Sydney Morning Herald
Nobel Peace Prize to Gore may be in the wind
FORMER US vice-president Al Gore is a frontrunner for the Nobel Peace Prize, to be announced in Norway on Friday.
Key Nobel watcher Stein Toennesson, director of the International Peace Research Institute, predicts the climate change campaigner will win the coveted prize.
This year, with world attention fixed on global warming, Mr Toennesson said giving a joint prize to Mr Gore and Canadian Inuit environmental activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier might be an appealing choice for the prize committee.
"It would have to do with climate change and it would be a prize that included both a man and a woman," he said.
Another possibility would be to give the prize to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, he said.
Others mentioned include Finnish peace mediator Martti Ahtisaari, and activists Lida Yusupova from Russia and Rebiya Kadeer from China.
The peace award is announced in Oslo. The other prizes - medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics - are announced in Stockholm.
AAP
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/nobel-peace-prize-to-gore-may-be-in-the-wind/2007/10/06/1191091420242.html
Now the flu is about to hit the Diva and her little boy
MIGHTY mare Makybe Diva and her seven-week-old foal are expected to contract equine influenza by the end of the week.
Coolmore Stud general manager Michael Kirwan said the epidemic struck the Hunter Valley property last week.
He said the triple Melbourne Cup winner and her foal - a bay colt by Galileo valued at more than $3million - were not infected by the flu, but "it won't be long before they get it".
The Sun-Herald can also reveal that the Diva is thought to be pregnant again, having been covered by Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus.
"[The flu] infects the whole property. It doesn't play favourites," Mr Kirwan said.
"The law of averages says that some foals will die. As it stands, the death of one foal is nothing. We have a good team of vets on the property and they'll be monitoring sick horses closely."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/flu-about-to-hit-diva/2007/10/06/1191091420125.html
Human error behind contamination
Human error is behind the latest outbreak of equine influenza at Sydney's Rosehill racecourse, federal Agricultural Minister Peter McGauran says.
Mr McGauran today confirmed a biosecurity breach at Rosehill was to blame for the highly contagious virus spreading to one stable at the training centre.
"The tragedy for Randwick, Warwick Farm and Rosehill training centres is that it's been introduced by a human being who has breached biosecurity,'' Mr McGauran said.
He said the latest horse flu outbreak at Rosehill was a serious setback for racing in Sydney, but he remained positive Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival would go ahead.
Mr McGauran said the virus was contained within one stable and there was hope it would not spread.
"The early signs are that the vaccinations which were given to horses seven days ago might be providing some degree of immunity,'' he said. "But you don't get full immunity until three weeks after the first inoculation.''
If the vaccinations already administered to horses a week ago at Rosehill take full effect racing could resume later this month or early next month, Mr McGauran said.
"Influenza has crippled the livelihoods of an entire industry in NSW and Queensland, and not just racing but also harness and breeding. It's doing untold damage.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better within the zones already affected.
"This is the biggest battle the racing industry in Australia has ever faced.
"It has cost the jobs of hundreds of people in NSW and Queensland and devastated the incomes of thousands more,'' Mr McGauran said.
The government has ordered another 100,000 vaccinations. A shipment of 130,000 arrived yesterday from the French manufacturer and is being distributed throughout NSW, QLD and Victoria.
The government would consider ordering more vaccines, Mr McGauran said..
AAP
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/human-error-behind-contamination/2007/10/06/1191091402712.html
Rogue doctor warning
AN unregistered doctor specialising in cosmetic surgery has been practising in four Sydney clinics.
The NSW Medical Board has urged hospitals, surgeries and clinics to check the credentials of their staff after The Sun-Herald discovered Swapan Chowdhury performed illegal surgery and consulted with hundreds of women - despite being unregistered for four months.
Last week, he was heavily booked at surgeries in Bankstown, Parramatta, Caringbah and Penrith.
And before his deregistration in June, he was the subject of disciplinary action after "complaints and information" were received by the board.
In 2005, the board's performance review panel identified numerous issues relating to Dr Chowdhury's work, which were "below the standard reasonably expected of a practitioner of equivalent level of training or experience". He was ordered not to consult or undertake work in a solo practice.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rogue-doctor-warning/2007/10/06/1191091420536.html
Bridge to toughen up against terrorists
AN $85 million upgrade of the Sydney Harbour Bridge will make it more able to resist a terrorist attack, the NSW Government says.
The work, to start on October 15, will strengthen the bridge to ensure its longevity.
Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal said the bridge was in excellent working condition after 75 years and the upgrade was designed to ensure it lasted hundreds more.
The hangers that support the deck of the bridge will be strengthened and two steel gantries will be built under the bridge to provide a safer work environment for maintenance crews.
Mr Roozendaal said the bridge had no structural problems. "We'll be using 21st-century engineering techniques to ensure the longevity of the icon for generations to come," he said.
"While the improvement work will be permanent, it has also been designed to ensure there are no significant changes to the visual identity of the bridge.
"These works, which have been designed to ensure the structural longevity of the bridge, will also take into account counter-terrorism measures.
"This is a fact we now have to deal with when it comes to major pieces of infrastructure."
Mr Roozendaal said a platform to be built on the bridge to allow construction workers access to the spans would be painted bridge grey to make it less obvious.
"The RTA expects disruptions to motorists and commuters to be minimal, with any lane closures to take place outside peak periods to minimise delays."
Source: The Sun-Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/harbour-bridge-to-toughen-up/2007/10/06/1191091420666.html
RSL chief calls for test on souvenirs
VETERANS groups yesterday urged the Federal Government to investigate whether bones of soldiers killed in Papua New Guinea during World War II were being dug up and sold by villagers.
Returned Services League chief, Major-General Bill Crews, said DNA tests should be conducted on the bones to determine if they were Australian or Japanese remains.
"If it can be established they are human remains, the high commission in Port Moresby should investigate if they are Australian, Japanese or even PNG remains," General Crews said.
"DNA testing can establish these things very quickly. We would be horrified if it turns out they are Australian remains being offered as souvenirs.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rsl-chief-calls-for-test-on-souvenirs/2007/10/06/1191091421020.html
Sex victims saved from court torment
BARRISTERS will be refused permission to cross-examine children and sexual assault victims under an Australian-first law to be brought in by the NSW Government.
Changes to the Evidence Act will mean the most vulnerable crime victims and witnesses will be able to give their evidence uninterrupted, in story form.
The changes come after Attorney-General John Hatzistergos last month urged the NSW Bar Association to ban the asking of embarrassing, harassing or intimidating questions, even if their clients tell them to.
Premier Morris Iemma said he was determined to protect children and victims of sexual assault from harassment and predatory cross-examination in court.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sex-victims-saved-from-court-torment/2007/10/06/1191091420533.html
Depression screening for pregnant women
ALL pregnant women would be screened for postnatal depression before and after giving birth under a federal Labor government.
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd yesterday made the $85 million commitment to combat the illness, which affects almost one in five new mothers, as he stepped up pressure on the Prime Minister, who again refused to speculate on an election date.
In another effort to impress swinging voters, Labor would deliver generous tax credits for low- to middle-income families to encourage more people into the workforce.
Labor sources said Mr Rudd had approved the tax credits plan, which will be the centrepiece of Labor's pre-election tax policy.
Campaigning in his seat of Bennelong on the day a Sydney Morning Herald/Nielsen poll predicted he and nine of his ministers would lose their seats, John Howard said the election would be held "some time between now and early December".
He brushed off suggestions the Government should be embarrassed after Ben Quin, the Liberal candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons, quit in disgust over the Government's decision to approve the $1.7 billion Gunns pulp mill.
He refused to rule out welcoming Mr Quin back to the party should he win the seat as an independent. "Let's see the outcome," Mr Howard said.
As part of the Opposition's National Postnatal Depression Plan women would be screened once during pregnancy. There would be a follow-up interview when the baby was immunised at about two months.
Mr Rudd said women identified as being at risk would be referred to existing services, including Medicare-funded treatment by psychologists, and counselling.
He said health professionals including midwives, child and maternal health nurses and GPs would receive extra training on how to identify postnatal depression.
"Too many women who experience antenatal and postnatal depression are not identified and so do not receive adequate support, placing them at risk of more serious problems, some requiring hospitalisation," Mr Rudd said.
He said there was strong evidence in favour of routine psycho-social screening in mainstream peri-natal care as an effective means of identifying potential problems early.
"Early identification means that better care and support can be provided for mothers and their families."
Mr Rudd said if he won the election his government would contribute $55 million over five years and seek $30 million from the State and Territory governments to help fund the plan. At least $20 million would be injected directly to the Access to Allied Psychological Services program, which allows GPs to refer patients to psychological services for free, or at minimal cost.
Australian General Practice Network chairman Tony Hobbs welcomed the announcement, saying the funding would allow GPs to fill the gaps in mental health services at a local level.
Dr Hobbs said one in 10 visits to local doctors related to mental health.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/depression-screening-for-pregnant-women/2007/10/06/1191091419962.html
Wills and Kate get the Di and Dodi treatment
LONDON: The images are eerily similar but taken 10 years apart - Princess Diana and her son, Prince William, photographed in the rear of a car fleeing a media pack.
In the same week that the last known photograph of his mother was made public at an inquest into her death, the Prince and his girlfriend Kate Middleton have been snapped trying to escape paparazzi.
The Prince's spokesman said it was "incomprehensible" the couple should be pursued in such a way as a London court examines Princess Diana's death in a high-speed crash.
Prince William complained yesterday that paparazzi on motorbikes and in cars chased him and his girlfriend as they left a favourite nightclub, Boujis, at 2am on Friday, London time.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/wills-and-kate-get-di-treatment/2007/10/06/1191091420236.html
English send Wallabies home
Rupert Guinness in Marseilles October 7, 2007
Australia 10 England 12
FOUR years ago it was one drop goal which broke Australian hearts and last night England golden boy Jonny Wilkinson booted four penalty goals to send the Wallabies packing from the World Cup.
While Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri, who broke his try-scoring drought in the first half, registered the only five-pointer of the first quarter-final, the defending champions punished Australia for an error-riddled game.
And the truth is, England deserved the win and ticket to next week's semi-final in Paris.
Before a near-capacity 59,102 crowd at Stade Velodrome, the Wallabies walked off after half-time 10-6 up.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/world-cup/wilkinson-boots-wallabies-out-of-world-cup/2007/10/07/1191091437842.html
We have no plans to attack Iran: Bush
PRESIDENT George Bush has denied on Arab television that the United States is gearing up to attack Iran.
In an hour-long interview with Al Arabiya, he said he remained committed to working diplomatically to resolve the stand-off with Tehran over its nuclear program. He reiterated his pledge to negotiate with Iran once it gave up its nuclear program.
"I have said that if they suspend their nuclear program, we will be at the table," Mr Bush said in a transcript of the interview released by the White House. "But they have so far refused to do that."
Mr Bush brushed off as "gossip" reports in the Arab press that he had issued orders to senior US military officials to prepare for a major, precise strike on Iran at the end of January or February.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/we-have-no-plans-to-attack-iran-bush/2007/10/06/1191091420245.html
Alcoa tries to shed some weight to attract suitors
ALCOA has stepped up plans to sell some of its less profitable downstream divisions - a move that could make it more attractive to potential suitors or help fund a bid for Melbourne's Alumina.
The US aluminium maker said yesterday it would record $US845 million ($949 million) in after-tax restructuring and impairment charges when it releases its third-quarter earnings next week. Some of the charges are associated with the planned sale of its packaging business.
In April - a month before making an unsuccessful $US27 billion bid for Canadian rival Alcan - Alcoa appointed investment bankers to help it sell the packaging business. Alcoa said yesterday it had received "strong indications" from strategic buyers and the transaction could be completed in late 2007 or early 2008. It is also close to finalising the sale of its automotive castings business.
Alcoa last month banked $US2 billion from selling its 7 per cent stake in the Chinese aluminium company Chalco. Analysts have estimated Alcoa could receive around $US2 billion for its packaging unit.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/alcoa-tries-to-shed-some-weight-to-attract-suitors/2007/10/05/1191091362607.html
Cool one million for lucky Hideaway guest
Fiji's resorts like to believe their guests feel like a million dollars after a holiday in the sun-soaked tropical islands.
But next year one lucky tourist will not only feel it, he or she will pocket a cool million bucks in a lucky draw, according to the promoter, Australian-owned Hideaway Resort on the Coral Coast of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu.
There's no entry fee between now and March 31, 2008, everyone staying four nights at Hideaway will receive one entry ticket, with each additional consecutive night earning a 10-ticket bonus with more handed out for every $F50 (about $A36) spent in the resort's restaurant, bar and shop.
Resort manager Adam Wade said a second, similar $A1 million promotion was being organised for travel agents and wholesalers who send tourists to the 400-bed beach resort, about halfway between Nadi International Airport and Suva, the Fiji capital.
About 40 per cent of Hideaway's visitors are from Australia.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/resort-to-give-away-1-million/2007/10/05/1191091334179.html
Tourism wagon hitches to the stars of a romantic epic
Julian Lee Marketing Reporter
October 5, 2007
TOURISM chiefs are banking on the epic romance Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, to deliver a tourism bonanza not seen since the Crocodile Dundee franchise cast the country as the land of the larrikin.
The country's peak tourism body, Tourism Australia, is in talks with the director, Baz Luhrmann, about creating a large-scale marketing campaign centred on the film with the stars playing a role in pushing Australia as a tourist destination that can offer more than the major sites.
Set in the years leading up to World War II the film portrays the affair between an English aristocrat and a cattle drover, played by Kidman and Jackman respectively, and takes in a sweep of Western Australia and Queensland, parts of which are bracing themselves for a flood visitors on the film's release next year.
The Herald understands the marketing could play on the film's romance to position Australia as a destination for lovers. And, rather than replace the So Where the Bloody Hell Are You? campaign, there are plans to incorporate the controversial line into the Australia-themed campaign.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/hopes-kidman-epic-will-have-icrocodile-dundeei-effect/2007/10/04/1191091276223.html
Vision Ltd: Turnbull yes to mess for 50 years
Here are some things you should know about what the Howard Government's Malcolm Turnbull has just done. It is all there, on Turnbull's website. You just have to look. The first thing to understand is that Turnbull has done Gunns Ltd a hugely good turn.
Gunns is the company that dominates Tasmania's forestry industry. Tasmania is the only Australian state that still clear-fells its native forests, turns its eucalypts into chips and incinerates the rest. Two days ago Turnbull, as John Howard's political surrogate, signed a piece of paper. It was headed:
Commonwealth of Australia.Decision to Approve the Taking of an Action.
It reads: "Pursuant to section 133 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, I, Malcolm Bligh Turnbull, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, approve the taking of the following action:
"to construct and operate a bleached Kraft pulp mill at Bell Bay, Tasmania, and associated infrastructure (EPBC 2007/3385).
http://www.smh.com.au/news/alan-ramsey/vision-ltd-turnbull-yes-to-mess-for-50-years/2007/10/05/1191091360751.html
Bells and whistles can make your home loan expensive
Home loan borrowers are increasingly playing it safe as questions remain over future interest rates. As expected, the Reserve Bank kept rates on hold this month but, with the economy strong and inflation again rearing its ugly head, more economists are factoring in another rate rise - maybe as early as November. This is despite continuing uncertainty in global credit markets and the fact some lenders have increased home loan rates on top of the official rate rise because of the increased cost of wholesale funds.
Figures from the broker Mortgage Choice show 26 per cent of home loans approved in August were fixed-rate products, up from 23 per cent in July. While that is still below the 30 per cent average over the past 12 months, the broker says there is clear evidence more borrowers are hedging their bets either by fixing in anticipation of further interest rate rises or having a bet each way by splitting their loan between fixed and variable rates.
At about 8 per cent, three-year fixed rates are below the banks' average standard variable rate of 8.3 per cent. Of course, hardly anyone is paying the standard variable rate, as most borrowers are able to negotiate discounts, bringing the actual interest rate paid closer to 7.7 per cent. But for borrowers prepared to shop around, it's possible to lock into a fixed rate at about the same cost as you'd pay on a variable rate loan or, in some cases, even a bit less.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/bells-and-whistles-can-make-your-home-loan-expensive/2007/10/05/1191091362655.html
New Zealand Herald
Flooding, landslides kill 18 in Vietnam (+photos)
9:45AM Saturday October 06, 2007
NGHIA QUANG COMMUNE, Vietnam - Rising floodwater and landslides triggered by a typhoon have killed 18 people and left 23 missing in northern and central Vietnam, where the lives of thousands are at risk, officials said on Friday.
Flooding after typhoon Lekima hit on Wednesday night has killed four people and swept away 16 others in the central province of Nghe An, state-run Voice of Vietnam radio cited provincial and military reports as saying.
"Waters are extremely high and strong now," senior Nghe An People's Committee official Nguyen Van Hanh said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468290
Farmers' fires threaten Amazon
5:00AM Saturday October 06, 2007
Vast areas of Brazil, Paraguay and much of Bolivia are choking under thick layers of smoke as fires rage out of control in the Amazon rainforest, forcing the cancellation of flights.
Satellite images yesterday showed huge clouds of smoke and much of the Amazon basin burning as fires, originally set by ranchers to clear land, have entered into the forest itself.
From Santa Cruz in the east of Bolivia, where flights have been grounded, to the Brazilian frontier city of Porto Velho, where the river Madeira has been made unnavigable, burning smoke has blocked out the sun and local communities have begun to complain of respiratory disorders.
Roberto Smeraldi, head of Friends of the Earth Brazil, said the situation was out of control. "We have a strong concentration of fires, corresponding to more than 10,000 points of fire across a large area of about two million sq km in the southern Brazilian Amazon and Bolivia."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468211
Homeowners face new pain as mortgage interest rates rise
5:00AM Sunday October 07, 2007
By Chris Daniels
Mortgage interest rates offered by some banks will increase this week, as the banking sector raises the white flag in the spring mortgage war before it's even started. The increasing cost of wholesale money and the slowing property market are being blamed.
The ANZ and National Bank, which are jointly owned, are hiking their home-loan interest rates tomorrow.
The banks' three-year, fixed-term rates will rise from 8.75 to 8.95 per cent. For a five-year term, the rates increase from 8.6 to 8.75 per cent, but their four-year rate has fallen from 9 to 8.95 per cent.
Kiwibank, which fired the first shot in the seasonal mortgage skirmish by undercutting the other banks with an 8.6 per cent, three-year fixed rate, looks increasingly likely to hike that rate again - possibly this week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468367
Yachting: Drugs-tested sailor home
5:00AM Sunday October 07, 2007
Simon Daubney quit the Alinghi team after positive drugs tests. Photo / Kenny Rodger
Alinghi sailor Simon Daubney has arrived home with his wife and children after quitting the Swiss America's Cup-winning team following positive drugs tests.
Daubney, aged 48, and his Scottish wife and children flew into Auckland this week and were yesterday in the throes of moving into a palatial $2.4 million Milford home, on Auckland's North Shore.
The sailor-under-a-cloud is the first contestant in America's Cup history to fail a doping test and is awaiting decisions from the Swiss national sailing body and the International Sailing Federation, due in four to eight weeks, on whether he will be banned from the sport he has devoted his life to.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468368
New lake under surveillance as waterflow increases
1:38PM Saturday October 06, 2007
Related nzherald links:
Engineers and geologists are inspecting the newly-formed lake in Mt Aspiring National Park, as water continues to lap over the dam caused by a landslip.
Department of Conservation spokesman John Gordon says since water started over-spilling last night, the flow of water has been steadily increasing.
There is concern millions of cubic metres of water will crash down the valley if the dam bursts however Mr Gordon says the dam is not yet showing any sign of instability.
"The concern all the time has been that there's a tremendous weight of water behind the dam and of course, it's not a man made one, it's a natural phenomenon from a landslip, so we can't really ever have any guarantees about it."
DOC is warning telling people to keep well out of the Young Valley in case there's a sudden flood-wave.
- NEWSTALK ZB
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468295
Girls put their lives on line
5:00AM Sunday October 07, 2007
By Alice Hudson
This is one of many images being placed by Kiwi girls aged 13-15 on to www.teenspot.com.
New Zealand girls as young as 13 are offering scantily-clad photos of themselves online and teenagers are posting contact details on personal pages - all of which are available to gangs, paedophiles and others with sinister motives.
Detective Constable Aaron Kennaway, of Nelson police's child abuse unit, told the Herald on Sunday it had got to the point where almost every case he dealt with involving a young person had "some sort of link to Bebo [or sites like it]". Sex, drugs and bullying were recurrent themes.
One young female Auckland police officer, who had a Bebo profile that did not state her occupation, was invited via the site's messaging system to meet unknown persons at addresses she knew to be gang 'pads'.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468350
Kerre Woodham: Out-of-control teenagers need reining in now
5:00AM Sunday October 07, 2007
By Kerre Woodham
I don't know whether it's because I'm getting older, or whether it's because I've been doing talkback for 10 years, or whether society really is going to hell in a handcart - as so many of my callers have been trying to tell me - but I'm morphing into a redneck.
It's been a bad week. First, it was the shooting of the Christchurch man. When people tried to tell me it was a tragedy, I replied that child leukaemia was a tragedy. A man who makes wrong choices and dies in a street is sad but preventable. That prompted a few accusations of hardness and lack of empathy.
Then Francis phoned me to say that his 17 years of violent offending was the fault of the system because they (whoever they might be) hadn't tried hard enough to find the right medication for him and so he kept assaulting people. For 17 years.
I suggested, forcefully, that he had a certain amount of free will and perhaps if he'd devoted the same amount of initiative and energy into healing himself as he did into bopping people, he might not have spent so much time in prison.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468340
Your island in the sun - for $40m
5:00AM Sunday October 07, 2007
By Ann Newbery
John Ramsey bought Pakatoa for $4.25 million in 1994 and lived there with his family when it was still a functioning hotel.
A private island may be the ultimate rich man's status symbol but it seems that $40 million-plus Pakatoa - just half an hour from downtown Auckland - may be a little too rich for Kiwi blood.
Despite commanding stunning water views and having its own jetty, airstrip and golf course, the 24ha ex-resort island in the Hauraki Gulf has languished on the market for two years, and been listed on and off before that in the late 90s.
But its longtime owner, meat industry magnate John Ramsey, seems to be in no hurry to get it off his hands - even putting the price up by a couple of million dollars just months ago.
Ramsey bought the island in 1994 after the government stopped its sale to German conman Ralf Simon.
Real estate agent Sherryn El-Bakery, of Bayleys Waiheke, who has been marketing Pakatoa for the past two years, describes the property as "the jewel in the crown of the Hauraki Gulf".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10468332
Ousted spook to finger MI6 for Diana's death
5:00AM Saturday October 06, 2007
By Stuart Dye
Richard Tomlinson says the way the Princess and her boyfriend died closely resembles a British secret service plan to eliminate Slobodan Milosevic. Photo / Yanse Martin
A New Zealander's evidence could form a crucial piece of the puzzle as the world waits to hear the true story behind the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Richard Tomlinson, a renegade British secret service spy who was born in Ngaruawahia, is due to give evidence to the Royal Courts of Justice in London during the inquests into the 1997 deaths of the Princess and Dodi Al Fayed.
Lord Justice Scott Baker, who is heading the inquests, has listed 20 key issues that he will focus on.
And one of those is whether Mr Tomlinson's evidence throws any light on the collision.
Mr Tomlinson, a highly controversial figure who worked for MI6 and was later sacked by the organisation, claims the Princess' death was curiously similar to a fate planned by MI6 for Serbian leader President Slobodan Milosevic in the early 1990s.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468265
Blackwater bill passes in US
7:15AM Saturday October 06, 2007
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by US courts.
The legislation, passed yesterday, was the first major response by Congress to a deadly shooting in Baghdad that involved Blackwater USA security guards.
Democrats called the 389-30 vote an indictment of the incident, which left at least 13 Iraqis dead. Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to follow suit with similar legislation and send a bill to President George W. Bush.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468206
Japan's lunar probe successful
5:15AM Saturday October 06, 2007
Japan's lunar probe has successfully reached an orbit around the moon in a first for the Asian country, space agency officials said on Friday.
The 32 billion yen ($363.35 million) Selenological and Engineering Explorer - or SELENE - is the largest lunar mission since the US Apollo programme, outpacing the former Soviet Union's Luna program and Nasa's Clementine and Lunar Prospector projects.
The mission, launched last month, involves placing the main satellite in orbit at an altitude of about 100 kilometres and deploying two smaller satellites in polar orbits, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468204
Scientists develop plastic as strong as steel
4:15AM Saturday October 06, 2007
Scientists have developed a transparent new plastic as strong as steel and as thin as a sheet of paper, according to a study published in Science magazine.
Made out of clay and a non-toxic glue similar to that used in school classrooms, the composite plastic is biodegradable and requires very little energy to produce, lead researcher Nicholas Kotov said.
"It's as green as you can imagine," he said, adding that the material is also quite cheap to produce. The plastic could be used to reduce the energy required to separate gasses in chemical factories, improve microtechnology and even one day produce lighter, stronger armour.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468203
China says Myanmar junta crackdown an 'internal affair'
11:49AM Friday October 05, 2007
By Evelyn Leopold
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari will deliver his report on Myanmar's pro-democracy crackdown, which China views as an 'internal affair'. Photo / Reuters
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council has decided to hear a UN envoy's report on Myanmar at a public meeting but China said it was opposed to any "international imposed solution," saying the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners was an internal affair.
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after a four-day visit to Myanmar in which he secured the junta's agreement to meet pro-democracy figure Aung San Suu Kyi, although military leader Than Shwe set conditions for the talks to go ahead.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468109
Opposition says Burma junta talks offer unreal
6:15PM Friday October 05, 2007
By Aung Hla Tun
Aung San Suu Kyi with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari. Photo / Reuters
YANGON - Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party dismissed a Myanmar junta offer of talks as unreal on Friday, while China said the ruthless suppression of pro-democracy protests did not require international action.
Senior General Than Shwe, who outraged the world by sending in soldiers to crush peaceful monk-led demonstrations, was asking Suu Kyi to abandon the campaign for democracy which has kept her in detention for 12 of the last 18 years, a spokesman said.
"They are asking her to confess to offences that she has not committed," said Nyan Win, spokesman for the Nobel peace laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD), whose landslide election victory in 1990 was ignored by the generals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468185
Paul Thomas: Bleeding hearts impotent against army boots
5:00AM Saturday October 06, 2007
By Paul Thomas
Nothing galvanises world opinion like a martyred Buddhist monk.
Make that Western world opinion. The rest of the world doesn't seem to share our soft spot for Buddhism, perhaps because they take their own religions too seriously to be in the market for exotic or boutique alternatives. For liberal-minded agnostics, however, Buddhism is often the mumbo-jumbo of choice, the religion you have when you don't have religion.
With the Church of Rome still adopting the ostrich position on sexual issues and Anglicanism obsessing over gay bishops - a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted if there ever was one - and all those crazed American born-agains giving Christianity a bad name, it's not surprising that questing souls should look to Buddha for spiritual sustenance. While the enlightened view is that only simpletons or inbred, gun-toting bigots could take the Bible literally, it's apparently perfectly intellectually respectable to believe that you're going to be reincarnated as a mongoose.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468197
Funeral directors accused of selling body parts
8:34AM Friday October 05, 2007
An American grand jury yesterday heard how three funeral directors sold body parts to a New York businessman.
The court heard that 244 bodies were sold for around $US1000 each.
The businessmen allegedly on-sold the body parts, which were sometimes diseased.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10468029
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