Spanish judge to question train driver

Spanish police announced they have identified all 78 victims of the nation's deadliest train crash. Source: AAP

THE driver of a train that hurtled off the rails killing 78 people in Spain is to appear before a judge for questioning, facing possible charges of reckless homicide.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, 52, refused to answer police questions Friday from his hospital bed, and the case was passed to the courts.

He was taken to a police station on Saturday after being discharged from hospital and will appear on Sunday before a judge who will decide whether to press formal charges.

Under Spanish law, a suspect can be detained for a maximum of 72 hours before being heard by a judge.

Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told reporters Saturday that Garzon Amo faced possible charges of reckless homicide. He was speaking during a visit to the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela where the crash happened.

The train was said to have been travelling at more than twice the speed limit on a curve when it was flung off the rails on Wednesday and slammed into a concrete wall, with one carriage leaping up onto a siding.

Regional authorities now say that 78 passengers died and 178 were injured in the accident.

It was Spain's deadliest rail accident since 1944 when hundreds were killed in a train collision, also between Madrid and Galicia.

Regional health officials said 71 people were still in hospital, including 28 adults and three children in a critical condition.

Eight foreigners were among the dead - a US citizen, an Algerian, a Mexican, a Brazilian, a Venezuelan, an Italian, a national of the Dominican Republic and a Frenchman.

Spanish media published photographs of the man they identified as Garzon Amo after the crash, with blood covering the right side of his face.

The driver should have started slowing the train before reaching a bend that train drivers had been told to respect, the president of Spanish rail network administrator Adif said Saturday.

"Four kilometres before the accident happened he already had warnings that he had to begin slowing his speed," Gonzalo Ferre told Spanish public television TVE.

Daily newspaper El Mundo, citing sources close to the investigation, reported Saturday that the driver was speaking on his mobile telephone at the time of the accident.

Another daily El Pais, citing unidentified sources in the investigation, reported that the driver, while still trapped in his cab, told railway officials by radio that the train had taken the curve at 190km/h. That is more than double the 80km/h speed limit for that section of track.

State railway company Renfe said the driver had been with the firm for 30 years, including 13 years as a driver.

He had driven trains past the spot of the accident 60 times during his time with Renfe, company president Julio Gomez-Pomar told private television Antena 3.

Some media reports described Garzon Amo as a speed freak who once posted a picture on his Facebook page of a train speedometer at 200km/h.

A caption read: "I am on the edge, I can't go faster or else I will be fined." The page has since been taken down.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thousands rally against PNG plan: Greens

THOUSANDS of people have gathered in Sydney to demand the Australian government scrap its Papua New Guinea plan about processing and resettling asylum seekers, the Greens say.

Up to 3,000 people congregated at Sydney Town Hall before marching along George Street on Sunday to protest the government's handling of asylum seekers, Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said.

"The purpose of today ... was to send a clear message that what they (the government) is doing is wrong," she told AAP after the rally.

"It's also to enable people to come together. There is a lot of stress in the community about how our country is treating people."

Ms Rhiannon said one of the topics raised during the protest was concerns over the use of the security firm G4S to run the Manus Island facility.

Describing the company as an "unaccountable multi-national", she said there were concerns among the community that the frontline staff aren't trained to deal with the problems already experienced at the centre.

She pointed to G4S's failure to provide all of the 10,400 contracted guards for the 2012 Games, which forced the British government to step in with military personnel.

The rally comes as a Galaxy poll published by News Corp Australia on Sunday found people rated Prime Minister Kevin Rudd better than Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at handling the asylum seeker issue, 40 to 38 per cent.

Under the federal government's deal with PNG, people arriving by boat will be denied resettlement in Australia, taken to Manus Island for processing and and may be settled there if found to be genuine refugees.

The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) will be holding another rally in Sydney's inner west next month.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bad ecstasy blamed for SA hospitalisations

A BAD batch of ecstasy has been blamed for several people in Adelaide being hospitalised.

A number of people were admitted to Royal Adelaide Hospital with overdose symptoms on Saturday night and another was taken to Lyell McEwin Hospital.

Almost all of the patients have been discharged.

Police have arrested a 21-year-old man from North Adelaide.

They will allege he was in possession of 33 ecstasy tablets and $900 cash at the time of his arrest.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toxic liquor kills 18 at Pakistan parties

AT least 18 people died and about two dozen others suffered serious health issues after partygoers at two separate events consumed toxic drinks, officials say.

Victims were rushed to hospitals in the central Pakistani city of Faisalabad when they fell unconscious after drinking the alcohol at a birthday party and another gathering. Both of the events were held in private homes.

"The death toll from the two parties has reached 18. Around two dozen others are heavily affected by the toxic liquor and battling for consciousness," Javed Ahmed Khan, a senior police official, told AFP on Sunday.

"The incidents took place in Batala Colony. Five people were killed at a birthday party on Thursday and 13 others died in another get together in the same area on Friday," he said.

The public sale of alcohol is banned in conservative Islamic Pakistan and many people prepare cheap liquor at home.

Another police official said that most of the victims had died after they returned home.

"Most of the people have died at homes, while a few expired in hospitals," said Abid Zafar, head of the local police station.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan suicide attack toll passes 50

Twin suicide attacks have rocked a busy marketplace in Pakistan, killing at least 41 people. Source: AAP

THE death toll from twin suicide attacks at a busy marketplace in northwest Pakistan has risen to 51, officials say.

The Friday attacks at the bazaar in Parachinar, the main town of Kurram tribal district on Pakistan-Afghanistan border were the deadliest to hit the country during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"The death toll from the suicide attacks has risen to 51," a senior administration official in Kurram, Riaz Mehsud, told AFP on Saturday.

Earlier, officials had put the death toll at 41.

"The new deaths occurred overnight", Mehsud said, adding that more than 150 people were injured in the attacks.

"We are still compiling the data about injured people as many of them had been shifted to Peshawar and Kohat."

Sabir Hussain, head of the local hospital also confirmed the new death toll.

The explosions sent handcarts flying as shoppers bought food to open their fasts at sunset.

Parachinar administration officials said both blasts were carried out by suicide bombers, who walked into the crowded market.

The area where the bombers struck is mainly inhabited by minority Shi'ite Muslims but officials said they could not immediately identify the victims.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but attacks waged by Sunni Muslim extremists against Pakistan's Shi'ites, who account for 20 per cent of the 180 million population, are on the rise.

Kurram is frequently the scene of sectarian violence between Pakistan's Sunni Muslim majority and Shi'ite minority.

The country is battling a Taliban-led domestic insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and security personnel since 2007.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lorde replaces Frank Ocean at Splendour

Splendour in the Grass have asked NZ Lorde to jump in after headlining act Frank Ocean pulled out. Source: AAP

NEW Zealand teenager Lorde has been handed the break of her life after promoters of Splendour in the Grass asked her to step in to replace Frank Ocean, who pulled out of the festival at the last minute.

It is hoped the 16-year-old Auckland singer-songwriter - whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor - will thrill punters squelching in the mud at the festival outside Byron Bay in NSW when she takes to the stage at 5.30pm (AEST) on Sunday.

Lorde released her debut EP The Love Club in March, which features her number one New Zealand hit Royals.

Her second EP Tennis Court was released in June, following sold-out gigs in Sydney and Melbourne in May.

Lorde's entrance in the festival line-up has bumped up Monsters and Men into Ocean's Sunday night timeslot and The Presets up to the festival's closing slot.

Ocean cancelled all of his upcoming Australian shows on Friday after suffering a small tear to one of his vocal chords.

The singer-songwriter received medical advice to rest his voice.

Concert promoter Live Nation said on Friday it would be working to confirm a return visit to Australia for Ocean and advised those who purchased concert tickets to return them for refunds.

Ocean was scheduled to play at Melbourne's Festival Hall on Friday night and at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on Monday and Tuesday.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Korean veteran remembers mate's snoring

Fifteen Australian war veterans who fought in Korea have returned to mark the 60th anniversary. Source: AAP

RETURNING to Korea 60 years after fighting in the war has stirred up unexpected memories for Bill Monaghan.

During the Korean War, Monaghan bunked with fellow fighter pilot Bob Macintosh at the Kimpo Airbase, outside of Seoul.

"The room mate I'm sharing with, we were in Kimpo together, I had forgotten how much he snores," the 84-year-old Canberra great-grandfather told AAP on the phone from Korea on Saturday.

The pair are among 15 Australia war veterans who have travelled to Korea to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice signing that ended fighting.

Mr Monaghan joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1949 and was in active combat during the last three months of the war.

His role was to fly over enemy supply lines and try to stop supplies getting through to the frontline.

"I was a frightened young boy from the country who did not know what he'd gotten himself into," he said.

During his twelfth combat mission, his Gloster Meteor plane was hit by enemy fire which took out his right engine.

Unable to return to base on one engine, Mr Monaghan made an emergency beach landing on the island of Paengyong-do held by United Nations forces, where his engine was replaced.

Mr Monaghan returned to Australia in December 1953, to marry his wife Dot.

"She's only divorced me 14 times," he joked, hastily adding that they've had a wonderful married life and are proud of their son and daughter.

More than 18,000 Australians served in the Korean War, 340 soldiers died, 1200 were wounded and 43 are still listed as missing in action.

The 15 Australian veterans are attending a special ceremony at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul on Saturday, alongside Veterans Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon, and have toured some battle ground sites.

Mr Monaghan said it was sobering to visit the famous land battle site at Kapyong.

"You look at the conditions where the (Australians) fought back an overwhelming force of the Chinese, it's very daunting to consider that ... your hat comes off to them every time you think about it."

While the highlight of the trip has been the companionship of his mates, Mr Monaghan was keen to return to Korea and see first-hand the thriving democracy and economy.

"We look over the border at the north and we say it was well worth the effort," he said.

* Korean War veterans will also mark the anniversary at a service at National Korean War Memorial in Canberra on Saturday.

AAP lpm/nl

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Albo calls for patience on poll date

The Deputy Prime Minister has called for people to be patient about the federal poll date. Source: AAP

DEPUTY Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says no one in the Rudd government has a "rush to the polls mentality" but it will be before or after his league team wins the premiership.

Mr Albanese on Saturday called for patience, as speculation about the federal election date reaches fever pitch.

"No one in the government has had a rush to the polls mentality," he told reporters, flanked by scores of red balloons at a community campaign event for Chinese Australian lawyer Jason Yat-sen Li, Labor's candidate for the Sydney seat of Bennelong.

He said the government would consider calling the election at an appropriate time.

"It will be before or after the Souths win their twenty first premiership," he joked.

Mr Albanese is a South Sydney Rabbitohs supporter.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to stop "playing games" and name the date.

"The government of our country is not about showbiz," he told reporters at the Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach in western Queensland.

"Electing a national government is not a version of celebrity Big Brother."

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abducted NSW baby handed in to police

A Sydney man who threatened his ex-girlfriend and abducted his eight-month-old remains on the run. Source: AAP

MISSING baby Zhaiden Mifsud has been handed in to a Sydney police station after his father abducted him at knifepoint.

Police have confirmed that the eight-month-old was handed in to Campbelltown police station around 5pm (AEST) on Friday.

It is still unclear if his father, Steven Hume, was with the boy at the time of the handover.

Police said Zhaiden was handed in by a family member, and was safe and well.

They later confirmed they were still searching for Mr Hume.

The 24-year-old allegedly forced his way into the Chester Hill home of his ex-girlfriend Casey Mifsud, 16, and their son Zhaiden about 8.30pm (AEST) on Thursday.

He grabbed both of them at knifepoint and put them into his 2007 Toyota Camry before allegedly assaulting Ms Mifsud at a highway rest stop and driving off with the baby, police say.

Zhaiden was in light clothing and Mr Hume had no food or baby formula.

The chain of events sparked a massive police manhunt around Bargo, southwest of the city, where the Camry, which had struck a tree, was found abandoned on Friday morning.

Local police, PolAir, the Dog Squad and volunteers from the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service joined the search for Mr Hume, which will continue.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Talks on joint Korean industrial park fail

Talks between North and South Korea on reopening their joint industrial estate at Kaesong failed. Source: AAP

NORTH Korea has blasted South Korea's "arrogant" attitude after talks on salvaging the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone collapsed, sparking a shoving match between officials from both sides.

The North also accused the South of using "delaying tactics" by demanding that Pyongyang take responsibility for the closure of the estate and compensate for financial losses.

"The North side made every possible effort to prevent the talks from not making any results, but the South side persisted in its arrogant stand, pushing the talks to the point of stalemate," the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary on Friday.

"The South side can never escape its responsibility for all the aftermaths to be entailed by its move of having pushed the talks to a deadlock," it said.

The failure of both sides to set a date for another meeting after a sixth round of discussions on Thursday on reviving Kaesong was compounded by a pushing match that broke out between North and South officials.

At the end of the talks, the North's chief delegate, Pak Chol-su, told South Korean reporters that the North's military may re-occupy the estate unless the two sides work out a solution.

Pak's unscheduled news conference sparked a rare shoving match between South and North Korean officials, according to pool reports.

When Pak barged into the press room without notice, 20 North Korean officials shut down elevators or stood guard around him.

Minutes later, a dozen South Korean officials ran down from the conference hall in an attempt to stop Pak, denouncing him for ignoring a protocol.

Pool pictures showed North and South Korean officials grabbing, pushing and shoving each other.

Seoul refuted the North's accusations, saying it should change its attitude and give a firm pledge to prevent another work stoppage.

"Our demand for safeguards ... is not something that North Korean can reject," Kim Hyung-suk, spokesman for the South's unification ministry, said on Friday.

Production at the Seoul-funded estate, 10 kilometres over the border, has been suspended since North Korea withdrew its 53,000 workers from the South's 123 factories in April.

Talks on reopening it have been dominated by mutual recriminations over who was to blame for the shutdown.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More