Singapore toilet tracker goes mobile

SINGAPOREANS can now track the status of the city-state's public toilets in real time, as a program to monitor facilities' cleanliness gets its own smartphone application.

"This app provides toilet users with the convenience of locating a clean toilet nearby and also providing feedback on a dirty toilet they have just visited," Emerson Hee, the program's executive director, said on Thursday.

Hee's Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) launched the app on Wednesday, which will relieve hygiene-conscious Singaporeans of the suspense of stepping into a convenience of unknown cleanliness.

The initiative puts a further touch of polish on the sparkling reputation of a country where spitting, chewing and littering are punishable by strict fines, and where hygiene tips are posted in public spaces.

The LOO (Let's Observe Ourselves) Connect app classes the country's 40,000 public toilets into categories from disgusting to certified.

Toilets need at least a 4-star rating to pass muster as user-friendly, Hee said.

The Android-based app is a work in progress and relies on user contributions for data.

Users can post comments and photographs of toilets registered on the system, or add new locations on a special map.

"As a non-profit charity advocating for clean public toilets, we are always keen to leverage on the use of new technology to promote our cause," RAS president Tan Puay Hoon said.

As part of its Happy Toilet program, which has been running online for several years, the association also hopes to encourage the owners of persistently offensive facilities to brush up.

The app was developed by the Singapore Land Authority and Nanyang Polytechnic and can be downloaded on the Google Play Store.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abetz defends coalition workplace policy

OPPOSITION workplace spokesman Eric Abetz has rejected criticism of the coalition's workplace relations policy, arguing that it is designed to favour not one particular sector but to consider the best interests of the nation.

The opposition is facing criticism from industry and employer groups as well as the federal government after revealing its workplace proposals, including a greater take-up of individual flexibility agreements (IFAs).

Asked if the policy was the first step towards a return to the Howard Government's Work Choices reform and the use of Australian Workplace Agreements, Senator Abetz said it was not, and that a portion of the policy was based on a Labor-generated review.

"Labor's own Fair Work Review Panel ... even came up with recommendations, one of which we have adopted in this policy to ensure that this flexibility arrangement was more widely used," he told ABC television on Thursday.

Senator Abetz said the plan was "sensible" and "fair-minded" and he denied that the interest of business was the sole consideration in the formation of the policy.

"I see our core constituency ... is not the business community or any other sectional interest, it's the national interest, it is every Australian and what we are seeking to do is bring in policies that don't seek to divide," Senator Abetz said.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh says the opposition's industrial relations policy recognises the importance of productivity and is a "step in the right direction".

"It is recognising the need for engagement and communication involvement between management and the entire team," he said.

"That's important if you want to have an efficient business, and there are another number of elements that should help."

Mr Walsh said productivity was a big issue for the global mining giant.

The broadest measure of labour productivity - gross domestic product per hour worked - rose by an annual 3.5 per cent to December 2012 in Australia, which was the fastest rise in a decade, official data showed in March.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pell to appear before Vic abuse inquiry

Cardinal George Pell will give evidence before a Victorian child abuse inquiry later this month. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, will appear before a Victorian child abuse inquiry.

Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, and Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart will give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry's next public hearings later this month.

They welcomed the opportunity to appear before the inquiry, a statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne said.

Cardinal Pell and Archbishop Hart had been consistent in their support for the inquiry and remain committed to the church's full co-operation with the inquiry, the statement added.

Archbishop Hart will appear at the inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations on May 20.

Cardinal Pell, who was archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 until 2001, will appear on May 27.

Cardinal Pell in his Christmas message apologised to those who suffered at the hands of priests, saying he was "deeply sorry" for the hurt that had occurred.

But he did not specifically mention allegations of child sex abuse by members of the clergy, only those who "suffered at the hands" of fellow Christians, Christian officials, priests and religious teachers.

Former Catholic priest Michael Parer, who served as a priest in the Melbourne diocese, has told the inquiry most Victorian bishops have withheld evidence from child abuse investigations.

In evidence given to the inquiry in March but suppressed until this week, Mr Parer said bishops should be held accountable to the same laws as everyone else.

"Bishops today are citizens, and they are under the law. Many, most, have withheld evidence in criminal cases," he told the inquiry.

"They have perverted the course of justice.

"They have failed to see that they are holding criminal evidence and they are obstructing the course of justice by not making that evidence available to the police."

The inquiry has heard that former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns was aware of child abuse accusations against pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale but moved him to a different parish.

The Christian Brothers have admitted to the inquiry that two brothers were not reported to police when child abuse allegations surfaced.

Mr Parer said he knew of 21 admitted pedophiles among the 445 seminarians he had studied with at Melbourne's Corpus Christi College in the 1950s.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria's Assad must go, Kerry insists

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down, says US Secretary of State John Kerry (pic). Source: AAP

US Secretary of State John Kerry insists Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will have to step down as part of any political solution in Syria, as he held a third day of talks on the bloody conflict.

Speaking as he met Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Kerry said all sides were working to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgment President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government".

Kerry also officially unveiled $US100 million ($A99.10 million) in additional US humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, almost half of which will go to help Jordan struggling to cope with a tide of people fleeing the 26-month war.

Some 2,000 people are flooding across the border into Jordan every day, and the country now hosts some 525,000 refugees, Judeh said at the start of the talks in Rome.

"We have 10 per cent of our population today, in the form of Syrian refugees. It is expected to rise to about 20 to 25 per cent given the current rates by the end of this year, and possibly to about 40 per cent by the middle of 2014," he said.

"No country can cope with the numbers as huge as the numbers I've just described," he warned, adding Jordan was very grateful for the help of the international community.

Plans for an international conference to try to find a solution to the crisis were also continuing, Kerry said, after he agreed in talks in Moscow that he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would work in tandem on the issue.

He had spoken with most of the foreign ministers from the countries involved and there is a "very positive response and a very strong desire to move to this conference and to try to find, at least exhaust the possibilities of finding, a political way forward".

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had also been in touch, so "we are going to forge ahead very, very directly to work with all of the parties to bring that conference together", Kerry added.

It's hoped the conference, aimed at finding a path towards a transitional government in Syria, could be held by the end of May, possibly in Geneva.

US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has meanwhile also met with the Syrian opposition in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss the way forward, Kerry said.

Since the war erupted to oust Assad, more than 1.5 million Syrians have fled the country into neighbouring nations, including Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, vastly straining their resources.

Up to four million more could be displaced within the country as they seek to flee the fierce fighting, which has already claimed some 70,000 lives.

Meanwhile, Syria will "give Hezbollah everything" in recognition of its support and will follow the militant group's model of "resistance" against Israel, a Lebanese newspaper on Thursday quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying.

His comments, published by Al-Akhbar, reportedly came during meetings with Lebanese visitors in Damascus and appeared intended to refute any suggestion that Israeli raids on Syrian targets would halt assistance to the Shi'ite group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The newspaper said visitors quoted Assad as expressing "confidence, satisfaction and great gratitude towards Hezbollah".

The organisation is a long-time ally of the Syrian regime and has sent fighters to battle alongside Assad's troops, particularly in the Qusayr district of the central province of Homs.

Also on Thursday, anti-regime activists say Syrian warplanes are pounding rebel positions in two northern provinces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the air force is targeting opposition forces in the battle for the Mannagh air base outside of northern city of Aleppo.

Rebels stormed the base near the border with Turkey on Sunday. They captured parts of it but could not hold on, because of the regime's superior air power.

In neighbouring Idlib province, there are heavy clashes outside several army bases near the government-controlled provincial capital.

Government troops and fighter planes are hitting the rebels, the Observatory said.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Triangular coin to mark Canberra birthday

The nation's first triangular coin has been minted to mark the 25th birthday of Parliament House. Source: AAP

CANBERRA is often labelled the city of swings and roundabouts but the triangle will be featured as the Australian capital celebrates the 25th birthday of Parliament House.

The nation's first triangular coin has been minted to mark the quarter century milestone of the big house on the hill.

The uncirculated equilateral coin with rounded corners carries a $5 value.

Ten thousand coins will be struck, made from 99.9 per cent silver and depicting Parliament House as viewed from one of its courtyards. The Queen's profile is on the reverse.

The iconic triangular flag mast atop Parliament House is a focal point of the coin design.

A limited-edition, round 20 cent coin made of cupronickel is also part of the mint's tribute to Parliament House. It features the current building with Old Parliament House in the foreground.

"Australian Parliament House was recognised as a major international architectural achievement when it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II 25 years ago," MP Bernie Ripoll will say during the birthday launch of the coin on Thursday.

"It is fitting that the mint is demonstrating its own innovation within a minting context with Australia's first triangular coin."

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh factory death toll passes 800

The death toll from the collapsed Bangladesh factory has passed 750 after more bodies were found. Source: AAP

THE death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster has passed 800 with rescuers pulling dozens more bodies from the rubble of a nine-storey building that collapsed outside Dhaka last month.

"The death toll now stands at 803" with 790 bodies recovered from the wreckage and 13 victims who died in hospital, said disaster relief official, Lieutenant Mir Rabbi, on Wednesday.

More than 3000 garment workers were on shift when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed as they were turning out clothing for Western retailers such as Britain's Primark and the Spanish label Mango.

Officials overseeing the disaster operation said a total of 2,437 people were rescued from the ruins of the building, which housed a total of five garment factories in the town of Savar, a suburb of the capital Dhaka.

Cranes and bulldozers kept clearing debris as relief workers drawn from the army and fire service wore masks to ward off the smell of decomposing bodies.

Brigadier General Siddiqul Alam Sikder told AFP the stench of bodies trapped in the lower floors and under beams indicated the death toll would rise.

"We're expecting to find some bodies because we still haven't reached the bottom. We've finished around 70 per cent of the job," he said.

Efforts to identify bodies were being hampered by their decomposition of bodies, officials added.

Many bodies were found in the staircases.

Panicked garment workers had raced to stairwells in a rush to get out of the building after hearing a loud noise, but the compound collapsed within five minutes, trapping them.

"We got around 150 bodies from the stairs," Sikder said.

Preliminary findings of a government probe have blamed vibrations from four giant generators on the compound's upper floors for triggering the collapse.

The building's architect, Masood Reza, told AFP he designed the structure to house a shopping mall and offices, not the hefty weight of factory machinery and large workforces.

Police have arrested 12 people including the plaza's owner and four garment factory owners for forcing people to work on the day of the tragedy even though cracks had appeared in the structure the previous day.

Fearful that Western brand names could turn their backs on Bangladesh in the face of worries over factory safety, the government announced a new high-level panel on Monday to inspect thousands of garment plants for building flaws.

The collapse was the latest in a string of deadly accidents to hit the textile industry. A factory fire last November killed 111 garment workers.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK govt agenda to focus on immigration

THE British government is expected to announce a tightening of immigration, pensions reform and a reduction of business red tape when it lays out its annual plans at the state opening of Parliament.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted on Wednesday that its agenda would contain "bills on growth, immigration, pensions, consumer rights (and) social care".

Exact details of the bills are kept secret until they are read out by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Speech, but Cameron said voters could expect a speech "for people who work hard and want to get on".

The speech is expected to include modest measures to stimulate a national economy that has flatlined since the global economic crisis hit five years ago.

Measures to limit new immigrants' access to health care and welfare are intended to counter impressions that some migrants get a free ride on the welfare state - a perception that has fuelled support for the anti-Europe UK Independence Party, a threat to Cameron's Conservatives.

The legislative schedule is also likely to be notable for its absences.

Contentious plans to allow police and spy agencies to snoop on email traffic, web browsing and social media sites look likely to be dropped after an outcry from civil liberties campaigners.

The measures were announced last year in the draft Communications Data Bill, but last month Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said they would not become law.

The monarch has no input into the content of her speech, which is written by government ministers and civil servants.

The state opening is a pageant of power, pomp and politics rich in arcane traditions including a golden throne, a crown studded with 3,000 diamonds and an official known as Black Rod.

The queen travels from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in a horse-drawn carriage, escorted by mounted members of the Household Cavalry.

She delivers the speech from a gilded throne in the House of Lords to an audience of ermine-robed peers and MPs in ordinary clothes.

The annual pageant draws heavily on the history of a power struggle between the monarchy and Parliament.

MPs are summoned from the House of Commons to listen to the queen by Black Rod, a security official - but only comply after first slamming the door in his face to symbolise their independence.

Since King Charles I tried to arrest members of the House of Commons in 1642 - and ended up deposed, tried and beheaded - the monarch has been barred from entering the Commons.

In another symbol of the traditional hostility between Commons and crown, an MP is held at Buckingham Palace as a "hostage" during the ceremony to ensure the monarch's safe return.

This year, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will attend the state opening alongside the Queen.

It is being seen as another sign of the heir to the throne's increasingly prominent role as he takes over more duties from the 87-year-old monarch.

Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that Charles would attend a Commonwealth heads of government conference in Sri Lanka in November in place of the queen, who is cutting back on long-distance travel.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

NBN rollout hits asbestos snag

A union claims contractors involved in the NBN rollout in Tasmania could be working with asbestos. Source: AAP

A UNION official has demanded the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Tasmania be halted until asbestos problems are dealt with.

Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) official David Mier says up to 85 per cent of contractors working in pits containing asbestos have not completed the required safety training.

Workplace safety watchdog Comcare has confirmed it is investigating a range of issues related to Telstra pits.

Mr Mier said up to 60 workers on 13 sites he had visited in Tasmania had not received asbestos awareness training.

"The pit and pipe work should be stopped where people haven't done asbestos awareness courses," Mr Mier told AAP.

"If you are part of the general public you would want to know that people who are removing asbestos pits out the front of your house have been trained to do so."

Mr Mier accused NBN Co contractor Visionstream of cost cutting and said the lack of training meant sites were being left dangerously exposed.

"Kids wagging school or little kids just playing, they just jump in there thinking it's a sandpit," he said.

A spokesperson for Comcare said the government body was already taking action at some sites.

"Comcare is currently investigating a range of regionalised issues with Telstra pits and contracting arrangements, including the ones in Hobart," a statement read.

"Comcare is intervening on specific sites and are working with NBN and Telstra to enhance the current systems, including the asbestos awareness training area."

NBN Co said it was awaiting details so it could confirm whether the problems were occurring at its sites.

"We've asked the union for specifics so we can investigate these claims thoroughly," a spokesperson said.

"We've yet to receive that information."

The company said it required all construction staff and contractors to complete an approved safety course that included asbestos awareness.

"Worker safety and public health are our top priorities," the spokesperson said.

Mr Mier said he would deliver a report to the companies involved and federal communications minister Stephen Conroy on Thursday.

Areas of Tasmania were chosen to be among the first in Australia to be connected to the multi-billion dollar broadband network.

Asbestos campaigner and Tasmanian Labor Senator Lisa Singh said workers had a right to receive proper training.

"NBN have a moral obligation that they sub-contract out work to people adequately trained in asbestos handling," she said.

"This highlights the ongoing dangers asbestos still poses in the community.

"There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos."

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld deal moves full NDIS step closer

Julia Gillard is closer to getting a nation-wide deal on disability care, as WA are yet to sign on. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND is ready to sign up to federal Labor's national disability care scheme, leaving Western Australia the only state not yet on board.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Queensland Liberal National Premier Campbell Newman will announce details of the long-term funding deal in Brisbane on Wednesday.

But sources have told AAP the state won't follow its peers in having a launch site.

The deal will put pressure on WA to sign up to a funding agreement this year and give Ms Gillard more political ammunition when parliament returns next week to sort out legislation to raise the Medicare universal health levy to pay for the scheme.

Mr Newman says changes made to DisabilityCare Australia, as the former NDIS scheme will be known, mean he can sign up to it.

"Queensland is primed and ready for full rollout of the NDIS," he told the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday.

"It is in itself a pragmatic revolution that services are delivered to people who need them the most."

Ms Gillard's spokesman told AAP the prime minister "looks forward to finalising a historic agreement to deliver better disability services for Queensland".

Queensland has committed $860 million to the scheme over the four years between 2014/15 and 2018/19 and would receive another $200 million from a hike in the Medicare levy to two per cent, from 1.5 per cent.

The latest Newspoll showed 78 per cent voter support for DisabilityCare but there was no boost for the federal government, which trails the coalition 44-56 on two-party terms.

Ms Gillard's standing as preferred prime minister received a small lift, up two points to 37 per cent, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott maintains a five-point lead.

Treasurer Wayne Swan, who's putting the final touches on next Tuesday's budget, confirmed the government faced a $17 billion shortfall in revenues since the 2012 budget.

He also axed plans to increase the rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A by as much as $300 a year for families with one child and $600 for those with two or more children.

Mr Swan described the decision as "difficult, but responsible".

The increase was meant to be covered by mining tax revenue, which is now estimated at just $800 million in the current year instead of a forecast $2 billion.

The treasurer applauded the Reserve Bank's decision to cut the cash rate to 2.75 per cent, their lowest level on record.

He reassured voters that the cut did not mean the economy was on the wane.

"We have solid growth, we have low unemployment, we have a strong investment pipeline, we have strong public finances, we have contained inflation, and we have low interest rates," he said.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said rates had been cut because the Reserve Bank felt the economy was being mismanaged.

He told a business forum in Sydney the "cupboard is bare" and there would be no room for big spending promises during the election campaign.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rate cuts due to fiscal policy: Swan

An unexpected interest rate cut has pleased Treasurer Wayne Swan ahead of a tough budget next week. Source: AAP

TREASURER Wayne Swan will enjoy the benefit of an interest rate cut as the federal government prepares to make the difficult choices in next week's budget.

But welfare groups have attacked the government for ditching its planned increase to family benefits, while the opposition challenged the treasurer to deliver an honest budget next week after five years of confusion.

The central bank unexpectedly cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent at its monthly board meeting on Tuesday, a record low in the cash rate setting era.

"These rates are possible because the government has (had) in place a responsible fiscal policy over the past five and half to six years," Mr Swan told reporters in Canberra.

However, this good news for borrowers came as the government scrapped a planned increase in the Family Tax Benefit Part A.

"This is a difficult decision but a responsible decision given what's happened to revenue," Finance Minister Penny Wong told Sky News.

The rise worth a total of $1.8 billion would have delivered as much as $300 a year for families with one child and $600 for those with two or more children.

Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) CEO Cassandra Goldie slammed the decision, saying the government should instead focus on other measures such as the Baby Bonus.

"We understand the current pressures on the budget but quite frankly there are other more important areas where savings can be found rather than going back on a promise that would greatly assist around a million of our nation's lowest earning families," she said.

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne agreed.

"Why is it that you would protect the mining bosses, the big miners of Australia and not support the most vulnerable and needy in our community?" she said.

The increased benefit was meant to be paid out from revenue from the government's mining tax, but the impost is expected to raise less than half what was forecast in its first year, and is likely to miss annual targets over the forward estimates.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said this "rock solid" commitment made in last year's budget had been used as stick to "beat the opposition mercilessly" over family welfare.

"So it didn't survive from one budget to the next, even though it was supposed to be the absolute product of the mining boom, which no longer exists in the same form, thanks in part to the policies of this government," he told reporters in Melbourne.

The family payment boost was promoted by Labor as "spreading the benefits of the mining boom".

Senator Wong also confirmed the revenue drop for this financial year "looks to be in the order of $17 billion", from the forecast in last year's budget.

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey told a conference in Sydney whatever Mr Swan said on budget night would be "meaningless", given previous forecasts had been wrong and promises made in past budgets had not been met.

"I know I am setting him a ridiculous benchmark but I think we expect honesty," Mr Hockey said.

"Forecasts of revenue and spending must be soundly based and ... there must be no more money shuffling, no more raiding of dividends."

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

China punishes officials in sex scandal

CHINA'S Communist Party has punished 21 officials over a scandal in which some of them were allegedly extorted by a developer after being secretly filmed in liaisons with hired women.

The official Xinhua News Agency said on Tuesday the party's disciplinary body in the central city of Chongqing had stripped former local district party chief Lei Zhengfu of his party membership.

The scandal broke after footage of Lei having sex with one of the women was leaked on the internet.

Other officials were placed under investigation for corruption or given administrative punishments.

The scandal has exposed the intertwining of sex, money and politics and the often shady ties between real estate developers and local officials.

China's new leadership has vowed to crack down on official corruption.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Liam Jurrah fined in SA for drink driving

FORMER AFL player Liam Jurrah has been fined $1100 after being caught behind the wheel with a blood alcohol reading more than five times the legal limit.

Jurrah, who is in custody in Alice Springs over allegations of assault against three women, did not appear in Adelaide's Elizabeth magistrates court on Tuesday when he was sentenced by magistrate Paul Foley.

An audio-visual link from the court to Alice Springs failed but his lawyer Joanna Caracoussis said the 24-year-old was happy for the matter to proceed.

The former Melbourne footballer pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in Adelaide on January 14 and to breaching conditions of a provisional licence.

He was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.26. As a p-plater, he is not allowed to have any alcohol in his system while driving in South Australia.

Mr Foley fined him $1100 and disqualified him from driving for two years.

He also fined him $700 in another matter for breaching two court orders banning him from going to an Adelaide address.

Ms Caracoussis said Jurrah had been drinking with family on January 14 and had become involved in a dispute, before driving the car while intoxicated.

Police had observed him to be drowsy with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

Ms Caracoussis said that on a later occasion, he had travelled in a car with a relative and had not realised the driver was going to the address Jurrah was banned from attending.

But when he saw police, he panicked and hid on the roof of the house.

The magistrate noted Jurrah's work with troubled youth, his sporting and other awards and his lack of any previous convictions.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Challenge to Aust plain package tobacco

Cuba has become the latest country to launch a legal attack on Australia's plain packaging rules. Source: AAP

CUBA has become the latest country to launch a legal attack on Australia's landmark plain packaging rules for tobacco at the World Trade Organisation, the global body says.

The WTO said that Cuba had requested consultations with Australia on law requiring tobacco products to be sold in identical, olive-brown boxes bearing the same typeface and health warnings with graphic images of diseased smokers.

Under the 159-nation WTO's rules, requesting consultations is the first step in an often complex trade dispute settlement process which can last for several years.

Given that the legislation covers all tobacco products, not just cigarettes, it has already been challenged at the WTO by Cuba's fellow cigar-producing nations Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

In addition, Ukraine has filed a suit at the Geneva-based body, which oversees its member nations' respect for the rules of global commerce.

All the plaintiff countries maintain that Australia's packaging law breaches international trade rules and intellectual property rights.

In the event that the WTO's disputes settlement body finds in their favour, it would have the power to authorise retaliatory trade measures against Australia if the country failed to fall into line.

The dispute with Australia marks the first-ever challenge by Cuba against a fellow member since it joined the global body in April 1995, four months after the WTO was founded in its current form.

Australia's pioneering legislation - passed in 2011 and brought into force last December - has won wide praise from health organisations which are trying to curb smoking.

The Australian government has faced a string of court challenges from tobacco firms.

Besides trade and intellectual property concerns, tobacco companies say there is no proof that plain packaging reduces smoking and have warned that the law sets a precedent that could spread to products such as alcohol.

New Zealand has announced plans to bring in its own plain packaging law this year, making it only the second country in the world to do so.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

We'll fight for May Day holiday, ACTU says

UNIONS will fight to have May Day returned as a public holiday across Australia, ACTU president Ged Kearney has told a rally in Darwin.

Speaking in the Northern Territory, the only jurisdiction in Australia that still provides a public holiday to commemorate May Day, Ms Kearney urged unionists to protect it.

"Union members be proud of this day. Don't lose it," Ms Kearney told a rally of about 500 people.

May Day is celebrated in many countries around the world to mark campaigns by workers for better rights.

"We are going to fight to get it back in other states," Ms Kearney said.

She said the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government in the NT had cut the public service, healthcare and education since coming to office last year.

"I will be damned if the likes of this government ... take away our important day," Ms Kearney told the crowd.

"We must rebel, we must stand up and fight," she said.

Unions NT Secretary Alan Paton also attacked the CLP government in the NT.

Mr Paton said the CLP went to the election promising public sector jobs would be safe and the cost of living would fall.

"What we have seen so far is the exact opposite," Mr Paton said.

Although the NT is the only jurisdiction to mark May Day, other states mark Labour Day at other times of the year.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

WA sex assault doctor dodges deportation

AN Indian-born doctor who spent more than 18 months in jail for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old patient while examining her has successfully fought a deportation order.

Suhail Ahmad Khan Durani has been held at an immigration detention centre since being released from Casuarina Prison in Perth's south, because federal immigration authorities cancelled his visa the day he completed his sentence.

But he fought an ensuing deportation order through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which decided on Monday that he should be allowed to keep his visa.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed govt defends live animal export trade

The live animal export industry warns animals will suffer if Australia withdraws from the trade. Source: AAP

AGRICULTURE Minister Joe Ludwig continues to defend Australia's live animal export trade, fending off calls for the practice to be scrapped following shocking new footage showing cruelty against cattle.

Senator Ludwig said such instances of cruelty were an anomaly and Australia's export trade regulation was at its highest standard.

"There will be mistakes. Like in every industry, mistakes occur," Senator Ludwig told the ABC of the allegations of cruelty.

"What we do have in place is a system that allows us to investigate those complaints and fix them."

In excerpts shown by ABC TV on Monday, a bloodied bull is seen being attacked with a knife: repeatedly stabbed in the face and cut across the legs before collapsing in a pool of blood.

Other scenes seem to show cattle being ineptly slaughtered.

The industry has voluntarily suspended cattle exports to Egypt while the footage, taken by Animals Australia in October and April, is investigated.

However Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called for an immediate ban on live animal exports following the release of the footage, which comes two years after Australia was rocked by revelations of similar animal cruelty linked to the trade.

"With each new revelation come more promises from the government to fix the trade, but each time these promises prove worthless and just more evidence that the government doesn't really care about animal welfare," Mr Wilkie said in a statement.

"The bottom line is that the live export business is systemically cruel and beyond remedy."

The Australian Greens also said the latest evidence of brutality showed the government couldn't protect live animal exports.

"The government should admit that they cannot stop cruel practices in overseas countries and give certainty to the industry by expanding the trade in processed meat from Australia," animal welfare spokeswoman Lee Rhiannon said.

Nationals senate leader Barnaby Joyce has called for caution when making decisions on the future of the trade, and warned that supply-chain guarantees may not be an effective way forward.

"You can't send people into destitution in Australia because of the bad practices of other people overseas with cattle that we no longer own," Senator Joyce told Sky News on Monday.

"They are not our cattle. They have been purchased by someone else.

"We've got to walk carefully on this one. When we sell people cattle we don't have an ownership right over them."

Australian Livestock Exporters' Council chief executive Alison Penfold said she visited one of the abattoirs involved late last year and at that time was satisfied its practices met international standards.

"We want to get to the bottom and understand why there has been a breakdown so that we can ensure that it doesn't happen again," she said.

About 3000 Australian cattle remain in feedlots in Egypt.

Senator Ludwig could not put a timeframe on the investigation, but insisted that "the community should have confidence in the system we've put in place".

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tension in Somalia after top chief killed

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for calm following the killing of a top chief in Sudan. Source: AAP

TENSION and anger gripped the Abyei region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan following the killing of a top tribal chief and an Ethiopian peacekeeper, residents said, as the UN stepped up security.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for calm after the Ngok Dinka chief Kual Deng Majok and the peacekeeper died in an "attack" by a Misseriya tribesman in the region on Saturday.

"It looks like Dinka are very angry," one local resident told AFP.

He reported fire coming from the Abyei town centre, where Misseriya operate small shops.

A curfew was in effect, with the Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA), setting up extra checkpoints trying to restrict the movement of people and prevent gatherings, said the resident, asking for anonymity.

The resident, who is familiar with the incident, said five Misseriya also died in Saturday's skirmish.

"There is high tension and all sides are alert, ready for anything," Mohammed Al-Ansari, a Misseriya chief in Abyei, told AFP.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said in a Twitter message that UNISFA was "expanding patrols with the aim of maintaining calm".

UN chief Ban urged both tribes as well as the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to "avoid any escalation of this unfortunate event," a statement from his spokesperson said late Saturday, condemning the killings.

The UN said two of its Blue Helmets were also seriously wounded in the incident, "an attack by a Misseriya assailant on a UNISFA convoy".

The status of Dinka-dominated Abyei has not been resolved despite steps which Sudan and South Sudan have taken since March to normalise their relations, after months of intermittent clashes along their undemarcated frontier.

Abyei's status was the most sensitive issue left unsettled when South Sudan separated in 2011.

The territory was to hold a referendum in January 2011 on whether it belonged with the north or South, but disagreement on who could vote stalled the ballot.

Majok was heading north from Abyei town with UNISFA peacekeepers, who are the only authority in the area, when a group of Misseriya stopped them and began negotiations, another Misseriya leader said.

"Then a clash happened when a UNISFA soldier shot one of the Misseriya who was readying his weapon," said the Misseriya chief who asked to remain anonymous.

During the resulting clash, "the Dinka leader's car was hit by an explosion and he and his driver were killed".

The death of Majok is the most serious incident since Sudanese troops withdrew in May last year to end a year-long occupation that forced more than 100,000 people to flee Abyei towards South Sudan.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh building collapse toll tops 600

The Bangladesh building that collapsed was not designed to be used for factory. Source: AAP

THE death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster surpassed 600 after dozens of bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a nine-storey building housing garment factories, the army said.

Lieutenant Imran Khan of the army control room, which was set up to coordinate the rescue operation following the disaster last month, told AFP that recovery efforts had gathered pace and the "death toll now stands at 610".

"The toll is expected to rise further," he said.

The building, which housed five garment factories, collapsed near the capital Dhaka on April 24, trapping more than 3,000 people. Some 2,437 people have been rescued, Khan said.

Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered at the site on the twelfth day, as cranes and bulldozers cut through a mountain of concrete and mangled steel.

Mohammad Jashim, 25, whose garment worker sister Jakiya Begum was still missing, was among those holding a vigil at the site on Sunday.

Every time a body is recovered, he rushes to see whether the remains are those of his sister.

Officials said the bodies pulled out have missing limbs in some cases or have decomposed, delaying identification.

"We've identified only a handful of them by their mobile phones that were found in their pockets or identity cards given by the factories," deputy administrator of Dhaka district, Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, told AFP.

Preliminary findings of a government probe have blamed vibrations by four giant generators on the compound's upper floors for triggering the collapse.

The building's architect, Masood Reza, told AFP he designed the structure to house a shopping mall and offices, not factories.

Police have arrested twelve people including the plaza's owner and four garment factory owners for forcing people to work on April 24, even though cracks appeared in the structure the previous day.

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment exporter after China. The industry accounts for 80 per cent of the country's exports and more than 40 per cent of its industrial workforce.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel launches air strikes near Damascus

Israel has launched air strikes in Syria at a shipment of Iranian-made guided missiles. Source: AAP

ISRAELI strikes hit a military target outside Damascus, the Jewish state's second reported raid on Syria in three days, with residents saying the attack felt like an earthquake and turned the sky red.

A senior Israeli source said the aerial assault took out Iranian weapons destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is allied to the Syrian regime.

And a diplomatic source in Beirut told AFP three sites were targeted, including a military facility, a nearby weapons depot and an anti-aircraft unit in Sabura, west of Syria's capital.

The official SANA news agency said Israel had targeted the military research centre at Jamraya in the Eastern Ghouta region, without giving details on casualties or damage.

"This new Israeli aggression is a clear attempt to alleviate the pressure on the armed terrorist groups after our army beat them back in several regions and after the army's victories on the road to recovering security and stability in Syria," said SANA.

The Israeli source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the target of the attack "was Iranian missiles which were destined for Hezbollah".

He also confirmed the Jewish state was behind an attack overnight Thursday, which sources told AFP targeted a weapons storage facility at Damascus airport.

On Sunday morning, an Israeli army spokeswoman said two batteries of the Iron Dome missile defence system had been moved to the north of the country.

"This attack proves the direct involvement of the Israeli occupation in the conspiracy against Syria and its links with terrorist groups in the aggression supported by Western countries and some Gulf countries," SANA said of Sunday's pre-dawn strike.

Residents of the upscale Damascus neighbourhood of Dumar, six kilometres away, said the raids caused the ground to shudder and turned the black night sky red.

"It was like an earthquake, the sky was yellow and red," said 72-year-old Najwa.

Video footage of the strikes uploaded to YouTube showed a series of missiles lighting up clouds.

A fire caused by the raids could be seen burning and then an enormous explosion erupts, producing an orange fireball that momentarily fills the entire screen.

The powerful explosion sent up towering clouds of smoke illuminated by embers of debris.

If confirmed, the attack would be Israel's second this week against targets inside Syria and the second time it has targeted the Jamraya facility, after a January 30 raid that Israeli officials implicitly acknowledged.

Israel has frequently warned that it would act to stop the transfer of advanced weapons systems or chemical weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah with which it fought a devastating war in 2006.

Hezbollah and Iran, the regional arch-foes of Israel, have steadfastly backed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising against it erupted in March 2011.

US President Barack Obama, speaking after the first reported attack this week, said Israel was justified in protecting itself.

"The Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organisations like Hezbollah," he said, without commenting directly on the strike.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK deputy speaker denies sex allegations

Nigel Evans has denied a gay rape charge, saying the allegations are "completely false". Source: AAP

A DEPUTY speaker of Britain's lower house of parliament said that allegations of raping one man and sexually assaulting another were "completely false", adding that he had previously regarded both men as friends.

Nigel Evans, 55, a lawmaker in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party, issued the denial a day after he was questioned over the alleged attacks on two men aged in their twenties.

"Yesterday, I was interviewed by the police concerning two complaints, one of which dates back four years, made by two people who are well known to each other and until yesterday, I regarded as friends," Evans said in a statement to the media outside his home.

"The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made, especially as I have continued to socialise with one as recently as last week.

"I appreciate the way the police have handled this in such a sensitive manner and I would like to thank my colleagues, friends and members of the public who have expressed their support and, like me, a sense of incredulity at these events."

Evans revealed he was gay in 2010, eight years after he was elected, saying he was "tired of living a lie".

He represents Ribble Valley in Lancashire, northwest England, and is one of the House of Commons' three deputy speakers, who are responsible for maintaining discipline in parliament in the absence of the speaker, John Bercow.

Police said the alleged attacks took place in the village of Pendleton, where Evans lives, between July 2009 and March 2013.

19.19 | 0 komentar | Read More