UK teen tells of her nitrogen drink horror

A BRITISH teenager who had to have her stomach removed after drinking a cocktail containing liquid nitrogen has spoken about her ordeal.

Gaby Scanlon was celebrating her 18th birthday with friends at a wine bar in Lancaster on October 4 when she drank two shots of the liqueur Jaegermeister, which was laced with liquid nitrogen.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Miss Scanlon explained that everything was fine after the first drink, but the moment she drank the second she felt "excruciating pain".

She told the newspaper, "I'd been warned by the barman the drink might make me a bit gassy, so I didn't think too much of it, but then my stomach started to expand and I felt sick."

Miss Scanlon was taken to Lancaster Royal Infirmary by friends, and a CT scan found a large perforation in her stomach.

The damage was so bad doctors had no choice but to remove her stomach and connect her oesophagus directly to her small bowel.

Miss Scanlon, who spent three weeks in hospital, is now severely limited in what she can eat and faces a life on vitamin supplements and liquid replacement meals.

She and her family are considering making a civil claim against the bar for compensation.

She told the Mail, "I feel angry that these theatrical cocktails seem to be aimed at younger people, especially 18-year-olds who are just legally able to drink and want to go out and try these things, but it's not worth it."

She added, "I try to stay strong. I'm an optimistic person. It could have been very much worse and I'm very grateful to be alive, but it should never have happened in the first place."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asylum boat 'hijackers' sent back

FOURTEEN asylum seekers who allegedly hijacked a ship off the Sri Lankan coast in a bid to reach Australia have been found and sent home, the Department of Immigration says.

The group of Sri Lankan nationals was detected and intercepted northwest of the Cocos Islands by Australian authorities late on Thursday.

There were 15 people on board the vessel Chejan, which was involved in the allegedly hijacking incident on October 13.

Fourteen of them were returned to Sri Lanka from the Cocos Islands on a charter flight on Saturday afternoon.

One of the boat people could not be sent home on Saturday, but the department has indicated he will be deported in coming days.

The Sri Lankans held no visas and made no claims for protection, nor did they raise any issues that engaged Australia's international obligations, the department said.

The boat had been missing until it was intercepted late on Thursday north-west of the Cocos Islands by ACV Hervey Bay.

The group was accused of seizing the Chejan, a fishing trawler, and attacking a number of its crew.

At the time, Sri Lanka's high commissioner to Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, said the missing fishing trawler was a known people-smuggling vessel that was being used by six crew for fishing when it was apparently taken.

Five of the crew went overboard with one remaining on board.

Three were missing at sea, presumed drowned, and two were taken back to Galle Harbour after being rescued by two merchant vessels.

The pair had initially told police that the trawler had been attacked by about 40 suspected illegal immigrants carrying swords who arrived in four small boats and overpowered the crew.

Details about the alleged hijacking remained sketchy, as did the whereabouts of the vessel.

Australian Federal Police were assessing reports of the incident and liaising with Sri Lankan authorities.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott called for a full investigation into the incident.

"If people look to have committed very serious criminal offences on the way to Australia, well obviously people should be treated as those who have committed or at least allegedly committed criminal offences," he said last week.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld govt to celebrate boat arrivals

QUEENSLAND'S conservative government wants to celebrate people who have arrived in Australia by boat.

But not the kind of boat arrivals some want to turn back, or have processed on Manus Island or Nauru.

Queensland's Liberal National Party government plans to chronicle the stories of migrants who came to the state by boat during what it called the golden age of sea travel.

Multicultural Affairs Glen Elmes says migrants who came by boat helped shape Queensland's social and economic profile.

He's urged them to share their stories and enrich the state's historical records.

"The initiative will shed light on Queensland's fascinating seaboard migration history, and its positive impact on our state's diverse cultural heritage," he said in a statement.

"It will let us share our stories and view our rich collection of artefacts, records and sites that tell of our rich migration heritage."

The Voyage of a Million Questions initiative takes its name from a 1959 voyage that brought 437 British migrants to Queensland.

"The journey was dubbed 'the voyage of a million questions' because passengers reportedly inundated the ship's crew and immigration officers with questions about their home-to-be," Mr Elmes said.

"Some of the recorded questions were: How do you say Mooloolaba? What is a wombat? Is Surfers Paradise a real paradise?"

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld youth prison guards 'need training'

GUARDS at Queensland's youth prisons need more training on handling troublesome inmates and should review their procedures, a report into the improper use of force says.

Six cases of serious injury at juvenile detention centres in Brisbane and Townsville were investigated by the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian.

The "pain compliance/management" technique used in detention centres may not be appropriate for use on young people because of the risk of injuries, the report said.

Releasing the recommendations, the commissioner for young people, Elizabeth Fraser, said while improvements had been made youth detention centre staff needed regular training on the appropriate use of force.

"Further work is yet to be completed to ensure appropriate guidance is given to staff, especially in relation to policy, procedures and training to ensure the application of force is within the law," she said in a statement.

Ms Fraser also wants youths in detention to have their rights of complaint safeguarded, and has urged the Department of Justice to revamp frontline staff training procedures within three months.

She added that youth workers and supervisors needed to be given strategies to stop unco-operative behaviour escalating.

The report examined six cases of undue force resulting in serious injury, including one dislocated shoulder and a fractured upper arm, four instances of fractured wrists and a fractured forearm.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gang hits cashed-up bank customers: police

AN organised criminal gang may have snatched nearly one million dollars from Australian bank customers after they made large cash withdrawals.

Victorian detectives have linked nine incidents in Melbourne and Sydney but fear there are many more victims across the country yet to come forward.

The gang is believed to have ties with South America and may even be flying in and out to commit robberies anywhere in Australia, fleeing with thousands of dollars in cash each time.

"It's a smart, well-organised crime gang," said Detective Sergeant Nathan Kaeser, in warning the public on Thursday.

"We generally deal with a lot of street robberies, armed robberies and home invasions, but this seems to be methodically thought out, planned and gaining a lot of money without hurting innocent people."

Police say four to six men have been working together to steal big cash withdrawals by distracting customers as they leave their bank.

Some members watch customers inside banks and tip off the others.

In one often-used ruse, one gang member slashes the car tyres of the targeted customer, another pretends to offer help with the flat, and yet another steals the cash and flees undetected while the victim is distracted.

They may also spray an oil-based or foul-smelling substance on a customer's jacket containing the cash, and another member alerts them to the stain so they take off the jacket for an easy theft later.

Police say the gang has been active since 2009, but an investigation is under way to see if they have been operating even earlier.

Detectives also believe long periods of apparent inactivity may indicate the group moving on to commit crimes elsewhere in the country.

Det Sgt Kaeser said there are fears the group is nearing $1 million in stolen cash, considering the likelihood of many more victims yet to come forward and the large sums already stolen.

This year alone, there have been two such robberies in the Sydney suburb of Burwood, and two in the past month in Melbourne.

Security camera footage has been released in a bid to identify the thieves.

Police are also warning bank customers to be careful when they make large withdrawals and encouraging them to use internet transfers instead.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ratings agency downgrades WA's outlook

RATINGS agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has revised downwards its outlook for the West Australian economy from stable to negative.

S&P credit analyst Claire Curtin said there was a one-in-three chance of WA's ratings being downgraded in the next two years from its current AAA standing.

S&P said the revision reflected the expectation that the state's balance sheet may weaken as a result of lower mining royalties, which would take some time to be reflected in its share of GST revenues.

WA's budget had become increasingly reliant on the royalties, which were currently volatile as commodity prices fluctuated.

"We consider that WA's increased budgetary reliance on royalties and the strong rises in its expense base, combined with the time-lag in GST relativity adjustments that offset reductions in own-source revenues, may pose challenges for WA's budgetary performance in the short-to-medium term," Ms Curtin said.

"Our outlook assumes that royalty revenues will be lower-than-budgeted across the forward estimates, due to our lower price and higher foreign exchange assumptions than those contained in the WA budget."

S&P noted that the WA government had unveiled several rounds of efficiencies and cost-savings measures in response to a reduction in the state's share of GST and lower mining royalty revenues.

"With the exchange rate and iron ore prices not having developed this fiscal year in line with the budget, further measures are likely to be announced in the coming months, as the government strives to deliver a surplus in fiscal 2013," S&P said.

Treasurer Troy Buswell recently flagged further cost cutting in December's Mid Year Economic Review.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Art Gallery NSW to host Bacon exhibition

The Art Gallery of NSW will host an exhibition by British artist Francis Bacon this November. Source: AAP

SYDNEY will host the first Australian exhibition of works by painter Francis Bacon, best known for his striking screaming Pope paintings.

Four years in the making, the exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) will showcase over 50 paintings as well as archival material from the artist's studio, films and photographs.

The Irish-born painter is one of the most highly sought-after artists in the world, with a 1956 painting of a Screaming Pope reportedly expected to fetch $25 million in a New York auction next month.

AGNSW director Michael Brand said the exhibition would present "a dazzling picture of a complex and conflicted artist whose work retains its visceral impact 20 years after his death".

The gallery's director curatorial Tony Bond said Bacon was the most outstanding painter of the 20th century.

"His images emerge almost by chance from paint applied in ways never conceived of before," he said.

"His ideas have inspired many younger artists, stimulated by his radical philosophical musings on creativity, chance and reality, chaos and order" .

With works drawn from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Tate Britain in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and others, Francis Bacon: five decades is expected to attract over 100,000 visitors from all around Australia.

It is part of the Sydney International Art Series bringing international shows to Sydney every summer.

The Francis Bacon: five decades exhibition runs from November 17-February 24.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Grandmothers 'helped humans evolve'

GRANDMOTHERS might have played a key role in human evolution, helping us develop bigger brains and longer lives, researchers say.

The "grandmother hypothesis" says there are evolutionary benefits from having older, non-reproductive females caring for offspring. US and Australian scientists tested the theory by running computer simulations of many generations of chimpanzees.

In the real world, female chimps rarely live past their child-bearing years, usually dying in their 30s or 40s.

But when grandmothering was added to the virtual world of the computer simulation, it made a huge difference to evolving chimp lifespan. After 24,000 to 60,000 years of grandmothers caring for grandchildren, chimpanzees who reached adulthood lived another 49 years - as do human hunter gatherers.

Before the addition of grandmothers, the simulated animals lived only another 25 years after reaching adulthood, just like chimps do in the wild.

According to the hypothesis, when grandmothers help feed their grandchildren after weaning, their daughters can produce more children at shorter intervals.

The children become younger at weaning but older when they start feeding themselves and reach adulthood.

Because of the benefits of grandmothers helping with child rearing, females end up living long after they lose the ability to reproduce.

Natural selection favours longevity genes which are passed to offspring, thereby increasing both female and male lifespan.

In their computer model, the scientists deliberately made the grandmother effect "weak" by assuming that a female could not be a grandmother until at least the age of 45, that she could not care for a child until age two, and that she could care for only one child.

They found that even a weak grandmother effect bestowed human-scale longevity on chimpanzees.

The researchers, whose findings are reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, believe the implications go beyond lifespan and underlie many key changes in human evolution including larger brain size.

Lead scientist Professor Kristen Hawkes, from the University of Utah, said: "Grandmothering was the initial step toward making us who we are."

She added: "If you are a chimpanzee, gorilla or orang-utan baby, your mum is thinking about nothing but you. But if you are a human baby, your mum has other kids she is worrying about, and that means now there is selection on you - which was not on any other apes - to much more actively engage her: 'Mum! Pay attention to me!'

"Grandmothering gave us the kind of upbringing that made us more dependent on each other socially and prone to engage each other's attention."

The grandmother effect gave rise to "a whole array of social capacities" that laid the foundations for the evolution of human traits such as pair bonding, bigger brains, learning new skills, and co-operative living, she said.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

More young people drowning

A rise in the number of drownings has prompted calls for compulsory swimming lessons at schools. Source: AAP

A SIGNIFICANT rise in the number of young people drowning in Australia has led to a call for compulsory swimming lessons at primary schools.

The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) says 371 people aged between 15 and 24 drowned between 2002 and 2012 - a 25 per cent increase on previous decades.

RLSS CEO Rob Bradley says many children are no longer taught basic swimming skills, and 20 per cent of youngsters leaving primary school in coming months will be unable to stay afloat for two minutes.

He's launched a petition calling on governments to support and help fund compulsory swimming lessons at primary schools.

The RLSS believes the number of young people drowning could double in the next decade unless action is taken.

"Royal Life Saving believes that the rapid increase in drowning in young adults ... is undeniably linked to a fall in the swimming and water safety skills of children in Australia over the past 10 years," the organisation said.

The RLSS believes many families simply can't afford swimming lessons and having them as part of the curriculum would be one way to ensure all children receive training.

It acknowledged that some schools do offer swimming training but said it was often only a few lessons every year.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taser compliance must improve: NSW police

A REPORT that criticises the way police use Tasers highlights the need for improvement, says NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

Ombudsman Bruce Barbour tabled his report into Taser use by the NSW police in state parliament on Tuesday.

It makes 46 recommendations about how police should use a Taser and how to improve Taser training for general-duties officers.

The report says police should ban repeated Taser use and drive-stunning, where the Taser is directly applied to a person's skin.

It also says Tasers should not be used when people are trying to run away from police.

The recommendations follow the death of Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti in Sydney's CBD after he was chased and tasered by police in March.

"It does highlight areas where we can improve," Mr Scipione said on Tuesday.

"We say quite clearly, these devices cannot and will not be used as a compliance device."

Police Minister Michael Gallacher said the recommendations would "enhance" the work of NSW police.

NSW Greens MP and justice spokesman David Shoebridge said it was "remarkable" the ombudsman's report had failed to consider the evidence given at the Curti inquest.

"The highest-profile potential abuse of Tasers by NSW police has flown under the ombudsman's radar and failed to inform this report," he said in a statement.

Mr Shoebridge said a clear option for limiting Taser use by police was to withdraw them from general-duties officers and allow only specially trained squads to use them.

Mr Barbour said there had been a number of incidents where Tasers were used inappropriately.

"A Taser should never be used to drive-stun a person, or discharged at a person who is fleeing police or who is in handcuffs unless there are exceptional circumstances," the report states.

The report also says a Taser should never be applied for more than 15 seconds.

It reviewed 556 individual Taser incidents between June 2010 and November 2010 and found the devices were appropriately used in 476 incidents.

In 27 incidents police should not have fired the weapon at all.

"Whilst we only identified a small number of misuses, it is unacceptable to see situations where Taser use failed to comply with police procedures and was unreasonable," Mr Barbour said in the report.

"An officer must be in danger of serious actual bodily harm (not just in danger of any level or type of injury) to discharge a Taser."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Northwest WA told to be cyclone ready

BUSINESSES in Western Australia's northwest have been reminded to make sure contingency plans are in place to protect workers during the cyclone season.

The season officially begins on November 1, and WorkSafe WA commissioner Lex McCulloch says it is crucial that everyone working at sea and on land knows what to do when there is a cyclone in the area.

"Under workplace safety and health laws, employers must have adequate plans in place and provide adequate training to protect workers in the event of a cyclone," Mr McCulloch said.

The Bureau of Meteorology expects two tropical cyclones on the northwest coast this season and predicts one of them will be severe.

Mr McCulloch said there were workplaces in the northwest where employees from several companies worked on the same site, so it was especially important that emergency evacuation plans were coordinated.

"Employers should not leave anything to chance when a cyclone is threatening and must make sure safe work practices are in place well before a cyclone is in their vicinity," he said.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Surplus forecast is optimistic: economists

ECONOMISTS fear the Gillard government may struggle to achieve its latest budget surplus forecast but its efforts to find savings could help push interest rates lower.

Treasurer Wayne Swan on Monday announced $16.4 billion in savings over the next four years as the government tries to keep its promise of returning the budget to surplus in 2012/13, in the face of falling tax revenues.

The government is now forecasting a surplus of $1.1 billion for the year, down from the $1.5 billion predicted in May's budget, according to its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO).

It also revised its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2012/13 to 3.0 per cent, from 3.25 per cent previously, while its expectations for the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.5 per cent.

However, JP Morgan Australia chief economist Stephen Walters warned the government might be relying on overly optimistic forecasts.

"They are basically just crossing their fingers and hoping the growth materialises," he said.

Mr Walters said that, based on JP Morgan's own forecasts, which include GDP growth of 2.7 per cent for the year, the government would fail to achieve the surplus.

"They are going to do whatever they think they need to do to get there but we think it is unlikely they are going to have a surplus this year."

As part of the cost savings measures, the government announced a cut to the baby bonus paid to parents for their second and subsequent children to $3,000, from $5,000.

Larger companies will also be forced to hand over Pay As You Go tax instalments on a monthly, rather than quarterly, basis.

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said while it was difficult to assess the effectiveness of some of the measures, the government's forecast appeared to be reasonable.

"There are some assumptions in there about policies, that I don't think people like us have any way of estimating whether they are correct or not," he said.

"But the ones that we can assess look reasonable."

He said the additional savings could add to the pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rates again in November.

"Any additional contraction in fiscal policy just makes the case for another rate cut stronger," he said.

Futures markets are currently forecasting an 85 per cent chance the RBA will cut the cash rate to 3.0 per cent in November, from 3.25 per cent.

However, CommSec chief economist Craig James warned the effort to return to surplus could have a negative effect on the economy and undermine the budget's forecasts.

"We question the preoccupation of achieving a budget surplus at all costs," he said.

"While the goal is laudable, if consumers and businesses remain reluctant to spend or borrow in response to rate cuts, then the fiscal tightening may have unintended negative effects of the economy and on the very task of achieving a surplus."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Devil captured, two still on the loose

ONE of three Tasmanian devils on the loose from a West Australian zoo has been found in bushland.

The four-month-old male devils - Itchy, Scratchy and Genghis - escaped from Peel Zoo, on the outskirts of Pinjarra, south of Perth, after a tree smashed their enclosure on Tuesday.

Zoo owner David Cobbold said Scratchy was found at about 3am (WST) on Sunday but the other two hand-reared animals remained on the loose.

Mr Cobbold said two men chased Scratchy through the bush and trapped the animal against a fence before wrapping it in a towel.

They then secured it in their bathroom, but Scratchy clawed its way through part of the plasterboard wall.

Mr Cobbold thanked the men but said people should not try to handle the animals themselves.

"The capture proved devils aren't as dangerous as their reputation suggested," he said.

"The name is more about the noise than the behaviour."

Mr Cobbold has urged members of the public who see the remaining two devils to call him on 0400 788 289.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taser used in Melbourne robbery

A GROUP of men have used a taser to rob a man in suburban Melbourne.

The man was walking along a Fitzroy North street when three men pulled over their car and attacked him just after midnight (AEDT) on Sunday.

The men punched the victim before using a taser to drop him to the ground, police said.

The attackers stole the man's bag and fled in their car.

The 37-year-old man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More