Senate approves $633bn defence bill

The US Senate has approved a $A606.41 billion defence spending bill for next year. Source: AAP

THE US Senate has approved a $US633 billion ($A606.41 billion) defence spending bill for next year that tightens penalties on Iran, funds the war in Afghanistan and boosts security at US missions worldwide.

The legislation passed 81-14 on Friday despite furious opposition from Republican Senator Rand Paul, who criticised removal of an amendment that would have provided Americans with protection against indefinite military detention.

Despite a raging partisan row in Washington over how to resolve a year-end fiscal crisis, the compromise bill sailed through the House of Representatives on Thursday and now goes to President Barack Obama's desk.

In addition to covering standard national security expenses like shipbuilding, it provides a 1.7-per cent pay raise for men and women in uniform, authorises the Pentagon to pay for abortions in cases of rape and incest and lifts a ban on same-sex marriage ceremonies on military bases.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013 was hammered out by House and Senate conferees this month after each chamber voted to approve separate versions of the bill.

The White House last month said Obama could veto the act out of concern for the restrictions on his handling of Guantanamo detainees, but Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin said this week he did not expect a veto.

The bill extended for one year the restriction on use of US funds to transfer Guantanamo inmates to other countries, a limitation critics say marks a setback for Obama's efforts to close the detention centre.

Paul said it was a "travesty of justice" that an amendment designed to limit the president's power to indefinitely detain US citizens as terror suspects was stripped from the final bill.

"It's a shame to scrap the very rights that make us exceptional as a people," Paul said, referring to the rights to a trial for anyone held in the United States.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Sudan army 'shoots down' UN chopper

South Sudan's army has shot down a UN helicopter killing all four crew on board. Source: AAP

SOUTH Sudan's army has shot down a UN helicopter killing all four crew on board, a United Nations spokesman says.

The helicopter was hit on a reconnaissance flight over a troubled part of the world's newest country where the government has already tried to stop the UN and rights groups investigating allegations of massacres and other abuses.

Deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters in New York the South Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) had admitted to the United Nations that it had hit the MI-8 helicopter.

The helicopter was in the Likuangole district of troubled Jonglei state in the east of South Sudan, which became independent in July last year after splitting from Sudan.

"Initial reports indicated the UN helicopter crashed and burned. The mission immediately launched a search and recovery mission. It has confirmed the death of all four crew members," del Buey said.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) initially said only that the helicopter had crashed.

"In subsequent communications between the mission and the South Sudanese armed forces, the SPLA told the mission that it had shot down the helicopter," del Buey said.

No reasons for the incident were immediately given.

No South Sudanese government and military officials were immediately available for comment.

The helicopter was on a "reconnaissance flight" in Jonglei state when hit, the UN spokesman added.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Major abalone haul in WA's midwest

Three people face charges in WA after being caught with more than 700 abalone and trochus shells. Source: AAP

IN one of Western Australia's biggest hauls of poached abalone and trochus shells, fisheries officers have seized more than 700 of the valuable molluscs.

Fisheries Department compliance officer Michael Kelly said a tip-off from a member of the public led to the discovery of 488 abalone and 269 trochus shells in the possession of three people.

Of the 488 abalone, 449 were under legal size.

A 46-year-old man and two women, aged 35 and 43, will be charged with several offences and could be fined more than $20,000 each.

Abalone fishing has been banned from north of Moore River to the Northern Territory border after a heatwave in 2011 affected the abalone population.

Mr Kelly said the seizure was one of the biggest in the state.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

More doomsday sect arrests in China

CHINA has detained more than 100 further members of a Christian sect accused of predicting doomsday, taking the total held beyond 1,000 as officials denied cold weather was apocalypse-related.

More than 90 members of "Almighty God", a Christian sect which the government has accused of spreading rumours that three days of darkness would begin on Friday, were detained in the central province of Henan, the state-run China News reported.

State media also reported 17 were held in Beijing, in a wave of detentions that began last week.

The group told believers that a new era presided over by a "female Jesus" had arrived and that tsunamis and earthquakes would rock the world, the state-run Global Times daily said previously.

Temperatures are forecast to plunge in Beijing this weekend, but the National Weather Bureau dismissed rumours that cold weather was a herald of the apocalypse.

"When you get to this part of the winter it's the coldest time of the year," the state-run Guangming net quoted the bureau's head forecaster Zhang Fanghua as saying. "The weather becoming cold is not strange. There is no unusual situation."

Apocalypse predictions have been widely discussed in China, thanks in part to the success of the Hollywood film 2012, which has set box office records in the world's most populous country.

Chinese UFO enthusiasts will gather in the southern province of Hunan to perform a "Mayan ritual" to attract alien visitors today, the Global Times reported.

"If they come to China they will surely come to us," Zhang Jinping, one of the ritual performers, told the newspaper, which added he would burn crops and light a fire to attract any such creatures.

The Global Times added: "However the aliens look, they can't be stranger than some of us."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor walks away from surplus promise

THE federal government has conceded it's unlikely to deliver on its promised budget surplus this financial year, in the wake of a big drop in tax revenues.

Figures released on Thursday showed financial year-to-date company tax payments were much lower than expected, reflecting falling commodity prices and continued weakness in the global economy.

The Finance Department's monthly statement showed total cash receipts for 2012/13 so far totalled $111.6 billion at the end of October, down almost $4 billion on expectations.

"That's a really big hit to revenue, it's a huge whack to revenue," Treasurer Wayne Swan told reporters in Canberra.

The budget had been hit by a "sledgehammer", threatening Labor's promised $1.1 billion surplus, he said.

"Dramatically lower tax revenue now makes it unlikely that there will be a surplus in 2012/13," Mr Swan said.

Overall, the budget is so far running at a deficit of $12.3 billion, the new figures show. However, Mr Swan refused to speculate on how big it will ultimately be.

"It's too early," he said.

"We will make a thorough assessment in the new year, we'll methodically work through all the data as it emerges."

Mr Swan emphasised that the worsening in the government's budget bottom line was due to revenue falls rather than increased government spending.

He vowed to continue to exercise spending restraint, even in the face of more volatility and uncertainty in the global economy.

"I'm not loosening the purse strings," he said.

Mr Swan says about $160 billion has been ripped from the budget bottom line over the last five years, and much of that has been since 2010 when the government started talking about delivering a 2012/13 surplus.

"So through this whole period we have kept making responsible savings to fill what has been an emerging and growing revenue hole," he said.

"But things are a bit different now and that's the main point I want to make today.

"At this stage I don't think it would be responsible to cut harder or further in 2012/13 to fill a hole in the tax system if that puts jobs or growth at risk."

Mr Swan conceded the government was likely to take a big political hit over the broken promise but was unrepentant.

"If the worst thing people say is we got the economics right again but fell short on the politics, I would say, so be it," he said.

"At the end of the day I don't care about the political outcomes, I care about the economic outcomes."

Mr Swan said the resources industry was being hit by both lower prices for commodities and the high Australian dollar and the impact was "cascading throughout the economy".

The government now plans to reassess the state of the global economy in the new year "with a fresh set of eyes".

"There's a bit of a pathway through the global economy over the next couple of months," he added.

"It would be good to get some sight of that before we come back and have a much more informed and thorough analysis of the outlook."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Palmer denies knowledge of Ashby case

Billionaire Clive Palmer (pic) denied any prior knowledge of the court case against Peter Slipper. Source: AAP

MINING magnate and coalition donor Clive Palmer has denied any prior knowledge of a politically damaging court case brought against former federal speaker Peter Slipper.

But Mr Palmer does admit that two weeks before the sexual harassment claims were taken to the Federal Court in April he discussed Mal Brough's candidacy for Mr Slipper's Queensland seat of Fisher with the former Howard government minister and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey.

His comments came after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he had not read the judgment of the case, which says Mr Brough helped Slipper staffer James Ashby with his court action.

Federal Court judge Steven Rares last week found Mr Ashby acted "in combination" with another staffer, Karen Doane, and Mr Brough to willingly act against Mr Slipper and advance Mr Brough's political interests as well as those of the Queensland Liberal National Party.

Mr Palmer is mentioned in the judgment seven times, in relation to Ms Doane's request Mr Brough help her secure a job at the billionaire's Sunshine Coast resort after the dust settled on the court action.

Mr Palmer told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday he met with Mr Brough and Mr Hockey at his resort at Easter, two weeks before Mr Ashby lodged his court documents on April 21.

But he said he only learned of the claim through the subsequent media reports.

Mr Palmer said Mr Brough had called the meeting to discuss his potential Liberal candidacy for the federal seat of Fisher, which Mr Slipper holds.

"At no time did I encourage anybody to pursue Peter Slipper for anything," Mr Palmer said.

"I made it quite clear to all members of the LNP, as far as I was concerned, Peter Slipper was innocent of any crime and should not be pursued.

"I had confidence in him as a person.

"No person of any political party should use the legal system as a political tool."

Mr Abbott said he was confident Mr Brough had "acted rightly at all times".

Asked why he hadn't yet read the judgment, the opposition leader told reporters in London: "Because I am doing very important things for the people of Australia here in this country right now."

"I look forward to having Mal as a colleague of mine again," he said.

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said Mr Abbott's admission he hadn't read the court judgment was "staggering".

"I think I recall Mr Abbott even saying (Mr Brough's) done absolutely nothing wrong and there is no question here to be answered," Ms Roxon said.

"If you are going to make such sweeping comments it would be wise to read the decision of the Federal Court judge."

During his UK trip, Mr Abbott delivered a speech to his alma mater Oxford and met with a number of officials including British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and outgoing Governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King.

Labor ministers this week began campaigning in the seat of Fisher alongside candidate Bill Gissane.

But Mr Brough is still rated the best chance of winning the seat, which Mr Slipper holds with a margin of 4.1 per cent.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cairns croc management plan unveiled

SEPARATING rogue saltwater crocodiles from people is part of a snappy new croc management plan released in Cairns by the Queensland government.

The plan will take a three-tier approach similar to a plan used in the Northern Territory based on keeping crocodiles out of designated areas and removing dangerous animals.

Designed in consultation with the Cairns Regional Council, the plan is the result of calls from several local councils in Queensland's north aimed at making commonly used waterways more safe.

Under the plan's highest tier, crocodiles will be removed from designated areas and prevented from entering them.

A feasibility study will be carried out to determine if construction of barriers such as weirs, rock walls, gates and fences could be used to prevent crocodiles from entering "Zone 1" designated areas.

In the second tier, or Zone 2 areas, crocodiles that pose a threat to the community through either size or behaviour will be removed.

Zone 2 areas will include northern beaches, Lake Placid, a recreation spot on Freshwater Creek and several boat ramps around Cairns.

Zone 3 is a broad definition which will focus on the removal of any crocodiles in the region that display threatening behaviour.

The plan will be phased in over coming months as additional rangers are recruited and a training program is undertaken.

Separate crocodile management plans have also been developed for Hichinbrook, Cassowary Coast and Townsville's local government areas.

"The public should still be aware that northern and central Queensland is croc country, and there could be large and potentially dangerous saltwater crocodiles in any waterway or body of water," Environment Minister Andrew Powell said in a statement.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed govt cuts forcing bed closures: Vic

THOUSANDS of patients will suffer, with every Victorian hospital copping the brunt of "unprecedented" federal funding cuts, the state government says.

Up to 700 Royal Melbourne Hospital patients will be forced to wait longer for elective surgery, while Health Minister David Davis has written to the state's 86 health bosses urging them to plan for the commonwealth's mid-financial-year cuts.

Mr Davis says the commonwealth's revised funding arrangement with the state, which will strip some $107 million from the state's hospitals, is unprecedented and based on false population figures.

The arrangement will cut $15 million from Victorian hospitals in December alone, Reserve Bank of Australia figures show.

In a letter to federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek, Mr Davis says bringing the cuts in halfway through the financial year makes it difficult for hospitals - which planned their annual budgets in May - to adjust.

"These cuts are unprecedented ... this is no way for the commonwealth to run healthcare in this country," he told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"We're obviously very angry with the commonwealth, hospitals are angry ... and the commonwealth could still reverse this very unfortunate cut."

"It will be hundreds of beds and it will indeed be thousands of patients that are impacted."

Mr Davis said the government had attempted to justify the cuts on "shonky" population figures, which claim Victoria's population fell by 11,000 last year, while Australian Bureau of Statistics in fact shows the state swelled by 75,000 people.

"Never before has this style of adjustment been made so harshly, and never before has such a spurious set of figures been used to justify what in my view is an attempt to prop up the commonwealth budget," Mr Davis said.

But Ms Plibersek says the state is trying to cover its mismanagement.

"This is a smokescreen for the Victorian government's own failures," she said.

"Before any of this was in discussion, there were record high numbers of people on Victorian elective surgery waiting lists."

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

New species old threats to Mekong wildlife

FROM a devilish-looking bat to a frog that sings like a bird, scientists have identified 126 new species in the Greater Mekong area, the WWF says in a new report detailing discoveries in 2011.

But from forest loss to the construction of major hydropower projects on the Mekong River, existing threats to the region's biodiversity mean many of the new species are already struggling to survive, the conservation group warned on Tuesday.

"The good news is new discoveries. The bad news is that it is getting harder and harder in the world of conservation and environmental sustainability," Nick Cox, manager of WWF-Greater Mekong's Species Programme, told AFP.

Some 126 species were newly recorded last year in the Greater Mekong region, which consists of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

Some, such as the Beelzebub tube-nosed bat discovered in Vietnam, depend on tropical forests for survival and so are especially vulnerable to deforestation.

In just four decades, 30 percent of the Greater Mekong's forests have disappeared, the report says.

Others, such as a short-tailed python species found in Myanmar are more at risk from illegal hunting for meat, skins, and the exotic pet trade, the report said.

"Poaching for the illegal wildlife trade poses one of the greatest threats to the existence of many species across Southeast Asia," Cox said in a statement accompanying the report.

The list, dominated by plants, included 21 reptiles and five amphibians, such as a frog that sings and another that has black and white eye patterns that look like yin and yang symbols.

The WWF said that while the number of new species discovered was testament to the region's astounding biodiversity, there had been some "worrying developments" that posed a threat to their future.

WWF singled out Laos' determination to construct the Xayaburi dam on the main stream of the Mekong River as a significant threat to the river's "extraordinary biodiversity" and the livelihoods of more than 60 million people.

"The Mekong River supports levels of aquatic biodiversity second only to the Amazon River," according to Cox.

"The Xayaburi dam would prove an impassable barrier for many fish species, signalling the demise for wildlife already known and as yet undiscovered," he added.

The Mekong River supports around 850 fish species and the world's most intensive inland fishery, the report said.

Last month, Laos said it had begun work on the controversial multi-billion dollar Xayaburi dam, defying objections from environmentalists in its bid to become a regional energy hub.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kiwi runs out of optimistic puff

THE New Zealand dollar fell in local trading as investor optimism ran out of puff from the Federal Reserve's plan to print more money and the Bank of Japan looking likely to follow suit after the weekend's election.

The kiwi fell to 84.34 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 85.54 cents at 8am and 84.56 cents on Friday in New York.

The trade weighted index was little changed at 75.26 from 75.31 last week.

Investors' appetite for higher yields has dwindled at the start of this week, with stock markets flat across Asia as Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 per cent in afternoon trading and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.2 per cent.

New Zealand's currency rallied through the tail-end of last week after the Fed embarked on a fourth round of quantitative easing and the Liberal Democratic Party won a sweeping mandate in Japan on the promise of more market intervention.

Departing Bank of England governor "Mervyn King said 2013 could be the year of the currency wars - QE4 was probably enough to tip most of them over the edge", said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales NZ at ASB Institutional.

"The kiwi's going to struggle to get down as people are attracted by the higher yield."

The kiwi was little changed at 80.03 Australian cents from 80.04 cents last week.

But it rose as high as 71.33 yen after Japan's LDP and junior partner New Komeito won at least 320 of the 480 seats in the lower house in Sunday's election, a two-third majority.

The currency traded at 70.84 yen at 5pm in Wellington from 70.57 yen last week.

It fell to 64.13 euro cents from 64.24 cents on Friday in New York and 52.20 British pence from 52.31 pence.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA dock worker's wrist injured: company

THERE have been conflicting reports about the injury of a worker at a dock supplying Chevron's massive Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia over the weekend.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) claimed a man was being sent by air ambulance to Perth after he was seriously injured when his arm was crushed between the dock and a barge at the Mermaid Marine Supply base in Dampier.

But a Mermaid Marine spokesman said the worker sustained an injury to his wrist and received medical treatment at Nickol Bay Hospital in Karratha.

He is currently resting at home in Karratha, the spokesman said.

"The health and safety of our employees is paramount and all steps will be taken to ensure our employee makes a full and speedy recovery," the company said.

"The incident is currently under investigation."

12.21 | 1 komentar | Read More

NSW men charged over 290 cannabis plants

POLICE have charged three men after finding almost 300 cannabis plants in the tray of a ute west of Sydney.

Police allege the 290 plants were found during a vehicle search about 10.30pm (AEDT) on Friday at Marrangaroo near Lithgow.

The search began after the 46-year-old driver couldn't produce identification for police during a routine check.

The driver and his two male passengers, 41 and 47, were charged for knowingly taking part in the cultivation of prohibited plant and possessing a prohibited plant.

Bail was refused and the men are due to appear before Katoomba Local Court on Monday.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussies to spend $8.5 billion this Xmas

Australians are forecast to fork out $8.5 billion on presents this Christmas, a survey says. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIANS are expected to spend about $8.5 billion on Christmas presents this festive season, with almost a third admitting to feeling pressured to spend more than they can afford, a survey says.

A report from financial comparison company RateCity found each Australian adult planned to spend $511 on average during Christmas.

More than half - or 51 per cent of respondents - said they were going to pay for their gifts using credit cards, the report said.

RateCity spokeswoman Michelle Hutchison said those giving the plastic a workout ahead of the holiday period should be aware of the high interest rates on many credit cards.

"Australians need to be careful with using credit cards to pay for Christmas presents because if you're not prepared for how to pay back the debt, it could cost significantly more than planned," Ms Hutchison said in a statement.

"Christmas shopping can ruin your financial outcomes for the following year."

Of those using credit cards, 81 per cent of respondents said they would pay off the balance during the interest-free period.

At the other end of the scale, 11 per cent said they intended to make just the minimum repayment while six per cent said they "don't know how they will pay back their credit card debt".

Figures from RateCity showed it would take almost three years and cost about $129 in interest to pay back a credit card debt of $511 if someone made only the minimum repayment each month.

The survey found 31 per cent of people felt pressure to spend more money than they could afford on Christmas presents.

The response to this question was greatest among those aged 18-24, with 43 per cent in that age group admitting they felt they had to spend more money than they had.

The survey of 1000 Australian adults between November 28 and December 3 was conducted by Your Source on behalf of RateCity.

12.21 | 0 komentar | Read More