NSW: Cannabis seized during eviction - police

AAP General News (Australia)
02-06-2009
NSW: Cannabis seized during eviction - police

SYDNEY, Feb 6 AAP - Cannabis worth more than $400,000 has been found by sheriffs sent
to evict a woman from a house in Sydney's southwest.

The sheriffs found an elaborate hydroponic system when they went into the house in
Nesbitt St at Prairiewood at about 11am (AEDT) on …

U.S. gives Web tools to dissidents

JAMES GLANZ; JOHN MARKOFF
International Herald Tribune
06-13-2011
U.S. gives Web tools to dissidents
Byline: JAMES GLANZ; JOHN MARKOFF
Type: News

Washington is leading a global effort to deploy "shadow" online and cellphone systems that can be used by dissidents living under repressive regimes that cut off communication.

The Obama administration is leading a global effort to deploy "shadow" Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.
The effort includes secretive projects to create independent cellphone networks inside foreign countries, as well as one operation in a fifth-floor shop in Washington where a group of young entrepreneurs who look as if they could be in a garage band are fitting deceptively innocent-looking hardware into a prototype "Internet in a suitcase."

Financed with a $2 million U.S. State Department grant, the suitcase could be secreted across a border and quickly set up to allow wireless communication over a wide area with a link to the global Internet.

The U.S. effort, revealed in dozens of interviews, planning documents and classified diplomatic cables obtained by The New York Times, ranges in scale, cost and sophistication.

Some projects involve technology that the United States is developing; others pull together tools that have already been created by hackers in a so-called liberation-technology movement sweeping the globe.

The State Department, for example, is financing the creation of stealth wireless networks that would enable activists to communicate outside the reach of governments in countries like Iran, Syria and Libya, according to participants in the projects.

In one of the most ambitious efforts, U.S. officials say, the State Department and Pentagon have spent at least $50 million to create an independent cellphone network in Afghanistan using towers on protected military bases inside the country. It is intended to offset the Taliban's ability to shut down the official Afghan services, seemingly at will.

The effort has picked up momentum since the government of President Hosni Mubarak shut down the Internet in Egypt in the last days of his rule. In recent days, the Syrian government also temporarily disabled much of that country's Internet, which had helped protesters mobilize.

The U.S. initiative is in one sense a new front in a longstanding diplomatic push to defend free speech and nurture democracy. For decades, the United States has sent radio broadcasts into autocratic countries through Voice of America and other means. More recently, Washington has supported the development of software that preserves the anonymity of users in places like China, and training for citizens who want to pass information along the government-owned Internet without getting caught.

But the latest initiative depends on creating entirely separate pathways for communication. It has brought together an improbable alliance of diplomats and military engineers, young programmers and dissidents from at least a dozen countries, many of whom variously describe the new approach as more audacious and clever and, yes, cooler.

Sometimes the State Department is simply taking advantage of enterprising dissidents who have found ways to get around government censorship. U.S. diplomats are meeting with operatives who have been burying Chinese cellphones in the hills near the border with North Korea, where they can be dug up and used to make furtive calls, according to interviews and the diplomatic cables.

The new initiatives have found a champion in Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose department is spearheading the American effort. "We see more and more people around the globe using the Internet, mobile phones and other technologies to make their voices heard as they protest against injustice and seek to realize their aspirations," Mrs. Clinton said in an e-mail response to a query on the topic.

"There is a historic opportunity to effect positive change, change America supports," she said. "So we're focused on helping them do that, on helping them talk to each other, to their communities, to their governments and to the world."

Developers caution that independent networks come with downsides: Repressive governments could use surveillance to pinpoint and arrest activists who use the technology or simply catch them bringing hardware across the border. But others believe that the risks are outweighed by the potential impact.

"We're going to build a separate infrastructure where the technology is nearly impossible to shut down, to control, to surveil," said Sascha Meinrath, who is leading the "Internet in a suitcase" project as director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan research group. "The implication is that this disempowers central authorities from infringing on people's fundamental human right to communicate."

In addition to the government initiatives, there are almost a dozen independent ventures that also aim to make it possible for unskilled users to employ existing devices like laptops or smartphones to build a wireless network. One mesh network was created around Jalalabad, Afghanistan, as early as five years ago, using technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Creating simple lines of communication outside official ones is crucial, said Collin Anderson, a 26-year-old liberation-technology researcher from North Dakota who specializes in Iran, where the government all but shut down the Internet during protests in 2009. The slowdown made most "circumvention" technologies -- the software legerdemain that helps dissidents sneak data along the state- controlled networks -- nearly useless, he said.

"No matter how much circumvention the protesters use, if the government slows the network down to a crawl, you can't upload YouTube videos or Facebook postings," Mr. Anderson said. "They need alternative ways of sharing information or alternative ways of getting it out of the country."

Mehdi Yahyanejad, an Iranian expatriate and technology developer who co-founded a popular Persian-language Web site, said that he and his research colleagues were also scheduled to receive State Department financing for a project that would modify Bluetooth so that a file containing, say, a video of a protester being beaten, could automatically jump from phone to phone within a "trusted network" of citizens. The system would be more limited than the suitcase but would require only the software modification on ordinary phones.

By the end of 2011, the State Department will have spent about $70 million on circumvention efforts and related technologies, according to department figures.

Copyright International Herald Tribune Jun 13, 2011

Fed:Marriage not key to election-Bligh

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2011
Fed:Marriage not key to election-Bligh

Queensland Premier ANNA BLIGH says Labor's support for same-sex marriage won't be a
major issue for voters at next year's state election.

Ms BLIGH says it's an historic day for the ALP and claims middle Australia has come
round to the inevitability of gay people being allowed to marry and some voters may back
Labor because of its new stance.

Ms BLIGH was among the delegates to vote at the ALP's national conference in favour
of a motion moved by Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD to allow a conscience vote for parliamentarians
on gay marriage.

The Queensland parliament this week voted in favour of civil unions for homosexuals
and Ms Bligh will be the first Labor leader to face an election following the party's
decision today.

AAP RTV pjo/klm/crh

KEYWORD: LABOR GAY BLIGH (SYDNEY)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Research and Markets Adds Report: Cameroon Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts Report 2011

Wireless News
03-24-2011
Research and Markets Adds Report: Cameroon Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts Report 2011
Type: News

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cameroon - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts" report to its offerings.

In a release, Research and Markets noted that report highlights include:
An underperforming market set to catch up! This annual report provides an overview of trends and developments in Cameroon's telecommunications market.

Cameroon's economic growth has lagged behind other countries in the region which is mirrored by the development of its telecommunications sector. It is one of only a few countries in Africa left with only two competing mobile networks, MTN and Orange. The re-entry into the mobile market by fixed-line incumbent Camtel as the third player has been delayed by controversy regarding its licence.

The result is a mobile market penetration rate that is below the African average and also below that of other countries with similar GDP per capita levels. Third generation (3G) mobile service has still not been introduced apart from Camtel's EV-DO fixed-wireless service. Fixed-line penetration is extremely low, and the privatisation of Camtel's fixed-line business has failed several times.

Mirroring a trend throughout developing markets, the average revenue per user in Cameroon's mobile sector has fallen continuously as lower income groups gain access to services. The operators are trying to generate new revenue streams from the virtually untapped Internet and broadband market by introducing mobile data and WiMAX wireless broadband services.

Camtel has been allowed to monopolise access to the SAT-3/WASC international fibre optic submarine cable, which has led to extremely high prices and a grey market of unlicensed satellite gateway operators offering Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol services. An expansion program for international fibre connections and a national fibre backbone network is underway with funding from the Word Bank and China.

Under a more liberal regulatory regime, Cameroon's telecommunications market could catch up with its peers in the region. The industry regulator has indicated it plans to complete the privatisation of Camtel and increase competition by licensing more operators.

Report information:

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c3b72a/ cameroon_telecom

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

HighLights of the AAP National Wire=2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-08-2010
HighLights of the AAP National Wire=2

LOS ANGELES - Gabe Watson's return to Alabama may not be as sweet as he hoped. (US Watson Wrap)

PORT MORESBY - The Papua New Guinea government has been thrown into turmoil, with a
sudden mass cabinet reshuffle coming as the prime minister is expected to learn whether
he will face a leadership tribunal for alleged impropriety in office. (PNG Somare)

HOBART - A Tasmanian government minister and a group of journalists have had a lucky
escape after their twin-engine light aircraft landed on its belly at King Island airport
on Wednesday. (Plane)

CANBERRA - Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan will release his much anticipated banking competition
measures within the next week. (Banks Swan)

CANBERRA - A leading demographer says Australia's ageing baby boomers aren't going
to be happy no matter how much money governments pump into their healthcare in the coming
decades.(Aged to come)

CANBERRA - Indigenous people haven't being hearing mainstream messages regarding the
dangers of smoking, a group of health workers gathering in Canberra has been told.(Indigenous
tobacco, to come)

CANBERRA - Government set to declare RAAF's new Super Hornet aircraft ready for operations.

(Hornets to come)

CANBERRA - An overwhelming majority of Australians want governments to change classification
laws to allow for the sale of R18+ video and computer games. (Classification)

CANBERRA - The federal government has been told to waive Centrelink debts in cases
where the agency is responsible for overpayments. (Centrelink)

CANBERRA - Just under 50,000 mortgages were taken out in October - the largest number
since January - and a growing number of people sought the comfort of a fixed rate loan.

(Mortgages)

SYDNEY - The NSW Liberal Party says Parramatta MP Tanya Gadiel's decision not to recontest
the March state election for Labor is a blow for voters. (Gadiel Update,Wrap to come,
see also Gadiel Keneally)

SYDNEY - Police say they have arrested some of the nation's biggest drug barons and
dismantled six major linked syndicates, smashing narcotics networks across NSW. (Raids
Update, Wrap to come)

SYDNEY - Nearly one million mortgage holders are looking to dump their current lender
within the next six months, according to new research. (Economy Mortgage)

SYDNEY - Meditation can forge lasting changes in the brain and, as an Australian experiment
in the taboo area of self-harm shows, the positive effect can be life-transforming. (Harm,
with pic, to come).

BRISBANE - Hundreds of mourners are expected to attend a memorial service on Wednesday
for Queensland miner Willie Joynson, who perished in the New Zealand mine disaster. (NZ
Mine Aust, Update to come)

BRISBANE - Hope Street is an apt location for a bold new housing project that will
help get homeless people off Brisbane's streets. (Homeless )

CANBERRA - Federal Justice Minister Brendan O'Connor has praised the Solomon Islands
government for strengthening laws to stamp out money laundering. (Solomons Aust)

CANBERRA - The federal government has praised a decision by the international shipping
regulator to provide greater scrutiny of ships travelling near the Great Barrier Reef.

(Reef)

CANBERRA - The High Court has unanimously dismissed appeals by two men jailed for evading
more than $750,000 of income tax. (Wickenby)

SYDNEY - A Sydney neurosurgeon should have been "very much aware" of the symptoms a
prostitute displayed before her drug-related death in his apartment, a court has been
told. (Nair, Wrap to come)

SYDNEY - A British man who has died in custody in Sydney's Villawood detention centre
is believed to have been wanted to the United Kingdom on criminal charges. (Villawood
Update, Wrap to come)

SYDNEY - A man was shot in the leg when a western Sydney home was sprayed with bullets,
police say. (Leg)

SYDNEY - The NSW public sector takes more sick leave than any other jurisdiction in
Australia. (Leave)

SYDNEY - A woman is still in critical condition after she was trapped for nine hours
under 13 sheets of plasterboard at her home southwest of Sydney. (Trapped Update)

SYDNEY - The last man seen with Sydney nurse Mary Louise Wallace before she disappeared
told a Lane Cove National Park kiosk worker "You'd better watch out I might hit you over
the head and rape you". (Wallace)

SYDNEY - Almost 150 toy brands have been pulled from shelves in NSW in the largest
ever pre-Christmas blitz. (Toys)

MELBOURNE - A man who stabbed a police officer in Melbourne's outer east should not
be approached by the public, police have warned. (Officer)

MELBOURNE - A man who left his lover's husband with life-threatening injuries in a
planned knife attack burst into tears before a judge jailed him for seven years. (Dimitrakis)

GEELONG - The committal hearing for the man accused of murdering underworld figure
Carl Williams is expected to get underway in Geelong within hours. (Williams, Wrap to
come)

MELBOURNE - A young girl is distraught after a naked man tried to break into her bedroom
in Melbourne's north. (Naked Update)

BRISBANE - Experts including mental health reform advocate Patrick McGorry will meet
with families affected by mental illness at a summit in Brisbane on Wednesday. (Mental,
Wrap to come)

BRISBANE - A radiologist who tricked a female colleague into sending him raunchy photos
of herself has been struck off his professional register until he undergoes counselling.

(Hennig)

GOLD COAST - Police hope a cleaner whose throat was slashed at the Gold Coast Hospital
will be able to identify her attacker. (Cleaner 3rd Update, Wrap to come)

ADELAIDE - A union challenge to the South Australian budget will be heard by the full
court of the Supreme Court next year. (Budget SA )

PERTH - A Perth magistrate has refused to accept a not guilty plea from a mother accused
of murdering her toddler because it was offered too early in the court process. (Killeen)

AAP nb

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Road toll soars 21 ahead of 2009

AAP General News (Australia)
08-01-2010
VIC:Road toll soars 21 ahead of 2009

MELBOURNE, Aug 1 AAP - Two men have died in separate crashes on Melbourne roads on
Sunday, spiking the road toll to 21 more than at the same time last year.

The latest fatality took to six the number deaths on Victorian roads since Friday.

Shortly before 5pm (AEST) on Sunday, a Ford Falcon wagon left the Princes Freeway at
Laverton North, in Melbourne's southwest, and struck a pole, police said.

Paramedics fought to save the man, thought to have been in his 30s, but he died at the scene.

Around three hours earlier, a 40-year-old man died when his Holden Crewman utility
left Wattletree Road at Eltham, in the city's northeast, and struck a pole.

Eltham police have appealed for witnesses.

On Saturday afternoon, an 82-year-old man was killed and three people were hurt when
a sedan and a wagon collided at the intersection of the Calder Freeway and Fogartys Gap
Road at Ravenswood South, near Bendigo.

The sedan was entering the freeway when the collision occurred.

The dead man was a passenger in the sedan.

The driver, a 68-year-old woman, was taken to Bendigo Hospital with non-life threatening
injuries.

Two women in the wagon, aged 66 and 55, were taken to the same hospital for treatment.

A woman was killed and two people were badly hurt in a two-car smash at an intersection
at Cowwarr, near Traralgon, in the Latrobe Valley, about 5.15pm on Friday.

And a 17-year-old boy driving a stolen Holden sedan with a cancelled learner's permit
and his passenger, a woman in her 20s, died instantly when their car struck a pole on
St Georges Road in North Fitzroy early on Friday.

The fatalities lifted Victoria's annual road toll to 193, compared with 172 at the
same time last year.

AAP jrd/it

KEYWORD: TOLL VIC

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Drunk learner driver sentenced to youth detention

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2009
Vic: Drunk learner driver sentenced to youth detention

MELBOURNE, Dec 18 AAP - A drug and alcohol affected Melbourne learner driver who nearly
killed a friend when he crashed a speeding car has been sentenced to youth detention.

Alexander Karkar, 20, lost control of friend Jochein Follink's BMW while driving at
an estimated 40km/h over the speed limit, crashing into a billboard on Dandenong Road
at Caulfield in May 2008.

The crash left Mr Follink with life-threatening injuries.

Karkar had a blood alcohol concentration of .089 and had consumed ecstasy prior to the crash.

On Friday, Victorian County Court judge Mark Gamble ordered Karkar, who pleaded guilty
to negligently causing serious injury, spend three years in a Youth Justice Centre.

Non-parole periods are not set for youth detention orders.

Karkar was also disqualified from driving for two years.

AAP df/md/goc/cdh

KEYWORD: KARKAR

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Coalition disarray inhibits govt ability to meet challenges

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2009
Fed: Coalition disarray inhibits govt ability to meet challenges

CANBERRA, Aug 10 AAP - Coalition disunity is inhibiting the federal government's capacity
to meet public policy challenges, a Labor frontbencher says.

"That is why it is important that the coalition get their act together and play a constructive
role," Defence Personnel Minister Greg Combet told reporters in Canberra when asked about
the latest Newspoll results.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull's satisfaction rating with voters has tumbled to
just 26 per cent, but support for the coalition has remained stable at 43 per cent of
the two-party preferred vote.

The results, published in The Australian on Monday, did not surprise coalition MPs
with one frontbencher describing them as "positive".

Mr Combet had a different interpretation, saying coalition disunity and leadership
instability was affecting the government.

"It is an inhibitor on the government's capacity to get on with meeting these major
public policy challenges," he told reporters, referring to the economic slowdown, climate
change measures and repair of the education and health systems.

Opposition frontbencher George Brandis said Mr Turnbull had experienced a "terrible"

six or seven weeks.

"There's no secret about that," he told ABC Radio.

"I think the Australian public don't finally make up their mind about a leader until
they've seen ... what it's like when the blowtorch is upon him."

Frontbench colleague Greg Hunt, described the two-party preferred result as "positive".

"I actually think under the circumstances it is a very strong result," he told ABC Television.

The Newspoll wasn't all good news for Labor. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's satisfaction
rating fell slightly during the past fortnight, from 63 to 60 per cent.

His dissatisfaction rating increased from 26 to 28 per cent.

Mr Rudd maintains a huge lead - 65 to 17 - over Mr Turnbull as preferred prime minister.

On primary votes, Labor support fell one per cent to 45 while support for the opposition
was down one per cent to 33.

AAP mb/rl/it

KEYWORD: NEWSPOLL UPDATE

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld:Patel committal hearing resumes in Brisbane

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2009
Qld:Patel committal hearing resumes in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Feb 16 AAP - Jayant Patel is due back in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on
Monday morning when his committal hearing enters its second week.

The hearing will wind up on Friday - but another fortnight has been set aside in April.

At the end of proceedings, Patel will learn whether or not he'll stand trial in the
Supreme Court on charges relating to his time as director of surgery at the Bundaberg
Base Hospital, between 2003 and 2005.

During the first week of the hearing the court was told Patel had misdiagnosed patients,
performed surgeries he was barred from doing in the US and ultimately severely harmed
five patients, three of whom died.

A succession of medical staff from the hospital described the surgeon as someone who
was opinionated, egotistical and rarely listened to the advice of his colleagues.

He's facing three charges of manslaughter and 10 other counts, including grievous bodily
harm and fraud relating to his time as director of surgery at the hospital.

AAP bart/it

KEYWORD: PATEL

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

TAS: Slack biosecurity poses "rock snot" threat: fishermen

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2008
TAS: Slack biosecurity poses "rock snot" threat: fishermen

By Paul Carter

HOBART, Aug 27 AAP - Australia's alpine waterways will be choked with "rock snot" if
its lackadaisical biosecurity approach to the highly invasive alga is not drastically
improved, a fishing group says.

The alga didymo, commonly known as "rock snot", can form massive smothering blooms
on the bottom of streams, rivers and lakes, as it has in New Zealand since 2004.

People in New Zealand are legally obliged to prevent its spread by drying and cleaning
gear when moving from one waterway to another.

Didymo expert Cathy Kilroy today warned Australian authorities at a Hobart conference
there is a "real risk" it will be introduced inadvertently by fishermen, bushwalkers or
kayakers returning from New Zealand.

"Any equipment that has been used in freshwater has the potential to carry the alga,
particularly larger recreational equipment such as kayaks, rafts and paddles."

Dr Kilroy said "rock snot" can be spread by a single drop of water.

Anglers Alliance Tasmania executive officer Richard Dax today said the 30,000 anglers
his group represented were "absolutely concerned" about the threat.

Mr Dax said the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) approach to rock snot
was lackadaisical.

"Much more drastically needs to be done at airports and ports. It's not coordinated
and it's not seen as being serious enough," Mr Dax told AAP.

"The bottom line is that once it gets in here there's no way to control it.

"It will run rampant, particularly in Tasmania, because it loves cold water that runs fast."

Mr Dax said AQIS did not scrutinise bushwalkers and kayakers as much as it should,
concentrating instead on fishermen.

Anglers also criticise the ad-hoc, spasmodic Australian decontamination process. In
Australia it can take days for gear to be returned when all gear in New Zealand is decontaminated
in about 10 minutes, Mr Dax said.

"Australian biosecurity officers are not doing nearly enough at points of entry," he said.

The conference was told today didymo also poses a devastating threat to hydro-electric
and agricultural industries.

The head of biosecurity in Tasmania's Department of Primary Industry and Water, Alex
Schaap, downplayed the fishermen's criticisms.

"Anglers are a high-risk pathway but bushwalkers boots are of interest to quarantine
officers for various reasons, so I don't think it's fair to say they are not getting reasonable
attention," he told AAP.

"And my understanding is that the import requirements for didymo are being reviewed
and that includes looking at different treatment options.

"But it's fair to say that whatever we do there will be an inconvenience to anglers,
bushwalkers and others returning from New Zealand."

Comment was being sought from AQIS.

AAP pc/lh/bwl

KEYWORD: SNOT (PIX AVAILABLE)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Woman sexually assaulted by trio: police

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2008
NSW: Woman sexually assaulted by trio: police

SYDNEY, April 22 AAP - A young woman has been sexually assaulted by a group of men
in a park in Sydney's north-west, police say.

Police said the assault took place on the banks of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor
about 12.30am (AEST) on Sunday.

The 20-year-old woman told police she left St Marys Leagues Club on Forrester Road
at St Marys late on Saturday night with three men she met inside.

She got into a dark coloured Holden Commodore with the men, who then drove her to the
Windsor area.

The trio allegedly sexually assaulted the woman at a beach area of a park on Bridge
Road, alongside the Hawkesbury River.

Following the assault, the men drove the woman back to Forrester Road at St Marys and
dumped her at a service station.

The 20-year-old immediately reported the assault to police and was taken to Nepean Hospital.

Police said they wanted to speak to three men in connection with the assault.

The first man was described as being of Mediterranean appearance and of thin build.

The second was described as being of caucasian appearance, between 180cm and 185cm
tall and of solid build.

The third man was also described as being of caucasian appearance and of medium build.

All three men were said to be aged between 20 and 25 years old.

Anyone who saw the three men or the dark coloured Holden Commodore in the Windsor area
at the time of the assault is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

AAP sk/hn/imc/ht/bwl

KEYWORD: ASSAULT

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Officer 'had no option' but to shoot

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2007
Qld: Officer 'had no option' but to shoot

By Roberta Mancuso

BRISBANE, Dec 18 AAP - A Queensland police officer who fired three shots into a car,
hitting a teenager in the leg, had no option but to shoot because he feared for his life,
senior police say.

The Queensland Police Union and the officer's boss today backed the shooting, saying
it was the only way he could avoid being "squashed" between his patrol car and the vehicle
being driven straight at him.

The detective constable and his partner were patrolling the streets of Tamborine in
the Gold Coast hinterland when they saw two men breaking into a convenience store on Beenleigh-Beaudesert
Road about 1am (AEST) today.

The men fled, sparking a police chase into nearby Leach Road.

Logan District Superintendent Alistair Dawson said the car performed a U-turn at the
end of the dark, narrow street and drove straight at the officers, who were outside their
car.

"Based on all the information I've been given to date and the preliminary investigation
and the very nature of the environment of which the officers were (a part) ... I think
the officers had very few options open to them," Supt Dawson said.

"I understand the officer was in fear of his life, and I support the officer in relation
to the actions that he's taken today."

One bullet hit the passenger, an 18-year-old Jimboomba man, in the thigh.

He was taken to Logan Hospital for emergency surgery and later charged with two break
and enter offences.

He is due to appear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on January 18.

The 17-year-old driver was charged with dangerous driving, break and enter, acts intending
to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing a drug utensil.

He is expected to face the same court today.

The police Ethical Standards Command has launched an investigation which will be overseen
by the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Police union vice president Denis Fitzpatrick said the officer, who had five years
experience, was only centimetres away from being crushed.

"He had no avenue of retreat," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"This is the only possible option he had at his disposal.

"He just fired as best he could in the circumstances when he was about to be squashed."

Mr Fitzpatrick said there was "no question" violence against police was increasing.

In July, Constable Brett Irwin was shot dead during a routine job in Keperra, in Brisbane's
north-west.

In October, police shot at three people in separate incidents, killing one man who
drove a van at them in the Brisbane suburb of Yeerongpilly.

A 43-year-old who allegedly threatened officers with a knife after holding seven children
hostage in Rockhampton also was shot at in November.

"This just highlights to me the dangers that the police ... face every day and every
night in protecting the community," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"Certainly I can't remember a year like it."

Police Minister Judy Spence said the shooting sent a clear message that people should
obey police directions "or face the consequences".

AAP rm/jt/bwl

KEYWORD: SHOT NIGHTLEAD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Police reach pay deal

AAP General News (Australia)
08-06-2007
Qld: Police reach pay deal

Queensland police have reached a pay deal with the state government.

Police Minister JUDY SPENCE has agreed to a four per cent a year increase .. over the
next three years.

There'll be an increase in night shift penalties from 10 to 15 per cent .. and new
allowances for sergeants and senior sergeants in charge of stations and sections.

Police have been running a high-profile campaign .. including ads and rallies .. it's
expected to culminate in a Pride in Policing march in Brisbane on Sunday.

AAP RTV pjo/wf/bart

KEYWORD: POLICE QLD (BRISBANE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Main stories in today's 1200 ABC News

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2007
SA: Main stories in today's 1200 ABC News

ADELAIDE, Feb 13 AAP - Main stories in today's 1200 ABC News:

- The Federal Opposition has broadened its attack on Prime Minister John Howard over
his criticism of American senator Barack Obama's plan to withdraw troops from Iraq.

- A row has erupted in the Senate Estimates Committee over the Prime Minister's $10
billion water plan.

- Coalition backbenchers are stepping up their push for conditions to be placed on
the $11 billion takeover of Qantas.

- The Palestine Prime Minister has appealed to the West to end its diplomatic and economic
boycott of the Palestinian authority.

- An independent MP has criticised the South Australian government for failing to act
on a year-old report on youth crime.

- A Sydney inquest has heard an Indonesian military commander was ordered to burn the
bodies of five Australian journalists in 1975.

- The Australian cricket team for the World Cup will be named today.

AAP tkc

KEYWORD: MONITOR ABC SA

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Greens snub major parties

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2006
Qld: Greens snub major parties

By Evan Schwarten

BRISBANE, Aug 27 AAP - The Greens are likely to snub major parties once again by refusing
to direct preferences in many key seats in the September 9 state poll.

Juanita Wheeler, the party's leading candidate for the Queensland election, said the
major parties would have to earn their support.

She said the final decision on preferences would be decided by branches based on local
issues, and admitted she wouldn't be surprised if many opted to run open tickets and allow
voters to make up their own minds.

"It's not something where we are going to have a blanket deal, they are going to be
done electorate to electorate, based on whether the coalition or the ALP deliver the best
policy outcomes," she said.

"Where we don't think that either party has earned them (preferences) we will run an
open ticket and encourage voters to make that decision themselves."

The Greens took a similar line at the 2004 state election where the party only directed
preferences in 14 of the 72 seats it contested.

If the party mirrors or builds on its performance at that poll, where it attracted
more than six per cent of the vote, Greens preferences could decide several marginal seats.

Among those expecting a stronger performance from the Greens at this election is national
leader Bob Brown, who was in Brisbane today to launch the party's campaign.

He believed many voters were "fed up" with the major parties and were looking for a third option.

"There is still the idea that it's a two horse race between the coalition and Labor," he said.

"There is a big undecided vote out there because people don't want to vote for either
of them. That's where the Greens come in, we are the friends of people who are fed up
with the old parties."

Senator Brown said the party would focus on issues including greenhouse gas emissions
and water use.

He said rather than building new dams the government should be looking at reducing
waste and recycling water.

"You don't have to build dams and you don't have to lose your standard of living -
the problem is successive Labor and National governments have simply taken their eyes
off the future problems."

AAP ews/jmm/de

KEYWORD: POLL QLD GREENS

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Cut water use by 30 per cent, Melburnians told

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2006
Vic: Cut water use by 30 per cent, Melburnians told

Melburnians will be asked to cut their water use by 30 per cent over the next 15 years
.. to help stave off a looming shortfall in the city's supply.

On-the-spot fines of 105 dollars will be introduced .. to encourage consumers to follow
permanent water saving rules now in place.

Victoria's Water Minister JOHN THWAITES has announced the measures today .. as part
of a plan to counter dwindling water supplies.

The plan covers Melbourne as well as central southern Victoria .. including Geelong
.. Ballarat and parts of Gippsland.





It's expected 330 billion litres of water can be saved under the plan .. and an extra
20 billion litres of that will be sent down the Yarra River each year to boost the health
of the river.

But Mr THWAITES says supplies to the state's irrigators won't be cut in order to create
extra flows into the Yarra.

AAP RTV dr/gfr/tm

KEYWORD: WATER VIC (MELBOURNE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Giga Finds Significant ROI With Digital Island's 2Way Web Services.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2001

A study conducted by Giga Information Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm, measuring return on investment of Internet infrastructure services, found that enterprise companies that use Digital Island's 2Way Web Services(TM) experience substantial benefits including cost savings, reliability, security, performance and flexibility.

The study entitled, "An Analysis of the Total Economic Impact(TM) of Digital Island's 2Way Web Services," examines the in-depth benefits over a one-year period for Fortune Global 500 organizations in the financial services, technology and media and entertainment industries. The study determined the total economic impact (TEI) of outsourcing a variety of Internet infrastructure services through a single company.

The cost savings benefits include significant reduction of overall costs of ownership and operation, as well as both cost avoidance and reduction of exposure. In addition, the study found the average Digital Island customer experienced shortened implementation time and efficiency gains, as well as substantial flexibility to quickly scale to meet demand, while maintaining the same high level of performance, reliability, and security.

Following are some key highlights of the results of the study.

 -- Global 500 companies using Digital Island's integrated hosting and content delivery solution experienced a payback period averaging three months -- or four times faster than competing solutions which rely on content delivery without integrated hosting.  -- The average Global 500 enterprise in the Digital Island study saved more than $892,000 per year.  -- Based on the study, outsourcing with Digital Island has many advantages, including an estimated 28 percent cost reduction in implementation, deployment and maintenance of hosting and content services.  -- In addition to the direct cost savings above, the study showed that Global 500 companies interviewed experienced an additional 14 percent cost savings through reduced incremental staffing, and by leveraging existing employees so they can focus on other value-added activities.  -- The businesses interviewed by Giga said that Digital Island provides a reliable, secure global network that is comprised of a portfolio of service level agreements, which reduces the potential of unexpected network-related downtime. 

"The study by Giga further strengthens Digital Island's position as the only service provider to offer both managed hosting and content delivery that together provide significant ROI and business benefits that reduce costs, improve performance and provide superior customer experiences," said Ruann Ernst, president and CEO. "Digital Island stands apart from other vendors that provide point solutions by delivering an integrated set of Internet infrastructure services that help our customers meet their e-business goals."

In the financial services industry, the overall value created by Digital Island services include guaranteed reliability of delivery of service, efficiency gain from transferring operations to Digital Island, reduced cost of not having to manage multiple vendors and flexibility gains in leveraging deployment of new applications. The entertainment and media industry customer saw the benefits of Digital Island services being driven by revenue.

Digital Island's 2Way Web Services include a portfolio of infrastructure services including managed hosting, content delivery and networking technologies that enable enterprises to deliver secure transactions, transmit and receive large files, manage assets and track digital rights, and customize the experience, globally with guaranteed service level agreements. 2Way Web Services guarantee fast, reliable, secure transactions that enable enterprises to leverage the Internet to increase the profitability of online operations, increase customer value and decrease costs. Digital Island's 2Way Web Services families include 2Transact(TM), 2Deliver(TM) and 2Manage(TM) services.

Giga's analysis was based on its Total Economic Impact(TM) (TEI) tool. TEI captures and records the value of IT using costs, benefits and uncertainty. The TEI methodology focuses on quantifying the value produced by IT investments. It does this by not only considering the costs and potential cost reductions, but by quantifying business benefits -- important business outcomes driven by technology, as well as flexibility -- having the "option" to move quickly in response to ever-changing market conditions. To add accuracy to the quantification, TEI applies a risk filter, thereby producing a more realistic expectation of value having considered all the risks to the implementation of the investment.

Copies of the study are available and can be downloaded from: www.digitalisland.net/2Way/.

About Giga Information Group

Giga Information Group provides practical objective research, advice and continuous coaching on technology for e-business. Giga's integrated suite of offerings helps clients make strategic decisions about the technologies, people and processes needed to excel in the new digital economy. Emphasizing close interaction between analysts and clients, Giga delivers support with the speed and scope necessary for e-business.

Giga began providing services in April 1996 and now has a global client base encompassing more than 1,300 organizations. Its enterprise clients include companies that use, sell and invest in technology.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Giga has 15 other offices covering the Americas and Europe. Giga is also represented by distributors in other areas of the world. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.gigaweb.com/. The Company's logo with the name Giga Information Group is a registered trademark of Giga Information Group, Inc.

Note to Editors: Digital Island, the Digital Island logo and Footprint are registered trademarks of Digital Island, Inc., a Cable and Wireless company. 2Way Web Services, 2Transact services, 2Deliver services and 2Manage services are trademarks of Digital Island, Inc., a Cable and Wireless company. All other marks are property of their respective owners.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning Cable & Wireless' and Digital Island's operations, economic performance and financial condition. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Actual results could differ materially from the results referred to in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based largely on Cable & Wireless' and Digital Island's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, changes in external market factors, changes in business or growth strategy or an inability to execute strategy due to changes in such company's industry or the economy generally, the emergence of new or growing competitors, various other competitive factors and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in Cable & Wireless' and Digital Island's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the results referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release will in fact occur. Additionally, neither Cable & Wireless nor Digital Island makes any commitment to disclose any revisions to forward-looking statements, or any facts, events or circumstances after the date hereof that may bear upon forward-looking statements.

About Digital Island

Digital Island(R), a Cable & Wireless company, is the industry's first provider of 2Way Web Services that enable enterprises to leverage the Internet to increase the profitability of online operations, increase customer value and decrease costs. Digital Island provides robust managed hosting, content delivery and network infrastructure and applications required to transact, deliver, and manage profitable transactions and interactions. As a Cable & Wireless company, Digital Island operates data centers in the United States, Asia-Pacific region and Europe and has a global content delivery network that reaches more than 35 countries worldwide. Digital Island also leverages Cable & Wireless' advanced IP network reaching 70 countries. Digital Island is headquartered in San Francisco. www.digitalisland.net

About Cable & Wireless

Cable & Wireless is a major global telecommunications business with revenue of over (pound) 8 billion (US$11 billion) in the year to 31 March 2001 and customers in 70 countries. Cable & Wireless' focus for future growth is on IP (Internet Protocol) and data services and solutions for business customers. It is developing advanced IP networks and value-added services in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in support of this strategy. With the capability of its global IP infrastructure and its strength in key markets, Cable & Wireless holds a unique position in terms of global coverage and services to business customers. For more information about Cable & Wireless, go to www.cw.com.

SWFs wary of bail-outs.

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are "particularly cautious" about bailing out distressed companies and are also diverting funds "to add stability and economic stimulus to local markets", according to a survey by Financial Dynamics International (FD).FD interviewed senior executives from "a number of the world's leading SWFs - whose total assets accounted for well over 50 per cent of the $5 trillion worth of collective global funds currently held by the SWF asset class". The interviews showed that SWFs are conservative about participating in further bail-outs of companies in financial difficulties given that "a number of such funds are currently sitting on major capital losses from previous investments", the consultancy said. "Having supported some of the earlier capital raising of distressed banks, we are not planning to make any follow-on investments of a similar nature," one SWF executive said. The executives also said that cash was being diverted from their global portfolios to help their home economies. "Although the objectives of our fund are solely international, we are slowing down our overseas activities whilst we firstly wait for market conditions around the world to stabilise - and secondly we have seen funds diverted to support a variety of local stimulus packages," one executive said. SWFs are broadly adopting a very cautious approach to the current market, expecting better value to materialise later this year, according to the survey. "We are ready to re-enter the market in a major way - but not for several months given that we are sure prices are only heading down," one executive said.

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