimed at cutting red tape.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien says there had previously been concern about whether the speed of Segways could pose a danger to others.

"What we've been able to do through these reforms is work out if you have an appropriate permit system, you can deal with those concerns," he told reporters.

Other changes introduced to cut red tape include lifting restrictions on the sale of plastic knives to minors, raising height limits for walls that can be built without need for a council permit and making it easier for liquor-licensed venues to stage alcohol-free under-age events.

Most of the reforms will be put in place to meet the government's 25 per cent red tape reduction target by July.

Mr O'Brien says the changes will reduce the burden on businesses, government and cut costs to consumers and contribute to more than $715 million in red tape savings over the term of the government.


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NSW gran had cannabis 'for dying daughter'

AS a 79-year-old great-grandmother living in Sydney's eastern suburbs, Barbara Stiff did not fit the bill for a drug supplier.

But hidden in her Malabar unit were 67 grams of cannabis, which she admitted to police that she planned to sell.

Stiff was given a four-month suspended jail sentence when she appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to drug supply and dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime.

Magistrate Robbie Williams told the court that based on Stiff's submissions to police, she saw monetary gain from the cannabis.

Barrister William Barber told the court that Stiff had allowed her ill daughter to smoke cannabis in her home when she lived with her.

"She was in a great deal of pain and was using cannabis for pain relief," he said of the daughter.

Mr Barber said the daughter, who died last year, would obtain cannabis in bulk with other people in a "similar position" in the public housing that Stiff lived in.

Police raided Stiff's unit on June 27 last year and found 67g of cannabis in multiple locations around the home.

Mr Barber said the drugs had been there for a very long time and Stiff no longer had any use for the cannabis after her daughter's death.

But according to the facts, Stiff admitted to police that $295 found in her wallet was from selling cannabis to six people.

During the raid, police also found $100 cash in a tin with cannabis and five plastic deal bags.

Stiff admitted to police that she planned to sell the cannabis.

Cannabis was also found in a bag in a bedroom and another kitchen tin.

Magistrate Williams told the court that while it was not a sophisticated system, there was a clear system of supply.

He said police also found a "drug ledger" at Stiff's house, with names and amounts of money listed.

The court was told that Wednesday marked nine months since Stiff's daughter died.

Mr Barber said his client was embarrassed by the case, which had attracted wide media coverage.

He said the housing commission was trying to remove her from her unit where she had been for more than 30 years.

Stiff received a four-month suspended jail sentence and a four-month good behaviour bond.

Outside court, Mr Barber said Stiff had been through a very difficult 12 months and was relieved that the case was over.


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Federal govt eyes alcohol violence inquiry

THE federal government is planning an inquiry into alcohol-fuelled violence across the country.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion says the wide-ranging parliamentary probe will be aimed at finding better ways to tackle the problem, from downtown Sydney to remote outback communities.

He says the government is still deciding which parliamentary committee will take on the inquiry.

"This sort of inquiry that can look at alcohol management measures in all its shapes and forms," he told the ABC.

"[It] can inform us to make sure that the regulators and lawmakers across all the jurisdictions of Australia have the very best evidence under which to ensure that all our management plans in the future are effective and really change those negative aspects of alcohol consumption."


11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

League player refused bail

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 Januari 2014 | 11.25

Rugby league player Russell Packer has been sentenced to two years in jail for assaulting a man. Source: AAP

NRL player Russell Packer has had his bid for bail knocked back before an appeal against the severity of his two-year sentence for a drunken assault.

Magistrate Greg Grogan on Monday sentenced the 24-year-old Newcastle Knights recruit to two years behind bars for an assault outside a Sydney hotel last November.

The sentence delivered on Monday caught Packer and his supporters, including Newcastle Knights officials, off guard at Downing Centre Local Court.

Packer's lawyer Murugan Thangaraj, SC, immediately lodged an appeal after the sentence was handed down and later applied for Packer's bail.

The police prosecutor did not oppose bail under certain conditions including that Packer report to police three times a week and abstain from alcohol.

Mr Thangaraj argued there was no evidence Packer would assault again and it was important for him to continue his rehabilitation.

But Magistrate Greg Grogan said he was concerned about community safety if Packer was released on bail.

He said Packer appeared to be a ticking time bomb on the night of the assault and he denied him bail.

Packer kissed his emotional partner as he was placed in handcuffs and led out of the court.

The appeal against the severity of the sentence has been lodged for February 11.

The court was told that Packer had been kicked out of the Chambers Hotel at 1.30am on November 23 last year because he was too drunk.

He moved about 20 metres from the Martin Place pub, then got into a disagreement with another man after being accused of stealing two cigarettes from a woman sitting nearby.

Mr Grogan told the court that Packer punched the man in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

Packer punched the man several times as he lay on the ground and then stamped on his head, the court was told, leaving the victim with two fractured facial bones.

Packer pleaded guilty on Monday to assault occasioning actually bodily harm and failing to leave a venue.

Mr Grogan labelled Packer's behaviour "cowardly and deplorable" and said the result could have been much worse.

"The person fell to the ground and luckily it would appear did not suffer those injuries seen in media reports as of late," Mr Grogan said.

"There was potential for that, Mr Packer.

"You added fuel to the fire by attacking a man lying motionless on the ground, punching him and then standing up and stomping on his head."

Mr Grogan said the public was sick and tired of the behaviour Packer showed that night.

In passing sentence, Mr Grogan said that with a 25 per cent discount for entering a guilty plea early, Packer was jailed for a fixed two-year term.


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Carpark gunshot self inflicted: police

POLICE say a gunshot wound sustained by a man at a Melbourne shopping centre carpark was self inflicted.

A 45-year-old man, from Dandenong, was found with a gunshot wound to the leg at the Keysborough shopping centre last Thursday.

He was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A short time later, another man turned up in hospital with facial injuries.

Police said last week the matter was not bikie related, but they were trying to figure out what happened.

Police now say they now believe the gunshot wound was self inflicted.

The other man was trying to prevent the Dandenong man from injuring himself, police say.

Detectives are not treating the matter as suspicious.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 100 659 467.


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Vic fire believed to be suspicious

A WOMAN had a lucky escape from fire that gutted a Melbourne vintage shop, with police treating the blaze as suspicious.

Flames engulfed the Queens Parade shop in Clifton Hill about 2.15am (AEDT) on Monday after the woman living inside raised the alarm.

Detective Senior Constable Grant James told reporters the large size of the blaze has led police to believe it is suspicious.

But the investigation is in early stages and police are waiting on demolition crews to come and render the place safe so they can discover there is foul play.

It took 48 firefighters an hour to bring the blaze under control.

The cause is unknown.


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India building collapse kills 13

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 Januari 2014 | 11.25

Thirteen bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a building that collapsed in India. Source: AAP

THIRTEEN bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a building under construction that collapsed "like a house of cards" in a coastal village in the Indian tourist state of Goa.

The residential building caved in on Saturday mid-afternoon, when some 50 labourers were working on the site, police said.

"We have got 13 bodies from the wreckage. We expect the death toll to rise," Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told AFP.

A witness said the building collapsed like "a pack of cards".

Rescue workers using cranes and bulldozers, shovels and bare hands, struggled to shift concrete slabs and other debris to free the trapped labourers.

Hundreds of onlookers stood watching the rescue efforts as police sought to shoo them away from the site, saying they were hampering access for machinery.

"The current priority is to rescue people trapped under the rubble and the government has also taken help of the army to clear the debris," Parikkar told the Press Trust of India separately.

Parrikar had been near the village to attend a state-sponsored folklore festival that was later cancelled by the government.

The building collapse, the latest in a string of deadly construction cave-ins in India recently, occurred in the seaside village of Canacona, south of the capital city of Panaji.

Initial reports said that the structure was five-storey apartment residence.

"We will immediately arrest the builder, the contractor and municipal officials involved in sanctioning this construction site," the chief minister said.

He said police had already filed complaints against those people involved in the construction of the building.

Last September, a rundown five-storey residential block in India's financial hub Mumbai collapsed, killing 60 people.

The building had been listed by municipal authorities as needing "urgent repairs", according to local media reports.

Last April, another building collapse in Mumbai killed 74 people.

The incidents have highlighted shoddy construction and violations of the building code, amid burgeoning demand for housing in many parts of India and endemic corruption.


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Summernats champ's burnout secrets

BIG revs, blown tyres and a lead-up beer or two.

As Summernats 27 draws to a close in the nation's capital, last year's burnout champion, Mark Schwirse, shares his top secrets behind the perfect burnout.

First, he insists heading to a private property away from the public to avoid your car being temporarily confiscated by police.

"Young guys can give the industry a bad name, but with our cars and the reputation that we've got, we keep it in the right environment," the 36-year-old from South Australia said.

"I like to go back to friends' houses, we'll have a few cans and do a burnout. It's good fun, it's in your blood."

Once your location is settled, the fun begins.

To nail that perfect burnout, you'll want some hard revs, followed by a big throw in.

"People are a bit scared to stand on it," Mr Schwirse said. "But the guys that aren't stand on them hard, throw them in and blow tyres."

Schwirse and his car BLOWN won the 2013 Summernats burnout championship.

This year he competed in the masters championship alongside the 20 best burnout drivers in the country.

And thus it's overcoming the nerves that can lead up to that one furious minute of burning rubber - and often engines - that's essential to pulling off the textbook burnout.

"Leading up to the burnout, there's the crowd and the butterflies in your stomach," he said.

"But when you've got over 1000 horsepower at your feet, you just stand on it, the thing just glides under your feet and off you go."


11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

RAF jets fly with 3D printed parts

UK fighter jets have flown for the first time with parts made using 3D printing technology. Source: AAP

UK fighter jets have flown for the first time with parts made using 3D printing technology.

BAE Systems said the metal components were successfully used on board Tornado aircraft which flew from the defence firm's airfield at Warton, Lancashire late last month.

The company said its engineers are using 3D technology to design and produce parts which could cut the Royal Air Force's maintenance and service bill by over STG1.2 million ($A2.23 million) over the next four years.

BAE Systems is working at RAF Marham, Norfolk to engineer ready-made parts for four squadrons of Tornado GR4 aircraft, including protective covers for cockpit radios and guards for power take-off shafts. Some of the parts cost less than 100.

Mike Murray, head of airframe integration at BAE Systems, said: "You are suddenly not fixed in terms of where you have to manufacture these things. You can manufacture the products at whatever base you want, providing you can get a machine there, which means you can also start to support other platforms such as ships and aircraft carriers.

"And if it's feasible to get machines out on the front line, it also gives improved capability where we wouldn't traditionally have any manufacturing support."


11.25 | 0 komentar | Read More
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