Monday, 31 March 2008

Demand for action for lasers, The Australian, 31 March, 2008.





Demand for action on lasers

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 31 Mar 2008: 5.
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In Sydney on Friday night, four laser lights originating from the city's southwestern suburbs forced six planes to alter their flight paths, in what Air Services Australia described as the most serious laser attack in Australia to date.
"The fact Friday night's incident involved more than one laser and a degree of organisation is a very unwelcome development," he said. "Previously laser attacks have been single incidents. We need to look at how we can better co-ordinate and deal with the threat."

PILOTS have demanded that authorities hold an urgent summit on aviation safety following a co-ordinated laser light attack on planes landing at Australia's busiest airport.
The introduction of jail penalties by the Howard government last year has failed to deter suburban vandals from using powerful hand-held lasers to shine light into aircraft cockpits, potentially temporarily blinding the pilots as they fly overhead.
In Sydney on Friday night, four laser lights originating from the city's southwestern suburbs forced six planes to alter their flight paths, in what Air Services Australia described as the most serious laser attack in Australia to date.
Air Services said it was the first recorded "cluster" laser light attack by up to four people.
Following the attack, which lasted 15 minutes, the NSW Government announced moves to ban the lights, catching up with other states. The federal Government is also looking at prohibiting the importation of the lasers, which can be purchased on the internet.
Authorities estimate there are up to 100,000 of the laser lights in the country, with almost daily attacks being reported at airports around the nation.
Spokesman for the Australian and International Pilots Association Peter Somerville called on the federal Government to convene a meeting of airlines, air traffic controllers, pilots and state and federal police to try to prevent any loss of life.
"The fact Friday night's incident involved more than one laser and a degree of organisation is a very unwelcome development," he said. "Previously laser attacks have been single incidents. We need to look at how we can better co-ordinate and deal with the threat."
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Saturday, 29 March 2008

Home-birth lobby 'using butcher case', Weekend Australian, 29 March, 2008.

Home-birth lobby `using butcher case'

Stapleton, John; Wilson, Ashleigh. Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 29 Mar 2008: 5.
MEAG spokeswoman Lorraine Long said statements on the group's website urging women to "go after" Mr [Reeves] were "absolute stupidity". "I've had women on the phone crying, asking why are they doing this to us, why are they exploiting us?" she said.

Full Text

HOME-BIRTH group Joyous Birth says the case of Graeme Reeves, dubbed the Butcher of Bega, is a sign the hospital and medical system is in crisis, and has staged demonstrations across Australia.
But the Medical Error Action Group, which exposed the former obstetrician's alleged malpractices, condemned Joyous Birth, saying it was jeopardising a police investigation and causing distress to the alleged victims.
MEAG, which is supported by hundreds of Mr Reeves's former patients who allege he mutilated and sexually abused them, has taken its concerns to the police.
Joyous Birth advocates home birthing and claims the failure of medical authorities to act on Mr Reeves, despite complaints to authorities dating back 15 years, is an example of the neglect of women.
But MEAG spokeswoman Lorraine Long said statements on the group's website urging women to "go after" Mr Reeves were "absolute stupidity". "I've had women on the phone crying, asking why are they doing this to us, why are they exploiting us?" she said.
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Friday, 28 March 2008

Bail terms continued for Titans footballer, The Australian, 28 March, 2008.



Bail terms continued for Titans footballer: [1 All-round Country Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 28 Mar 2007: 5.
[Anthony Laffranchi] flew from the Gold Coast, where he played for the Gold Coast Titans on Monday night, but was not required to participate in proceedings at Burwood Local Court.
Registrar Brenda Ibbotson formally continued Laffranchi's bail conditions, which prohibit him from approaching or contacting the complainant.

Full Text


RUGBY league player Anthony Laffranchi yesterday appeared in a Sydney court charged with sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman.
Laffranchi flew from the Gold Coast, where he played for the Gold Coast Titans on Monday night, but was not required to participate in proceedings at Burwood Local Court.
He was charged on March 6 by detectives from the NSW Child Protection and Sex Crime Squad following a six-month investigation.
Laffranchi, who played for Wests Tigers last year, has previously said he will defend the charge of having sexual intercourse without consent.
It has been alleged that the woman was assaulted on September 4 last year at a unit in Five Dock, in Sydney's inner west, after meeting a group of people at a Kings Cross nightclub during the Tigers' end-of-season celebrations.
Laffranchi refused to speak to reporters as he left the court.
Registrar Brenda Ibbotson formally continued Laffranchi's bail conditions, which prohibit him from approaching or contacting the complainant.
He is unable to leave Australia other than to travel to New Zealand for contracted football commitments.
The case will return to court on May 23.
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Thursday, 27 March 2008

No bail for accused teen, The Australian, 27 March, 2008.

No bail for accused teen

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Mar 2008: 3.
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A 16-YEAR-OLD boy accused of murdering his father and stabbing his mother has been refused bail in the NSW Children's Court.
"There is a concern held jointly by the prosecution and the defence that if some of the information that will necessarily be provided to me as part of theproceedings would be released to the public and the media, there is a concern the ultimate trial would be prejudiced," he said.
A 16-YEAR-OLD boy accused of murdering his father and stabbing his mother has been refused bail in the NSW Children's Court.
The bail application took place in a closed court yesterday and magistrate Terrence Murphy issued a non-publication order on the details of the case.
Mr Murphy said both the prosecution and the defence had asked that the media be excluded from the court.
He said that considering the nature of the coverage so far, the age of the accused, the fact that the investigation was in its infancy and the nature of theinvestigation justified the order.
He also said the scientific nature of some of the evidence and the possibility that a number of young people would be named in the proceedings were other factors.
"There is a concern held jointly by the prosecution and the defence that if some of the information that will necessarily be provided to me as part of theproceedings would be released to the public and the media, there is a concern the ultimate trial would be prejudiced," he said.
The case has been adjourned until June 5.
A case by lawyers representing several media organisations against the closed hearings is to be heard today. The boy's mother remains in intensive care at Westmead Hospital in a critical but stable condition.
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Youthful chess champion Dariusz Swiercz, The Australian, 27 March, 2008

WRITTEN 27 MARCH 08.
John Stapleton
THIRTEEN-year-old Dariusz Swiercz took four hours and 45 moves to beat a chess grandmaster at the Sydney International Chess Tournament this week.
The shy Polish chess champion took it all in his stride. He is typical of a new generation of players taking the chess world by storm. They have learnt to play at a very young age and have been toughened up by being able to hop onto the internet and engage the best players in the world at any time of the day or night.
Swiercz, who has been the Polish under 14 champion for several years, played his first game at the age of three. He is already an international master, the level below grandmaster. Commentators expect him to be a grandmaster within two years.
A polite, shy boy of few words, yesterday all he would say was: ``Chess is everything, it is a fascinating game; and great. I like winning; and the combinations.''
On Wednesday night he defeated Serbian grandmaster Dejan Antic, who has been fighting to stay in Australia as an immigrant with the support of the chess world, who argue he would be a great asset to the Australian Olympic chess team. Despite being a grandmaster he lost a recent appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal to stay in Australia on the grounds he did not have a tertiary education. A greatly admired player, his defeat by a 13-year-old was a very rare lapse.
Yesterday young Swiercz also played, but did not defeat, another grandmaster, Georgian chammpion Merab Gegunashvili, 23. At Swiercz's age he, too, was already his country's champion young player. ``It is a very beautiful game,'' he said. ``There is a lot more interest amongst young people, there is a lot of talent coming up.''
Australia's highest ranking chess player for more than two decades Ian Rogers described young Swiercz's grandmaster beating game as a ``very mature, strategical game'' without the normal tricks of a youthful player. ``The internet allows Australian kids to play with people all around the world; and schools have changed their attitude. They have discovered if they put their most disruptive kids into chess classes they learn to think before they do something.''
Spokeswoman for the Sydney tournament Cathy Rogers said the internet was fundamental to the games new appeal amongst the young; with special five and even one minute speed games making it fun to play.
``Internet chess clubs with instant rankings also make it fun. Senior chess is a little stale in Australia, the real leaps forward are definitely in the junior ranks. There are now more than 30,000 kids playing in inter-school competitions,'' she said.
``The internet has a lot to do with it, they can sit and play kids in Argentina or Latvia. They are amazingly good. Chess is a great equaliser, autistic kids benefit enormously from chess, the discipline, the concentration. But everyone is equal in chess, age, culture, gender, disability, they are not important. It is a level playing field for everyone.''
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Monday, 24 March 2008

Warmer weather for early holy day, The Australian, 24 March, 2008.

Warmer weather for early holy day

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Mar 2008: 4.
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Duty forecaster at the NSW Bureau of Meteorology Jake Phillips said the main weather feature across the country was a major trough line 500km wide which yesterday stretched from southwestern Queensland and ran down through the far west of NSW into Victoria.
Mr Phillips said with warm air feeding into the trough, the band of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could stretch into tomorrow, bringing scattered but welcome showers across much of the inland of NSW. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued yesterday and the State Emergency Service attended a number of jobs resulting from wind damage in the far western town of Broken Hill.
A non-denominational church service was held in the show's Big Top Amphitheatre early yesterday, and Ms [Philippa Lampe] said it was "packed out", with several hundred people attending.
THE earliest Easter Sunday in 95 years delivered warm weather across much of the country.
But holiday pilgrims will have a long wait until another Easter takes place so soon after summer -- it will be 152 years before Easter falls this early again.
Temperatures in all capital cities reached a maximum in the mid- to high-20s, with many people opting to spend part of the holiday by the beach.
Adelaide was the warmest, with a maximum of 29 degrees. Melbourne reached 28, Brisbane 27, Perth 26 and Sydney 25.
Conditions are expected to be similar today, although with showers expected in every capital city except Perth, which is forecast to be fine and sunny.
In Victoria, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country and Western Districts.
Widespread local showers and thunderstorms are expected in many areas for today.
Duty forecaster at the NSW Bureau of Meteorology Jake Phillips said the main weather feature across the country was a major trough line 500km wide which yesterday stretched from southwestern Queensland and ran down through the far west of NSW into Victoria.
"That trough line has been particularly active in respect to thunderstorms, with a fair bit of lightning," he said.
Mr Phillips said with warm air feeding into the trough, the band of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could stretch into tomorrow, bringing scattered but welcome showers across much of the inland of NSW. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued yesterday and the State Emergency Service attended a number of jobs resulting from wind damage in the far western town of Broken Hill.
The worst affected areas included Deniliquin, Tibooburra, Cobar, Bourke and Wentworth.
However, most of the storms were over remote country, doing little damage and leaving nothing but startled sheep.
Today is expected to be a repeat of yesterday, with the storm conditions moving southward tomorrow. Cloudy and wet conditions are also expected in theSnowy Mountains region.
Warm weather and treacherous surf conditions kept Gold Coast lifesavers busy yesterday. A man drowned on an early-morning swim at Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast.
The 27-year-old was believed to be from nearby Chevron Island and he went swimming shortly after 4am. Twenty minutes later, he was found unconscious on thebeach.
Bumper crowds turned out at the Sydney Royal Easter Show over the holiday.
"We've had tens of thousands of people through ... a lot of the exhibition halls that sell chocolate did very well," show spokeswoman Philippa Lampe said.
A non-denominational church service was held in the show's Big Top Amphitheatre early yesterday, and Ms Lampe said it was "packed out", with several hundred people attending.
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Sunday, 23 March 2008

Ben Cousins mentor Fabian Quaid on drugs charge The Ausralian 23 March 2008 Additional Reporting

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/cousins-mentor-on-drugs-charge/story-e6frg6o6-1111116419571

Ben Cousins mentor Fabian Quaid on drugs charge

Arts Editor
Sydney
A LONG-TIME friend and mentor to fallen AFL star Ben Cousins was behind bars last night after his arrest as part of a record drug bust in Western Australia.
Fabian Quaid, 31, appeared in Sydney's Central Local Court yesterday, charged over the importation of 45kg of ecstasy into Perth. He is the fourth man to be held in connection with the alleged importation.
Mr Quaid was arrested on Monday at his Manly apartment, where Cousins reportedly stayed last year after an alleged cocaine binge in Los Angeles landed him in hospital.
In court yesterday, Mr Quaid - a former taekwondo expert - did not apply for bail. He was charged with trafficking in a commercial quantity of a controlled drug. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The court formally refused bail and adjourned the case to June 6.
The arrest came after a state and federal taskforce seized drugs in Perth last month and substituted them with a fake powder while police kept the alleged importers under surveillance.
On Monday, police and Customs officers raided a house in Lockridge, in Perth's east, arresting three people. Investigators said the 45kg of MDMA would have made more than 150,000 tablets, worth $4.7 million.
A 58-year-old Sydney man and a 31-year-old Melbourne man were charged with importing and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of MDMA.
A 39-year-old man from Queensland was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of MDMA.
The three appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Additional reporting: Elizabeth Gosch and John Stapleton
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