NSW:Information sought on shot Sydney couple

AAP General News (Australia)
08-01-2011
NSW:Information sought on shot Sydney couple

SYDNEY, Aug 1 AAP - Police are appealing for information about a Sydney couple shot
dead overnight in their home on Sydney's north shore.

Detectives discovered the bodies of the couple, aged in their mid 50s, at Hornsby about
1am (AEST) on Monday after receiving a phone call.

Police have not ruled out an assisted suicide or murder-suicide and were unable to
comment if the woman had a terminal illness.

A man rang police about an incident but they are unsure if the caller was the man found
dead at the home.

Both died from a single gunshot wound. The woman was found inside a bedroom and the
man in the back yard.

"We do know that in relation to the deceased that a firearm was used and we believe
that was the cause of both people's death," Hornsby Local Area Commander Superintendent
Michael Kenny told reporters on Monday.

No message had been left inside the home and police would not comment if a domestic
argument had taken place before the shooting.

Police have spoken to neighbours but are still seeking information from anyone who
may have witnessed anything related to the incident.

"Anybody with any information in relation to the history of the couple... anybody that
heard anything around 1am this morning, anybody that saw anything around 1am this morning,
we would ask that they come forward," Supt Kenny said.

AAP vpm/ra/it/jjs

KEYWORD: BODIES 3RD UPDATE

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

SA:SA Health warns of wild mushroom danger

AAP General News (Australia)
04-05-2011
SA:SA Health warns of wild mushroom danger

ADELAIDE, April 5 AAP - People are being warned not to pick and eat wild mushrooms
after Death Cap mushrooms were found in the Adelaide Hills.

Warm and sunny autumn weather has provided ideal growing conditions for wild mushrooms
that are springing up, SA Health's director of public health Kevin Buckett says.

"This includes reports of the Death Cap mushrooms, Amanita phalloides, which are extremely
poisonous and should not be eaten," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"There is no reliable way to determine if a mushroom is edible unless you are an expert,
so if you are unsure, don't eat it."

Eating a poisonous mushroom can cause severe abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting and
diarrhoea and in the more severe cases can cause liver damage and kidney failure.

Anyone who becomes ill after eating mushrooms is advised to seek urgent medical attention.

AAP lk/dep

KEYWORD: MUSHROOM

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

SA:SA Yr12s to get results on Thursday

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2010
SA:SA Yr12s to get results on Thursday

ADELAIDE, Dec 15 AAP - The wait is almost over for South Australia's Year 12 students
who will receive their results on Thursday.

Australia Post vans will be loaded with 17,492 envelopes containing student's results,
the South Australian Certificate of Education board says.

"These are due to reach destinations across the state on Thursday," the board says
in a statement.

Students will also be able to access their results online from 0800 CDT.

AAP lk/it

KEYWORD: SCHOOL SA

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

WA:Supercars returns to Perth

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2010
WA:Supercars returns to Perth

The V8 Supercars Championship Series will return to Perth next year thanks to a 10.5
million dollar boost from the West Australian government.

Premier COLIN BARNETT has announced the revival of the event in Perth today.

He says it's great news for motor sports enthusiasts in WA who were disappointed it
had to be cancelled last year.

The funding boost is on top of a recent allocation of five million dollars for a facility
and track upgrades to Barbagallo Raceway .. at Wanneroo in Perth's north.

AAP RTV ldj/sw

KEYWORD: SUPERCARS (PERTH)

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

NSW: Man stabbed in chest, thigh and groin in Sydney robbery

AAP General News (Australia)
12-27-2009
NSW: Man stabbed in chest, thigh and groin in Sydney robbery

A Sydney man will face court next month .. following an attack where another man was
stabbed in the chest .. thigh and groin during an alleged robbery in the inner-city.

Police say a 24-year-old man was approached in the early hours of this morning by two
men .. one of whom was allegedly armed with two knives.

The injured man's been taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A 33-year-old Surry Hills man was arrested at the scene .. and has been refused bail
to appear at Sydney's Central Local Court on January 5 charged with assault and weapon
offences.

Police are searching for the second man.

AAP RTV bzs/tm

KEYWORD: THIGH (SYDNEY)

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

WA: Shark attack Star of Courage humbling for WA woman

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2009
WA: Shark attack Star of Courage humbling for WA woman

Eds: Strictly embargoed until 0001 Monday, August 17,

By Andrea Hayward

PERTH, Aug 17 AAP - It was calm and still the day an Albany woman driven by instinct
swam out to save the life of a fellow surf club member who had been attacked by a shark
off Western Australia's south coast.

Joanne Lucas' bravery in doing so has earned her the Star of Courage, a bravery award
which will presented by the Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

The 54-year-old mother of three had arrived at Middleton Beach, Albany, early on May
10 last year, ahead of a surf club event.

"It was very still and calm, and the sun was shining, and there were dolphins flipping
about, a whole pod of dolphins ..." Ms Lucas said.

But a short time later, a woman ran up the beach telling her a man had been attacked by a shark.

"I said: `No, no, it's the dolphins' and she said: `No it's a shark'," Ms Lucas said.

Ms Lucas said running down to the beach, driven by instinct and adrenalin, she stripped
off her tracksuit pants and swam 80 metres to where fellow surf club member Jason Cull
was critically injured, barely able to swim or tread water.

"It was a completely instinctive thing. I didn't think: `There's a shark out there
maybe I shouldn't go out there'," she said.

"I just thought I've got to get this guy out and I've got to get him back in."

All the while, the shark manoeuvred around the scene, with Ms Lucas fearing the frantic
splashing of two nearby swimmers trying to scare it away would steer the shark toward
her and Mr Cull.

She said she kicked harder and made it to shore where Mr Cull was treated for his injuries.

His leg was completely ripped open from his ankle right up to his knee and he had been
"nipped" on the other knee, Ms Lucas said.

Ms Lucas said she was happy to see Mr Cull now back on his feet and cycling around the place.

Being awarded the star of courage was humbling, she said.

"I'm very honoured and humbled to receive this."

Ms Lucas said she was quickly back on the beach after the attack.

"It hasn't turned me off the ocean at all," she said.

"I actually scan the ocean before I go in now ..."

The governor-general is expected to present the star of courage to Ms Lucas at a ceremony
early next year.

AAP ah/mmr/cdh

KEYWORD: BRAVERY LUCAS EMBARGOED

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

Fed: Maternity system needs overhaul, doctor says

AAP General News (Australia)
04-06-2009
Fed: Maternity system needs overhaul, doctor says

SYDNEY, April 6 AAP - Australia's maternity system needs to provide better care so
pregnant women feel confident giving birth in hospital and not at home, obstetricians
say.

National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (NASOG) president
Dr Andrew Pesce says he knows of four infant deaths after home births in the western Sydney
area in the past nine months.

He says homebirths, with or without midwife help, increase the risk of infant death
threefold, compared to a three in 1,000 chance of a full term baby dying in hospital.

Dr Pesce said women had the right to choose where they gave birth, but needed to know
the risks of home births.

"We're not talking about unavoidable deaths due to congenital abnormalities or prematurity
that no-one could have avoided," he said.

"We're talking about fully-grown, normally termed babies."

Homebirth Australia secretary Justine Caines said infant deaths after homebirth would
increase unless the federal government offered funding support.

The government's maternity services review, released in February, rejected commonwealth
funds for homebirth and said professional indemnity cover for a federally-funded model
that included homebirth would be limited.

"If you think that there's been four deaths ... from free birth now, what's going to
happen when there is no option of homebirth for any woman?" Ms Caines said.

"If that's the case ... that is very, very serious and I'd be saying very clearly to
(Health) Minister (Nicola) Roxon, look out for some more unless you want to appropriately
support registered midwives."

Ms Caines, who delivered all her seven children at home, said women chose homebirth
because they wanted to be treated and supported by one person throughout pregnancy and
birth.

"In the hospital system, be it public or private, there could be three or four ...

labouring women at any given time, so one midwife is darting from room to room.

"If that's considered safe, I'll be a monkey's uncle - that is an overstretched system."

Dr Pesce said the government should focus on improving the continuity of care for pregnant
women in hospitals.

"They should be focussing on a system which provides continuative care, so women get
to know the midwife and the doctor who is going to be looking after them," he said.

"As opposed to now, to save money and because of workforce difficulties, care is fragmented.

Women might see 12 or 13 different people during the pregnancy."

He said the homebirth debate should not overshadow the need to improve obstetric care
for indigenous women and mothers in rural areas.

AAP sg/evt/ht

KEYWORD: HOMEBIRTH

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

Qld: Watchdog proposes 14% power price rise

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2008
Qld: Watchdog proposes 14% power price rise

BRISBANE, Dec 2 AAP - Queenslanders could pay an extra 14 per cent for electricity
if a proposal by the state's competition watchdog is accepted.

The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) on Tuesday released its recommended price
cap, or benchmark retail cost index, which is used to set power prices each year.

The QCA said the price cap should rise by 13.63 per cent from July 2009.

It said the rise was needed because of the rising price of fuel and capital costs and
an increase in transmission and distribution costs.

Queensland Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said he would now examine the proposal.

"I recognise that it's a blow for Queenslanders struggling on tight budgets," Mr Wilson said.

"I've directed my department to closely scrutinise that decision to ensure that that
proposal by the Queensland Competition Authority provides nothing other than for the genuine
increases in prices for electricity over the last 12 months."

AAP pjo/maur

KEYWORD: POWER QLD

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

Vic: Gunman was a murderer and rapist, victim's father says

AAP General News (Australia)
04-29-2008
Vic: Gunman was a murderer and rapist, victim's father says

MELBOURNE, April 29 AAP - An "obsessed" gunman suspected of shooting a Melbourne woman
dead on her neighbour's doorstep had previously been jailed over murder and rape charges,
the victim's father says.

Max Greenbury, father of 33-year-old mother-of-two Tracey Greenbury, shot dead yesterday
at Frankston in Melbourne, says his daughter about a week ago told a 60-year-old man she
had befriended that she no longer wanted to see him.

Mr Greenbury believes it was this man who shot his daughter dead, and police say they
are hunting a man aged in his 60s.

"I think he must have brewed on it, he must have thought about it and he came back
yesterday morning," Mr Greenbury told Fairfax Radio Network.

Mr Greenbury said his daughter had found out the alleged gunman had been convicted
for rape, after already knowing he had previously been jailed for murder.

But when she went to tell him she no longer wanted to see him, the man allegedly kept
her captive for two hours in a caravan and put a gun to her head.

Mr Greenbury said his daughter came to him a week ago and broke down as she told him
what the man had done to her.

"She just broke down and she said `dad he kept me captive for two hours in a caravan
and I tried to get away, he dragged me in by the hair and he produced a gun and put it
to my head, then he took the gun away and pulled the bullets out of the gun and said `don't
push my buttons, you're pushing me too far'," Mr Greenbury said.

"He'd told her that he'd spent time in jail. He said that he'd spent time in jail and
he murdered a girl when he was about 19, 20 years of age."

He said his daughter had believed the man had done his time and was rehabilitated.

"But I think what tipped her over the edge was, she said `dad I've got to break this
off, I believe that he raped a girl and got nine years for it'," Mr Greenbury said.

"I think when she found out he'd done time for rape, she said that was it and she went
to see him to tell him it was off and that's when he dragged her into the caravan and
that's when it all started to happen and it just dragged on from there."

Mr Greenbury told his daughter to go to the police, but she was too frightened and
hoped the man would just leave her alone.

He said the man had then phoned him two or three days after the alleged incident in
the caravan, to say he would not bother his daughter any more.

"And two or three days after this occurred, he rang me and he was sort of half laughing
and he said:`Ah I frightened Christ out of your daughter, she was so fearful of me'.

"He said:`I'll just tell you now I'm not going to bother her any more and I'm not going
to give you any trouble, I'll see you later on, bye'."

But he said the man had developed an "obsession" with his daughter.

"He got this obsession with her. He said to her: `What will people gonna say if I'm
not taking you out any more?'

"And she said:`Well, it's finished'."

Mr Greenbury said his daughter had been fearful for her life right up to the time she
was gunned down.

"We were really concerned over this gun episode and I spoke to her the night before
and her brother was there.

"And she wanted her brother to stay at the house, she must have had some premonition
that he was coming back and she was so frightened then."

AAP kn/gfr/sp

KEYWORD: GREENBURY

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

NSW: Charity the spirit of NSW Xmas

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2007
NSW: Charity the spirit of NSW Xmas

It was the search for company and comfort that flavoured Sydney's Christmas yesterday
.. with thousands flocking to free lunches and family tables to mark the occasion.

Cool .. overcast conditions tempered festivities for visitors .. with numbers down
on Bondi Beach .. traditionally a gathering place for backpackers.

A few tourists braved the cold for a spell on the sand .. but an alcohol ban outside
the beach's ticketed event and bracing winds deterred many.

The city's political and religious leaders used their annual Christmas messages to
remind Sydneysiders of those less fortunate.

And New South Wales premier MORRIS IEMMA paid tribute to the state's volunteers ..

saying the festive season is a time to think of others.

AAP RTV ajc/wz/af

KEYWORD: XMAS NSW (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: Plaques unveiled at National Vietnam Memorial

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2007
Fed: Plaques unveiled at National Vietnam Memorial

CANBERRA, Aug 18 AAP - Plaques to acknowledge the repatriation of the remains of two
Australian soldiers declared missing in action in the Vietnam War, will be unveiled in
Canberra today.

Lance Corporal Richard "Tiny" Parker, 24, and Private Peter Gillson, 20, were killed
on November 8, 1965 during a battle in Dong Nai province, east of Saigon.

They remained unaccounted for until a team of Australian veterans unearthed their remains
in South Vietnam in April.

The remains of the two soldiers were brought back to Australia in June.

Minister for Veterans' Affairs Bruce Billson said the plaques complete the at soldiers'
journey home.

"The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial is a powerful symbol of the service,
and sacrifice of Australia's Vietnam veterans and it is fitting that these soldiers' final
journey home is commemorated here," Mr Billson said.

Today Vietnam Veterans' Day is being commemorated around the country. The date once
marked the Battle of Long Tan which took place in August 1966 but now has been adapted
by all veterans of the war.

AAP sld/arb

KEYWORD: VIETNAM PLAQUES

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

Fed: The growth of sunbed clinics in Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2007
Fed: The growth of sunbed clinics in Australia

Eds: Embargoed until 0001 AEST, Tuesday April 3

The growth of sunbed clinics in Australia, according to a Cancer Council survey of
Yellow Pages listings from 1996 to 2006:



* All Capital Cities - 97 listings in 1996 rising to 406 in 2006 - a 319 per cent increase



* Melbourne - 25 in 1996 to 169 in 2006 - a 576 per cent increase



* Perth - Five in 1996 to 55 in 2006 - a 1000 per cent increase



* Canberra - Four in 1996 and 21 in 2006 - a 425 per cent increase



* Adelaide - 12 in 1996 and 39 in 2006 - a 225 per cent increase



* Brisbane - 15 in 1996 to 47 in 2006 - a 213 per cent increase



* Sydney - 29 in 1996 to 63 in 2006 - a 117 per cent increase



* Hobart - Seven in 1996 to 12 in 2006 - a 71 per cent increase



* Northern Territory - no listings at any time

AAP tam/it

KEYWORD: SOLARIUMS (FACTBOX) (EMBARGOED)

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

Tas: Federal Labor must resolve leadership tension: Lennon

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2006
Tas: Federal Labor must resolve leadership tension: Lennon

Tasmanian Premier PAUL LENNON says the federal Labor Party needs to resolve leadership
tensions .. if it's to win voter confidence at the next election.

Opposition leader KIM BEAZLEY has declared a spill of his entire frontbench .. with
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman KEVIN RUDD mounting a leadership challenge.

Mr LENNON won't be drawn on which candidate he supports but says it's vital for federal
Labor to resolve tension within the party.

He says there's still time for Labor to win back public confidence .. but people won't
vote for a divided party.

AAP RTV rgr/cp/tm

KEYWORD: LABOR LENNON (HOBART)

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

Vic: Petrol price hike expected today

AAP General News (Australia)
04-26-2006
Vic: Petrol price hike expected today

The RACV is advising Melbourne drivers to fill up as soon as possible .. amid predictions
petrol prices could climb to one dollar 45 a litre today.

DAVID CUMMING from the RACV says service stations in Melbourne usually put up their
prices up on Wednesdays under the normal price cycle.

He says last Wednesday one service station chain raised its price at 11 am and the
rest of the major chains followed at 3 pm.

AAP RTV jb/gfr/dk/ibw

KEYWORD: PETROL (MELBOURNE)

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

Vic: Woman to face court over syringe attack

AAP General News (Australia)
12-29-2005
Vic: Woman to face court over syringe attack

A 23-year-old woman will face court today .. accused of attacking a man with a syringe
and stealing cosmetics from a shopping centre in Melbourne's west.

Police allege the woman took several hundred dollars worth of cosmetics from a store
at the Water Gardens Shopping Centre in Taylors Lakes.

She ran away when security staff tried to stop her .. at about 3 pm (AEDT).

Police say the Sunshine woman allegedly lashed out at a man in her path .. striking
him in the arm with a syringe.

She also allegedly tried to stab a security guard with the syringe and threatened other
security staff .. before police subdued her with capsicum spray.

She'll face Sunshine Magistrate's Court facing charges including intentionally causing
serious injury and assault with a weapon.

AAP RTV mf/tm/wf

KEYWORD: SYRINGE (MELBOURNE)

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

1Yusuf Islam, the former superstar once known as Cat Stevens, performed ...

1Yusuf Islam, the former superstar once known as Cat Stevens, performed onstage before a live U.S. audience this week for the first time in nearly three decades as he promoted his first pop album since leaving the music world for life as a devout Muslim.2Owners of the Nintendo Wii game system on Friday will have the ability to download a free version of the Opera browser to activate the Internet channel of the Wii menu and begin surfing the Web.

3Members of Led Zeppelin, The Doors and the Grateful Dead are among the rock stars suing the Wolfgang's Vault Web site, which offers downloads of live recordings that were purchased from the estate of late promoter Bill Graham.

4An FBI surveillance report on John Lennon has been released after a legal battle that lasted more than 25 years. Historian Jon Wiener used the Freedom of Information Act to ultimately convince a judge to order the files be made public.

5Norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus, likely caused the illnesses of more than 370 people who worked or dined at an Olive Garden restaurant in Indianapolis in the past week, health officials said.

eFORCE Recognized By Leading Research Firm as a Top Exchange Builder Specialist in North America.

AMR Selects Global eBusiness Integrator for Ability to Bring Fresh Perspective

To Both Strategy and Implementation

HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ --

eFORCE, Inc., a global eBusiness integrator serving both major corporations and digital start-ups, was named a Leading Exchange Builder Specialist by the respected analyst and research firm AMR Research.

In a September research report on eCommerce applications titled "The Exchange Builders: Architects Of The New Economy," eFORCE was recognized for its "excellent business process and integration competency."

The report focused on independent, consortium, or private exchange companies looking to partner with an eBusiness integration firm to build out their site. The AMR Research report went on to cite the genuine competency that exchange builder specialists such as eFORCE bring to the endeavor.

In only six quarters of existence, Silicon Valley-based eFORCE has captured a dominant position in the business-to-business (B2B) exchange marketplace. Leveraging its robust project deployment methodology, eBRIDGE(TM) (eBusiness Rapid Implementation and Deployment for Global Enterprises), eFORCE has built successful B2B exchanges for clients in the publishing, steel, personnel services, transportation, industrial equipment, property maintenance, and insurance industries.

Utilizing state-of-the-art eBusiness infrastructure in its Centers of Excellence (high-performance laboratories) located in major cities across North America and in Europe, eFORCE has been able to help its clients rapidly launch industrial strength, production-ready exchanges.

EqualFooting, an early eFORCE exchange client launched in less than four months, operates a B2B marketplace for industrial supplies and equipment in which small businesses gain the purchasing power of larger corporations. The online site provides buyers and suppliers with a true multi-channel customer interaction mechanism -- including web, email, phone, and fax -- that delivers commerce, communication, and customer service enabling small businesses to compete on a global scale.

Nat Natraj, Chief Executive Officer of eFORCE, commented: "It is gratifying that the respected analyst and research firm AMR has recognized eFORCE for its efforts on behalf of our clients. Our B2B Exchange Practice(TM), like our other vertical practices, including Multi-Channel Retail, Financial Services, and Telecommunications, were created to deliver to the critical business needs of our clients."

About eFORCE

eFORCE is a global provider of strategic eBusiness solutions in the areas of B2B, B2C, Corporate Portals and Mobile Commerce. Combining expertise in eBusiness strategy, architecture, creative design, integration, and implementation with its uniquely rigorous, comprehensive eBRIDGE(TM) implementation methodology (eBusiness Rapid Implementation and Deployment for Global Enterprises), eFORCE delivers production-scale solutions in Internet time. eFORCE customers range from Global 1000 organizations like Bank of America, Charles Schwab, FedEx, Intel, Hoover's, Johnson Controls, Nortel Networks, Pearson Group, Visa International, and Wells Fargo to digital innovators such as CLAIMPlace, EqualFooting, e-STEEL, Genient, Guru.com, HelloAsia.com, and cameraworld.com. eFORCE (www.eforceglobal.com) is headquartered in Silicon Valley and has additional Centers of Excellence in North America and Europe.