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