'Honeymoon killer' Watson set to return to US

Thu, 18 Nov 2010

Sydney - An American convicted of killing his wife during a honeymoon scuba-dive on the Great Barrier Reef was cleared Thursday for extradition to the United States.

The Australian government has received the required assurance that Gabe Watson would not face the death penalty if he goes on trial in the US for murdering Tina Watson 11 days after their wedding.

Watson was released this month into Immigration Department custody after controversially serving 18 months in a Brisbane prison for manslaughter.

"We are confident that they will neither seek, impose nor apply the death penalty to Mr Watson on his return to the United States," Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan said. "We are quite confident we can trust the US government on this matter."

The 34-year-old avoided a murder charge in Australia over the 2003 death of his 26-year-old bride by entering a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Chilling video footage inadvertently captured by a fellow diver showed Watson swimming away while she sank to the ocean floor.

It was alleged at his 2009 trial that Watson held his wife in a bear hug, turned off her air supply and turned the valve back on when she was dead or nearly dead.

There was outrage in both Australia and the US over the leniency of the sentence.

In Alabama, the Watsons' home state, Attorney General Troy King has vowed to put the bubble-wrap salesman on trial for murder on his return to the US.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/354084,watson-set-return-us.html.

Australian Government approved world's first floating LNG processing plant

Thu, 18 Nov 2010

The processing of traditional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is expensive and environmentally unfriendly; normally requiring extensive pipelines, infrastructure and dredging. Shell Oil has developed some innovative technology that could change how we process LNG in the future. Plans are underway to process LNG on a floating platform, which will likely be on the world's largest boat. The Australian Federal Government has just helped to make those plans a reality by granting Shell approval to implement their Prelude Project north of Broome on the North West coast of Western Australia.

The LNG industry is booming in Australia, with plans in pace to rival the world's largest producer of LNG, Qatar. Environment Minister Tony Burke has approved the Shell project with strict conditions which are focused on protecting the marine life. "This is a large-scale project that is using world-first technology. We can't risk getting it wrong, so I have set very strict conditions to help ensure our precious marine environment will be protected," he said.

However, the Greens Party are not convinced and are concerned there will be impacts on the marine environment as well as gas emissions that will increase global warming. The project has also sparked concerns with environmentalists as well as some of the local Aborigines who are opposed to the planned development.

The vessel will be moored to the sea bed and extract the gas, processing it on board. It will be cooled on the vessel so that it is ready for shipping. Then the platform can be towed to a new gas field and anchored temporarily in place.

Shell's Prelude project vice president, Bruce Steenson says, "that means not only can we develop these smaller fields but it's a lower overall environmental impact”. He continues, "it does mean that we can go to the more remote places to produce gas that we previously couldn't do”. The on board processing will mean that all offshore compression platforms, pipelines and the onshore infrastructure will be surplus to requirements.

Shell are still looking at design and engineering details for the new technology and plan to make a final decision in 2011. If they decide to go ahead the floating LNG processing plant will open for business in 2016.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/354087,australian-government-approved-worlds-first-floating-lng-processing-plant.html.

Shotgun-blasted koala makes miraculous recovery

Thu, 11 Nov 2010

Sydney - The shotgun-blasted baby koala that vets in Australia had given a slim chance of survival is likely to pull through.

"Frodo is now much brighter and alert and is moving around well in the intensive care unit," Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital veterinary surgeon Amber Gillett said in a statement Thursday.

"Frodo has made good improvements overnight and has started eating leaf on her own, which is a positive sign for her future."

Frodo was found last week at Jimna, near Brisbane, apparently blasted out of a tree with a shotgun. Next to the 16-month-old was her mother, dead from gunshot wounds.

Frodo took at least 15 pellets, which Gillett is removing in batches so as not to stress the 2-kilogram animal too much.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/353063,koala-makes-miraculous-recovery.html.

Sunny Future For Australia's Solar Industry

by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Nov 03, 2010

CSIRO has begun installing 450 large mirrors, called heliostats, for Australia's largest solar-thermal tower system at the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales.

The heliostats are part of an advanced new solar technology developed by CSIRO and manufactured by Central Coast company, Performance Engineering Group.

By developing such technology CSIRO aims to make solar generated electricity at the same cost or cheaper than fossil fuel generated electricity when the cost of carbon is taken into account.

Creating 2.4 x 1.8m panels of glass mirrors for a solar field is no easy feat. The glass needs to be a specific concave shape to achieve a highly accurate reflection point and strong enough to withstand extreme weather events.

Once installed, the heliostats will concentrate the sun's rays to create temperatures of up to 1000 degrees C.

The heliostats have a lightweight steel frame with a unique, simple design, specially created for mass production for the commercial market. The units are smaller than many heliostats currently being used around the world, but just as efficient, more cost effective and much easier to install.

CSIRO's Energy Transformed Flagship Director, Dr Alex Wonhas, says the economical design of the heliostats will also make solar fields more cost effective to build and operate.

"It's a local idea generated by CSIRO and manufactured by a local company, which will have global impact," Dr Wonhas said.

"We hope that one day we will see these economical heliostats used in solar fields all over Australia and the world."

Performance Engineering's Managing Director, Jon Priddle, says high quality heliostats will one day be mass-produced in Australia.

"We have a unique capability at Performance," Mr Priddle said. "We are using our expertise in automotive manufacturing - an industry geared for mass production - to create the most efficient manufacturing process.

"In addition, we are using a laser tracker developed for the aerospace industry to measure the accuracy of the heliostats. Accuracy and efficiency are the key outcomes for our production line."

The heliostat field is part of CSIRO's new solar Brayton Cycle project - a solar tower and field that generates electricity from just the air and sun.

Source: Solar Daily.
Link: http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Sunny_Future_For_Australia_Solar_Industry_999.html.

Western Australia To Host US Defense Space Base

by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (XNA) Nov 02, 2010

Western Australia will host a new multimillion-dollar U.S. defense base to spy on foreign satellites and keep watch on dangerous space junk, local media reported on Saturday.

Fairfax newspapers reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to announce the space base when he visits Australia next week with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As a major expansion of the U.S. military footprint in Australia, the paper said the base is likely to be built at the top secret Harold E Holt Naval communications station at Exmouth of Western Australia.

The facility will allow Australia to become a key partner in the international battle for space supremacy.

It will have major technology and intelligence spin-offs, putting Australia at the forefront of an emerging battle between nations staking claim for territory in space occupied by 600 billion dollars (588 billion U.S. dollars) of civil and military hardware, Fairfax wrote.

According to Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith, last year's Defense White Paper stated Australia's strategic capability advantage depended on its ability to access space and protect the nation from "foreign exploitation by space-based capabilities".

"The U.S. Space Surveillance Network is the principal system Australia and other nations rely on to detect, track and identify objects in space," Smith told Australia Associated Press on Friday.

"While no decisions have yet been made, Australia and the United States are discussing the potential for supporting the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and the development of Australia's space situational awareness."

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Western_Australia_To_Host_US_Defense_Space_Base_999.html.

Australia rushes to contain Barrier Reef oil spill

By ROB GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer

ROCKHAMPTON, Australia – Workers rushed to contain an oil spill Monday from a coal-carrying ship grounded on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, sending two tugboats to stabilize the vessel so that it would not break apart and further damage the fragile coral beneath.

Traveling at full speed of 10 mph (12 knots, 16 kph), the Chinese-registered Shen Neng 1 rammed into Douglas Shoals late Saturday, an area that has shipping restrictions in order to protect what is the world's largest coral reef and one that is listed as a World Heritage site because of its gleaming waters and environmental value as home to thousands of marine species.

About 2 tons (metric tons) of oil have already spilled from the 1,000 tons (950 metric tons) of fuel on board, creating a 100-yard (meter) slick that stretches 2 miles (3 kilometers), Marine Safety Queensland said in a statement.

Queensland State Premier Anna Bligh said a boom will be put around the ship by Tuesday to contain oil leaking from the hull. Aircraft sprayed chemical dispersants in an effort to break up the slick Sunday.

"Our No. 1 priority is keeping this oil off the Barrier Reef and keeping it contained," she told reporters in Brisbane.

Bligh said a salvage team had reached the ship Monday and were attempting to stabilize it.

"It's in such a delicate part of the reef and the ship is in such a badly damaged state, managing this process will require all the specialist expertise we can bring to bear," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. She said it could take weeks to dislodge the ship.

The ship's owner, Shenzhen Energy, a subsidiary of the Cosco Group that is China's largest shipping operator, could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars ($920,000) for straying from a shipping lane used by 6,000 cargo vessels each year, Bligh said.

"This is a very delicate part of one of the most precious marine environments on earth and there are safe authorized shipping channels — and that's where this ship should have been," Bligh said.

Authorities fear the ship will break apart during the salvage operation and wreck more coral, or spill more of its heavy fuel oil into the sun-soaked sea. However, Bligh said the risk of the ship breaking apart appeared to have lessened since the first of two tug boats arrived and reduced its movement.

Two tugs arrived Monday to stabilize the ship, Marine Safety Queensland said.

"One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage" to the coral and hull, according to the agency's general manager, Patrick Quirk. Initial damage reports showed flooding in the main engine room and damage to the main engine and the rudder.

A police boat was standing by to evacuate the 23 crew members if the ship breaks apart.

The bulk carrier was taking about 72,000 tons (65,000 metric tons) of coal to China from the Queensland port of Gladstone when it slammed into the shoals off Queensland's coast in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Numerous conservation groups have expressed outrage that bulk carriers can travel through the reef without a specialized marine pilot. Shipping lanes in Australian waters typically require a seasoned captain to go aboard an incoming ship to help navigate around hazards. Until now, the government has said there is no need for a marine pilots around the protected area because large ships are banned there.

Maritime law specialist Michael White of the University of Queensland said oil is the major environmental threat posed by the grounding. While coal could do "considerable localized damage," it would be quick to dissipate.

Marine geologist Greg Webb from the Queensland University of Technology said the effects of an oil and coal spill could have unknown consequences.

"In the past we always just thought a reef could put up with anything," he told ABC radio. "And I guess over the last decade or so, we're beginning to understand that maybe they can't."

Australia dreams up another tourism promotion stunt

Sydney - Entries were flowing in Saturday for the free long-distance taxi rides the state government in Western Australia is offering 22 winners in the nation's latest off-beat tourism promotion campaign. The western one-third of the continent, keen to match Queensland's successful "best job in the world" competition, is asking would-be travelers from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany to send in applications to be passengers on 11 lengthy rides from Perth, the state capital.

"Even though the campaign was only launched last month, it's already received global media coverage and significant interest from people around the world," state Tourism Minister Liz Constable said of the promotion, called The Extraordinary Taxi Ride.

Even the contest for the taxi driver had 460 entries, with the winner in line for a big tip at the end of a 6,500-kilometer drive around the state.

Competition winners would get to travel in the back of the taxi beginning next month.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313877,australia-dreams-up-another-tourism-promotion-stunt.html.

Sydney's miracle baby elephant doing well

Sydney - The baby elephant that fooled vets at Sydney's Taronga Zoo into thinking he had died in his mother's womb was showing all the vital signs of life Thursday. The 116-kilogram calf that science said could never be born alive was suckling from mother Porntip, putting on weight and standing on his own four legs.

"Despite no vital signs of life for several days, we now have obviously a healthy little calf on the ground," zoo director Cameron Kerr told reporters.

The textbooks said a live birth after a nine-day labor was impossible - especially since, with the fetus upside down, it would inevitably be a difficult breech birth.

"There is no record anywhere else in the world - of the 10,000 births, there is no recording - of a labor that has gone this long," Kerr said. "It's a bit unbelievable for everyone, to be honest."

Vets explained the inexplicable by saying the calf had lapsed into a coma during labor, so there was no heartbeat, no movement in the womb and no evidence of life.

"This little calf has been through an incredibly tough time," Kerr said.

It is Taronga's second birth in a captive breeding program that began four years ago when Asian elephants were brought in from Thailand.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313510,sydneys-miracle-baby-elephant-doing-well.html.

Aussie police head to Israel

SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA said on Tuesday it will send police to Israel to investigate how Australian passports were used in an elaborate assassination plot in which a senior Hamas figure was killed in Dubai.

A team from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Passport Office would travel to Israel to conduct inquiries into passport offenses following the murder of Mahmud al-Mabhuh.

'(We) don't wish to prejudice the investigation by going into any more detail,' a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

'Australia expects the Israeli government, its officials and its agencies, to cooperate fully with the Australian investigation.' Mabhuh, a founder of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on Jan 20. Police say he had been drugged then suffocated.

The Australian newspaper said police will interview three Australians living in Israel - Nicole McCabe, Adam Korman and Joshua Bruce - whose passports were among the 27 foreign travel documents used by the assassins.

Australia's spy agency ASIO is also involved in the investigation, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She did not say whether ASIO officers were traveling to Israel. -- AFP

Source: The Straits Times.
Link: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_496789.html.

Australia to deport heart surgeon's killer to Malaysia

Sydney - One of two men jailed in the killing of renowned Australian heart surgeon Victor Chang after a bungled 1991 extortion attempt is to be deported to Malaysia, court officers said Monday. Phillip Choon Tee Lim, 50, had served the minimum 18 years of his 24-year jail sentence, and the New South Wales Parole Authority had decided to release the Malaysian national in November until a state government challenge and public anger delayed the decision.

The Supreme Court now has agreed to release Lim for deportation.

China-born Chang, 54, who was shot dead on a Sydney street, performed 260 heart transplants and was head of heart surgery at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital.

The other man convicted of his murder was Australian national Liew Chew Seng.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311842,australia-to-deport-heart-surgeons-killer-to-malaysia.html.

Dubai hit squad underestimated police: expert

Ashley Hall, ABC

A former top level US intelligence official says the assassination in Dubai of a Hamas operative has all the hallmarks of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad.

He believes the Israeli operatives badly bungled the job because they underestimated the competency of the Dubai police.

Three Australians with dual citizenship have been named as suspects in the investigation because copies of their passports have been linked to the killing. All say they were victims of identity theft.

The Israeli Government says there is absolutely no evidence that it sanctioned the use of Australian passports by the alleged assassins.

And Israel insists that no other government has accused it of involvement in last month's assassination of the Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

But there has been no shortage of independent commentators ready to make that link.

Retired army colonel Patrick Lang spent eight years as the head of intelligence for the Middle East and South Asia for the US Defence Department, and for that time was the chief liaison with Israeli military intelligence.

And Mr Lang says the use of fake documents is standard practice for intelligence operatives.

"I certainly think it was the Mossad. Israelis, in particular this Israeli government, are obsessed with Hamas and its leadership," he said.

"They think that if they can kill off enough Hamas leadership then they will be able to make some sort of peace ... with the PLO leaders who are now the provisional government of Palestine, really."

Bungled job

Mr Lang believes the intelligence operatives badly bungled the assassination.

"I think this is a case in which a project often-time will be over-thought and over-engineered," he said.

"The more people look at it and the more they throw resources at a job they want to do, the team gets bigger and bigger and bigger and the thing gets more and more complicated.

"The more complicated it is, the more likely it is to fail or get terribly messed up in some way, as this did."

The Israeli government says there is no evidence linking Israel to the crime but Mr Lang says denial is standard practice.

"Any intelligence service that is anyway worthy of its name, when faced with a mess like this, looks you squarely in the eye and says, 'not us'," he said.

"It smiles and invites you to lunch next week and walks away. That's what they do. So what they say has nothing to do with anything."

Fake passports

Since the killing, Dubai police have released information suggesting the assassins were travelling on fraudulent passports from countries including Britain, France, Ireland, Germany and Australia.

That accusation provoked a strong response from Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who yesterday summoned Israel's ambassador, Yuval Rotem, to a meeting to discuss the affair.

Mr Smith told Mr Rotem that if Australian passports were misused by Israel, this would not be regarded as "the act of a friend".

A former Mossad officer has alleged the Israeli spy agency has its own "passport factory" to create or doctor passports for use in intelligence operations.

And Mr Lang says using forged travel documents is usual procedure for intelligence agencies.

"Any intelligence service in the world which wishes to operate on a global basis is going to have the ability to reproduce travel documents," he said.

"You should accept the idea that it is something which is going to happen."

But he says any country forging passports would be careful about which nationalities it fakes.

"I haven't heard of them using any American passports in this operation so far. It would be interesting to see if in fact any turn up. I bet there won't be any," he said.

'No evidence'

But the president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Robert Goot, says Mr Lang's analysis holds no water and there is "no evidence" the hit was a Mossad operation.

"An investigation, quite properly, has been announced by the Foreign Minister, to be conducted by the Australian Federal Police and ASIO," he said.

"And once there are some hard facts and evidence established by that investigation, then that would be the time to comment.

"I'm sure that the [Australian Jewish] community shares the Australian Government's deep concern at the possible abuse of Australian passports by any country."

Mr Smith's office says the investigation will be contingent on the Dubai police investigation into the assassination itself.

And that investigation is likely to take weeks rather than days.

Australia warns Israel over 'fraud'

Australia has delivered a stark diplomatic warning to Israel, demanding its full cooperation with an investigation into the reported use of three Australian passports by the alleged assassins involved in last month's killing of a top Hamas commander in Dubai.

Speaking on Thursday after summoning the Israeli ambassador, Australia's foreign minister said he had warned Israel that if it was involved in the passport abuse, it would not be seen as a friendly act.

"We have made no conclusion about what to us, from our preliminary investigation, seems to be a serious abuse of three Australian passports either through forgery or identity fraud," he said.

"But I made it crystal clear to the ambassador that if the results of that investigation cause us to come to the conclusion that the abuse of Australian passports was in any way sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials, then Australia would not regard that as the act of a friend."

On Wednesday Dubai police revealed that a woman and two men, holding apparently fake Australian passports, were among 15 new suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Smith said initial investigations conducted following the Dubai police announcement showed the Australian passports were probably "duplicated or altered".

Full cooperation

He said Australia expected Israel to "co-operate fully and transparently" with its own investigation into the incident.

Smith added that Australian officials had contacted reached the three passport-holders – Bruce Joshua Daniel, Nicole Sandra McCabe and Adam Korman - who all live in Israel.

"At this stage Australian officials have no information to suggest the three Australian passport-holders were involved in any way other than as victims of passport or identity fraud," he told parliament.

Australia's ambassador in Tel Aviv was also reportedly seeking a meeting with Israeli officials.

Dubai police strongly suspect Mossad, the Israeli spy agency, of carrying out the assassination in a luxury Dubai hotel where Mabhouh was found dead in his room on January 20.

"The new list of suspects includes people who offered prior logistical support and preparations to facilitate the crime, and others who played a central role," the emirate's police force said in a statement.

Forged passports

Investigators in the United Arab Emirates earlier said they had 12 British, six Irish, three French, three Australian and one German passports allegedly connected to the hit.

The latest suspects raise the total number believed involved in the murder to 26.

For its part Israel has maintained there is no evidence of its involvement and has described calls from the Dubai police for the arrest of Mossad chief Meir Dagan as "baseless" and "absurd".

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, has reported that Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, authorised the mission and met members of the hit squad shortly before their departure.

Commenting on the new Australian links to the killing, Kevin Rudd, the Australian prime minister, said his country would "not be silent on the matter".

"If Australian passports are being used or forged by any state, let alone for the purpose of assassination, this is of the deepest concern and we are getting to the bottom of this now," he told public broadcaster ABC.

"We will not leave a single stone unturned."

'Deepest concern'

Rudd said Australian officials had worked through the night after Dubai police named the new suspects.

Rudd said he had discussed the latest development "at length" with Smith, describing it as "a matter of the deepest concern to Australia".

The European Union has also voiced outrage over the use of fake passports after an earlier list of 11 people, including a woman, was released.

Israeli ambassadors in four European countries have been summoned for talks.

Israeli media reported that Australian-born Adam Korman, 34, who works in Tel Aviv, had already voiced "shock" at the news after being named as one of the passport-holders involved.

"I am shocked, it's identity theft - simply unbelievable," Korman told the Ynetnews.com website.

"I have been frightened and shocked since receiving the news," he added.

"It's irresponsible and a violation of human and individual rights to do such a thing."

Source: Al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/02/20102254852185828.html.

Australia threatens to sue Japan over whaling

Japan has described Australia's threat of taking a legal action against its whaling program as 'unfortunate.'

Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said that Tokyo will prove its activities are legal and according to regulations set forth by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Though Japan abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 after agreeing to a global moratorium, international rules, however, allowed it to continue whaling under the protection of a research program.

After a two- day negotiation with Australia, Japan's foreign minister asserted, "It's very unfortunate the Australian side has indicated it will take action in an international court."

"Should action become a reality,” he added, “Japan will seek to represent its case with the IWC that its activities are legal."

On Friday, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave Japan only until November to stop whale hunting. Australia has consistently expressed its opposition to Japan's extensive whale-hunting over the years.

Conservationists have said that whaling is a cover for the sale and consumption of whale meat.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119157§ionid=351020406.

Israel arrests Australian woman in West Bank

Mon, 08 Feb 2010

An Australian woman, who was arrested in the West Bank, is being held in an Israeli jail, says her attorney.

Twenty-two-year-old Bridgette Chappell's Israeli lawyer Omer Shatz told ABC on Monday that she was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on her home.

Shatz says Chappell's detention is part of a campaign by the Israeli regime to silence pro-Palestinian foreigners.

Chappell was active in the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) a pro-Palestinian organization committed to resisting Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

She was sharing an ISM apartment with two other activists, a Spanish woman and an American man, Ryan Olander. According to Shatz, about 12 soldiers broke down the door in the dead of night and burst in with M16 rifles.

The lawyer went on to say that Israel usually deports detained foreign activists within 24 hours by intimidating them into signing a paper stating that they are willing to leave immediately. Otherwise, they will face months of jail time. In order to avoid incarceration, most of the detainees sign the paper.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118171§ionid=351020202.

Australians prefer foreign-made cars

Sun, 07 Feb 2010

Sydney - Imports from Japan, South Korea and now Thailand have overtaken sales of Australian-made cars, figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries released Sunday showed. The three local carmakers - Toyota Motor Corp, GM Holden Ltd and the Ford Motor Co - have seen their share of the local market fall over the last 10 years from 44 per cent to below 20 per cent.

Figures for January show local offerings making just 9,741 sales against 26,311 for Japanese imports, 13,130 for South Korean imports and 10,777 for Thai imports.

Products from Germany took fifth place, with 6,066 vehicles sold - a 78-per-cent increase on the figure for January 2009. The hike was down to the popularity of the Golf, which last month was named Car of the Year.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/307905,australians-prefer-foreign-made-cars.html.

New probe on Hezbollah TV

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

BARNEY ZWARTZ
February 5, 2010

HEZBOLLAH'S TV station is to be investigated again to see whether it breaks Australian rules on supporting terrorism, racial vilification and hate speech.

The Lebanese station al-Manar - popular with the Arabic community, which receives it by satellite - has twice been banned in Australia but was cleared last July.

Yesterday the Australian Communications and Media Authority announced it was opening a new and much broader investigation, including specific complaints about content, and would also consider whether it should tighten the anti-terrorism standards.

ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said there had been significant community concern about al-Manar broadcasts and about last year's review. After it, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy forwarded more material and asked ACMA to keep the station under review.

''We have broadened the investigation from anti-terrorism standards to include racial vilification and hate speech, and we have considerable material to work through,'' Mr Chapman said.

ACMA last investigated al-Manar in 2008 after The Age alerted it that the station was being broadcast from Indonesia by a company part-owned by the Indonesian government.

The authority monitored transmissions from August 28 to September 5, 2008. While it found references to a designated terrorist organization, it did not find attempts to recruit people or solicit funds, which is illegal.

Yesterday Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council director Colin Rubenstein welcomed the new investigation, especially its wider brief and the review of the regulations.

''Al-Manar is well-known for its anti-Semitic content, including the mediaeval blood libel accusing Jews of murdering non-Jews to use their blood for religious purposes,'' Dr Rubenstein said.

He gave examples of material AIJAC had complained about.

ACMA is inviting the public to submit concerns by March 5.

Source: The Age.
Link: http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-probe-on-hezbollah-tv-20100204-ng6x.html.

Australians keen to send camels to Saudi Arabia

(MENAFN - Arab News) Australians have welcomed the proposal to send their wild camels to Saudi camel-lovers instead of shooting them. At the same time, they warned that the process of transferring the animals would be expensive.

Some Saudis have initiated an Internet campaign calling for the transportation of Australian camels to the Kingdom. The initiative followed an announcement by the Australian government that it would use helicopters and marksmen to corral and kill 6,000 feral camels in a small northern town.

"The cull is unfortunate. We're happy to put Saudis in touch with camel exporting companies in Australia. However, it's very expensive to bring them to Saudi Arabia," said Michael Kavanagh, counselor and senior trade commissioner of the Australian Embassy in the Kingdom.

In order to transport the camels, there are logistical problems to be considered such as the lack of roads, the vast desert distances and the large size and number of the animals. Kavanagh said his office in Australia was producing some figures on how much it would cost to transport the camels to Saudi Arabia.

"Australians don't want to see camels die. We're willing to look at available options," he added.

In August 2009, the Guardian website polled readers about the camel cull and whether it was really necessary. This was done after animal welfare groups had criticized the idea; 51.3 percent of the people supported the cull saying it was the only effective solution while 48.7 percent said that there were better ways of managing the population.

According to the website, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Animals Australia said the cull would cause "terrible suffering" to the animals.

The problem began when camels caused chaos more than five months ago in the Northern Territory town of Docker River, smashing water tanks, destroying fences, coming up to houses and antagonizing people. Online readers and poll participants also proposed solutions on how to make use of the camels instead of killing them and some have welcomed the Saudi initiative to provide a home for the wild animals.

"Australian feral camels eat 80 percent of plant species in Australia - including many wild plants that Aborigines traditionally harvest for food. In times of drought when they are thirsty, they also destroy well taps, pumps, and toilets," commented Peter, one of the poll's participants. His idea of solving the problem was to sell the camel meat to Malaysia, "where camel is a delicacy."

Robin Thomas, another commentator, was thankful that there were plans to save the animals from being culled by snipers on the ground and in the air.

"Madness! Why kill thousands of camels when there are those who would take them for sale, milk, and food or because they simply love them? I hope they are saved," said Thomas.

James Frederick also shared his comments despite saying that camels and kangaroos were becoming the scourge of Australia. "I know because I have seen them first hand. There are hundreds of poor countries where people are starving for lack of food and protein. It's better to ship the surplus animals to those countries," said Frederick.

By Hassna'a Mokhtar

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093299577&src=NLEN.

Australia's ties with India strained by another attack - Summary

Sydney - A man of Indian descent was doused in petrol and set alight in a Melbourne street Saturday in what is likely to be seen in the subcontinent as another crime motivated by racial hatred. The 29-year-old, whose citizenship at this point is unknown, is in a serious condition after receiving burns to 15 per cent of his body.

Melbourne police are looking for four men who allegedly poured petrol on the man, set him on fire with a cigarette lighter and ran away. They said they were unsure of the motives or the circumstances of the early-morning attack.

It comes a week to the day after Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old accounting graduate, was stabbed to death while walking to work at a Melbourne fast-food restaurant.

Police investigating the killing said last week they had no reason to classify it as a hate crime despite the victim being found with his mobile phone and wallet.

The refusal of police to immediately admit that racism was a likely factor was condemned in Indian newspapers, one of which published a cartoon depicting a police investigator in the hooded white costume of the Ku Klux Klan.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the cartoon was "deeply, deeply offensive" and again promised to combat the street crime that disproportionately affects the 90,000 Indian students who are studying in Australia.

India's External Affairs Ministry said in a statement Saturday that it had received information about the "unfortunate incident" in which 29-year-old Jaspreet Singh received burn injuries.

The statement said the Indian high commissioner in Canberra and the consul-general in Melbourne were following up the matter with Australian authorities.

The ministry also advised the media to exercise restraint in reporting on what it termed "these sensitive issues" as it could aggravate the situation and have a bearing on India's bilateral relations with Australia.

Indian students in Australia pay for their education - which most hope will qualify them for permanent residency visas - by working part time in convenience stores, petrol stations and fast-food restaurants.

They work overnight shifts and use public transport, which puts them in proximity to drunken youths also out on the street at that time.

Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had described Garg's killing as a "heinous crime on humanity," warning that it would harm Australia's reputation as a safe place to study.

"It certainly will have some bearing on the bilateral ties between our two countries," Krishna said.

Figures for the four months to October 2009 show successful applications for student visas down by almost a quarter and those from India down by almost a half on the equivalent period in 2008.

The global financial crisis and a recent government crackdown on colleges that have turned themselves into visa factories were given as reasons for the fall. But, especially in the case of India, the belief that Australia is not a safe place for foreign youngsters is also behind the drop off in demand for places in colleges and universities.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302816,australias-ties-with-india-strained-by-another-attack--summary.html.

India condemns killing of student in Australia

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

New Delhi - The government of India has condemned the killing of an Indian student in Melbourne on Sunday and asked Australian authorities to take action against the perpetrators of the attack. Nitin Garg, 21, was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants at a park in the city in south-eastern Australia. He is the first victim to succumb to injuries amid a string of racist attacks on India students and immigrants in Australia, the PTI news agency reported.

Garg who was beaten by a group of men on a previous occasion had migrated from northern India and had permanent residency in Australia.

"The Minister of External Affairs (SM Krishna) strongly condemned the brutal attack on Mr Garg and called on Australian authorities to speedily bring to book person/s responsible for the crime," a statement issued by India's Foreign Office said.

Krishna directed the Indian embassy in Australia to coordinate with Australian authorities and extend assistance to Garg's family as well as the Indian community in the city, the statement added.

According to the PTI news agency, nearly 100 cases of attacks on Indians were reported in Australia in 2009 against 17 similar assaults in 2008.

On a visit to India in November, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his government was committed to taking all possible measures to ensure safety of Indians, seeking to allay Delhi's concerns over the attacks.

Several Australian ministers have visited India in recent months as the issue threatens both the billion-dollar education industry and bilateral ties. An estimated 90,000 Indians study in Australia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301891,india-condemns-killing-of-student-in-australia.html.

Australians pay tribute to Indonesia's Abdurrahman Wahid

Sydney - Australians on Thursday paid tribute to former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, the neighboring country's first democratically elected leader. Wahid died of multiple illnesses Wednesday in Jakarta at the age of 69.

A Muslim scholar and secular democrat, he came to the presidency after the downfall of Suharto in May 1998, followed by the first free and democratic elections in 1999.

He emerged as a compromise presidential candidate, ousting Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose party had won the largest bloc of seats in the legislature but had many enemies in the former ruling party.

Wahid was ousted in 2001 over perceived incompetence and an unproven corruption allegation.

"Former president Wahid was much admired and respected not only within Indonesia, but also by many Australians and others throughout our region," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement.

"Mr Wahid was responsible for a number of important reforms which assisted his country's path towards becoming a modern democracy. Mr Wahid was also highly influential as a moderate Islamic leader in Indonesia and a strong advocate of ethnic and religious tolerance."

He visited Australia in 2001, the first Indonesian president to do so since a fleeting visit by Suharto in 1975.

Australian academic Greg Barton, Wahid's biographer and friend, said the legacy of the former leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization was raising expectations in what democracy should deliver and the sort of nation Indonesia should become.

"He did this with a reckless disregard of his lack of political capital," Barton said. "So, in a way, he achieved what he did precisely because he wasn't a politician."

Barton said both Wahid and his predecessor, B J Habibie, were non-politicians who prepared the way for the current president, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono.

"Both of them were keen to push the reforms when they didn't really have the political base to do so," Barton said. "And I think one of the reasons for Indonesia's successful transition to a democracy is you had these two transitional figures quite unexpected coming in and saying 'No, we are not going to settle for some kind of compromise regime, we want to go for a full democracy.'"

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301591,australians-pay-tribute-to-indonesias-abdurrahman-wahid.html.