US auto sales accelerate in June

US auto sales accelerated in June with General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota posting strong gains as analysts forecast more growth in the months to come.

Toyota led the pack with a 14 per cent gain to 195,235 vehicles in June. Sales for the first half of the year were up six per cent at 1.1 million vehicles.

"The auto industry led the economic recovery through the first half of 2013, kicking off a strong summer selling season, which we expect will carry into the second half of the year," said Bill Fay, general manager of the Japanese automaker's Toyota division.

"Sales in June were solid, and demand didn't skip a beat."

The gains came as Toyota celebrated selling its 10 millionth Camry, which has held the crown for the top-selling car in the Unites States for the past 11 years.

Ford's sales climbed 13 per cent to 235,643 vehicles in its best June performance since 2006. Sales for the first half of the year were also up 13 per cent at 1.3 million vehicles.

"In June, we continued to see strong demand across the entire lineup," said Ken Czubay, Ford's sales chief.

"We're particularly encouraged by strong retail share gains, especially in coastal markets, where the combination of great design and fuel economy is resonating with customers -- including many buying a Ford for the first time."

Chrysler's sales rose eight per cent to 156,686 vehicles in the company's best June in six years. Sales for the first half of the year were up nine per cent at 908,332.

"The fundamentals for continued industry gains in new vehicle sales remain intact," Reid Bigland, Chrysler's sales chief, said in a statement.

GM's sales increased six per cent to 264,843 in June and were up eight per cent for the first half of the year at 1.4 million vehicles.

"We have good momentum heading into the second half of 2013: the economic outlook is solid and our launch vehicles are performing well in the marketplace," GM sales Kurt McNeil said in a statement.

Automotive website Edmunds.com forecast that total industry sales will rise 6.3 per cent in June and come in at an adjusted, annualized rate of 15.5 million vehicles once all automakers have reported.

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Reggae star stabbed himself - jury

REGGAE star Smiley Culture died from a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest during a police raid at his home, an inquest jury has found.

Surrey Coroner Richard Travers said he would make a report to the Metropolitan Police on changes or improvements to the supervision of a prisoner at their home during a search.

The 48-year-old singer, real name David Emmanuel, died from a single stab wound to the heart while police executed a search warrant at his Surrey home on March 15 2011.

The jury of five men and six women took 12 hours and 52 minutes to reach their majority verdict.

The jury foreman said: "David Victor Emmanuel took his own life. Although the tragic events of 15 March 2011 were unforeseeable, giving one officer the responsibility of supervising Mr Emmanuel and at the same time the premises search book was a contributory factor in his death."

The inquest heard that he stabbed himself after being arrested at the property in Warlingham.

The police inquiries concerned allegations of conspiring to import class A drugs into the UK, the court heard.

Smiley Culture found fame with a string of 1980s hits including CockneyTranslation, and appeared on Top of the Pops.

The inquest, which began on June 12, took place at Woking Borough Council's Civic Offices.

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Countries reject Snowden asylum bids

SEVERAL countries have rushed to reject asylum requests from fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden after he sought safe haven in 21 nations in a bid to win protection from American authorities.

Most European countries either flatly rejected the request or reacted cooly. But the leftist leaders of Venezuela and Bolivia rose to the 30-year-old's defence and said they would consider the application under the right conditions.

Snowden found particular support in Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela -- a long-term thorn in the side of the United States.

"What he did was reveal a big truth so that we could avoid a war," Maduro said during a two-day visit to Moscow for an energy summit.

"What is happening now should not be -- he never killed anyone or planted any bombs."

But Maduro refused to entertain speculation he might take Snowden on a plane with him from Moscow -- a possibility raised both by Russian media and political observers of the explosive case.

Bolivian President Evo Morales also said his country was willing to consider giving Snowden asylum.

"If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea," Morales told Russia's state-run RT television in comments translated from Spanish.

Poland immediately rejected Snowden's petitions while an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said there was "no reason to accede to the request."

The Netherlands also said no while Brazil said it was "not going to respond."

And a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Snowden himself had decided to scrap his petition with Moscow -- where he has been stranded in an airport transit zone since June 23 -- after the Kremlin chief said he wanted him to stop releasing damaging allegations about the United States.

"He abandoned his intention and his request to receive the chance of staying in Russia," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website -- its associate Sarah Harrison travelling with the former National Security Agency contractor -- said he had sent out applications to 13 European countries as well as six Latin American nations along with China and India.

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Person dead after crash near Rockhampton

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Last Updated: July 03, 2013

A PERSON has died in a single vehicle crash near Rockhampton.

The forensic crash unit is investigating the incident, which occurred at an intersection in Sandringham shortly before 11pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

No further information was available.

Carr set to drive manufacturing revival

VICTORIAN Senator Kim Carr wants to bring together "white coat and blue collar" to create high-skilled jobs in the struggling manufacturing sector.

Dogs given rough end of the stick

STICKS - dogs love chasing and fetching them. But the Australian Veterinary Association has sensationally called for a halt to this act... for the good of the dog.

PM pressured for boat solution

NEW Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is under pressure to announce a tougher asylum seeker policy ahead of a visit to Indonesia tomorrow.

Workers blow dough on food

BOUGHT lunches, transport and other work costs are gobbling more than a third of the average full-time employee's pay, a study says.

Watson ton as new openers hit it off

UPDATE: A REVITALISED Shane Watson has blazed a century before lunch against Worcester as Australia's new opening partnership worked a treat.

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Six children dead in Indon mosque collapse

SIX children have been killed and 14 others trapped after a mosque in Indonesia collapsed on Tuesday during a Koran reading session when a powerful earthquake struck, an official says.

"Six children were found dead under the rubble of a mosque flattened by the quake," the head of the disaster management agency in central Aceh district, Subhan Sahara, told AFP.

"Our search and rescue are struggling to evacuate an estimated 14 children still trapped under the rubble.

"I hope they can be found alive but the chances are very slim."

The six deaths take the confirmed toll from the 6.1-magnitude quake in Aceh province, on Sumatra island, to 11.

Dozens more have been injured by the quake which struck at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometres and also caused many houses to collapse.

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Snowden can stay in Russia: Putin

US whistleblower Edward Snowden may have asylum in Russia as long as he stops releasing information about US intelligence programs, Russian President Vladimir Putin says.

"Russia never hands over anybody anywhere and has no intention to do so," Putin told a news conference in Moscow.

"If he (Snowden) wants to remain here there is one condition - he should stop his work aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners no matter how strange this may sound coming from me."

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Man hit by car dies in Melbourne hospital

A 28-YEAR-OLD man has died after getting into an argument in north Melbourne before being knocked over by a car.

Police believed the two men involved in the argument knew each other, and that events escalated when one drove into the other with his car.

The 28-year-old man was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The 47-year-old driver is being questioned by police.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

AAP tjm/

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