Severe storms can't dampen Schoolies

Steve Ots catches massive hailstones falling in the water of the Sunshine Coast.

ANOTHER day, another storm in the southeast. Follow all the weather action here.

10.45pm: RAIN has failed to dampen spirits on the opening night of Schoolies.

While severe thunderstorms delayed the party for about an hour, stages set on the stretch of sand at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast have been reopened.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Schoolies organiser Mark Weyburn said the party was closed off to young revellers amid concerns of wet weather affecting electrical equipment.

"We didn't open the gates until an hour or so later than we had hoped but it didn't stop the teens from partying," Mr Weyburn said.

"The rain just amped up the crowds even more so that when the storm passed they all flooded into the party in good spirits."

Mr Weyburn said Schoolies had been well behaved this year with very few incidents.

Head Red Frog Andy Gourley said this year's crop of graduates have been well behaved so far.

Schoolies celebrate the rain

"Moving them out of the hotel rooms has been fantastic and everyone seems to be getting right into it," he said.

"The next couple of hours will get busy as we start our 'walk home' service.

"Last year we did about 6000 walk homes and some volunteers have already taken some Schoolies back to Broadbeach. Red Frogs are going to clock up the kilometres tonight."

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

7.15pm: ACCESS to the schoolies beach party has been closed temporarily while emergency services evaluate the storm threat.

Thousands of schoolies are assembling on the streets around Cavill Mall.

Gold Coast Schoolies spokesman Wayne Hickson said emergency services are keeping an eye on a developing storm front but organiser have no plans to close off the beach party at this stage.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

"It would have to be cyclonic weather to stop these guys from partying," Mr Hickson said.

"At the moment the worst of the storm looks like it will go around us but we have plenty of systems in place in case we need to evacuate the beach quickly."

Messages broadcast on large television screens, SMS warnings and audio warnings are on hand to alert schoolies if required.

If the party is shut off, Red Frogs volunteers will do the rounds at hotel room parties to keep the estimated 30,0000 school leavers entertained and out of trouble.

Mr Hickson said schoolies week is off to a slow start but is sure to pick up as the night wears on.

Weather photo Saturday night at the Story Bridge with lightning clouds. Picture: Adam Armstrong

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

6.50pm: THE Bruce Highway has been reopened at two sections following separate incidents earlier this evening.

Motorists can now use one lane of the highway after a minor car crash 40km north of Gin Gin.

Emergency services are still removing the damaged vehicle from the road.

The highway is also open near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after a tree-related incident about 3pm.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Water spout forming over Moreton Bay at approximately 6.30am Saturday morning. Picture: Juliet Bates

6.30pm: THUNDERSTORMS may rain on the parade of school leavers with another round of severe weather warnings issued for southeast Queensland.

The weather bureau has warned residents near the NSW border to expect storms near the McPherson Range by 6.25pm and Springbrook and Little Nerang Dam by 6.55pm.

The storms are moving northeast and forecasters have advised locals near the Gold Coast to prepare to batten down the hatches.

Further north, similar warnings have been given to residents near Mackay, Prosperine, Moranbah, Collinsville, Hamilton Island and Sarina on the central Queensland coast.
 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

3pm: DOUBLE Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

A 'very dangerous' thunderstorm on the Sunshine Coast brings hailstones the size of tennis balls.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

2.50pm: Steve Ots is visiting the Sunshine Coast from the Gold Coast and witnessed the hail storm from his twelfth storey apartment on the Maroochydore esplanade.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

"I started hearing really loud noises - like a construction site," he said. 

"When I looked in the distance I could see all this splashing up the river and I realised it was hail. 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Hail hits the water at Maroochydore and leaves huge splashes. Picture: Steve Ots

"Originally I thought someone was throwing things from the apartment above us.

"The hail was orange-sized and it looked like a war zone…it was crazy, I've never seen hail like it before."

Taking shelter on his balcony Mr Ots said the hail caused considerable damage on the ground below.

"I wonder about the damage that it must have done," he said, 

"You wouldn't want to be on the ground when these things were coming down…the speed was pretty phenomenal."

2.45pm: Double Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

2.40pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated weather warnings with very dangerous thunder storms detected near Maroochydore and Beenleigh, both cells are moving east.

A resident of Mooloolah Valley holds up a massive hailstone from a storm that sounded like explosions on the roof.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Jacobs Well and Russell Island by 2:45 pm.

Thunderstorms were also located north of Noosa and at Lake Cooloola.

2pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has added to the list of southeast Queensland towns warned to brace for oncoming storms.

Dangerous storm cells have been detected on radars near Jimboomba, Logan Village, Greenbank and Conondale.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Beenleigh, Logan City, Nambour and Mapleton by 2:20 pm.

Cleveland, Manly, Wynnum and Yandina may be affected by 2:50 pm.

Hail at Novotel Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast.

1.35pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its storm warnings, with two storms cells centred around Maroochydore and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

The storms are moving towards the east to northeast.

The storms are classed as "very dangerous" and are forecast to affect Tamborine, Jimboomba, Logan Village and waters off Coolum Beach by 1:55 pm.

Beenleigh, Coomera, Hope Island and Jacobs Well will be hit by 2:25 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near the NSW border and the area south of the NSW border.

They are forecast to affect the area southwest of Noosa Heads, the area west of Noosa Heads, Tewantin and Pomona by 1:55 pm.

Coolangatta, Caboolture, Noosa Heads and waters off Noosa Heads are predicted to be affected by 2:25 pm.

Residents are warned to brace for large hailstones and damaging winds.

Massive hailstones pounded the Mooloolah Valley. Picture: Higgins Storm Chasing/Rebecca Shepperson

1.15pm: Tennis ball-sized hail has fallen at Buderim as a large storm cell sweeps over the Sunshine Coast.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

The Bureau of Meteorology has reported "very dangerous thunderstorms" detected on weather radar near Maroochydore, Boonah, Caloundra and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

They are forecast to affect Beaudesert, waters off Caloundra and waters off Maroochydore by 1:25 pm and Canungra, Mount Tamborine, Tamborine and Jimboomba by 1:55 pm.

Marburg, Lowood, northern Lake Wivenhoe and Mount Kilcoy will receive falls at around 1:25 pm.

Ipswich, Crohamhurst, Maleny and Conondale will receive further falls by 1:55 pm.

12.55pm: Residents are reporting a blanket of hail, some the size of large marbles, after more than 20 minutes of solid falls.

The water funnel as seen from a dive boat off Wynnum. Picture: Josh Keen

The storm cell is moving east to northeast and are forecast to hit Maroochydore by 12.55pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also detected severe thunderstorms near Esk and to the west of the town.

The storms are forecast to affect Boondah, Esk and the northwest of Esk by 12.55pm, and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert, northern Wivenhoe and Toogoolawah by 1.25pm.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Damaging winds and very large hailstones are likely.

Capricornia, parts of the Central Coast, the Whitsundays, the Central Highlands and the Coalfields districts are being warned to brace for damaging winds and large hail stones in the next two hours.

Emerald, Rockhampton, Clermont, Blackwater, Yeppoon, Baralaba, Marlborough, St Lawrence and Dysart may be affected.

Earlier, walkers on the Wynnum foreshore got a shock this morning when a large water funnel was spotted just off the coast.

Reader Janet Rough snapped a picture about 6.45am, with the odd formation dominating the skyline.

Commonly referred to as a water spout, Bureau of Meteorology Duty Forecaster Gordon Banks said the formation was more likely to be a small tornado over water.

Meet the one man weather bureau

Readers capture southeast storms

"In this instance being as it was associated with a thunderstorm it's most likely a tornado over water," he said.

"It would actually pick up water as it moved; it's hard to see if they don't have water or dirt wrapped around them."

Also spotted from the airport, if the formation is a tornado Brisbane could be on the receiving end of a weather phenomenon.

"If it was a tornado, and I suspect it was but it's hard to prove, then it's very unusual and very rare," Mr Banks said.

"Statistically we're unlikely to get another one, but if the environments produced one there remains a chance of another.

"It's just another part of the danger associated with thunderstorms and why it's always best to take cover."

Southeast Queensland's wet weather is expected to continue, with the bureau predicting significant rain over Sunday and Monday with thunderstorms also predicted.

- reporting by Caitlin Drysdale, Naomi Lim, Jacinda Tutty and Kathleen Donaghey

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Hellish search continues in Philippines

JOHN Lajara peers under a slab of crumbled concrete, lifts a sodden white teddy bear then drops it back into the filth. But he's searching for something far more precious - the body of his brother, Winston.

The search for the missing - 1,179 by official count - has become a hellish daily activity for some. In Lajara's seaside village, residents estimate that about 50 of the 400 people who lived there were killed. About half of the dead are still missing: mothers, fathers, children and friends.

"Somehow, part of me is gone," Lajara said as another fruitless expedition in the rubble ended Saturday.

Lajara has carried out the routine since both he and his brother were swept from their house by Typhoon Haiyan on November 8. And every day has ended so far with no answers on Winston's fate.

According to the latest figures by the Philippines' main disaster agency, 3,633 people died and 12,487 were injured. Many of the bodies remain tangled in piles of debris, or are lining the road in body bags that seep fetid liquid. Some are believed to have been swept out to sea.

After the initial days of chaos, when no aid reached the more than 600,000 people rendered homeless, an international aid effort was gathering steam.

"We're starting to see the turning of the corner," said John Ging, a top UN humanitarian official in New York. He said 107,500 people have received food assistance so far and 11 foreign and 22 domestic medical teams are in operation.

US Navy helicopters flew sorties from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities. The US military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.

So far, the US military has moved 174,000 kilograms of supplies and flown nearly 200 sorties.

The focus of the aid effort is on providing life-saving aid for those who survived, while the search for missing people is lower in the government's priorities.

The head of the country's disaster management agency, Eduardo del Rosario, said the coast guard, the navy and civilian volunteers are searching the sea for the dead and the missing.

Still, he said, the most urgent need is "ensuring that nobody starves and that food and water are delivered to them."

Lajara's neighbour, Neil Engracial, cannot find his mother or nephew, but he has found many other bodies. He points at a bloated corpse lying face down in the muddy debris. "Dante Cababa - he's my best friend," Engracial says. He points to another corpse rotting in the sun. "My cousin, Charana." She was a student, just 22.

Lajara remembers the moment his brother vanished.

They were standing alongside each other side by side with relatives and friends before the surge hit. They stared at the rising sea, then turned to survey the neighbourhood behind them, trying to figure out where or if they could run. Then the wave rushed in.

Lajara, Winston and the others dived into the water, and were swept away from each other. After Lajara's face hit the water, he never saw Winston again.

Lajara has trudged through the corpse-strewn piles of rubble and mud, searching for two things: wood to rebuild his home, and Winston. So far he has found only wood.

On Saturday, he set out again. The rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum echoed across the landscape, as a young boy played the instrument from the roof of a gutted building. It was a grim accompaniment to what has become Lajara's daily march into the corpse-strewn wasteland that was his home, where the sickly sweet stench of death mixes with the salty sea air.

Reminders of the people who once lived here are wedged everywhere among the warped piles of wood, glass and mud: a smiling, bowtie-clad stuffed bumblebee. A woman's white platform shoe. A wood-framed photograph of a young boy.

Suddenly, a neighbour, Pokong Magdue, approached.

"Have you seen Winston?"

Magdue replies: "We saw him in the library."

Lajara shakes his head. It can't be Winston. He's already searched the library.

Sometimes people come to him and inform him that Winston's body has been found. Lajara must walk to the corpse, steel himself, and roll it over to examine the face.

He then must deal with conflicting emotions: relief that the body is not his brother's. Hope that Winston might still be alive. And grief that he still has no body to bury. Because at least then, he says, he could stop searching.

Winston was his only brother. He had a wife and two teenage children. He was a joker who made everyone laugh. He drove a van for a living and was generous to everyone. He was a loving father.

"It's hard to lose somebody like him," Lajara says.

Now, the only trace of his brother that remains is his driver's licence. The upper left-hand corner of the licence is gone, and the picture is faded. Lajara leaves it with a friend for safekeeping when he is out hunting for wood and Winston.

He gazes at the card in his hand. "When I want to see him, I just stare at his picture."

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Aust asylum patrol boats for Sri Lanka

AUSTRALIA will give two retired navy patrol boats to Sri Lanka in a bid to crack down on people smugglers.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday will visit a Colombo port to meet Sri Lankan navy officials and government members and tour a patrol boat.

"Australia appreciates its strong co-operative relationship with Sri Lanka in countering people smuggling," Mr Abbott said.

This year 14 asylum seeker boats have travelled directly from Sri Lanka to Australia, compared with 120 in 2012.

The prime minister said the Sri Lankan navy was getting better at disrupting people smugglers, with at least 12 on-water interceptions in 2013.

And a communication campaign in local villages was convincing people that "illegal entry by boat will never lead to resettlement in Australia", Mr Abbott said.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is using his role as host of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this weekend to show the world, and his own people, that economic and social conditions are improving.

But human rights advocates say basic freedoms and the rule of law are routinely breached and minorities are still persecuted.

Sri Lanka is also under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into state-sanctioned abuses against its Tamil minority as well as war crimes including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians during its 2009 defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

Mr Abbott has urged Commonwealth leaders to engage with rather than isolate Sri Lanka as it seeks to rebuild from three decades of war.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited the island's Tamil-led north on Friday told reporters the summit should not shy away from controversial topics.

"I think it's right to confront and discuss the difficult issues, the human rights issues, journalistic-freedom issues, importance of reconciliation," Mr Cameron said.

"But I think we do that not by gliding over the difficult issues."

Mr Cameron praised Mr Abbott as a "politician of immense stature and ability".

Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders will have to decide on hosts for consecutive forthcoming CHOGMs after 2015 host Mauritius pulled out.

The Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam, who boycotted the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights record, said he could not in good conscience host other leaders having not attended the 2013 event.

There is also a push to return Fiji to the fold, after it was suspended from the Commonwealth over the 2006 coup.

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Don't expect a China baby boom: experts

DON'T expect a new Chinese baby boom, experts say, despite the first easing of the country's controversial one-child policy in three decades.

Some 15 million to 20 million Chinese parents will be allowed to have a second child after the government announced Friday that couples where one partner has no siblings can have two children. But the easing of the policy is so incremental that demographers are not anticipating an influx of newborn babies.

"A baby boom can be safely ruled out," said Wang Feng, professor of sociology at the University of California Irvine.

Wang noted that although Chinese couples where both parents have no siblings have for some time been allowed to have a second child, many have elected to have only one.

"Young people's reproductive desires have changed," he said.

Xia Gaolong and his wife are among those who will be allowed to have a second child as a result of the new policy, but he said he has no intention of giving his 10-year-old son a sibling.

Xia, who runs a tour bus business in the thriving city of Nanjing in eastern China, said the high cost of living and fierce competition for schools and jobs would deter him from bringing another child into the world.

"No way will I have another child," said Xia, who is in his late 30s. "There are so many pressures in life in today's society, and our children will only face more pressures."

Experts estimate that the new rules allowing couples where one partner is an only child to have a second baby will result in 1 million to 2 million extra births per year in the first few years, on top of the 16 million babies born annually in China.

Cai Rong, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the figure could be even lower because of the growing acceptance of small families.

In an unscientific survey on the Chinese-language social media platform Sina Weibo, more than 60 per cent of those who self-identified as being eligible for the new exemption from the one-child limit said they would have a second child.

"A second child is absolutely necessary, and we thank the new policy," said May Zha, 34, of Beijing, the mother of a 3-year-old.

Zha said that her husband is an only child, making the couple eligible for the new exemption, and that they plan to have another baby as soon as possible. "Time does not wait," she said.

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Pakistan praised for rogue soldier arrest

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has personally thanked Pakistan's leader Nawaz Sharif over the arrest of a rogue Afghan soldier accused of murdering three Australian soldiers.

Sergeant Hekmatullah was captured in Pakistan in February after close co-operation between Pakistan, US, British and Australian intelligence services.

He has been charged with murdering Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate during an insider attack at Patrol Base Wahab in Afghanistan in August 2012.

Two other Australians were wounded, along with several Afghans.

Mr Abbott spoke with Mr Sharif on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo on Friday, and thanked Pakistan for its assistance.

The leaders also discussed security and economic challenges facing Pakistan, including the continuing threat from militants and recent disruptions in the supply of power across the country.

Pakistan's relationship with India, trade and the prospects for stability in Afghanistan were also on the agenda.

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New device aims to reduce stillbirths

AN experimental device that helps deliver babies during troubled labours was invented by an auto mechanic in South America.

It's being developed as part of an effort to reduce stillbirths around the world.

The instrument is named the Odon Device in honor of its inventor, car mechanic Jorge Odon of Argentina, who got the idea when friends re-created a YouTube video showing how to extract a cork from a wine bottle.

It is to be tested in Argentina and South Africa before wider distribution.

Birth is still a perilous event in the developing world.

According to the World Health Organisation, 2.6 million babies were stillborn globally in 2009, a number that has declined little since 1995, when there were 3 million stillbirths.

Moreover, about 260,000 women died in childbirth last year.

The device being developed by Becton, Dickinson and Co of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, essentially consists of a polyethylene bag and a tube.

The bag is inserted into the birth canal and inflated slightly to create a balloon that holds onto the baby's head.

That makes it easier to deliver the newborn, without the potential dangers that arise when a less-skilled practitioner uses forceps or vacuum suction.

It's also an alternative to cesarean sections, which are not readily available in poor countries.

"Developing countries just don't have access to the type of interventions that women would receive in the US or Western Europe," said Gary Cohen, executive vice president at BD, a medical technology company that is a leading manufacturer of needles and syringes.

Officials there estimate that if the tests go well, the device will be ready for use in about three years.

Odon got the idea in 2005 after seeing a plastic bag inserted into a wine bottle and inflated to get a cork out through the bottle's narrow neck.

He connected with officials at WHO, and the concept won a competition called "Saving Lives at Birth," which is sponsored by USAID, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organisations.

Officials from WHO reached out to Becton Dickinson in January 2012 because of the company's experience working with governments and non-profits to tackle health issues - especially HIV/AIDS - in the developing world, according to Cohen.

The company doesn't have any background in obstetrics, but it does have expertise in global distribution, as well as plastics molding, he said.

BD is working on the device under an exclusive licensing agreement with the inventor, as well as an agreement with WHO that calls for WHO to test the device.

BD said it plans to develop and manufacture the device in Singapore and distribute it globally, starting in areas where the maternal mortality rate is highest.

BD will make a profit on the product, but plans to offer it at an affordable price in developing countries. Cohen said it's too early to estimate prices for Odon.

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Harry urged to return Down Under

PRINCE Harry proved such a hit during his recent trip to Australia he should return - and stay longer - Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

The prince spent just 36 hours Down Under during a visit last month to celebrate the centenary of the country's navy - but caused what was dubbed "Harry mania".

Speaking during a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, which was opened by the Prince of Wales, Abbott said: "It would be a good idea if he did what his father did and came out for a longer time."

Charles developed a deep affection for Australia when, in 1966, he spent about six months as an exchange student at Timbertop, a remote outpost of the Geelong Church of England Grammar School in Melbourne.

Abbott made the remarks as he attended a lunch reception hosted by Charles in Colombo for new Commonwealth leaders.

Speaking to other politicians, he added: "Prince Harry came to Australia recently and he's a knockabout guy. He took Sydney by storm. He would be welcome back to Australia any time."

Harry returned from Sydney last month after attending the International Fleet Review to celebrate the Australian Navy's 100th anniversary.

He also spent a few months in the country in 2003 as a jackeroo working at a cattle station during a gap year.

Charles did not hear the comments about his son but when he chatted to Abbott the conversation turned to the quality of Australian wine compared to English.

The Australian prime minister explained to the prince that he had been handed a glass of Camel Valley sparkling wine produced in Cornwall.

Charles told the politician: "Of course the Australian ones are much better."

Abbott then replied: "I have been angling for that compliment for some time."

The prince then recalled how he flew over the Penfolds wine estate when he arrived in Australia in the sixties.

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US Postal service reports loss of $5b

THE US Postal Service says it lost $US5 billion ($A5.38 billion) over the past 12 months.

It's the seventh straight year the agency has reported a net loss.

Postal officials say the loss increases the urgency for Congress to let them end Saturday mail delivery and reduce payments for retiree health benefits.

The Postal Service has struggled for years with declining mail volume and required payments of $US5.6 billion annually in health care costs for future retirees.

It has defaulted on three of those payments.

Revenue from package delivery continued to grow, rising eight per cent last year.

But that's not enough to offset losses in first class mail, which has been the post office's most profitable service.

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PM expected to unveil Sri Lanka boat deal

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott is expected to soon unveil a new deal with Sri Lanka on stopping asylum seeker boats.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is understood to have discussed the new strategy with her Sri Lankan counterpart when she was attending a meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers in Colombo this week.

Mr Abbott is having other meetings while he is in Colombo for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The coalition took to the federal election a policy of intercepting all identified asylum seeker vessels travelling from Sri Lanka outside the Australian sea border and arranging for the immediate return of all passengers.

The key to the policy is ensuring what have been described as "safe transfer arrangements" involving the Sri Lankan government.

Mr Abbott told reporters in Colombo on Friday that Australia had "good and close co-operation" with the Sri Lankan government and navy.

"I'll be thanking the Sri Lankans for the co-operation which they have extended to us on this important issue and I will have more to say about this in the next day or so," Mr Abbott said.

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Activists to quiz company board at AGM

ENVIRONMENTAL activists will use proxies from shareholders to question the Lend Lease board at the company's AGM about its plans to build a coal port in Queensland.

Scientist Felicity Wishart, the Great Barrier Reef campaign manager for the Australian Maritime Conservation Society, said Lend Lease is considering whether to invest in a coal port at Abbot Point.

Building there would require dredging in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, she added.

Lend Lease would also construct "supporting rail infrastructure" under their plans.

"We're very concerned about this proposal," she told AAP.

"The reef is already under too much pressure, it's health is already fragile."

Ms Wishart and two activists from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition will attend the company's AGM in Sydney on Friday to ask questions of the board and to inform shareholders of the proposed port.

"Lend Lease has had a pretty good record in terms of commitments to sustainability," she told AAP on Thursday.

"We don't understand why then they would want to be involved in a project which... poses a great threat to the reef and additionally is about promulgating an increase in coal exports."

About 40 other activists will rally outside the AGM to highlight community concerns, Ms Wishart said.

She added that existing ports in the area are only operating at 30 per cent capacity.

"You could end up with these ports being developed, damaging the reef for no actual reason."

"It's a poor investment."

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Landmark native title deal in Victoria

AN historic settlement agreement has granted traditional ownership of 266,500 hectares of land in central Victoria to the Dja Dja Wurrung people, bypassing the Commonwealth's Native Title Act 1993.

The agreement provides for joint management of six parks and reserves in the Loddon Mallee and Central Goldfields regions and the transfer of historically and culturally significant land at Franklinford and Carisbrook.

Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark said it was the first native title agreement completed in the state without any determination of native title in the courts.

The agreement, under the Victoria's Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010, requires the Dja Dja Wurrung people to withdraw existing native title claims under the Commonwealth Native Title Act.

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Graham Atkinson said it was a landmark decision.

"Today signals the start of a new future for the Dja Dja Wurrung and a new permanent relationship with the State and people of Victoria," he said.

Victorian Governor Alex Chernov and Mr Atkinson will mark the occasion in a ceremony near Bendigo on Friday.

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Girls may be undiagnosed with autism

NEW research suggests many girls could be suffering with undiagnosed autism - as they are better at covering up signs of the disorder compared to boys.

Teachers are six times more likely to identify boys as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than girls, with parents twice as likely to make the same assessment.

But a study by University College London found autistic traits were more common in girls than previously thought.

Researchers used a series of tests to analyse emotional reactions in more than 3500 participants in the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol.

In the tests, participants were asked to identify emotions of people as happy, sad, angry or scared.

They were then asked to attribute one of the same four emotions to an animated triangle and circle moving around a screen.

Boys and girls previously identified as having attributes of autism were more likely to make mistakes when identifying sad and scared faces and wrongly identify faces as happy.

When the genders were contrasted, girls with autistic traits were found to be better at recognising emotions in the photographs, but fared less well with the triangle and circle cartoons.

This suggests girls may be better at masking the signs of autism in social situations, but are less able to do so in unfamiliar settings, the study reports.

"The lack of association between social communication difficulties and facial emotion recognition in girls suggests girls might learn to compensate for facial emotion recognition difficulties," said Dr Radha Kothari, lead author of the study, which is published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

"This has important implications for current assessment of clinical ASD in girls.

"Gender-specific assessment of ASD traits and characteristics might be important in order to understand the causes of ASD, and individual treatment needs across gender."

Dr Kothari said the findings of the study suggested many girls may not be diagnosed with autism and could be missing out on the treatment they needed.

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NSW inquiry to examine greyhound racing

CLAIMS that thousands of greyhounds are killed each year in NSW and others are given performance enhancing drugs will be examined by a cross-party state parliamentary committee.

Greens MP John Kaye, deputy chair of the select committee, told AAP the financial relationship between Greyhound Racing NSW and the TAB would also be looked at.

"Greyhound racing is about 20 per cent of the money bet on the TAB but they only get just over 12 per cent of the money that was raised," he said on Thursday.

"Greyhound Racing NSW claims they're not being given their fare share of TAB revenues.

Mr Kaye, who moved the motion to establish the committee, said across Australia 17,000 greyhounds are killed annually.

"That's a huge toll. There are too many trainers who are just breeding animals and wiping out a large percentage of the pups," he said.

He estimates about 6000 a year are culled in NSW.

Representatives from Greyhound Racing NSW, NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Traders Association and the government's Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing will front the probe.

Evidence from two vets, Greyhound Rescue Inc, and the Animal Welfare League will also be heard.

The committee comprises two crossbench MPs, two opposition MPs and three government MPs.

The hearing will be held at Penrith Panthers Leagues Club from 10am (AEDT) on Friday.

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Bishop welcomes 'smuggler' arrest

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop says the arrest of an alleged people-smuggling kingpin in Sri Lanka shows the country is serious about tackling the vile trade.

Fairfax reports Sri Lankan Navy Lieutenant-Commander Sanjeewa Annatugoda, who was arrested on people-smuggling charges in September, has previously been involved in briefing Australia's border protection officials and diplomats on the fight against people-smuggling.

Commander Annatugoda denies the charges.

Ms Bishop told reporters in Colombo she was aware of reports of the arrest, but rejected suggestions of it being embarrassing.

"We certainly welcome the fact that the Sri Lankan government is taking the issue of people smuggling very seriously and cracking down on alleged corruption," she said.

Fairfax reported police were alleging the commander had a key role in Sri Lanka's biggest people-smuggling ring.

In November last year, he met with Australia's Border Protection Command head Rear-Admiral David Johnston and high commissioner Robyn Mudie.

The number of boats from Sri Lanka had dropped considerably this year.

Having received around 6400 Sri Lankans in 2012, about 1200 were reported in the 12 months to August this year.

It's been estimated people pay between $6000 and $10,000 for the trip.

Ms Bishop said she believed most Sri Lankans seeking people-smugglers' help to get to Australia were economic migrants, rather than people fleeing persecution or violence.

"It seems clear the civil war is over," she said.

"The grounds for claiming asylum don't apply."

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Finnish military pilot dead

ONE pilot has died when two Finnish military aircraft crashed during training in central Finland, the Air Force said.

The accident occurred when the two jets reportedly collided in mid-air on Wednesday.

One of the pilots was found dead, the other was taken to hospital. Reports said his injuries were not life-threatening.

The cause of the crash was not known.

Witnesses earlier reported spotting two parachutes in the air, suggesting the pilots had ejected.

Wreckage of the two BAE Hawk training jets have been found after a search operation, public broadcaster YLE reported.

The training jets were based at Kauhava military airport.

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Sants quits Barclays role

SIR Hector Sants has resigned from his post in charge of compliance at the UK's Barclays Bank after being signed off work with stress and exhaustion.

Barclays said Sir Hector, who was on sick leave until the end of the year, stepped down after deciding he would not be able to return to work in the near term.

His departure comes less than a year after he took on the role of head of compliance, government and regulatory relations at the scandal-hit bank - a post he took on after a gruelling five years at the helm of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the run up to and throughout the financial crisis.

"Although only with us for 10 months, he has made significant progress towards creating a world class compliance function at Barclays and in improving our relationships with regulators and governments," Antony Jenkins, group chief executive at Barclays, said.

"I know my colleagues will join me in expressing our appreciation to Hector, as well as wishing him a speedy recovery."

Sir Hector's health woes come after Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio also took two months off at the end of 2011 due to sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

Barclays has launched the search for a permanent replacement for Sir Hector, with Allen Meyer, head of compliance, corporate and investment banking taking on the job on an interim basis.

The bank is also looking for a chief operations and technology officer following the resignation of Shaygan Kheradpir to become chief executive of a company based in the United States.

The compliance role left by Sir Hector is seen as a crucial part of the overhaul being led by Mr Jenkins.

His appointment marked the first time the bank brought its compliance operations under the control of one person and followed its STG290 million ($A499.14 million) fine last year for attempting to manipulate the Libor interbank lending rate - a scandal that threw the bank into turmoil and claimed the scalp of its former boss Bob Diamond.

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Bill to lift debt ceiling heads to Senate

GOVERNMENT legislation to increase the national debt ceiling will go to the Senate on Thursday, with the prospect that Prime Minister Tony Abbott will receive his first knockback.

The laws, which cleared the lower house on Wednesday, allow the government to increase the debt ceiling, or allowable value of government bonds on issue, to $500 billion, up from the old $300 billion limit.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said the opposition was happy to increase the limit to $400 billion.

But he said the government had come "nowhere near close" to justifying the increase to $500 billion.

The government wants this measures passed quickly. Treasury's pre-election budget update said the $300 billion limit would be reached by December.

Labor and the Greens have the numbers in the Senate to reject this legislation.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Labor's proposed $400 billion debt ceiling wouldn't even cover the debt left by Labor.

He offered Opposition Leader Bill Shorten a confidential briefing from Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson.

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Syria disarmament on track: OPCW

CHEMICAL weapons experts are on track to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal, an official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the group overseeing the process, says.

Grace Asiwartham, the watchdog's deputy director general, said on Wednesday that disarmament experts remained on schedule to eliminate Syria's declared chemical stockpile by a mid-2014 deadline.

"Due to the cooperation of Syrian officials and member states, I am pleased to say that we remain on pace ... disposing of Syria's declared chemical weapons stockpiles and capabilities," Asiwartham said on the sidelines of a regional summit on non-proliferation in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

After less than a month in Syria, teams from the OPCW and the UN had last week inspected 22 out of the country's 23 disclosed chemical weapons sites.

The experts now possess a "clear idea" of the size and scope of operations required to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons programme, according to Asiwartham.

Asiwartham underlined the growing dangers facing inspection teams in wartorn Syria, noting that UN-OPCW inspectors were prevented from accessing one of the declared sites near the central city of Homs due to unrest.

"There are growing dangers facing our experts, but, due to UN security arrangements, they are and will continue to perform their brave mission."

Asiwartham's comments come two days ahead of a meeting of the OPCW executive council to review a report compiled by inspection teams and to take a decision over Syria's disarmament process.

She expressed hope that member states would reach a consensus on the framework and scope of the disarmament and disposal phase, expected to commence in December.

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Kevin Rudd winds up political career

FORMER Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd concludes a 15-year career in politics when parliament rises at the end of Thursday.

Mr Rudd hasn't indicated how he will spend in his final day as an MP.

In a surprise move on Wednesday night, he announced the time had come to quit politics.

He choked back tears and stopped to compose himself several times as he spoke of the heavy toll of politics on his family.

"I will not be continuing as a member of parliament beyond this week," he said.

Mr Rudd was elected at the member for the Brisbane seat of Griffith in 1998, became opposition leader in 2006, prime minister at the 2007 election, was rolled by Julia Gillard in 2010 then resurrected for the election earlier this year.

He hasn't yet revealed plans for his life post-politics.

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Parliament to open with a bang

SMOKE, gunfire, oaths and speeches will mark the start of the 44th parliament when it meets in Canberra.

The events of the parliament's first sitting start on Tuesday morning with a Welcome to Country and indigenous smoking ceremony.

New politicians will be sworn in and the governor-general will address both houses to review the state of the nation and forecast the Abbott government's legislative program.

That program won't begin immediately, however, with legislation including bills for the repeal of the carbon tax expected to be introduced on Wednesday.

Instead, Tuesday's events will be largely ceremonial and procedural.

Bronwyn Bishop is expected to be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and was spotted in the chamber last week preparing for that role.

Outside of Parliament House, new MP Clive Palmer will address the National Press Club during the lunchtime break in official proceedings.

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Australia ranks 21st for organ donation

ORGAN donation in Australia is way behind the world leaders, according to international rankings that place the country at 21st.

Spain is the world leader, and France, the US, UK, Belgium and Norway are among the countries with higher proportions of donors than Australia.

The figures compiled by Sharelife Australia draw on international donor data published by the Council of Europe.

The data shows hundreds of Australians are missing out on life-saving transplants every year.

This is because a $151 million, four-year package announced by the federal government in 2008 has failed to achieve its goal of establishing Australia as a world leader.

There has been an improvement, says ShareLife spokesperson Sara Irvine, but Australia's progress is slower than many other countries.

Australia's rate of organ donation is half that of the leading countries, and 1000 more transplants could be performed a year if it reaches the level of the top five countries.

"We are still not in the top 20 nations and have long way to go," says ShareLife director Professor Allan Glanville, medical director of lung transplantation at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

"Organ donation saves lives, saves money and improves quality of life.

"You only need to talk to people who have been on kidney dialysis to see how well and productive they are after a kidney transplant.

"The Spanish model is very compassionate. It is supportive of families."

Family consent is needed, even if a person has opted in as a donor.

In Spain, skilled organ donation specialists speak to family members, which improves the chances of donation.

"They support families through what is an awful process."

Prof Glanville says there are good people doing good work in Australia.

"But we need to tweak the system so we are consistent from state to state."

He questions why South Australia and Victoria have 20 deceased organ donors per million of the population and NSW has 14.

"Australia needs to increase to 30 per million to be in line with the top four or five countries.

"Change takes time, but unless we improve we are failing in our duty of care to our patients.

"I have patients who are waiting for transplants and if they don't get a transplant they may well die."

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Indon VP sidesteps rows at Perth lecture

TENSE political relations between Australia and Indonesia have been put to one side as Indonesian Vice-President Boediono outlined his vision for the future of his country in a speech in Perth.

In a lecture hosted by his former University of Western Australia, Dr Boediono steered clear of any mention of boats or spies as he addressed the gathered dignitaries and students.

Instead, he outlined the need for Indonesia to continue the battle against corruption and the funding of education as the cornerstones of the development of democracy.

Dr Boediono's visit has been overshadowed by the political and diplomatic wrangling over the Abbott government's asylum seeker policy.

Just hours earlier, Minister Scott Morrison said there was "no rhyme or reason" to why Indonesian authorities would not take stricken asylum seekers back to their shores.

It had been revealed that in recent weeks Indonesia has allowed two boatloads of asylum seekers to be returned after their boats met trouble at sea.

But in two other cases the passengers were not allowed back and had to be taken by the Australian Navy to Christmas Island for processing.

In his lecture, Dr Boediono made no direct mention of the relationship between Australia and its nearest neighbour.

But he did admit his country was still battling with corruption as the number one enemy of the people, while also battling against the "distortions and noises" of an expanding democracy.

In an echo of debate in Australia, Dr Boediono said in his view there was needed a better quality of political candidate and more vigorous rules on the funding of political parties.

Dr Boediono was giving the 52nd Shannon Memorial Lecture to students of the university from which he graduated in 1967.

Before his lecture, Dr Boediono had a private meeting with state premier Colin Barnett, with another appointment to meet Indonesian students from UWA's business school later in the day.

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Canadian gold mine set to be rejected

ROMANIA'S prime minister says a special parliamentary commission is set to reject a bill that would permit Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine.

Canada's Gabriel Resources has been waiting 14 years for approval for the controversial project, which would use cyanide to mine more than 300 tonnes of gold and 1500 tonnes of silver in the town of Rosia Montana in northwestern Romania.

The government of Prime Minister Victor Ponta originally sent a bill to Parliament to approve the project, but changed its mind after weeks of protests over environment concerns and criticism that Romania would earn too little from the deal.

"The ruling coalition intends to reject the project," Ponta said on Monday, adding that the government supported foreign investment in its natural resources.

The parliamentary commission is expected to vote Monday evening.

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Daleks to invade Buckingham Palace

THE Daleks will descend on Buckingham Palace next week at a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Doctors past and present will join the Countess of Wessex, wife of Prince Edward, for a special celebration of the BBC's long-running hit science fiction show.

The Time Lord's TARDIS will also journey to the royal residence, alongside other props such as costumes worn by the Doctors and a Dalek, the Doctor's arch enemy.

The BBC's Director General Lord Hall will join former Doctors' assistants, program writers and members of the production team at the palace next Monday.

The series celebrates its 50th birthday later this month with a TV drama about the early days of the show called An Adventure In Space And Time, followed by an anniversary episode on November 23 called The Day of the Doctor with the current Doctor, Matt Smith, as well as his predecessor David Tennant.

Smith's stint as the Time Lord ends this year when he will be replaced by Peter Capaldi, best known for his role as the spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick of It.

The Countess will also meet young competition winners from two schools in south Wales where scenes from the 50th episode were filmed. The children will show off their winning drawings of "The Queen's TARDIS".

Doctor Who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running science fiction series in the world. It began on 23 November 1963, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor and there have been 11 Doctors to date.

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Consumers warned of fake hotel reviews

CONSUMERS should be on the lookout for fake hotel reviews this holiday season, consumer group Choice says.

"The boom in hotel review sites has given rise to the practice of 'astroturfing' or the writing of fake reviews by companies to promote their own accommodation," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said .

"Second to friends, people place their trust in reviews before editorial content, ads, marketing, and government sponsored tourism websites.

"Yet US-based Trip Advisor, the world's biggest online travel review service, has no plans to improve its verification processes."

The warning comes after reports earlier this year that the general manager of communications for Accor hotels in the Asia-Pacific region was caught posting more than 100 positive reviews on TripAdvisor, Choice said.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

In the US, the New York Attorney-General recently heavily fined 19 companies that wrote fake online reviews and created fake online profiles for businesses, Choice says.

Mr Godfrey said both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and NSW Fair Trading were looking at similar practices here.

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Dutch King pelted with tomatoes in Moscow

ACTIVISTS from a Russian opposition group have thrown tomatoes at Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Maxima, as they arrived for a concert in Moscow.

Eduard Limonov, the leader of the banned National Bolshevik party, says two of its activists hurled tomatoes at the royals on Saturday.

Russia's state security agency said they missed their target.

Limonov said on Sunday it was intended to attract public attention to what he called the Netherlands' failure to properly investigate the death of the group's member, Alexander Dolmatov, who took his own life in January at a Dutch deportation centre.

The royal visit was aimed to celebrate the two nations' historical ties, but it came amid tensions caused by Russia's seizure of a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship and other disputes.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

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Woman dies in Menai car crash

A 65-YEAR-OLD woman has died after her car veered into a rock face in Sydney's south.

Police say her car ran off Heathcote Road and crashed into the rock face at an area known as White Rock Quarry at Sandy Point, near Menai, on Sunday night.

Other motorists and paramedics tried to revive the woman, but she died at the scene.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woman stabbed on NSW south coast

A WOMAN has undergone surgery after being stabbed in the neck, back and arm, in what police say was a domestic dispute on the NSW south coast.

Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics found the 20-year-old woman with stab wounds when they arrived at a house in Marceau Street at Mount Saint Thomas on Sunday evening.

She was treated at the scene and taken to Wollongong Hospital, where she remains in a stable condition after undergoing surgery.

It's believed a man and woman were involved in a domestic dispute, police say.

Investigators are searching for a man, who is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his mid 20s, with a medium build, short black hair and large full-sleeve tattoos on both arms.

He was wearing a black and white jumper and black track pants.

Anyone who sees the man is urged not to approach him, but call triple zero immediately.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Names unveiled for Remembrance Day

THE names of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan - possibly the last to die in Australia's longest conflict - will be officially unveiled at the Australian War Memorial this morning for Remembrance Day.

The men, who were the 39th and 40th Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, could well be the last added to the Roll of Honour from the 12-year campaign, as most of the nation's troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year.

During the main service, Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith will recite the names of the two fallen, Corporal Scott Smith and Corporal Cameron Baird.

Names are added to the Roll of Honour, alongside 102,000 Australians lost in more than a century of conflict, each Remembrance Day.

This year is the 95th anniversary of the end of World War I and the 20th anniversary of a eulogy delivered by former Labor prime minister Paul Keating for the re-interment of the unknown Australian soldier.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

Mr Keating returns to Canberra on Monday at the special invitation of the War Memorial Council to deliver this year's commemorative address at the national Remembrance Day ceremony.

Corporal Roberts-Smith will also recite Mr Keating's eulogy for the unknown soldier later in the day at the Memorial's Last Post ceremony.

Services will be held at war memorials in cities and towns across the country, where a minute's silence is observed from 11am.

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