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• Cyclone Ita will continue to menace Queensland for another day
• Ukraine forces launch counter-attack to end occupation in eastern city
• MH370: Australian team halves smaller search zone in hunt for black box
• Asylum-seekers: thousands rally in protest against government's policies
• Denis Napthine announces rail link between Melbourne airport and city
• Joe Hockey lambasts lack of action by G20 on growth targets
• Barnaby Joyce will oppose asset sales to foreign government-owned companies
• Ali McGregor's Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night review stand-up, pop, magic
• Mother of toddler Jaidyn Leskei appeals to man acquitted of his murder
• Joe Hockey hints at raising pension age to 70 and changes to asset rules
• Armed pro-Russian protesters seize city in eastern Ukraine
• Greens need internal reform to win more federal seats, says Christine Milne
• East Ukraine protesters joined by miners on the barricades
• No damage reported from magnitude 7.6 quake off Solomon Islands
• UK urged to admit that CIA used island as secret 'black site' prison
• Berlin gripped by property boom as Germans turn their backs on renting
• Egyptian police 'using rape as a weapon' against dissident groups
• Berlusconi ally Marcello Dell'Utri caught in Lebanon after fleeing Italy
• UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster
• Barry Roux and Gerrie Nel are the real stars of the Oscar Pistorius trial
• Iran overturns death sentence of former US marine Amir Hekmati
• Boston Marathon photo shoot attracts thousands to finishing line
• Rand Paul and Ted Cruz join Republican hopefuls in New Hampshire
• Oklahoma says it has obtained secret supply of execution drugs
• The first 100 days: running the rule over five big-city mayors

Cyclone Ita will continue to menace Queensland for another day Posted: 13 Apr 2014 01:02 AM PDT Sugar plantations razed, banana crops destroyed, power and communications out and water shortages Cyclone Ita will menace the Queensland coast for at least another day. It is expected to remain a category one cyclone until late on Monday as it weaves on and off the coast. Since pummelling into land north of Cooktown as a category four storm on Friday night, Ita has travelled about 1000 kilometres. It has also destroyed sugar plantations and banana crops along the way. Power and communication blackouts and water shortages have also been left in its wake. The Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, predicted it would take about eight to 12 weeks to "really crack the back of the recovery task". "It's good that there is no loss of life but I can't stress enough [that] people have got to sit tight," he said during a tour of Cooktown and Hope Vale, where banana plantations were ruined, on Sunday. The water supply in Cooktown was critically low and would run out by Sunday evening if locals ignored strict restrictions. Police were patrolling the isolated town and anyone caught using a hose would be fined. "We're hoping once we get the power to the treatment plant we'll be able to resupply water by [Sunday night] if everything goes well," said the Cook Shire Council chief executive, Stephen Wilson. The local bottle shop and pubs finally opened on Sunday afternoon and sales were rivalling Christmas trading. Proserpine was the next regional town in Ita's path and at midnight it was due to hit Mackay. Gusts up to 110km/h, abnormally high tides and large waves were expected, the Bureau of Meteorology warned. Possibly the biggest worry was torrential rain and flash flooding, with isolated falls up to 400mm possible. But once the cyclone passed each community, the rain tended to clear quickly. "There's not much on the north of the cyclone," senior forecaster Pradeep Singh said. "The rain should ease as the system moves away off the coast late on Tuesday, and we'll be left with coastal showers." Earlier on Sunday, Ita struck Ingham, south of Townsville, flattening its vast sugar cane fields. Mayor Rodger Bow warned locals there was sewage in the water and people risked infection and disease if they ventured out into the streets. "We had severe rain, about 300mm, and I don't know what kilometre an hour winds, but we have trees blown down," Bow said. "We've got sunshine now." He said he had received reports sugar cane crops had been flattened by Ita as the storm passed through overnight. "I've only been for a short drive, but from what I've seen the sugar cane is lying flat on the ground. I have had reports it's right over the district." Ingham, about 235km south of Cairns, has been a major service centre for sugar cane plantations since 1870. Bow said there had been no reports of housing damage, but floods had cut off roads to the north and south of the town. "The river has just about peaked and we're going to wait for it to run out," he said, adding he hoped the river would recede by Sunday afternoon. In nearby Townsville, mayor Jenny Hill said there had been two swift water rescues in the city and about 7000 homes were without power. The winds had felled some trees, but there was no significant damage to property. Continue reading...

Ukraine forces launch counter-attack to end occupation in eastern city Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:22 AM PDT Residents in Slaviansk told to stay indoors and keep away from windows as government announces 'anti-terrorist' operation Ukrainian security forces have launched an "anti-terrorist" operation to end the grip of separatists on an eastern town, the country's interior minister said on Sunday. As the White House said that vice-president Joe Biden would travel to Kiev on April 22 to show support for the Ukrainian government, residents in the eastern city of Slaviansk have been told to stay indoors in anticipation of clashes between pro-Russian militants who have seized official buildings and Ukrainian security forces. Continue reading...

MH370: Australian team halves smaller search zone in hunt for black box Posted: 12 Apr 2014 11:46 PM PDT Area using sonobuoys has been reduced to 340 sq km as officials hold out hope for more signals Australian search officials have halved the smaller part of the search zone for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight dedicated to sonobuoy detections in what may be the last days that black box signals can be detected. The search zone for the missing plane, which is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean claiming the lives of all passengers on board, now totals approximately 57,506 sq km. But a smaller search area using sonobuoys to detect signals from the black boxes of the plane has halved in the last 48 from 600 sq km to just 340 sq km on Sunday. Continue reading...

Asylum-seekers: thousands rally in protest against government's policies Posted: 12 Apr 2014 11:31 PM PDT Greens' Sarah Hanson-Young says Cambodian proposition is aimed at shipping human suffering around our region Thousands of people rallied around the country on Palm Sunday to protest against the federal governments asylum-seeker policies. Marches were planned for Adelaide, Armidale, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Continue reading...

Denis Napthine announces rail link between Melbourne airport and city Posted: 12 Apr 2014 11:08 PM PDT Details of the much-needed, 25-minute train service will be revealed in the state budget, 40 years after it was first proposed. A rail link to Melbourne airport will become a reality under a Victorian coalition government. During his address to the Victorian Liberal party's council meeting on Sunday, premier Denis Napthine said it was time the rail link was built. Continue reading...

Joe Hockey lambasts lack of action by G20 on growth targets Posted: 12 Apr 2014 10:51 PM PDT Proposals on how to meet 2% target are "unacceptable" and more work is needed ahead of Brisbane summit in November Slow progress towards meeting economic growth targets set by the Group of 20 bloc of advanced and developing nations this year is unacceptable, the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, said on Sunday. G20 finance ministers had pledged to have real and effective plans to lift the global economy by a further 2% before they meet in Brisbane in November, but were only a tenth of the way there, he said. Continue reading...

Barnaby Joyce will oppose asset sales to foreign government-owned companies Posted: 12 Apr 2014 10:34 PM PDT Tony Abbott floats raising the cap on Chinese investment, but agriculture minister says Australians have concerns Australians are naturally concerned about foreign government-owned companies buying local assets, agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce says. The National MP says he will make a case to block any sales that aren't in the national interest. Continue reading...

Ali McGregor's Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night review stand-up, pop, magic Posted: 12 Apr 2014 09:17 PM PDT The talented opera singer-cum-chanteuse has put together an eclectic, warm and entertaining show This isnt like one of those other variety shows, where theres some faceless producer in the background, picking the acts, says Ali McGregor at the start of her show. These are all favourites of mine. McGregor, an opera singer by training, has picked exceptionally well for the variety shows return to the snug confines of the Spiegeltent, as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Continue reading...

Mother of toddler Jaidyn Leskei appeals to man acquitted of his murder Posted: 12 Apr 2014 07:34 PM PDT Bilynda Williams writes to former boyfriend Greg Domaszewicz, urging him to tell her what he knows The mother of murdered toddler Jaidyn Leskie has appealed to the man acquitted of his murder to tell her what he might know about her boy's death. Bilynda Williams has written to Greg Domaszewicz, urging him to come forward. Continue reading...

Joe Hockey hints at raising pension age to 70 and changes to asset rules Posted: 12 Apr 2014 07:22 PM PDT Treasurer says 'mature debate' needed on pensions, while defending Tony Abbott's paid parental leave scheme Joe Hockey has called for a mature debate on raising the retirement age to 70 and for a discussion about aged-pension asset rules while defending the paid parental leave scheme promised by the prime minister, Tony Abbott. The Treasurer, who is 48, speculated that his generation might have to work until 70 to achieve a particular quality of life and to maintain a sustainable welfare system. Continue reading...

Armed pro-Russian protesters seize city in eastern Ukraine Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:12 PM PDT US announces Joe Biden will visit Kiev as unrest spreads, adding to fears that conflict could disrupt energy supplies across Europe Armed separatists took control of a city in eastern Ukraine on Saturday and Kiev prepared troops to tackle what it called an "act of aggression by Russia", pushing the conflict between the neighbours into a dangerous new phase. Pro-Russian activists carrying automatic weapons seized government buildings in Slavyansk, a town about 90 miles from the Russian border, and set up barricades on the outskirts of the city. Continue reading...

Greens need internal reform to win more federal seats, says Christine Milne Posted: 12 Apr 2014 05:40 PM PDT Leader says party can only capitalise on strong showing in WA by enabling members to have more say in policy making Christine Milne has called for a complete overhaul of the Greens' constitution to focus on winning more federal seats. Milne described the Greens' constitution as outdated at the partys national council and said it should be changed to harness non-member supporters, which formed an important part of the recent WA election result. Continue reading...

East Ukraine protesters joined by miners on the barricades Posted: 12 Apr 2014 04:59 PM PDT Coalmining is a major industry in the Donetsk region, which has close ties to Russia Word spread quickly through the few hundred pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine: "The miners are coming!" The crowd parted as a group of a dozen or so burly men in orange work helmets marched past barbed-wire and tyre barricades into the 11-storey administration building, which protesters seized last weekend as they demanded greater independence from Kiev. Continue reading...

No damage reported from magnitude 7.6 quake off Solomon Islands Posted: 12 Apr 2014 04:11 PM PDT Tsunami warnings cancelled for Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands on Sunday morning, triggering a tsunami warning that was later cancelled, according to US government agencies, and there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake was centred 60 miles south of Kira Kira on the island of Makira at a depth of 18 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. Continue reading...

UK urged to admit that CIA used island as secret 'black site' prison Posted: 12 Apr 2014 04:06 PM PDT Human rights group representing Gaddafi opponent rendered to Libya via Diego Garcia says Britain must 'come clean' over role The government is under mounting pressure to "come clean" about the role of an overseas UK territory leased to the US and allegedly used as a secret "black site" detention centre. An opponent of Colonel Gaddafi who was rendered in a joint MI6-CIA operation, and a leading human rights group representing him, have demanded that the foreign secretary, William Hague, clarify the UK's position on Diego Garcia, an atoll in the Indian Ocean leased to the US until 2016. The Senate's intelligence security committee is preparing to declassify a file that reportedly confirms that the CIA detained "high-value suspects on Diego Garcia" and that "the black site arrangement on the atoll was made with the 'full cooperation' of the British government". Continue reading...

Berlin gripped by property boom as Germans turn their backs on renting Posted: 12 Apr 2014 04:05 PM PDT Citizens fear rocketing house values, fuelled by investors, will end age-old German tradition of long-term home rental A few yards from the Berliner Ensemble theatre, which he helped to found in 1949, Bertolt Brecht sits on a chair, gazing with a wry smile over the river Spree. It's a shame that the bronze statue can't move, because it would be interesting to see what the Marxist playwright would have made of the building site behind his back. On the northern side of Brecht's square, workers are putting the finishing touches to the most extravagant building project in the German capital: a nine-floor residential block in Mitte district conceived by the British property developer John Hitchcox and French designer Philippe Starck, with wide balconies, a red-leather-clad lobby and a spa area decorated with glass chandeliers. A concierge will do "anything from booking their flights to putting cartons of milk in their fridges", as the sales manager Alexander von Albert sells it. Continue reading...

Egyptian police 'using rape as a weapon' against dissident groups Posted: 12 Apr 2014 03:54 PM PDT Claim comes amid widespread anger at crackdown that has seen 16,000 arrested Two male political dissidents claim they were raped in Egyptian police custody in separate assaults that campaigners suspect are indicative of a wider strategy as the brutal crackdown on opposition continues. Plainclothes officers allegedly assaulted Omar el-Shouekh, 19, inside an east Cairo police station on 24 March, minutes after he was arrested following a student protest. In written testimony provided to the Observer by his lawyer, Shouekh also alleged that he was beaten and given electric shocks. Continue reading...

Berlusconi ally Marcello Dell'Utri caught in Lebanon after fleeing Italy Posted: 12 Apr 2014 02:38 PM PDT Forza Italia co-founder and former senator had been ruled a fugitive before the final verdict in a trial for mafia collusion Marcello Dell'Utri king-maker to the disgraced former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, and his alleged connection to the Sicilian Mafia was apprehended in the Lebanese capital Beirut early yesterday on an Interpol warrant, having fled Italy as a fugitive a day beforehand. Dell'Utri a senator and founder-member of Berlusconi's party 'Forza Italia', first victorious in elections of 1994 had been convicted twice of 'mafia association' and faces the highest level of appeal on Tuesday. Continue reading...

UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster Posted: 12 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT 'Triple or quadruple renewables', say experts, as pressure grows for UK to deliver on eco priorities David Cameron's commitment to the green agenda will come under the fiercest scrutiny yet this week when top climate-change experts will warn that only greater use of renewable energy including windfarms can prevent a global catastrophe. A report by the world's leading authorities will expose a growing gulf between a Tory party intent on halting construction of more onshore windfarms and the world's leading scientists, who see them as one of the cheapest ways to provide energy while at the same time saving the environment. Continue reading...

Barry Roux and Gerrie Nel are the real stars of the Oscar Pistorius trial Posted: 12 Apr 2014 01:59 PM PDT The lawyers' savage interrogations have won fans, and inspired spoof rap songs and satirical Twitter accounts The world's most famous murder suspect, Oscar Pistorius, returns to the witness box on Monday to face further gruelling cross-examination, amid signs that public sympathy is swinging away from him in favour of his chief tormentor. The Paralympic athlete faces hours, and possibly days, more grilling by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel over the killing of his girlfriend inside a toilet cubicle at his home in Pretoria, South Africa. Continue reading...

Iran overturns death sentence of former US marine Amir Hekmati Posted: 12 Apr 2014 12:52 PM PDT Arizona-born Hekmati was convicted of working for CIA Lawyer says sentence reduced to 10 years' imprisonment An Iranian appeals court has overturned a death sentence of a former US Marine convicted of working for the CIA, instead sentencing him to 10 years in prison, his lawyer said on Saturday. Amir Hekmati, a dual US-Iranian citizen born in Arizona, was arrested in August 2011 then tried, convicted and sentenced to death for spying. Continue reading...

Boston Marathon photo shoot attracts thousands to finishing line Posted: 12 Apr 2014 12:21 PM PDT Sports Illustrated shoot includes survivors and well-wishers Bombing at last year's race killed three and injured 260 A Sports Illustrated photo shoot for a cover to mark the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings drew thousands to the race's finishing line on Saturday. On 15 April 2013, two bombs exploded near the Marathon finishing line in Copley Square, killing three people and injuring 260. An officer with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology police was killed during the subsequent manhunt. Cannot believe @meetthepress chose to use the bombers name instead of respect their guest. Had to walk off set crying. Continue reading...

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz join Republican hopefuls in New Hampshire Posted: 12 Apr 2014 11:25 AM PDT Paul: GOP not 'party of fat cats, rich guys and Wall Street' Gathering sponsor is linked to billionaire Koch brothers Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz were among several potential Republican White House contenders to gather in New Hampshire on Saturday, for a conference seen by some observers as marking the unofficial beginning of the state's 2016 presidential selection process. New Hampshire is known as the first in the nation state, due to the timing of the staging of its four-yearly presidential primary. Continue reading...

Oklahoma says it has obtained secret supply of execution drugs Posted: 12 Apr 2014 09:51 AM PDT Lawyers had raised concerns about use of compounded drugs Two inmates scheduled to die this month Oklahoma officials on Friday said the state had obtained manufactured pharmaceuticals from a secret supplier for use in the executions of two men later this month, avoiding concerns over the use of compounded drugs but leaving unanswered questions about how it obtained them. In a letter to defence lawyers, an assistant attorney general, John Hadden, said the state has recently acquired a manufactured source of vecuronium bromide. That means there will be no compounded drugs used in the executions of your clients. This will resolve the concerns you and your clients have expressed regarding compounded drugs. Continue reading...

The first 100 days: running the rule over five big-city mayors Posted: 12 Apr 2014 09:31 AM PDT New York, Detroit, Minneapolis, Boston and Seattle all have new leaders. How do their report cards look? Ever since the legislative bonanza that began President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, American politicians have been judged on their first 100 days in office. It is, of course, tough to tell how a politician will perform after he or she has had three months in office. However, the first three months of 2014 have been eventful ones for many of Americas cities, which are becoming the new incubators of innovative politics and policy. Continue reading...

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