Woman found unconscious in toilet critical

A 31-YEAR-OLD woman found unconscious with serious head injuries in a toilet remains in a critical condition in a Cairns hospital.

Investigators have spent the day combing the scene of her discovery around 8am (AEST) on Friday - an external toilet at a business on Draper Street in Cairns' CBD.

However, they are still piecing together what happened.

The injured woman's condition remained critical, a spokeswoman for Cairns Base Hospital said late on Friday afternoon.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taliban bomb US consulate in Afghanistan

A truck bomb killed at least one person and wounded 18 outside the US consulate in Afghanistan. Source: AAP

HEAVILY armed gunmen in suicide vests have detonated a truck bomb outside the US consulate in the Afghan city of Herat, sparking a shootout with American forces, officials say.

US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said there were no American casualties and the US embassy in Kabul confirmed on Twitter that all consulate staff were safe after the attack early on Friday.

Afghan officials said at least one person had been killed and 18 others wounded.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying there were several casualties on the Afghan and US side, but the militia is known to exaggerate its claims of deaths and injuries.

The front gate of the US consulate was "extensively" damaged, Harf told reporters.

An AFP reporter at the scene said one vehicle had been completely destroyed.

Four Afghan policemen were among the wounded, Herat hospital spokesman Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai said.

The US State Department said the attack started at 5.30am local time when the gunmen, dressed in suicide vests, drove up to the front gate in a truck, opened fire and then detonated the truck bomb.

American and contracted security personnel reacted to the attack but the assault is over, Harf said.

"It appears American and contract security personnel addressed any attackers who managed to enter the compound," she added, giving no further details.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP in a telephone call that the militia carried out the attack.

"Our mujahedeen, armed with heavy and light weapons, attacked the US consulate in Herat. There are several casualties to Afghan and US forces," he said.

Herat, in western Afghanistan near the Iranian border, is considered one of the cities in Afghanistan least troubled by the 12-year Taliban insurgency.

US-led NATO troops who have supported the Afghan government against the Taliban are due to end their combat mission next year, after Afghanistan holds key presidential elections.

The Afghan government has called on the Taliban to engage in peace talks but the militia publicly refuses to deal with President Hamid Karzai, branding him a puppet of Washington.

Roughly 100,000 foreign troops now serve in Afghanistan, two-thirds of them from the United States.

Obama has pledged to the war-weary US public to end the country's longest-ever war, which was launched to fight Al-Qaeda and their Taliban allies after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Uni downplayed nepotism scandal: report

THE University of Queensland put its reputation above the public interest by downplaying a scandal in which the vice-chancellor's daughter was given a scholarship ahead of worthier candidates.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) says the daughter of former Vice-Chancellor Paul Greenfield was awarded a place in the medical school over 343 more suitable applicants, despite failing a qualifying exam.

The watchdog released its review of Ms Greenfield's admission on Friday.

The scandal forced the resignation of Prof Greenfield and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Keniger in late 2011.

University staff did not immediately report their nepotism concerns because Mr Greenfield himself was the public official charged with reporting such matters to the CMC.

CMC acting assistant commissioner Kathleen Florian says the university then played down the scandal in public statements in order to protect its reputation.

"The right balance was not struck between the public interest on the one hand, and protecting the reputation of the university and the reputations of the two most senior officers on the other," she told reporters.

"After the university publicly stated that the two officers were standing down on the basis of generalised accountability rather than personal responsibility the CMC asked the university to bring forward their resignations and ultimately the university agreed."

However, the CMC found nothing to implicate Ms Greenfield in the scandal and she's still enrolled in the course.

The university admitted on Friday it should have been more open from the beginning and that the UQ senate's decision not to reveal the reasons for the resignations was difficult.

But it said the senate had to weigh up competing interests.

"... the avoidance of operational disruption and reputation damage on the one hand, and the promotion of transparency on the other hand," it said in a statement.

"The university accepts, however, that its response was not well handled and acknowledges that it lacked the transparency called for in the circumstances."

The university said it had noted the CMC's conclusions and had been working on more transparent systems to manage issues of integrity and misconduct.

Ms Florian said the public must be able to have faith that decisions on university places are based on merit and equity, but that had not happened.

She said that state laws should be changed to allow a greater number of staff in public institutions to report misconduct and corruption to the CMC.

"I encourage all public sector agencies to read this report to consider how they could manage conflicts of interest and misconduct involving senior management thus ensuring merit, equity and transparency remains core to decision making," Ms Florian said.

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

William's mind on baby George

Kate and William have left baby George with his nanny for their first night out since his birth. Source: AAP

PRINCE William has joked about spending his first night away from baby son Prince George while he attended a black-tie awards ceremony in London.

William and wife Kate were guests of honour at the inaugural Tusk Trust awards, a UK-based African wildlife conservation charity of which he is patron.

William joked that he might be seen checking his mobile phone to make sure all was well back home with his son, who was in the care of William's former nanny, Jessie Webb.

It is believed Ms Webb, 71, is looking after the baby when the couple need her and is not working for them full-time.

William started his speech with a reference to seven-week-old Prince George.

"As you might have gathered, Catherine and I have recently become proud parents - of a baby who has a voice to match any lion's roar.

"This is actually our first evening out without him, so please excuse us if you see us nervously casting cheeky glances at our mobile phones to check all is well back home.

"Like any new parents, our thoughts inevitably turn to the world that our child will inherit. It is unfathomable to imagine a world in which children who have been born in the past couple of months may grow up in a world in which rhinoceros have ceased to exist in the wild."

Kate dazzled in a silver sequinned Jenny Packham dress and told Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who asked who George took after: "Like most babies, he's got a mix of both of us."

The Cambridges' night out came after William announced that he had given up his operational career in the military and was now considering options for future "public service".

This year will be a "transitional" one for William and he will be expanding his core charitable interests - including his passion for conservation - as he carries out his normal royal duties, which are not expected to increase.

In a sign of the direction his public life may take, it was also announced earlier that William had become president of a new umbrella conservation organisation he has formed called "United for Wildlife".

15.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

High price for Duke of Windsor HRH letter

A LETTER in which King Edward VIII described his wife's lack of an HRH title as an "insult" has sold at auction for well over its expected price.

The 1939 letter from the Duke of Windsor sold to a private collector in Britain on Thursday for a hammer price of STG12,000 ($A20,623).

It had only been expected to fetch as much as STG8000.

The letter to Daily Express newspaper proprietor Lord Beaverbrook aimed to correct an article published in the Sunday Express which claimed the former monarch, who abdicated in 1936 to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson, wished to live in France.

In response to the article, Edward writes: "While the Duchess and I have received the greatest courtesy in all the countries, especially France, where we have resided since our marriage, I have not lived out of England for over two years by preference.

"It is true that there exists no law to prevent my returning to my country whenever I wish to do so, but I have remained away out of deference to my brother in order to leave the field clear for him to establish himself on the throne, which it is admitted he has succeeded in doing."

He also dispels claims that he had set conditions for his return to England, including that his new wife be accorded the title of Royal Highness.

Edward wrote: "I have never made any such announcement nor would I ever set conditions upon my return to England. Regarding the two stipulations I am alledged (sic) to have made, I wish to say firstly, that while naturally the matter of witholding (sic) the title of Royal Highness from the Duchess is an insult which I as her husband and a member of the Royal Family have always resented far more deeply than she has, we have too many other more important interests to worry over such a triviality.

"Secondly, whatever may be the behaviour of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth towards the Duchess, it would in no way affect any plans we might make for going to England."

The item was among 200 lots of royal memorabilia auctioned by International Autograph Auctions in Nottingham.

A letter in which George VI expresses his dislike of public speaking, written after his first Christmas broadcast as king in 1937, sold for STG3200. King George had a stutter he struggled with, captured in the film The King's Speech.

15.04 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deadly wind change blamed for fire death

FIREFIGHTERS who battled a bushfire in Western Australia last summer were not warned about a deadly wind change until moments before the flames engulfed their vehicles, killing firefighter Wendy Bearfoot.

Ms Bearfoot, 45, died and several others were injured when their trucks were trapped by a fast-moving firestorm at Black Cat Creek last October.

A report into the deadly bushfire near Albany revealed vital weather forecasts showing dramatic changes in conditions were not passed on in full to the firefighters in the heat of the battle.

And the investigation, released by the state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), concluded firefighters were left stranded in the so-called 'Dead Man's Zone' when the wind shifted, pushing flames towards the crews in moments.

"Within about four minutes, firefighters were trapped in a burnover," the report says.

"The nature of the terrain, thick vegetation and that the fire approached the crews on an angle from behind meant that they may not have been immediately aware ... until the fire was close, giving them a short time to react."

While the fire was jointly managed by the City of Albany, DFES and the former Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) none "had a direct line of control", the report revealed.

Plus the stranded crews had no in-cab radiant heat shields to protect them from the flames, and were not recently trained in what to do when they were trapped by a burnover.

The report made 10 recommendations, including all vehicles entering the fireground to be fitted with one accessible fire blanket per person, and fire managers receive more training about how to properly interpret weather forecasts.

Ms Bearfoot, a mother of three, suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of her body, and died three weeks later despite intensive treatment in Royal Perth Hospital's world-renowned burns unit.

Colleague Charlene Hordyk, 25, suffered severe burns to 20 per cent of her body.

15.04 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mirabella under pressure in Indi

Sophie Mirabella is being challenged by a local independent in the Victorian electorate of Indi. Source: AAP

THE Victorian electorate of Indi is far from marginal.

But its sitting member is in serious danger of becoming one of this federal election's rarest of candidates - a coalition casualty.

Indi is represented by high-profile coalition shadow minister Sophie Mirabella who holds a nine per cent advantage after securing 52 per cent of the primary vote in the 2010 poll and who would normally benefit from the national tide of support for her party.

But thanks to a campaign based on simplicity and community values, Mrs Mirabella is under pressure from Cathy McGowan, a disaffected former Liberal and lifelong resident of the rural seat in the state's northeast.

Ms McGowan is somewhat hamstrung by her status as an independent, a group tainted in this election by the roles played in the Gillard and Rudd governments of independent MPs.

And she is confronted by opinion polls that place the Mirabella Liberal primary vote at 43 per cent to her 23 per cent.

In the face of all that, Ms McGowan is still in with a big chance of pulling off a major upset thanks to a campaign based on community involvement and well-managed preferences.

"The campaign's taken off like wildfire," Ms McGowan said.

"People have really grabbed hold of the idea of having a vision for their community."

Ms McGowan is set to receive preferential support from the Nationals candidate in what is seen as a backlash against the Liberal decision to run a candidate against high-profile National Andrew Broad in the Victorian seat of Mallee.

She will also benefit from Labor preferences.

Ms McGowan isn't joining the hopeful chorus of her supporters just yet, but she suspects the result probably won't be known on Saturday night.

"It's going to be very, very close," she said.

Indi covers the major centres south of the Murray of Wodonga, Benalla and Wangaratta, also taking in Victoria's Alpine region.

The area is also represented in state parliament by two Nationals MPs who have supported Ms McGowan.

15.04 | 0 komentar | Read More

US births levelling off

US births may finally be levelling off after falling for four consecutive years. Source: AAP

AFTER falling four years in a row, US births may finally be levelling off.

The number of babies born last year - a little shy of four million - is only a few hundred less than the number in 2011, according to a government report released on Friday.

That suggests that lately, fewer couples may be scared away from having children because of the economy or other factors, some experts say. Among the signs of a possible turning point: The birth rate for women in their early 30s inched up for the first time since 2007.

"We may be on level course or potentially even see a rise" in birth trends in the near future, said Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some are a bit more pessimistic.

"The decline has slowed down, but it's still a decline," said Carol Hogue, an Emory University expert on birth trends.

Falling births is a relatively new phenomenon in the US. Births were on the rise since the late 1990s and hit an all-time high of more than 4.3 million in 2007. The drop that followed was widely attributed to the nation's flagging economy. Experts believed that many women or couples who were out of work or had other money problems felt they couldn't afford to start or add to their family.

The economy officially was in a recession from December 2007 until June 2009. But well into 2011, polls showed most Americans remained gloomy, citing anaemic hiring, a depressed housing market and other factors.

The new CDC report is a first glimpse at 2012 birth certificate data from state health departments, but the numbers aren't expected to change much.

15.04 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jockey Nikolic toe-to-toe with cop

A SENIOR police officer says he sat frozen in shock as jockey Danny Nikolic stood toe-to-toe abusing one of his colleagues in a Melbourne police station.

Nikolic is charged with assaulting Detective Senior Constable Julio Salerno after an official interview at St Kilda police station in March 2011.

Sergeant Dave Eadie told the Melbourne Magistrates Court Nikolic had participated willingly in the interview but became agitated after having a short conversation with Det Sen Const Salerno after the recording devices were switched off.

"Nikolic said he wasn't happy with Julio Salerno being present," Sgt Eadie told the court.

"He told him 'get the f*** out of here, I'm not speaking with you'."

Sgt Eadie said the two men stood up and their foreheads were touching and Nikolic was red in the face.

Det Sen Const Salerno pushed Nikolic back into his chair but the jockey immediately bounced back to his feet and continued the confrontation.

The court heard they again stood with their foreheads touching with Nikolic goading the officer urging him to "have a go".

"I sat there and froze, it was behaviour that shocked me," Sgt Eadie said.

Nikolic had come to the police station to be questioned about other matters, including an alleged assault on fellow jockey Mark Pegus with which he was duly charged.

Both assault charges are being heard by Magistrate Angela Bolger.

Pegus claims Nikolic, who is banned from riding after making threats against Victoria's chief racing steward, assaulted him at the Caulfield stables of trainer Byron Cozamanis in January 2011.

But he says he only reported the incident after Nikolic allegedly assaulted his girlfriend two months later.

Pegus told the court an altercation between the two began with a phone call in which Nikolic accused him of spreading rumours about his brother. It continued the next morning when the two arrived at the stable to ride trackwork.

In the belief that they were going to discuss their differences, Pegus said he followed Nikolic into the stable office where things turned violent.

"As I walked in Danny flew at me and started throwing punches," he told the court.

Det Sen Const Salerno is due to give evidence in the contested hearing on Friday.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld cop living 'worst nightmare': Stewart

A QUEENSLAND cop who shot dead a man wielding a machete at the scene of a double murder was living "every police officers' worst nightmare".

The officer and another officer found the bodies of a man and a woman, both aged 43, after being called to a Coolum Beach property.

He shot the machete wielding man, 42, who later died in hospital.

It is believed the homicide victims are a local couple and the alleged assailant was the man's brother, but police would not confirm it.

Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers said the officer who used deadly force did what he had to do to protect his own life.

"Things unfolded extremely quickly," Mr Leavers told AAP.

"The police officer had no other option and in instances like this, you would only use a firearm to defend your life and we support the police officers involved."

Mr Leavers described the officer as a well-respected family man who had more than 10 years experience in the service.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said as the man was armed it seemed the officer had acted appropriately, but he would still be tormented by his actions.

"This is every police officers' worst nightmare," Mr Stewart said.

"Every time they go to a call like this, they just don't know what they're going to confront.

"My heart goes out for them for what they had to face."

Mr Stewart said the man died on the 10th anniversary of slain Caboolture cop Senior Sergeant Perry Irwin's death.

It made the events overnight even more poignant, particularly given they began in similar circumstances, he said.

The Ethical Standards Command has interviewed both officers. The coroner would also investigate.

Yandina-Coolum Road, where the incident occurred, was closed for most of Thursday as police carried out their investigations.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said parliament's thoughts and prayers were with the family of the victims and the two officers involved.

15.02 | 0 komentar | Read More