NSW:Most Wanted man charged over priest

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2011
NSW:Most Wanted man charged over priest

SYDNEY, Aug 10 AAP - The man charged over the alleged 2008 abduction and extortion
of a Greek Orthodox priest was on NSW Police's Most Wanted list.

Mahmoud Challouf, 27, was arrested after he went to Campsie police station, in Sydney's
south, on Wednesday morning.

Earlier in the week, police released an updated version of its Ten Most Wanted people,
which included Challouf, in the form of a public appeal for information.

Police say he recognised his photo from the list.

He is the third person to be arrested over the incident and has been charged with a
number of warrants relating to kidnapping, robbery and fraud offences.

Three days after the incident, police charged two men with the alleged kidnapping and
extortion of Father Philipos Apostolopoulos from his Surry Hills church.

Their aim was to find another man they believed owed them $100,000 from a drug deal,
court documents stated.

After driving the 57-year-old priest to an unknown location and pumping him for information
for several hours, they released him unharmed.

The next day, the hunt for the man and the missing cash led them to allegedly abduct
a second person at gunpoint from his home.

Police said they drove this man to a Sydney park and shot him in the leg with a semi-automatic
pistol and left him bleeding.

Police had described Fr Apostolopoulos and the other victim as "innocent third parties",
the court documents said.

On Wednesday, Challouf was refused police bail and is expected to appear in Burwood Local Court.

AAP vpm/tr/jnb/jlw

KEYWORD: PRIEST UPDATE

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld:Service station bandits escape with biscuits

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2006
Qld:Service station bandits escape with biscuits

Two men have escaped with only a packet of biscuits after an armed hold-up on a Brisbane
service station.

Police say the men went to the counter of the Ampol Service Station on Strathpine Road
in suburban Bald Hill around 1.40 am (AEST) with a packet of biscuits.

They threatened the male attendant with a knife and demanded money .. but when he refused
.. fled with only the biscuits.

In another incident .. a man armed with a gun fled empty-handed after a bottle shop
attended grabbed his stolen money back at Kenmore .. in Brisbane's west.

AAP RTV rad/jv/rt

KEYWORD: HOLDUPS (BRISBANE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Learner driver caught with nine passengers

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2011
VIC:Learner driver caught with nine passengers

MELBOURNE, April 14 AAP - Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu says hoon laws need to be
changed to deal with incidents like the "unbelievable" and "shocking" case of a learner
driver found with nine teenage passengers crammed into his car.

"It's a shocking story," Mr Baillieu said on ABC Radio.

"It's unbelievable in this day and age that somebody could behave like that."

Police said they pulled the 17-year-old driver up for a routine check to find no experienced
driver in the car and nine teenage passengers who had just attended a party.

Police said the sedan was unregistered and also had false number plates when they intercepted
it about 12.25am (AEST) on Thursday.

The youth, from Balnarring, faces charges including being a learner driver without
an experienced driver and driving an unregistered vehicle.

Police have said the incident could not be dealt with under Victoria's hoon laws because
the legislation did not cover this sort of offence.

Mr Baillieu said that if this was the case, the legislation should be changed.

"I think this is the equivalent of what we know as hooning," he said.

"Hooning is where somebody is being grossly irresponsible, putting at risk a large
number of people in a vehicle."

Under Victoria's anti-hoon laws, cars can be impounded and, in extreme cases, crushed.

AAP mok/gfr/apm

KEYWORD: LEARNER

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD:Flooding expected in wake of cyclone

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2010
QLD:Flooding expected in wake of cyclone

Ex-Tropical cyclone Tasha is done and dusted .. but it's left behind a broad area of
rain over eastern Queensland.

The weather bureau says heavy rain and flooding is expected to continue in coastal
areas between Ingham .. north of Townsville .. and Gladstone .. all the way down to the
Capricorn coast.

For today .. heavy rainfall is forecast to move south between Bowen and Fraser Island
on the east coast and inland through the Central Highlands and Coalfields district.

AAP RTV lpm/dmg/jl/wz

KEYWORD: CYCLONE QLD (BRISBANE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD:Bligh lampoons LNP 'shop-a-thon' website

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
QLD:Bligh lampoons LNP 'shop-a-thon' website

By Jessica Marszalek

BRISBANE, Aug 17 AAP - Queensland's Labor government has accused the Liberal National
Party of being more concerned about retail therapy than policy.

Premier Anna Bligh used question time on Tuesday to lampoon the party over its website,
which offers members a range of goods at discount prices.

Among the more unusual products is a bejewelled hammer. Toys, clothing, pet products
and furniture are also up for grabs.

"It's a treasure chest, not of policy though," Ms Bligh told parliament.

"What you'll find there is more than 4000 products for sale - it's the LNP shop-a-thon."

Ms Bligh said her personal favourite was the Hello Dolly Diamonte Hammer, complete
with pink trim, at the special membership price of $20.96.

"What on earth is going on at the LNP?" she asked.

"Their website is a sham.

"It's not a political party, this is a commercial outlet."

Labor MPs lined up during question time to continue the attack.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser criticised the party for "retailing ladies' scented body wash"

rather than creating a jobs' target.

But Opposition MPs bit back.

Treasury spokesman Tim Nicholls told MPs they should look to the Union Shopper website
if they were in the market for knives.

"We're not selling Queensland assets though are we?" another opposition MP called out.

"We're not selling Queensland Rail," Transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson shouted.

AAP jmm/tnf/maur

KEYWORD: LNP SHOPPING

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: WA woman killed in Spain while cycling

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2010
Fed: WA woman killed in Spain while cycling

By Andrea Hayward

PERTH, April 8 AAP - A Perth woman killed in Spain when an allegedly drunken van driver
ploughed into a pack of cyclists, was an energetic explorer who lived life to the full,
says her grief-stricken family.

Chanelle Carter, a 34-year-old research scientist, was among a group of 60 cyclists
struck by a van while riding in Tarragona, in Spain's northeast, on Wednesday.

Three other cyclists were reportedly injured in the crash.

Ms Carter died in a Tarragona hospital.

"We have been so lucky to share our lives with a beautiful girl over the last 34 years,"

the family said in a statement in Perth on Thursday.

"Chanelle was an intelligent, energetic and passionate young woman who looked to the
future, living life to the full.

"She loved to travel and explore the world.

"There was always something new she wanted to try and she had an amazing determination
to make her dreams a reality."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said consular staff from the Australian
embassy in Madrid was helping her family, who had been notified of tragedy by West Australian
police.

Spanish news website El Mundo reported two Swiss nationals were also injured and hospitalised
after the crash.

Local police have charged the 57-year-old alleged van driver with reckless homicide
and injury, alleging he was under the influence of alcohol at about noon when the collision
occurred, the website said.

Oxfam Australia executive director Andrew Hewett said Ms Carter was a strong supporter
of the charity, who dedicated time, money and talent to help poor people around the world.

"Over the years, she participated in a number of Oxfam fundraising events, including
cycling through Laos in 2006," Mr Hewett said.

"She had a particular interest in human rights, indigenous issues and environmental concerns.

"The death of a person like Chanelle is a great loss for so many."

Ms Carter was a senior research scientist in the global technology delivery arm of
Alcoa's refinery at Kwinana, south of Perth.

Alcoa technology vice president Dave Olney said the company was shocked and saddened
by her death. She'd been an employee for more than a decade.

"Chanelle was an incredibly talented scientist, of the highest integrity, and a fantastic
person," Mr Olney said.

"Chanelle was passionate about many things, including cycling, and she would ride to
work most days.

"She genuinely wanted to make a difference in life and channelled a great deal of her
energy into the community."

Alcoa research and development director Ian Harrison said Ms Carter was one of the
most talented people he had ever worked with.

"She was also committed to developing young scientists and was a fantastic mentor to
a number of people both within the business and externally," Dr Harrison said.

Ms Carter completed her honours degree with Alcoa and had spent time working for the
company in the Netherlands and the US.

Her colleagues have been offered counselling through the company's employee assistance program.

AAP ah/dep/it/cdh

KEYWORD: CYCLIST 2ND WRAP (PIC AVAILABLE)

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Cyclist Chris Jongewaard guilty of criminal offences

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2009
SA: Cyclist Chris Jongewaard guilty of criminal offences

Champion cyclist CHRIS JONGEWAARD has been found guilty of driving a car which struck
a professional cyclist and caused serious injuries.

South Australian District Court Judge WAYNE CHIVELL found JONGEWAARD not guilty on
a charge of causing serious harm by dangerous driving but guilty of an alternative charge
of aggravated driving without due care.

He also convicted the cyclist on a second count of leaving the scene of an accident.

Judge CHIVELL will hear sentencing submissions on September 7.

JONGEWAARD's car struck his training partner .. MATTHEW REX .. when the pair and eight
others were celebrating Mr REX's 22nd birthday at a resort at Normanville .. south of
Adelaide in February 2007.

AAP RTV sl/tjd/crh

KEYWORD: JONGEWAARD (ADELAIDE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Debus won't speculate on cause of boat explosion=3

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2009
Fed: Debus won't speculate on cause of boat explosion=3

Mr Debus said the Northern Territory and Australian Federal Police (AFP) would conduct
an investigation.

"It's the same circumstances that would apply in an everyday crime situation, there
has to be interviews of a large number of witnesses," Mr Debus told ABC Radio.

"Some of them are hurt, possibly the majority ... this is an investigation that will
take some time."

Mr Debus said it is "highly likely" that the cause will be determined.

AAP sld/kms/goc/

KEYWORD: BOAT DEBUS 3 CANBERRA (REOPENS)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Boart Longyear to slash jobs in Adelaide

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2008
SA: Boart Longyear to slash jobs in Adelaide

By Larine Statham

ADELAIDE, Dec 11 AAP - Another round of job cuts at an Adelaide mining services provider
could signal trouble for an industry that was supposed to drive South Australia's economy,
union officials say.

The world's largest drilling company Boart Longyear on Thursday announced 67 jobs would
be scrapped at its Adelaide facility in the ongoing restructuring and consolidation of
its manufacturing operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The cuts come after the US-based company axed 55 positions in Adelaide at the end of
October, blaming the global economic downturn.

Boart Longyear Asia-Pacific vice president Kent Hoots said the latest redundancies
would take effect in two stages next year, the first on March 31 and the second on April
30, and a small number of employees may be moved to other Boart Longyear locations.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union metals organiser Derek Thomas said the mining
industry had been "painted as South Australia's saviour", but the Boart decision could
mean that workers and equipment would end up being sourced from overseas.

Mr Thomas said he was concerned that the union had not been briefed on the latest cuts.

"Irrespective of the numbers, the concerns that I have are based around the fact that
mining industry is supposed to be the boom industry for South Australia, and we have a
company which is employed at the pointy end of mining, and that is exploration, announcing
that they're going to reduce their presence in South Australia and Australia," Mr Thomas
said.

"My concern is, does Boart Longyear know something that the rest of us don't about
the expansion of the mining industry in South Australia, or is it that they're just trying
to increase their profits by importing the products they used to make here to supply the
mining industry.

"It means we could have our backyard dug out by imported workers with imported equipment,
and they're going to ship the raw material to be value-added in other countries ... and
then we buy it back for three times the price.

"There has got to be a local component in everything we do," he said.

Mr Hoots said Australia remained a key market for the company's products and drilling
services businesses.

He said the company had expanded its Australian workforce by more than 50 per cent
since 2005 to 1,400 and that a new facility being constructed in Perth, expected to be
completed in early 2010, would provide additional growth in the Asia-Pacific manufacturing
and services operations.

The manufacturing of consumable products and capital equipment will move from Adelaide
to other facilities, including those in Australia, but the South Australian city will
remain the company's administrative and other business support headquarters for the Asia-Pacific.

AAP lcs/mn/jl/bwl

KEYWORD: BOART SA

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Conditions on Victoria's snowfields today

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2008
Vic: Conditions on Victoria's snowfields today

MELBOURNE, Aug 8 AAP - Conditions on Victoria's snowfields today:

MT HOTHAM - Lifts: 13/13. Temp: -3.4C. Road: Open, chains 2WDS. Depth: 122cm. Winds:
Light southerly. Comments: Skiing and boarding on an excellent cover of packed and groomed
snow.

FALLS CREEK - Lifts: 14/14. Temp: -2.3C. Road: Open and clear. Snow depth: 128cm.

Winds: Light Light southerly. Comments: Skiing and boarding on an excellent cover of packed
and groomed snow.



MT BULLER - Lifts: 24/24. Temp: -3.4C. Road: Open and clear. Snow depth: 81cm. Winds:
Light southerly. Comments: Skiing and boarding on a very good to excellent cover of fresh
dry snow with extensive grooming overnight.

MT BAW BAW - Lifts: 5/7. Temp: -1.7C. Road: Open, chains 2WDS. Snow depth: 54cm. Winds:
West south westerly breeze. Comments: Skiing and boarding on excellent firm packed and
groomed snow cover in all areas open.

DINNER PLAIN - Lifts: 1/1. Road: Open, icy patches. Snow depth: 49cm. Comments: Skiing
and boarding on an excellent cover of groomed snow. Very good to excellent cross country
on groomed trails to Hotham.



LAKE MOUNTAIN - Temp: -1.2C. Road: Open and clear. Snow depth: 35cm. Comments: Very
good sightseeing, snow play and tobogganing.

MT STIRLING - Road: Open. Snow depth: 70cm.

MT BUFFALO - Road: Open and clear. Snow depth: 60cm.

MT ST GWINEAR - Road: Open and icy. Snow depth: 59cm.

MT DONNA BUANG - Road: Open and clear. Snow depth: 1cm. Comments: Patchy snow cover
for good sightseeing and poor snow play.

AAP mok/

KEYWORD: SNOW VIC

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Five businessmen charged with arson and fraud

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2008
NSW: Five businessmen charged with arson and fraud

SYDNEY, Feb 14 AAP - Five businessmen have been charged with arson and fraud after
a fire destroyed a warehouse in Sydney's west worth $2 million.

The two-storey building in Jean Street, Rydalmere, was engulfed in flames when firefighters
arrived about 1.15am (AEDT) on June 21 last year.

Crews battled the blaze for about two hours but several walls collapsed, leaving the
building with extensive damage.

The building was occupied by a company specialising in logo design and clothing and
has since been bulldozed.

Strick Force Lipari was established by the police arson team to investigate the fire,
which detectives now allege was deliberately lit inside the building.

They also said their investigations had uncovered a $1.4 million defrauding of a financial
institution.

Police yesterday executed search warrants at several premises including a business
at Parramatta, in Sydney's west, and at homes in Glenorie and Kellyville, in Sydney's
north.

Four men were arrested at the Parramatta premises and several items were seized including
a petrol container, electronic files and fireworks.

Two men, aged 59 and 30, from Glenorie, were charged with offences including malicious
damage, conspiracy to cheat and defraud, and being an accessary before and after the fact
to dishonestly destroy property by fire.

They were refused bail and were to appear in Parramatta Local Court today.

The other men, aged 28 and 24, both from Baulkham Hills, were charged with conspiracy
to cheat and defraud, and with concealing a serious offence.

They were granted conditional bail and are due to appear Parramatta Local Court on March 12.

Police said on January 23, a 31-year-old Oatlands man had been arrested after being
stopped by police in his vehicle on Pennant Hills Road at North Parramatta.

He was later charged with 13 offences, similar to those faced by the other four men.

He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on March 13.

AAP vpm/was/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: ARSON

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Randwick horse results known by end of day - McGauran

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2007
Fed: Randwick horse results known by end of day - McGauran

CANBERRA, Aug 27 AAP - Authorities should know by the end of today if three horses
at Randwick racetrack in Sydney have equine influenza (EI), federal Agriculture Minister
Peter McGauran says.

There are now seven locations across regional NSW and southern Queensland, as well
as Centennial Park in Sydney, where there are confirmed or suspected cases of EI, Mr McGauran
said.

Mr McGauran said Randwick was not yet confirmed as affected by the epidemic, which
has shut down all horse movements in the country.

"There were precautionary measures imposed today to finish trackwork prematurely and
there are tests on three horses awaiting results," he told ABC radio.

Mr McGauran said there had been no conclusion as to the source of the flu outbreak,
and he cautioned people to wait until forensic scientists working on the case had completed
their work.

"It is inconclusive what is the source and the location of the outbreak," he said.

"We have a forensic epidemiologist working on the issue because we must identify the
strain of horses in the quarantine centre that are affected, five of them, and the horses
outside, especially at Centennial Park."

He said no breach of the strict standard operating quarantine procedures had been detected.

"For instances, all horses come in one batch and in between batches, there's a wash-down
and a disinfection for two days," he said.

"Anybody entering the premises, especially, say, a vet, wears coats and gumboots provided
by us which are then burnt. They have to shower on their exit and they have to disinfect
their equipment.

"Moreover, we can find no link between anybody who has been to Eastern Creek (quarantine
centre) and Centennial Park that poses a danger."

Mr McGauran said no liability had been established and he cautioned against anybody
jumping to conclusions.

"Let the scientists do their job," he said.

"Bear in mind, no horse has been released from the quarantine centre that has horse
flu. They've all been locked away since early August."

Mr McGauran said he expected the lock-down to continue until at least the end of the week.

AAP dep/sb/sp

KEYWORD: STALLIONS MCGAURAN LEAD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Diary Events for Friday, April 13, 2007

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2007
Diary Events for Friday, April 13, 2007
EVENTS LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND LOCAL TIME UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED:

ADELAIDE - No items listed.

BRISBANE

0930 - DSTO spreading its wings in Queensland to pursue high-speed flight research.

Official opening of the new DSTO Brisbane Headquarters and Hypersonics research laboratory.

DSTO Brisbane, CSIRO Lecture Theatre, Main Building, Queensland Centre for Advanced Technology,
1 Technology Court (off Bainbridge Drive) Pullenvale. Niki Lyons 0418 762 307.

1015 - Yungaba Action Group - Anna Bligh receives petition to save Yungaba. Delene
Cuddihy will hand over a Yungaba Petition. South Brisbane Electorate Office, Suite 1/90
Vulture St, West End. Delene Cuddihy 0402 597 259.

1100 - Minister Mal Brough officially opens the sixth site of the Family Income Management
Office. Cooktown. Kevin Donnellan 0408 491 956.

1200 - Elle launches new collection at MYER Brisbane City. Elle Macpherson will open
her boudoir as she launches her Intimates Boudoir Collection. Myer Brisbane City, Queen
Street. Natalie Perris 0438 101 130.

1230 - Greyhound Driver Takes To The Road. Brad Goldsmith has just walked 1,260km solo
from Brisbane to Rockhampton and back to raise awareness and funds for Cure Cancer Australia.

Roma Street Transit Centre, Level 3, Greyhound Australia counter. Anthony McClellan 0419
229 271.

CANBERRA

0945 - Governor-General Michael Jeffery will hold investitures with 40 recipients of
honours and awards, Government House, Yarralumla, ACT. Contact: Steve Jiggins 02 6283
3519.

1000 - COAG Meeting, Parliament House, Canberra.

1415 - Governor-General Michael Jeffery will hold investitures with 41 recipients of
honours and awards, Government House, Yarralumla, ACT. Contact: Steve Jiggins 02 6283
3519.

DARWIN - No items listed.

HOBART - No items listed.

PERTH

0730 - WA Local Government Association breakfast to be addressed by a kidnapping victim
who went on to lead the fight against violent crime in South Africa. Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Contact Bill Mitchell on 0427 171 896.

MELBOURNE

- Melbourne International Comedy Festival. April 4-29. Various venues. Website: comedyfestival.com.au

0900-1350 - Day three of MedEd 2007 conference organised by Medical Deans Australia
and New Zealand. Grand Hyatt Melbourne, 123 Collins Street. Contact: Penny Fannin 9696
3602, 0417 125 700.

1030 - Hazel Hawke's granddaughter Sophie Pieters-Hawke to launch kit for Victorian
secondary and primary school students by Alzheimer's Australia to learn about ageing and
dementia. 98-104 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn. Contact: Kate Morton 0398157800 or 0437543113.

1100 - Official unveiling of new memorial on the Great Ocean Road as part of 75th Anniversary
celebrations of the road which is the world's biggest war memorial. Eastern View, between
Lorne and Aireys Inlet, Great Ocean Road, Victoria. Contact: Roger Grant 0417373318.

SYDNEY

1030 - Unveiling of masterworks program for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

30 Wallis St, Woollahra. Contact: Kath Rose 0415 291 493.

1830 - CityFest festival launch in Holroyd. The Holroyd Centre Foyer, Miller Street
Merrylands. Contact: Margaret Paton 9840 9717 or 0416 105 029.

1900 - Launch of Youth Week in the city with a Hawaiian pool party. Victoria Park Pool,
City Road, Corner of Parramatta Road, Camperdown. Contact: Fran Heysey (02) 9265 9910
or 0418 603 561.

SPORT

AFL - Round 3 - to April 15 1940 - Collingwood v Richmond, MCG

RUGBY LEAGUE - NRL - Round 5 - to April 16 1930 - Penrith v Parramatta, CUA Std 1930
- Gold Coast Titans v Brisbane, Suncorp Std

SWIMMING - Australian Age C'ships - to April 15 Challenge Std, Perth

SURFING - ASP World C'ship tour - to April 13 Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach, Vic

RUGBY - Super 14 - Week 11 - to April 15 1735 (AEST) - Hurricanes v Cheetahs, Wellington, NZ

CRICKET - World Cup - to April 28 Super 8 Match A1 v D1 2330 (AEST) - Australia v Ireland,
Kensington Oval, Barbados, Caribbean

GALLOPS - Grafton Geelong Gold Coast Sapphire Coast

TROTS - Harold Park Moonee Valley Gold Coast Gawler Bendigo Bathurst Gloucester Park

GREYHOUNDS - Richmond Geelong Albion Park Traralgon The Gardens Mandurah Casino

AAP was/goc/mn

KEYWORD: DIARY EVENTS FRIDAY APRIL 13, 2007

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Pinochet's death no solace for Chilean exiles

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2006
Fed: Pinochet's death no solace for Chilean exiles

By Claudia Ferraz

SYDNEY, Dec 11 AAP - The death of former dictator Augusto Pinochet has brought no relief
to some Chileans who resettled in Australia during his regime.

Ruben Caceres, 51, came to Australia from Chile in 1975, with his parents as an 18-year-old,
two years after Pinochet seized power, but said he brought with him the bad memories from
that time.

Pinochet died today at the age of 91.

"Finally he is dead, but it is not a relief because you can't forget the bad memories,"

said Mr Caceres, who now lives in Sydney.

"I will never forgive the government because he had never been put on trial.

"If you commit a crime you have to pay for it, it makes me sad that he never did."

Mr Caceres now acts as the president of Teletron, an association that helps disabled
people back in Chile.

He said his family had not been running from the military dictatorship, but they had
felt great sadness at leaving people behind.

"Luckily I left two years after Pinochet took control of the country, but I was worried
about my family and friends in Chile because I was enjoying (life) here and they were
left there," Mr Caceres said.

"I saw a lot people dying.

"There was too many shootings in the streets, too many people disappeared, too many
people got killed.

"People were thrown from helicopters into the ocean."

Mr Caceres returned to Chile 10 years ago and said it was very different.

"People in favour of Pinochet are blind," he said.

"They will never feel sorry."

Eduardo Gonzales, publisher of the Spanish-language newspaper Extra Informativo, said
Pinochet's death would not mean the end of the divisions among the Chilean people.

"I believe that those divisions will continue, there will not be a sudden healing," he said.

Mr Gonzalez said Pinochet was a sinister figure who never faced the responsibility
of the abuses committed during his regime.

"He used every trick in the book to avoid facing the tribunals of justice," he said.

"Not only the tortures and the murders, but also the money he accumulated in a foreign
bank makes him a figure not just controversial but downright sinister."

AAP students/hn/imc/nf

KEYWORD: CHILE PINOCHET AUST

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Govt rejects PC plan to open shipping to more competition

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2006
Fed: Govt rejects PC plan to open shipping to more competition

The government's rejected a Productivity Commission plan .. to boost competition in
the shipping industry.

But Treasurer PETER COSTELLO and Transport Minister WARREN TRUSS have agreed to make
minor changes to the legislation.

It follows the commission's report last year .. arguing shipping and cargo companies
should be exposed to more competition .. including greater oversight by the nation's competition
watchdog.

AAP RTV sw/sb/wf/bart

KEYWORD: SHIPPING (CANBERRA)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: No one choosing super choice

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2006
Fed: No one choosing super choice

By Shane Wright, Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP - When offered choice, Australians have decided against moving
their retirement money.

A new analysis by the superannuation industry of the impact of super choice laws has
found that people have shown little interest in either moving their nest eggs to different
funds or setting up their own.

Super choice was introduced at the start of the 2005-06 financial year, with pundits
and surveys suggesting almost one in five people would change their superannuation supplier.

But the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) survey found that since
workers were given the right to choose their super fund, just four per cent had actively
sought out a new fund.

Around seven per cent of people had changed funds, but two per cent of that was due
to changing jobs, while another one per cent had changed because their old fund had closed.

The introduction of super choice also sparked suggestions more people would create,
and manage, their own super funds.

But the ASFA survey found just 0.5 per cent of people surveyed had actually chosen
to follow through with a self-managed fund.

In fact, the number of self-managed funds being created per month has fallen by almost
a third since the introduction of super choice.

While some analysts had believed super choice would lead to people leaving industry
funds, the survey found many employers comfortable with industry superannuation.

"There is evidence that industry funds have fared better than some commentators expected
from choice of fund, and have continued to close the gap of market share between them
and retail funds," ASFA found.

"Industry funds are now able to attract and retain members without needing to rely
on provisions in industrial awards.

"As well, the account balances of those in industry (and other super funds) continue to grow."

ASFA chief executive Philippa Smith said it appeared the great bulk of employers were
not exercising their right to choose a new super fund.

"The ASFA study suggests that the rate of changing funds will continue at 11 per cent
or 12 per cent of employees a year, with around half of that due to active choice by employees
and the rest due to job change or fund closure," she said.

"Choice of fund will lead to the positive step of account consolidations, but the problem
of some members losing contact with one or more of their super accounts will remain."

The survey found many people who had considered changing super fund before the super
choice laws came into operation had simply decided to stay put.

"Fund members in many funds have now gone through a cycle of contemplating change,
and a larger proportion of members are now more rusted onto their fund than they were
before," it found.

The survey found up to 30 per cent of people could not be bothered to shift funds,
while another 10 per cent cannot change funds because of a workplace agreement or other
restriction.

Fifty per cent said they were staying put because of loyalty or commitment to the fund
they were in.

The survey found people in retail funds were more likely to move their cash.

AAP sw/sb/lma/bwl

KEYWORD: SUPER

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC: Main Stories in today's Melbourne newspapers=2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2005
VIC: Main Stories in today's Melbourne newspapers=2

MELBOURNE, Dec 1 AAP - THE AGE

Page 1: Australia has the most overvalued houses in the western world, with prices
52 per cent higher than justified by rental values, the OECD says. Nguyen Tuong Van will
see his last sunrise today, by the time the sun breaks over the South China Sea horizon
tomorrow he will be dead. Scientists are investigating the deaths of 400 ducks in wetlands
on Melbourne's western fringe.

Page 2: A scathing report into the Dr Death scandal has recommended several senior
bureaucrats face criminal and disciplinary charges. Singapore's Prime Minister has dismissed
calls to spare Nguyen Tuong Van from the gallows. An Australian woman detained in Mauritius
after being arrested with 3.5kg of heroin allegedly hidden in her luggage has not been
charged.

Page 3: Australia risks promoting rather than reducing terrorism if increased police
powers and security measures are seen as directed exclusively against Islamic groups,
research shows. ASIO has censored the report of the parliamentary committee that oversees
the operations of Australia's intelligence agencies. Former Neighbours star Shane Connor
has won a damages payout for wrongful dismissal from his former employer. A jail inmate
who died from an asthma attack at the weekend left a note telling authorities he had tried
to get help but his calls went unanswered.

World: The US military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written
by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq.

Finance: The OECD has forecast a modest quickening of economic activity globally, as
the first data from the September quarter showed construction at a record.

Sport: Jelena Dokic's return to Australia has the blessing of her estranged father
Damir, although tennis' most controversial father believes his daughter has virtually
no chance of re-emerging as a competitive force in the game.

AAP sam/mon

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS VIC 2 MELBOURNE

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

L&H's Dictaphone HSG Continues to be Healthcare Providers' Leading Choice for Patient Reporting Solutions.

Business/Technology Editors and Health/Medical Writers

HIMSS 2001 Conference

NEW ORLEANS--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 5, 2001

Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group Announces Major Customer

Contracts Across its Product Line

Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group (Dictaphone HSG), a division of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. (EASDAQ:LHSP, OTC:LHSPQ) (`L&H' or `the Company'), a world leader in speech and language technology, products and services today announced that several prominent healthcare organizations have signed significant contracts over the past three months. These contracts demonstrate the continued success of Dictaphone HSG's Enterprise Express(R) dictation, transcription and report management platform, and indicate steady progress in penetrating the large and growing clinic and group practice markets, in addition to the hospital segment. The new contracts also further endorse this speech recognition and text-processing platform as a viable and cost effective solution for report generation in radiology and other medical specialties.

Expanding Dictaphone HSG's installed base in hospitals with Enterprise Express(R) technology

Building on its success in 1,500 hospitals to date, Dictaphone HSG secured significant commitments during the last three months for its Enterprise Express(R) voice and text processing platform solution from a number of well-known and respected hospitals, including Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center (MA); Baptist Healthcare System (KY); Mt. Clemens General Hospital (MI); Long Beach Memorial (CA); Nyack Hospital (NY); and Blue Hill Memorial (ME).

Of these commitments, 37 orders included the Enterprise Express(R) TextSystem software, a companion transcription and document management software complement to Dictaphone HSG's core VoiceSystem software. Dictaphone HSG believes that its success with the TextSystem software demonstrates the healthcare market's need for an integrated voice and text processing solution with rich features and a system platform that can be expanded to incorporate evolving document processing technologies such as speech recognition.

Dictaphone HSG also makes progress in penetrating outpatient markets

Dictaphone HSG also announced contracts over the last three months with a number of clinics and specialty physician groups, which offer outpatient services. Selected account wins include Columbus Urology (OH); Florida Eye Associates (FL); Hand Surgical Associates (LA); South Jersey Radiology; Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic (NC); Genesis Physician Group (IN); and Indiana Heart Physicians (IN).

Rob Schwager, President of L&H's Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group said: "These contracts demonstrate real progress in realizing L&H's goal of significantly expanding Dictaphone HSG's leadership position and share in the clinic and group practice markets. The rapid acceptance of our patient reporting system solutions within these segments is testimony to the effectiveness of our system platforms' scalability, and our ability to tailor technology that has been proven in the demanding hospital environment to the unique needs of the outpatient markets."

To penetrate these markets, Dictaphone HSG has introduced the smaller Enterprise 125 and Enterprise 50 versions of the larger Enterprise Express(R) systems, along with various solutions packages to meet the specific needs of smaller healthcare organizations. Further, over the past two years, the company has assembled a specialized sales force to serve the outpatient markets.

Dictaphone HSG also recently launched its ichart(TM) solution suite, an ASP (application service provider) offering of Internet-based dictation, transcription, and related services. The ichart(TM) solution is designed to appeal to groups and clinics that have not traditionally been able to invest in onsite systems.

Radiologists continue to embrace Dictaphone HSG's speech recognition technology solutions

Dictaphone HSG's PowerScribe(R) for Radiology system, the market-leading, integrated speech recognition and transcription management system, has proven that speech recognition technology can generate real productivity improvements and cost savings in healthcare patient reporting while ensuring a rapid return on investment for HSG customers. The company noted that sales of its speech recognition systems in the radiology market exceeded $1 million per month on average throughout 2000, including a record quarter in 3Q00 for PowerScribe(R) system. Recently joining HSG's impressive roster of more than 100 PowerScribe(R) clients are Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT); Spring Branch Medical Center (Houston, TX); Lancaster General Hospital (Lancaster, PA); and Northeast Health (Albany, NY). The company noted that two recent contracts with the University of Virginia Health System (Charlottesville, VA) and Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services, PC (Hicksville, NY), represent the largest planned deployments to date of PowerScribe(R) system in an academic hospital and private diagnostic imaging center, respectively.

About Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group

Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group (HSG) combines Dictaphone's healthcare technologies with the speech recognition and text processing technologies of L&H and Dragon Systems. The group has a strong base of dictation, transcription, and report management systems solutions currently being deployed in some of the nation's premier healthcare organizations. Its full range of solutions automates and integrates several critical reporting and processing elements in the creation and management of health information, helping healthcare organizations and clinicians improve productivity and the quality of patient care. In addition to the flagship Enterprise Express(R) platform, L&H PowerScribe(R) for Radiology is an integrated dictation and transcription system designed for radiologists in hospitals and group practices looking to reduce the costs and turnaround time associated with their dictated patient reports. Dictaphone HSG has also introduced the ichart(TM) family of Internet-based solutions that integrate existing products and technologies with new coding, natural language and data mining technologies, significantly reducing the costs of managing patient information. Dictaphone HSG digital dictation solutions are an integral part of the creation and flow of patient information in over half of all U.S. hospitals, currently supporting several hundred-thousand physicians who use the group's systems to generate an estimated one million reports and 100,000 hours of dictation a day.

About Lernout & Hauspie

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. ("L&H" or the "Company") is a global leader in advanced speech and language solutions for vertical markets, computers, automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is using advanced translation technology to break down language barriers. The company provides a wide range of offerings, including: customized solutions for corporations; core speech technologies marketed to OEMs; end user and retail applications for continuous speech products in horizontal and vertical markets; and document creation, human and machine translation services, Internet translation offerings, and linguistic tools.

L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression (SMC) and text-to-text (translation). For more information, please visit Lernout & Hauspie on the World Wide Web at www.lhsl.com.

For product information please visit Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions Group at: www.dictaphone.com, or call: 888-350-4863.

This Press Release contains forward looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including statements about the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Readers are cautioned that forward looking statements include known and unknown risks, including the uncertainties associated with the Company's recent chapter 11 filings in the United States and similar proceedings in Belgium, uncertainty of new product development, the risk that newly introduced products may contain undetected errors or defects or otherwise not perform as anticipated, the early state of development of the speech, language and medical information technology markets, the ability of L&H's customers to successfully integrate and commercialize L&H's technology, the retention of key technological and other personnel, currency and other risks related to international operations, rapid technological change and intense competition, as well as other risks set forth in L&H's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this Press Release.

L&H, Dictaphone, PowerScribe, ichart and Enterprise Express are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other product names or trademarks referenced herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Primedia Builds Presence on Internet.

Working to expand and broaden its Internet presence, Primedia, Inc. has launched Web sites likeApartmentguide.com--a site for apartment renters--that had 1.35 million visitors in November, 1999 with an average user session of 10 minutes. Focusing on vertical markets, Primedia's Web sites have targeted teens (www.seventeen.com), outdoor recreation (www.equisearch.com), and key life events (www.modernbride.com) and (www.americanbaby.com). And Primedia's business-to-business Internet unit, called IndustryClick, has focused on such markets as entertainment technology (www.digibid.com), telecommunications (www.internettelephony.com) and media (www.mediacentral.com).

"During the last nine months, we have built several very successful Internet businesses," said Charles McCurdy, president of Primedia, And prompted by this success, the company plans to create structures and currencies for outside Internet funding to expand these consumer and business-to-business brands.

Detailing sex on campus: `Naked truth' appears open to interpretation.(Saturday)(The Mag Trade)

Brace yourselves. Details and Random House joined forces last fall to conduct the largest ever - they claim - survey about college sex, doing their quizzing via a 151-question poll mailed to 20,000 college students. The survey netted a 10 percent response rate.

The May issue of Details is featuring partial results of the survey in its fifth annual "Sex Issue." Complete findings appear in Random House's "Sex on Campus: The Naked Truth About the Real Sex Lives of College Students," which also went on sale Tuesday along with Details.

In his editor's letter, Details Editor-in-chief Joe Dolce expresses surprise at the results. Given all "the ambiguous sexuality so prevalent in advertising, and with the boom in amateur pornography, I assumed we'd be witnessing a return to pleasure, the rebirth of the sexual revolution, or at least the beginnings of a nascent sexual evolution."

Rebirth of the sexual revolution? Well, the report finds that 74 percent of those responding lost their virginity in high school or earlier; 68 percent have had sex under the influence of alcohol, while 55 percent don't always practice safe sex. It looks as if the impact of the sexual revolution is still very much alive and flourishing.

Yet, despite these figures and the findings that college students are showing an increase in, as Mr. Dolce puts it, "kink lite" (that is, spanking, bondage and talking dirty), it turns out that 96 percent of those responding consider marriage the best form of relationship.

Along with a photo spread on couples at University of California at Los Angeles who've been together anywhere from one month to six years and a feature on young women going naked on the Internet ("Downloading the Girls Next Door"), Details pulls its forelock in praise of marriage with an article by novelist Brad Meltzer. The writer met his future wife in high school when he was 15, married her when graduating from college and on the eve of their 10th high school reunion couldn't be happier than in the bonds of wedlock.

The Weekly Standard of April 21 leads off with a dandy article by The Washington Times' own Tod Lindberg: "Lawyer, Heal Thyself," in which he studies the curious case of Richard Ben-Veniste, describing him as the attack dog genus of lawyer - "an in-your-face, take no prisoners type."

Mr. Lindberg acknowledges Mr. Ben-Veniste as one of the top 50 lawyers in town, but notes that he has left a "distasteful trail of ethical flotsam stirred up in the wake of his confrontational style." It's a juicy, well-researched piece of work. Vanity Fair, always exceedingly good value, offers a goodly collection of worthy articles in its May issue, some with strong Washington links. Judy Bachrach does an in-depth feature on superbest-seller author Patricia Cornwell with an interesting photograph of author as medical examiner (like her heroine, Kay Scarpetta) in blood-stained gown, with lots of blood around her on autopsy tools. The article goes into the curious story linking the author with a married couple of FBI agents - very strange stuff, particularly Miss Cornwell's comments on the whole affair.

Sally Bedell Smith, who recently gave us an excellent biography of the late Pamela Harriman, has turned to a very much alive billionaire: Sir James Goldsmith, a very bright, complex, and oh-so-rich man. His domestic relationships are almost as interesting as his political goals for Europe.

The same issue also gives us a long excerpt from an upcoming biography of another ambitious woman - a near contemporary of Pamela Harriman, but one who made it with some genuine talent: Clare Boothe Luce. The excerpt takes her from working as a caption writer to managing editor of Vanity Fair (a slightly different publication then), and the courtship and marriage to the media mogul of the day, Henry Luce. A lot of fascinating social history.

Speaking of beautiful, ambitious and successful women, Esquire in its May issue brings you "Arianna (Rhymes with `Top Banana')," in which writer Jonathan Van Meter endeavors to explain how Mrs. Huffington went from "the Lady Macbeth of the Republican Party to being the lovable star of a a hip political-comedy show" with her own development deal. This too makes for some pretty entertaining reading.

Had enough of glamorous successful women? How about the glamour of wealth and power? Well, Fortune with its April 28 issue is bringing forth its "1997 500," America's 500 largest corporations and how they've done in this year of a very bull market. You get Fortune's annual list plus "The 500 Medians" (how the industries in the 500 compare), the 500 ranked by performance and the 500 ranked within states. In short, everything you could possibly want to know about the 500.

Yet another new magazine has blossomed forth on the newsstands of the land. Hearst Publications is launching Mr. Food's EasyCooking. Mr. Food, it seems, is "America's Favorite TV Chef," according to the subtitle of the magazine. His program doesn't appear to play in the immediate Washington area, although according to a list in the magazine, he can be seen in a great many states, including on WRIC in Richmond, Va.

Mr. Food, judging from the many photographs of him in his chef's toque blanche scattered through the pages of his magazine, seems like a jolly fellow whose big line is "Ooh, it's so good!" That line appears frequently throughout the issue. The magazine seems aimed at the busy housewife, but it has no breakdown of the recipes as to percentage of fat content or total calories, unlike many cooking magazines these days. Still, there is an article on low-fat ways of satisfying the fat urge.

If you're into gardening instead of cooking, check out the May/June issue of Organic Gardening with its feature on sunflowers, described in an alliterative burst as "a seriously sensational selection of supremely scintillating sunflowers." You get descriptions of 33 different styles of the flower plus a field guide with illustrations of 25 garden pests and how to beat them. Just what you need with summer edging up, right?

Cynthia Grenier writes The Mag Trade column Saturdays.