Cannabis smell leads NSW police to bust

Police busted a driver with 26 kilograms of cannabis in Sydney after noticing a smell in his car. Source: AAP

THE smell of cannabis wafting from a car when Sydney police pulled over a driver has led to a $500,000 drug bust.

Officers noticed the smell when they stopped a 46-year-old man on Friday afternoon.

A search of his sedan uncovered 52 vacuum sealed bags of cannabis, weighing around 26kg, police said.

They allegedly found a further 100 grams of the drug when they searched his home at a nearby caravan park in Marsden Park, in Sydney's west.

The man was charged with possessing a commercial supply of cannabis, possessing cannabis and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

He was denied bail and will appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bikie associate charged over drug find

AN outlaw motorcycle gang associate has been arrested on the Gold Coast after police stopped a ute and allegedly found a large amount of crystal meth.

The Rebels bikie gang associate was pulled over in a routine police stop on the highway at Coomera about 6.45pm (AEST) on Friday.

Police say they searched the car and found more than 600g of a crystal substance which turned out to be methylamphetamine.

A 29-year-old man has been charged with possessing a dangerous drug and is due to front the Southport Magistrates Court.

Two others with possible links to the Hells Angels gang were arrested on Friday following the discovery of hydroponic cannabis plants in two south Brisbane homes.

A 58-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman were due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Saturday following raids at the houses at Salisbury.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

China detains man over children's death

CHINESE authorities detained a man they said confessed to kidnapping three children from the same southern village and killing them in a forest, officials say.

Zhang Xingyan, 33, was taken into custody on Saturday two days after a boy and two girls, aged eight to nine, went missing on their way to school early this week, the city government of Yueyang in southern China's Hunan province said in a statement.

Zhang told police that he coaxed the children into a car less than a kilometre from their homes, drove them to another city and killed them in the woods. The children came from two families and knew Zhang, who is from the same village.

Authorities said they found the children's bodies.

A man had demanded a ransom of 900,000 yuan ($A159,000) for the children's freedom, but it is unclear if Zhang made that phone call.

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Myanmar rebel groups agree on peace plan

Myanmar ethnic rebel groups have reached an agreement to negotiate a ceasefire with the government. Source: AAP

EIGHTEEN ethnic rebel groups have reached an agreement to sign a ceasefire with the Myanmar (Burma) government if it agrees to their conditions.

The rebels agreed to negotiate with the government over the armistice, something the country has not had in 64 years.

The groups were drafting a nine-point ceasefire plan, conference spokesman Khun Oakka said at the end of the three-day conference in Laiza, 890 kilometres north of Rangoon.

It was called to discuss the government's proposal on a country-wide ceasefire.

The insurgents' demands are to be presented to government representatives at a conference November 4-5 in Myaitkyina, the capital of Kachin state.

The government of reform-minded President Thein Sein, which came to power in March 2011 after Myanmar's first elections in 20 years, has signed separate ceasefires with 14 of the country's ethnic rebel groups.

Some of the groups have been fighting since 1949, many for semi-autonomy for ethnic minorities in their traditional territories.

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NAB optimistic after record profit

National Australia Bank has lifted its full year profit more than nine per cent to $5.94 billion. Source: AAP

NATIONAL Australia Bank has made a record profit of almost $6 billion and hopes an improvement in business confidence will boost its bottom line next year.

NAB's cash profit, a measure used to reflect underlying performance, was $5.94 billion in the 12 months to September 30, up more than nine per cent on the previous year.

The bank's net profit, which includes one-off financial items, was $5.45 billion, up 34 per cent from $4.08 billion the year before.

Rising business confidence should boost trading conditions for the bank, Australia's biggest business lender, in 2014, chief executive Cameron Clyne said.

"If that confidence continues to strengthen I'd have to say we're reasonably optimistic about 2014 and the credit growth that will flow from it," he said.

The bank lifted its performance in 2012/13 after being weighed down for several years by poor business sentiment and bad debts in its UK business.

"I think you've got to separate what are effectively some legacy issues from the core franchise - the core franchise is performing very strongly," Mr Clyne said.

"Obviously the UK is a difficult environment, it's a business this management team inherited and we are working our way through it."

The record profit result failed to impress investors, who sold NAB shares, sending them down by as much as 3.5 per cent in early trade.

The shares closed at $35.31, down 92 cents, or 2.5 per cent.

NAB's profit was in line with expectations, but the details of the result were less impressive, Morningstar analyst David Ellis said.

Profit rose mostly due to a fall in bad debts, and earnings growth hadn't been as strong as expected.

"Earnings quality was not as good as expected with cash earnings for the wide moat major bank boosted by a sharp fall in bad debts," Mr Ellis said.

The bank's net interest margin, a measure of the profit it makes on loans, fell nine basis points to 2.02 per cent during the year.

NAB has offered the lowest standard variable interest rate on mortgages among the big four banks for more than four years.

Meanwhile, its charge for bad and doubtful debts was $1.93 billion, down $681 million from the previous year thanks to improved asset quality trends, particularly in NAB's UK business and its business banking division.

NAB will pay a fully franked final dividend of 97 cents, up seven cents from a year ago, taking full year dividends to $1.90, up from $1.80 last year.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

YMCA management process at fault

A HIGH-RANKING YMCA official has admitted management was at fault over staff silence on concerns about a pedophile working at the association, a day after denying management failures allowed Jonathan Lord to operate there for years. NSW general manager of children's services Liam Whitley has told a royal commission it was an "omission in his knowledge" that Lord, who is serving a minimum of six years for abusing 12 boys, was working in a Caringbah centre creche.

Justice Peter McClellan asked Mr Whitley on Thursday if staff failure to report Lord's breaches of YMCA policy to upper management was a failure of the not-for-profit's management process.

"Yes," Mr Whitley said.

Mr Whitley had previously told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday that "failure" was too strong a word to describe management shortcomings.

Mr Whitley denies it was his responsibility to know Lord, who was hired following improper reference checks, was working in the creche.

The commission has already heard records at the creche were poorly kept to the extent staff did not know who was using the service.

Lord was also working in daycare facilities and gymnastics exercises.

Royal Commissioner Peter McClellan said the fact staff didn't report their suspicions despite existing child protection polices and "education" showed a failure in the YMCA's middle management.

Mr Whitley was pressed on last week's statement to the commission by YMCA coordinator Carine Beer that she couldn't remember being given the organisation's child protection policy.

Counsel representing the parents of Lord's victims asked Mr Whitley if he thought having a supervisor who could recall nothing of the YMCA's child protection policy was best practice.

"Do you agree ... (that is) below leading child protection policy or practice," Maria Gerace asked.

"No, I do not," Mr Whitley replied.

Hearings are ongoing.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussie may face death penalty in Vietnam

AN Australian man could face the death penalty in Vietnam after being charged with drug trafficking.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday confirmed the arrest of the 31-year-old from NSW, who has not been named, on drug trafficking charges in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22.

A 24-year-old woman from NSW was also arrested but has since been released, the spokesperson said.

An Agence France-Prese report on Wednesday cited a Vietnamese drug squad officer as saying the man was allegedly caught with 3.5 kilograms of heroin in hidden luggage compartments at Ho Chi Minh City airport.

The drugs were hidden in 11 packages which had been treated to avoid detection by sniffer dogs, the state-run Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

Officials from the Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City have been granted access to the man and will meet with him this week, the DFAT spokesperson said.

DFAT said Australians should be reminded of the very stiff penalties facing anyone caught carrying drugs overseas.

Vietnam takes a hardline, with anyone who attempts to smuggle more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine risking the death penalty.

Convictions and sentences are revealed only by local media which is strictly under state control.

Vietnamese authorities have seized more than 24 kilos of drugs at Ho Chi Minh City airport this year, the Thanh Nien daily said.

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Domestic behind fatal Sydney shooting

A manhunt in underway for the killer of a 27-year-old man who was shot in the back in Sydney's west. Source: AAP

A DOMESTIC dispute is being investigated as the cause of the latest deadly shooting in Sydney.

Central Coast man Raymond Pasnin, 27, was shot in the back as he walked to his car at a unit block in Pendle Hill in Sydney's west on Wednesday.

He died in hospital.

Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Michael Willing says police have ruled out any link to the fatal shooting in Sydney's southwest on Tuesday night of an associate of the criminal Brothers 4 Life gang.

"There is nothing to suggest any links at this point to any organised crime elements or bikie groups," Det Supt Willing said on Thursday.

"We believe that the shooting of Mr Pasnin relates to relationships that he has of a domestic nature.

"We believe there was an argument and then shots were fired".

Family members of Mr Pasnin and his girlfriend are being questioned.

Mr Pasnin, who was known to police and had been visiting his mother's house, was shot numerous times in front of his girlfriend, Det Supt Willing said.

"No one deserves to die under those circumstances", he said.

Neighbours reported hearing "bang, bang, bang" and seeing a woman screaming hysterically after the incident and asking "is he alive".

One of them, Alice, told Fairfax radio it was a terrifying experience.

"You don't know if they've got knives or weapons and it's very stressful when you see something like that and you can't stop it," she said.

Another neighbour described Mr Pasnin's mother as a "nice" and quiet woman who kept to herself.

Police are searching for a man accused of shooting Mr Pasnin numerous times in the back before fleeing.

Det Supt Willing said the homicide squad would continue to investigate.

"While we are still working to identify a motive for the attack, we do believe it was targeted," he said.

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Passengers stuck as Melb train breaks down

ABOUT 100 passengers have spent up to two hours stuck in Melbourne's city loop rail tunnel after a train breakdown.

Passengers had to be walked out of the tunnel by emergency services personnel, after the Frankston line train broke down when the device connecting it to overhead powerlines developed a fault between Melbourne Central and Parliament on Sunday afternoon.

Passengers, including six mobility impaired people, spent up to two hours stuck on the train as MFB crews rescued them.

A second train was also affected by the breakdown, leaving passengers stuck between Parliament and Richmond stations, Metro spokeswoman Larisa Tait said.

Those passengers were taken to Richmond station.

The trains remain stuck in the tunnel but Ms Tait said the morning peak should not be affected.

"We would be very confident that this will be cleared later this evening and it won't affect tomorrow morning's peak," she told AAP.

Trains on the Frankston, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sandringham lines are running direct to Flinders St and are experiencing 20 minute delays.

Ms Tait said during the evacuation passengers on the Frankston train had to walk about 500m through the tunnel to Melbourne Central station.

"There is some space in there but there's not a lot, so it can be a delicate task," she said.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said no-one was injured as a result of the incident but one person was taken to hospital with a medical condition.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Smugglers may turn to shipping containers

Indonesian people smugglers are reportedly offering to put asylum seekers in shipping containers. Source: AAP

GREENS leader Christine Milne is horrified by the prospect of piles of dead asylum seekers being found in shipping containers coming to Australia.

People smugglers in Indonesia are offering to transport asylum seekers in sealed shipping containers to get them to Australia or New Zealand, Fairfax Media reports.

Senator Milne says the report demonstrates that cruel deterrence strategies are not working because increasingly desperate people may resort to even more desperate measures.

"What sends absolute shivers down my spine is ... we're going to find shipping containers on wharves in Australia and New Zealand and when they're opened we're going to find tragic scenes of a whole lot of people who have died," she told ABC TV on Sunday.

"This is what cruelty does."

She worries some asylum seekers could take the risk.

"I wouldn't say people won't do it, they'll know it's dangerous," she said.

"They'll want to believe that they'll only be in them until they're loaded on the ship and then allowed out."

Shipping containers have been used in people trafficking operations in the UK and Europe.

Former foreign minister Bob Carr said the asylum seeker problem became the "biggest" issue against the Labor government.

"It was bigger than carbon pricing," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"My advice to my former colleagues is absolutely crystal clear - you stick to the (PNG) Solution."

Senator Carr warned new Labor leader Bill Shorten not to allow backbenchers to freelance and attack Abbott's asylum seeker policy as inhumane.

"The electorate will read that ... as Labor going weak on the subject," he said.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hodgman calls for Tasmanian election

Tasmanian Opposition Leader Will Hodgman is demanding the state government name an election date. Source: AAP

TASMANIAN Opposition Leader Will Hodgman is demanding an increasingly beleaguered state government name an election date.

A poll is due in the state on March 15 but Premier Lara Giddings is yet to confirm the date.

A new bout of turmoil has hit the Labor-Green alliance with rogue ALP backbencher Brenton Best calling for Ms Giddings to quit as leader.

Mr Best has been a ticking time bomb for the party for months, criticising it over its partnership with the Greens, who have two ministers in the government.

He says Ms Giddings should now step aside for police and economic development minister David O'Byrne.

Labor is languishing in the polls after 15 years in power with Ms Giddings' most recent approval rating at just 18 per cent, its lowest level yet.

Mr Hodgman, the son of late former federal minister Michael Hodgman, has used his address to the Liberals' state council to call for an election.

"It should be called today," he told members.

"(It) will be the most important election in our lifetime, probably in our state's history."

Mr Hodgman said Labor had reached the point where it was unfit to govern the economically ailing state.

"Infighting has now escalated to open warfare," he said.

"It is appalling for Tasmanians who want to see a government that's focused on them, not on itself."

The Liberals have long drawn a comparison between the state's Labor-Green power-sharing arrangement and the former federal minority government headed by Julia Gillard.

Mr Hodgman's address came under banners reading "Jobs. Growth. Majority Government".

He repeated a warning to Labor voters that only by voting Liberal will another hung parliament be avoided, since Tasmania has the unusual Hare-Clark system which delivers five members per seat.

He said a vote for minor players like the Palmer United Party, which won a Tasmanian Senate spot in September's federal election, could also mean no clear majority.

"Don't risk it and don't waste your vote," he said.

Mr Hodgman has ruled out deals with any other party.

The state Liberals' buoyancy was boosted when prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the conference on Saturday, 50 days after supplanting three Tasmanian Labor members at the federal election.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Get tough on youths fighting in Syria:Carr

Former foreign minister Bob Carr wants to ban Australians fighting in Syria from returning home. Source: AAP

FORMER foreign minister Bob Carr is urging the federal government to consider ways to ban Australians who go off to fight in the Syrian conflict from returning home.

The outgoing senator admitted that while in government he had lobbied to introduce the punishment to Australians who travel to Syria to participate in the civil war.

"I did receive advice that if they are Australian citizens legally you can't stop them returning," he told Sky News on Sunday.

He urged the government to explore options to get around the legal issue.

"It should be a bipartisan initiative," he said.

Senator Carr said the threat of expulsion from Australia would deter a lot of "misguided excitable youth from responding to the jihadist cause".

He said about 200 Australians had gone to Syria but that number also included people involved in aid work.

"Probably a lot lower number are actually involved in fighting," Senator Carr said.

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