Downer elected SA Liberal party president

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has been elected president of the Liberal Party in SA. Source: AAP

FORMER foreign minister Alexander Downer has been elected unopposed as the president of the South Australian Liberal Party.

Mr Downer replaces Grant Chapman who has held the position for the past three years.

His appointment was confirmed at the party's annual meeting in Adelaide on Saturday.

Mr Downer said the challenge for the party was to ensure the election of a Liberal government in South Australia in March next year.

"In the last few months this party has shown rather surprising, but very welcome, unity," He said.

"If we can maintain this sense of unity, focus on a single goal and a determination to achieve that goal then we'll have a great victory."

Mr Downer said the election would not be easy and the party had to ensure it retained its marginal seats and picked up marginal seats from the Labor government.

At the last election in 2010 the Liberals won the popular vote but failed to win a number of key seats it needed to form government.

"So it's not about the number of votes, it's about the number of seats," Mr Downer said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott congratulated Mr Downer on his appointment, describing the former minister as one of the great performers in former prime minister John Howard's government.

"I know he is absolutely the man to lead and guide the party as you approach the vital (state) election in March of next year," Mr Abbott told the annual meeting.

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Vic march for women calls for funding lift

A SECOND rally on the Melbourne street where murder victim Jill Meagher was last seen alive has heard passionate calls to boost funding for women's shelters and support services.

More than 1000 people gathered outside Brunswick Town Hall on Sydney Road, close to where Ms Meagher was last seen walking before being raped and murdered in a nearby laneway.

It's the second Reclaim the Night rally to be held in the street since the high-profile September 2012 murder case drew widespread attention to violence against women.

Co-organiser Sarah Brocklesby told the crowd that funding for community services for women needed to be lifted with so many being victimised.

"It is important that we start to change the current culture of victim blaming and shaming of women who experience harassment and violence," she said.

The Saturday night event in Brunswick is part of the long-running Reclaim the Night movement that began in the 1970s.

An earlier anniversary peace march for Ms Meagher and other victims was held on September 29 and drew thousands.

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Dr Martens set for sale

CLASSIC British boot brand Dr Martens is poised to be sold to private equity firm Permira for about STG300 million ($A506 million).

The Griggs family, which owns the majority of the business, is in advanced talks about a deal that could be announced by the end of this month, sources confirmed.

It would means the boots, footwear of choice for generations of skinheads, punks and students, joining the Permira stable of brands, which also includes Hugo Boss and New Look.

Dr Martens has enjoyed a revival in fortunes in recent years as a new generation of stars such as Miley Cyrus, Emma Watson and Agyness Deyn took up the "bovver boots" whose popularity - once espoused by the likes of The Who's Pete Townshend - had been on the wane.

The deal comes amid reports that the Griggs family is looking to exit the business after more than 50 years running the brand that last year made STG15.3 million pre-tax profits on revenues of STG110 million, following an abortive sale attempt last year.

Permira is thought likely to try to expand Dr Martens' online and store presence into new international markets.

The Northamptonshire-based Griggs family have been making shoes since 1901 and started producing the new boots in 1960 after the development of a revolutionary new air-cushioned sole by the Germans Klaus Martens and Herbert Funck.

Any deal will have to involve a separate royalty fee paid to the family of the inventors, according the Daily Telegraph.

The brand was a hit with a series of fashion subcultures from the skinheads and punks to the Brit Pop fans of the 1990s, but has also suffered due to changing tastes.

Production was moved to Asia but the original Northamptonshire factory was reopened in 2007 to produce vintage styles.

A Permira spokeswoman declined to comment on reports of a deal. The Griggs family could not be reached for a response.

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Activist Malala meets Queen at reception

The Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Source: AAP

SCHOOLGIRL Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, spoke to the Queen about the importance of education when they met at Buckingham Palace.

The 16-year-old was shot in the head in Pakistan last October after campaigning for the right of girls to go to school without fear, in a part of the country where Islamic fundamentalists were trying to impose a strict form of Sharia law.

Malala was one of the guests at a reception for commonwealth, youth and education hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.

She was reduced to laughter by a comment from the Duke, who quipped that in the UK, people want children to go to school to get them out of the house. Malala covered her face while in a fit of giggles at his joke.

The teenager, accompanied by her father Ziauddin, gave the Queen a copy of her book, I Am Malala, during their meeting in the palace's White Drawing Room, telling her: "It is a great honour for me to be here, and I wanted to present you with this book."

Accepting the gift, the Queen replied: "That's very kind of you."

Malala told the Queen she was passionate about every child having a right to an education, everywhere around the world.

She added: "Especially in this country as well.

"I have heard about many children that can't go to school, and I want to continue our work."

Ziauddin Yousafzai also spoke to the Queen and Duke about their past visits to his home country.

Malala was flown from Pakistan to the UK for emergency treatment after the attack. Surgeons who treated her said she came within inches of death when the bullet grazed her brain in the attack on a school bus.

She was treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has now settled in the city with her family. Since the attack, she has addressed the United Nations and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Princess Beatrice and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also present at the reception, attended by 350 guests from academic institutions around the world.

It included a performance from the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and choir.

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Morgan Stanley 3Q profit almost doubles

Worker allowances lost, unions warn

UPDATE: A union leader has warned that state public servants stand to lose regional allowances under workplace reforms introduced to parliament this week.

One Direction, where are you?

ONE Direction fever has hit Brisbane ... well, a contingent of young girls, at least ... as the Brit boy band prepares for shows in the city this weekend.

Count stalls as 50,000 votes challenged

CLIVE Palmer will wait at least another week to find out if he's made it into federal parliament, with more than 50,000 ballots challenged in the Fairfax recount.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nestle posts 4 per cent rise in sales

Nestle has posted a modest four per cent increase in sales for the first nine months of 2013. Source: AAP

SWISS food and drink giant Nestle has posted a modest four per cent increase in sales of dozens of its household name brand products for the first nine months of 2013.

The Vevey, Switzerland-based company, whose business reflects the global economy, said on Thursday it had sales of 68.4 billion Swiss francs ($A78.22 billion) through September, up from a restated 65.7 billion Swiss francs during the same period in 2012.

The world's biggest food and drink company had previously reported its nine-month sales in 2012 as 67.6 billion Swiss francs through September, up from 60.9 billion during the same period in 2011.

"Our real internal growth has regained momentum and is broad-based across categories, price points and geographies. Most notably, Europe continues to grow and Asia and Africa have picked up speed," Nestle Chief Executive Paul Bulcke said.

The news sent shares in Nestle up by more than two per cent to 63.30 francs in Thursday morning trading.

But the maker of Nescafe, Jenny Craig and Haagen-Dazs, which last year at this time reported that its sales growth had slowed to 11 per cent in the first nine months of 2012, acknowledged some headwinds in a statement issued before the opening of the Zurich exchange.

"Today's challenging environment is the right time for us to further reinforce the fundamentals of our business: those which drive growth like innovation, distribution and consumer engagement, and those which drive operational performance like strengthening our portfolio, improving our resource allocation and increasing our structural efficiency," Bulcke said.

"We expect our continued growth momentum to enable us to deliver around five per cent organic growth for the full year," he added, "together with an improvement in margins and underlying earnings per share in constant currencies."

Earlier this year, Nestle had cautioned that it might not be able to meet its usual target of between five to six per cent annual organic growth, a measure that removes the costs from recent acquisitions and fluctuations in currency.

In its biggest market, North America, Nestle said sales continued to grow particularly for frozen meals, pizza and snacks, despite the tough economic environment. It said cereals, Kit Kat bars, Nescafe and pet care were doing well in Latin America, despite the economic slowdown from inflationary pressures.

Europe's weak consumer demand and deflationary pressures were affecting sales, and poor summer weather resulted in a short season for ice cream, Nestle said, though Britain, Austria, Germany and Switzerland were holding up better than other areas.

There was a continuing general economic slowdown across emerging markets in Africa, Oceania and the Middle East, where local conflicts and civil disturbances disrupted several markets though Central and West Africa, and Indonesia saw strong sales growth, Nestle said.

China's sales also continued to grow, the company said, but in a somewhat slower trading environment.

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NSW braced for loss of homes, if not life

HUNDREDS of homes are feared destroyed and the NSW premier believes it will be a miracle if no lives are lost in the most grave bushfire crisis to hit the state in a decade.

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Verizon 3Q profit soars

VERIZON is reporting a 40 per cent jump in third-quarter net income after adding more than 1 million new wireless devices to its network.

The largest US mobile phone carrier earned $US2.23 billion ($A2.34 billion), or 78 US cents per share, up from $US1.59 billion, or 56 US cents per share, in the same quarter of 2012. Excluding one-time items, the company posted an adjusted profit of 77 cents per share for the recent quarter.

Revenue rose 4 per cent to $US30.28 billion from $US29.01 billion.

The results on Thursday beat Wall Street predictions.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 74 US cents per share on $US30.15 billion in revenue.

The company added 1.1 million net retail wireless connections during the quarter.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. are up 3 per cent to $US48.80 in premarket trading.

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NSW MPs votes to disband Game Council

A CONTROVERSIAL body that licensed amateur hunters will be formally disbanded after legislation passed NSW parliament.

State Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson introduced the legislation last month, which abolishes the controversial Game Council and transfers the responsibility of licensing to the Department of Primary Industries.

The bill passed the upper house on Wednesday night.

The O'Farrell government moved to scrap the council in July, after a scathing review by public servant Steve Dunn found it was poorly governed and had an "inherent conflict of interest".

Ms Hodgkinson said the bill to disband the council will restore confidence in hunting as a recreational activity.

Game and feral animals cost the agricultural sector $70 million of losses each year across NSW and must be controlled, she said.

"We believe in the role of volunteer hunters in contributing to co-ordinated pest management programs," Ms Hodgkinson said in a statement.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the bill's passage was an important blow to the developing gun and hunting culture in NSW.

"The government was pushed by the community of NSW, with the support of the Greens, into abolishing the pro-gun Game Council and tonight's vote finally achieved that," he said in a statement.

The Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2013 now awaits royal assent.

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Bank of America Q3 profit up sharply

BANK of America Corp says its third-quarter profit surged as it saw increases from investments and interest charged on loans.

The second-largest US bank reported on Wednesday that it earned $US2.5 billion ($A2.63 billion) in the July-September period, up from $US340 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 20 US cents, beating the 19 US cents expected by financial analysts.

Bank of America has been slimming down and cutting jobs since chief executive Brian Moynihan took over in early 2010. The strategy is meant to make the bank easier to manage and to reduce riskier businesses.

Third-quarter revenue slipped to $US22.2 billion from $US22.5 billion, coming in close to the analysts' forecast of $US22 billion.

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McCann appeal sparks huge response

UK police are focussing on a man with dark hair who was seen the night Madeleine McCann disappeared. Source: AAP

A NEW British police television appeal about the 2007 disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal has triggered an unprecedented public response, the BBC says.

UK detectives who have spent two years raking over the case published new electronic images of men they want to trace, plus a reworked timeline of events leading up to Madeleine's disappearance.

Police said the appeal, broadcast on Monday on BBC TV's Crimewatch, triggered more than 300 calls and 170 emails from the public.

They are keen to find one man seen carrying a young child in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on the night of May 3, 2007, around the time Kate McCann discovered her eldest daughter was missing from their holiday apartment.

London's Metropolitan Police said the man was of "vital importance" in their quest to discover what happened to Madeleine, who vanished just a few days before her fourth birthday.

"It's been a truly unprecedented response," Crimewatch editor Joe Mather told BBC radio.

"There were lots of calls from British people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine's disappearance who'd never previously spoken to the Met.

"Several callers mentioned the same name" for the man seen carrying a child, he said.

"It is a long shot but it's remarkable how often results are possible even several years down the line.

"The ability to rule people out of an investigation or out of a timeline can be almost as significant as being able to name potential suspects.

"There were genuinely useful calls."

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer in the case, said his team had had a "revelation moment" that put the spotlight on other possibilities.

Their probe focused on the time between 8.30pm, when the McCanns left their three children in their apartment to dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant, to when Kate McCann discovered Madeleine was missing at 10pm.

They established that a man seen carrying a child near their apartment at 9.15pm by a friend of the McCanns, was almost certainly an innocent British holidaymaker collecting his own daughter from a nearby creche.

That put the spotlight on other events leading up to 10pm.

The new e-fits of the man whom police are especially keen to trace were drawn up based on descriptions from different witnesses. They said the blonde-haired child did not seem in distress.

The witnesses described the man as white, between 20 and 40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build and height and clean-shaven. One image shows him with a fuller jaw than the other.

Police said they were working on the theory that the abduction could have been planned and were also interested in tracing "one or two" fair-haired men who had been seen "lurking" around the apartment complex before Madeleine's disappearance. Witnesses said the men were speaking German or Dutch.

They also speculated that the youngster may have disturbed a burglary, pointing to a sharp increase in local break-ins in the months leading up to the incident.

The appeal will also be broadcast in Ireland, Germany and The Netherlands - though there are no plans to show it in Portugal.

Redwood was to visit The Netherlands on Tuesday and Germany on Wednesday.

German public broadcaster ZDF's Aktenzeichen XY program will on Wednesday show the images of the key man police want to trace.

The force announced it was offering a new reward of up to STG20,000 ($A33,881) for information leading to the prosecution of McCann's abductor.

Portuguese authorities closed their investigation in 2008, but the Met Police spent two years reviewing the case at the British government's request and opened their own probe in July this year.

The operation has interviewed more than 440 people and identified 41 "persons of interest".

During Crimewatch, the McCanns, who launched a global media campaign to find their daughter, said they were still optimistic she could be traced.

"We're feeling hopeful," said father Gerry McCann.

"These cases can get solved", he said, citing instances where long-lost people have been found.

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Kirby moved by story from Korean woman

FORMER High Court Judge Michael Kirby admits he's a bit of a tough nut from more than three decades on the bench.

But he says he was especially moved by the story of an elderly Korean woman, one of many who testified to the United Nations Human Rights Council inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea.

Justice Kirby, who heads a three-member team investigating systematic, widespread and grave violations in the reclusive Asian nation, will address the UN general assembly on findings later this month.

He says he had heard many upsetting stories.

"I am a pretty hard nut because I was a judge for 34 years in Australia," he told ABC television.

"A lot of the stories one hears... are very distressing and you have to just distance yourself from it so that you don't allow emotion to contaminate your assessments and judgment."

Justice Kirby said the elderly woman related how she last saw her husband in 1951 during the Korean War as troops moved back and forth.

Believing it was safe, he emerged from a hiding place, just as North Korean troops returned. She hasn't seen him since.

"She said losing a partner was like losing your arm. I feel a need, she said, to embrace him. I just want to know is he still alive," he said.

"This is 1951. This was this elderly woman just talking of such love for her husband in such simple human terms. I found it a very moving thing. One thinks of one's own life in those circumstances and the terrible burden of not knowing what has happened to your partner."

In the inquiry, Justice Kirby and his team have heard testimony in South Korea, Japan, Thailand and the US, but not North Korea, which has refused to allow them in.

He said his job was to conduct an inquiry that was independent, fair and faithful to the truth, backed by the testimony of a large number of witnesses.

"It's then a matter for the politicians in the general assembly and the other organs of the UN to decide what should be done," he said.

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Parliament to sit over four weeks in 2013

PARLIAMENT is likely to be recalled in a month's time, with four sitting weeks before Christmas.

AAP understands the 44th Parliament will first sit on November 12, with the Tuesday sitting a largely ceremonial affair.

This includes swearing in members, electing a Speaker and a speech by the governor-general.

There will be four sitting weeks before Christmas, split into two fortnights with a break in between.

One of the weeks will include Senate estimates hearings.

Under the previous parliamentary timetable, which was dropped once the election was called, an estimates week was due to be held in late October.

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Facebook opens office in Israel

Theme park visit sparks measles scare

A TEEN from one of Australia's lowest-vaccinated regions has triggered a new measles scare after visiting a Gold Coast theme park on school holidays.

Bandidos boss banned from Coast

UPDATE: Bandidos president, who apparently lives with his parents in Brisbane, has been banned from going near his gang's Gold Coast turf.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Another arrest in fruit shop shooting

A 27-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting in a western Sydney fruit shop.

Police arrested the man in a Villawood home on Monday night and are interviewing him at Fairfield Police Station.

He's the second person to be arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Kamran Yousaf.

Mr Yousaf, an employee of the store, was found lying in the back of the Villawood Value Fruit Market with bullet wounds to his head and abdomen on Saturday.

Linh Dang, 27, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder and armed robbery in company, but police continued to search for his alleged accomplice.

Police allege Dang was armed with a silver-coloured pistol when he walked into the fruit shop with another unknown man.

But what began as a robbery quickly turned deadly when Mr Yousaf put up a fight.

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Mongols patch over the Finks in WA

The notorious US-based Mongols bikie gang has patched over the Finks in Western Australia. Source: AAP

A POLICE operation has confirmed the notorious Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang has patched over the Finks in Western Australia.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan flagged concerns last week about the US-based bikie gang taking over the Finks and said police had been monitoring the situation.

There were previously only three Mongols in WA and all are in prison.

There are about 12 Finks members in WA and about half are in prison, while their club house has been frozen.

Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson told reporters on Sunday that police were monitoring all gangs and played down the threat of the Mongols, who have a violent rivalry with the Hells Angels in the US.

"Irrespective of what they call themselves, police regard them (all) as criminal gangs and will continue to treat them as such," Mr Dawson said.

Laws allowing WA police and the state's corruption watchdog to declare bikie gangs illegal were passed by parliament late last year, but have not yet been proclaimed.

The intelligence was gathered as part of a national day of action against outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Police executed search warrants throughout Perth's metropolitan area on Saturday targeting two club houses and residences in Woodvale, Aveley, Balga, Henley Brooke, Butler, Ocean Reef, Landsdale, Quinns Rock and Wilson.

Seized items included a baton, a tracking device believed to be used for vehicles, 28g of white powder that is yet to be identified, and $56,000 in cash.

Further operations were carried out at licensed premises in Fremantle, Burswood and regional areas.

Charges included disorderly behaviour, five counts of possessing a prohibited drug and possessing a smoking implement.

In a joint operation with the Department of Corrective Services, 71 prison cells occupied by gang members were also searched and prison contraband was seized.

Nationally, 53 people were charged, 79 search warrants were executed and 362 licensed premises were patrolled.

Mr Dawson said the operation was successful despite a small haul in WA.

"The outcome of the operation is not necessarily the volume of what is seized, but it's the effective policing and the gathering of any evidence," he said.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Strong winds expected amid NSW bushfires

Properties have reportedly been damaged as an out of control bushfire continues to blaze in NSW. Source: AAP

FIREFIGHTERS are bracing for a night of strong winds and thunderstorms, as a number of homes in NSW were destroyed by bushfires.

The NSW Rural Fire Service has downgraded bushfires in Port Stephens in the state's Hunter region to 'watch and act' levels, but warns a southerly change could spread the blaze.

"It can prove to be quite problematic because there's going to be extremely strong wind gusts that come with it," a spokesman told AAP on Sunday.

"When we get a shift from the wind and it turns south which we're seeing tonight, the sides of the fires can then turn into the fronts of the fires."

Five properties have reportedly been damaged or destroyed between Salt Ash and Tanilba Bay in Port Stephens.

"We don't have solid confirmation of that yet," the NSW RFS spokesman said.

"But obviously there's been footage on the news tonight which clearly shows there have been properties destroyed."

The fires across the state come as the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the mid-north coast, the Hunter region and other parts of NSW.

The bureau is urging people in those areas to move their cars away from trees and stay indoors.

Conditions are easing on the Tangory Mountain fire ground, 15km east of Singleton but authorities warn the southerly change could make the situation worse.

Once the southerly change passes tonight, firefighters expect conditions to ease considerably. They'll use the calmer conditions in the next two days to contain the remaining fires.

More than 100 firefighters are also working on controlling a large bushfire in the Webbs Creek area, near Wisemans Ferry, in the Hawkesbury region.

Meanwhile, 43 cars were destroyed near Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney's west when a grass fire spread into a carpark near an aquatic centre, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer told AAP.

Around 1500 people were evacuated and three people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Authorities have declared the area safe but will continue to monitor it overnight.

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Vic boy killed attempting to cross tracks

• From: AAP
• October 13, 2013 10:02PM

A VICTORIAN teenager killed as he attempted to cross railway tracks may have misjudged the speed of the oncoming train, police say.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More