Mandela ambulance to hospital broke down

THE ambulance that rushed Nelson Mandela to hospital two weeks ago broke down and another had to be called, but the mishap did not endanger the anti-apartheid hero, the South African presidency says.

"All care was taken to ensure that the former president's medical condition was not compromised by the unforeseen incident," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said on Saturday.

The ambulance had engine trouble on its way from the 94-year-old Mandela's Johannesburg home to a specialist heart clinic in Pretoria, some 55 kilometres away.

Doctors are "satisfied" that Mandela, who is battling a serious lung infection, suffered no harm during the wait for a replacement ambulance, Maharaj said.

Maharaj said the "fully equipped ICU (intensive care unit) ambulance" had a "full complement including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses".

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, was taken to hospital in the early hours of June 8. Officials have described his condition as serious, but say he is improving.

Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Mandela as president in 1999 for two terms, said on Thursday that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was not going to "die tomorrow" despite a growing acceptance among South Africans of his mortality.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistani actress burned in acid attack

A YOUNG actress suffered burn injuries in an acid attack in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, her relatives and police said.

The 18-year-old, known as Bushra and popular in the northwest for her film, television and theatre appearances, was attacked while asleep at her home in the town of Nowshera, 148 kilometres northwest of Islamabad.

"A man climbed the wall of our house in the early hours, threw acid on my sister and fled," said Bushra's brother, Pervez Khan.

A local police official, Sultan Khan also confirmed the incident.

The teen was immediately taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar where Dr Suhail Ahmad said she had suffered 33 per cent burn injuries, on her face and shoulder, but was in a stable condition.

Her brother Pervez Khan has lodged a complaint against a local TV drama producer, Shaukat Khan, over the incident saying that the producer was unhappy over Bushra's refusal to marry him.

Popular Pakistani singer Ghazala Javed, 24, was shot dead by gunmen as she left a beauty salon in Peshawar last year over a dispute with her ex-husband.

Acid attacks are common in Pakistan with scores of such assaults taking place each year.

The plight of acid attack victims and survivors became the focus of a 40-minute Oscar-winning documentary Saving Face by a Pakistani woman Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in 2012.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japan's Mt Fuji gets World Heritage status

JAPAN'S Mount Fuji, known for its perfectly cone-shaped volcano, has been granted World Heritage status, UNESCO said.

Fujisan, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, is one of the country's most recognisable sights. The snow-capped peak "has inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries," UNESCO said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee, currently holding its 37th annual session in Phnom Penh, classified the site as a "cultural" heritage site, rather than a "natural" heritage site.

"The awe that Fujisan's majestic form and intermittent volcanic activity has inspired was transformed into religious practices that linked Shintoism and Buddhism, people and nature," documents prepared ahead of the meeting said.

Mount Fuji "inspired artists in the early 19th century to produce images that transcended cultures, allowed the mountain to be known around the world, and had a profound influence on the development of Western art."

Fujisan, which is located some 100 kilometres southwest of the capital Tokyo, last erupted around 300 years ago. Images of its peak adorn tourism literature published at home and abroad.

UNESCO documents singled out a series of wood block prints by Katsushika Hokusai, the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, saying they "had a profound impact on Western art in the 19th century and allowed the form of Fujisan to become widely known as the symbol of 'Oriental' Japan".

The UNESCO-listed site includes the top zone of the mountain and sites spread across the slopes and at the base of the mountain including shrines, lodging houses and groups of "revered natural phenomena" including springs, a waterfall, and lava tree moulds.

"Together (they) form an exceptional testimony to the religious veneration of Fujisan, and encompass enough of its majestic form to reflect the way its beauty as depicted by artists had such a profound influence on the development of Western art," UNESCO said.

Mount Fuji is the seventeenth Japanese site to be inscribed by UNESCO.

UNESCO is currently holding a 10-day annual meeting in Phnom Penh to consider adding 31 sites to the World Heritage List.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW fair trading receives weird calls

IF you need help with a dead body or you're a prostitute dealing with a stingy John who wants a refund, who you gonna call?

Surprisingly, some have phoned the NSW fair trading department with these kind of questions.

More than 900,000 calls are received by the fair trading centre at Parramatta each year and there are always several that "not only flummox, but entertain and amuse" its staff, commissioner Rod Stowe says.

Some are quirky, others a little more disturbing.

Recently, someone contacted fair trading inquiring what to do with a dead body.

When told to contact police, the caller asked: "What if the person is not dead yet?" before wondering "If I discover the body, am I responsible for the funeral costs?"

A request about refunds was also fielded by fair trading staff.

That is, for a prostitute who had been paid but whose client hadn't been able to "claim the service," Mr Stowe said.

"The fair trading officer informed the caller that as she had been prepared to fulfil the contract she was not obliged to give a refund," he said.

A lady called in asking for advice about what action could be taken against a taxidermist who over-stuffed a dog, distorting its appearance and angering its owner who said it "no longer resembled the animal he had been when alive."

When her hat blew off on a windy day, another lady sought redress saying the hat "was not fit for purpose."

A real estate agent asked for assistance after tenants vacated a property without notice claiming the place was haunted.

And "as for the owner of a duplex distressed by a builder moving a rock the size of her hand that allegedly modified the appearance of the property, there are some dilemmas best left unresolved, some stones best left unturned," Mr Stowe said.

"There is no end to the droll and dry inquiries that come to fair trading," Mr Stowe said.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Environment holds business risk: UN

RISING temperatures, storms linked to climate change and growing competition for water and land point to tough times ahead for the business sector, but also a chance for profitable innovation, the United Nations says.

Citing the ravages of floods in Australia in 2010-11 which cost insurer Munich Re $US350 million ($A382 million) and mining group Rio Tinto another $US245 million, the report on Friday said companies had no choice but to adapt.

"From extreme weather events, to rising pressures on finite natural resources, changes in the global environment will increasingly impact operating costs, markets for products, the availability of raw materials, and the reputation of businesses, from finance and tourism, to healthcare and transport," said the UN Environment Program document.

"The future of the private sector will increasingly hinge on the ability of businesses to adapt to the world's rapidly changing environment and to develop goods and services that can reduce the impacts of climate change, water scarcity, emissions of harmful chemicals, and other environmental concerns."

In the tourism sector, for example, a 1.4-2.2C rise in average winter temperatures would likely mean the closure of more than half the ski resorts operating in the northeastern United States in 30 years.

The report said Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions were projected to double in the next 50 years, leading to a global average surface temperature increase of 3-6C by the end of the century.

As for water scarcity, it said platinum mines in South Africa's Olifants River system faced 10 times higher water charges by 2020 as they compete with local communities for the ever scarcer commodity.

Global electricity demand could be over 70 per cent higher in 2035 than 2009, said the report -- and pointed to more frequent heat waves associated with climate change affecting grid reliability.

But while the risks to business were "significant", they also presented unique opportunities for companies that seized the growing demand for greener technology, investments and services, said the report entitled "GEO-5 for Business: Impacts of a Changing Environment on the Corporate Sector."

More than 80 per cent of the capital needed to address climate change may come from the private sector.

"This can bring about significant 'green economy' investment opportunities in the finance sector for green buildings, energy-efficiency technology, sustainable transport and other low-carbon products and infrastructure," the UNEP said.

"In cities, around 60 per cent of the infrastructure needed to meet the needs of the world's urban population by 2050 still needs to be built, presenting significant business opportunities for greener urban construction and retrofits."

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Christian schools defend abstinence

TRY burping and blowing bubbles instead of sex, Christian students are being urged.

Among a "101 things to do instead of doing it" pamphlet recently given to students at Caloundra Christian College in Queensland, were suggestions such as horse riding, eating something new, blowing bubbles, playing ball without the ball and a burping contest.

Christian Schools Australia CEO Steve O'Doherty says he's surprised by the public attention the pamphlet is receiving as it's hardly anything new that Christians preach abstinence.

"Christian schools teach that the safest way of protecting yourself medically and emotionally is to wait until a stable, married relationship," he told AAP.

"It's hardly front-page news that Christians have that perspective."

Mr O'Doherty said that while abstinence was the preferred option for children and teenagers, Christian schools taught a healthy message about sex.

"We teach kids about safe sex, we teach them about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and what you need to do protect yourself against them," he said.

"But we tell the full story too - there are emotional dangers in committing yourself to a sexual relationship and the best way to protect yourself medically and emotionally is abstinence."

While the pamphlet, which was written by a third party brought into to help the school with its curriculum, carries some light suggestions, it also has a serious side, Mr O'Doherty says.

Among 33 actual reasons young people have given for abstaining are: "I'm only 14, I have the rest of my life" and "If I'm hurt too many times, I might miss out on something great because I'm so afraid of being hurt again."

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qld hospitals will reveal legionella tests

QUEENSLAND hospitals will release water test results for the potentially deadly legionella bacteria following an outbreak at a Brisbane hospital.

One patient has died and another patient is in intensive care after contracting legionnaires' disease at The Wesley Hospital over the past fortnight.

Tests have detected traces of the legionella bacteria, which causes the disease, in the warm water system at the privately run facility.

The disease can be contracted when a person breathes in water vapour containing the bacteria, causing potentially fatal lung infections.

Sick people, including cancer patients, are at most risk.

Because the source of previous outbreaks has been air conditioning systems, hospitals were only required to conduct routine testing of airconditioning towers.

In light of the Wesley's unusual outbreak, Queensland Health has ordered all public and private hospitals to test their hot water systems.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says legionella is ever-present in the environment and is often found in very low concentrations in drinking water, but this does not automatically equate to a human health risk.

"If positive samples are returned, it is imperative that timely and appropriate treatment of the affected water supply is implemented," he said in a statement.

"This will ensure the safety of patients is protected."

Meanwhile, the Wesley's management has rejected claims it tried to cover up a legionnaires' death in 2011.

Queensland Health is investigating the current outbreak and announced this week it will include the 2001 death in its probe.

Further lab tests will ascertain whether the case is linked to the current outbreak.

UnitingCare Health, which operates the hospital, previously told reporters there were no past cases.

The Queensland Nurses Union says lying about past cases is serious and the hospital's management should be held to account.

However, UnitingCare director Richard Royle accused the union of making inflammatory comments and has denied any wrongdoing.

He says the 2011 case was a "sporadic case" and because it was not clear whether the patient contracted it from the hospital, management believed the public did not need to be informed.

The hospital did notify Queensland Health of the case at the time.

"I did not make the 2011 case public because it was not confirmed as hospital acquired," Mr Royle said.

He said the current outbreak had been different because the hospital's water system was the source and more patients could have been affected.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Assange just an attention seeker: Howard

FORMER prime minister John Howard thinks Julian Assange is an attention seeker of the worst kind.

But he's not sure if the WikiLeaks founder has committed a crime.

Assange has been granted political asylum by Ecuador, but won't leave that country's embassy in London for fear of being arrested and extradited to Sweden over sexual assault allegations.

The former hacker is worried he'll then be handed over to the US to face charges over WikiLeaks' release of classified documents.

Mr Howard says while Assange is no hero, it's not clear whether he's guilty of a crime.

"He's just an attention seeker of the worst kind," Mr Howard told a diplomatic forum in Canberra on Thursday.

"But I'm still struggling to see what crime he's committed."

Former Labor cabinet minister Gareth Evans praised WikiLeaks for publishing classified footage of a US airstrike from an Apache helicopter on 2007 that killed at least 18 people, including two Reuters journalists.

"That was a classic cover up situation which was covered and that deserves our applause," he told the forum.

But he criticised WikiLeaks for showing "indifference" to the implications of its releases on security and intelligence operations.

"That made it, at the end of the day in Wikileaks' case, more of an ego trip rather than a serious minded contribution to international public policy," Professor Evans said.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Soldiers charged over derogatory comments

AUSTRALIAN soldiers will reportedly be charged after posting derogatory comments about women on social media.

Defence has told the Townsville Bulletin a small number of serving soldiers based in Townsville will be charged under the Australian Defence Force Discipline Act after associating themselves with two Facebook pages that referred to women as "sluts" and "fat chicks".

The soldiers involved could also face further disciplinary action, the Commander of the Townsville-based 3rd Brigade says.

Brigadier Shane Caughey says he is disgusted by the culprits' conduct and those who denigrate any group in society were not welcome in the ADF.

"There is no place for them here in Townsville and no place for them in 3rd Brigade," he said.

ADF members had chosen to protect every Australian, regardless of their gender, religion or ethnicity, when they joined up, he added.

"It is inappropriate for any member of the ADF or the army to express views which denigrate a particular part of our society," he said.

"Absolutely we have to be held to higher account - otherwise all Australians cannot trust the institution.

"That is a message that every soldier needs to understand."

The charges are unrelated to an investigation into soldiers who allegedly filmed themselves having sex with fellow military personnel and civilians and sent the images to their colleagues.

Army chief Lieutenant-General David Morrison last week announced more than 100 ADF members were being investigated over the emails.

Gen Morrison followed up the announcement with a fiery video message targeting troops.

The stern message, which urged members who weren't prepared to respect women to "get out" of the army, was applauded by feminists and the wider community.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Online sex squad nabs trainee WA teacher

A TRAINEE teacher has been arrested for allegedly grooming a girl he thought was 12 for sex online.

Western Australia's Online Child Exploitation Squad charged the 21-year old from Yanchep, north of Perth, after he was nabbed following a covert three-month operation.

Police will allege between June 12 and 17 the man used online social chat facilities to sexually engage with a police officer posing as a 12 year-old girl.

He is said to have groomed the girl by exposing her to indecent material, and eventually instructed her about sexual matters.

He was studying at TAFE to become a teacher's assistant and a few days prior to his arrest had started his practical assessment at a high school in the northern Perth suburbs.

Police are investigating if the man has been communicating or committing offences with any real children.

The man has been charged with using electronic communication with the intent to expose a child to indecent material, and one count of using electronic communication with the intent to procure a child to engage in sexual activity.

He will appear in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on July 3.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW man charged with possessing child porn

A MAN in southern NSW has been charged with possessing child abuse material on a computer hard drive.

Police were informed on Saturday that suspicious material was stored on a hard drive taken in for repairs at a computer store.

Police raided a Yass property on Monday and seized more than 10,000 images and 200 video files.

A 67-year-old Yass man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with possession of child porn.

He appeared in Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday and was refused bail to re-appear in the same court on Wednesday 14 August.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM to visit Indonesia to discuss boats

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will travel to Indonesia next month for talks on people smuggling. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard will travel to Indonesia next month to discuss ways of combating people smuggling and terrorism.

Ms Gillard will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on July 5 to discuss a number of political, security and commercial issues.

The talks, which are part of the annual Indonesia-Australia Leaders' Meeting, will canvas issues around education, trade, climate change and transnational crimes such as drug trafficking.

They'll also cover ways of stopping people smuggling and counter terrorism.

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop on Wednesday urged Ms Gillard to travel to Indonesia and hold discussions with President Yudhoyono on ways of combating people smugglers.

The prime minister said she had already held a number of meetings with him and accused the opposition of insulting Indonesia with their policy of towing back asylum seeker boats.

Ms Gillard will be in Indonesia on July 4 and 5 and will visit Jakarta and Bogor.

AAP

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gaddafi's son to stand trial in August

Muammar Gaddafi's son is set to stand trial for crimes committed during the 2011 uprising in Libya. Source: AAP

SEIF al-Islam, the son of slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and other former top regime officials will stand trial in August for crimes committed during the 2011 uprising, an aide to the prosecutor says.

Former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi will be among those whose trial will begin in the first half of August, said Al-Seddik Al-Sur, a member of the prosecutor's office, on Monday.

They are accused of "crimes committed against the Libyan people during the revolution" of 2011 that toppled Gaddafi's regime, he said.

Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, the last prime minister to serve under Gaddafi, and Mansur Daw who headed the People's Guard will also be among those to stand trial, he added.

Asked if they will all be in the dock at the same time, Sur said: "This case will not be divided."

"These (former) officials met together to drum up a policy of repression and a common criminal plan, putting them on trial separately would perturbate the proceedings," he said.

Seif al-Islam, 40, is being held by a brigade of former rebel fighters in Zintan, 180 kilometres south-west of Tripoli, since his capture in November 2011.

The International Criminal Court based in The Hague, mandated by the UN security council to investigate the Libyan conflict, has clashed with Libya's new authorities for the right to prosecute Seif al-Islam.

It has issued arrest warrants for Kadhafi's son and his spy chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

Earlier this month Libya said it will appeal to the ICC to reverse its decision to prosecute Seif al-Islam.

Last week the ICC suspended an order requiring Tripoli to hand over Senussi.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Malala denounces cowardly Pakistan attack

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai denounced a deadly attack on a bus carrying female students. Source: AAP

MALALA Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, has denounced an attack on a bus carrying female students in Quetta as "cowardly".

At least 25 people were killed on Saturday when militants blew up the bus in the capital of restive Baluchistan province and then stormed a hospital where survivors had been taken for treatment.

"This was a cowardly and desperate attempt to deny girls their right to education," Malala, 15, said in a statement on Monday.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown, the United Nations special envoy for global education, said it was the "bloodiest atrocity yet in escalating violence against female students".

Malala was shot at point-blank range by a Taliban gunman as her school bus travelled through northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley on October 9 last year, in an attack that drew worldwide condemnation.

She was flown to Britain for surgery on her head injuries and returned to school in Birmingham, central England, in March.

Malala has become a global symbol of the campaign for the right of girls to an education and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nelson Mandela 'doing very well', daughter

Nelson Mandela's daughter says he is doing "very well", despite having serious lung infection. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela, who has been in hospital for 10 days suffering a lung infection, is "doing very well", one of his daughters says.

"He is doing very well," Zenani Mandela-Dlamini, South Africa's ambassador to Argentina, on Monday told reporters gathered outside the Pretoria hospital treating the 94-year-old Mandela.

Earlier on Monday the anti-apartheid hero's wife Graca Machel thanked the world for its messages of support which she said had eased "the burden of anxiety".

"Our gratitude is difficult to express. But the love and peace we feel give yet more life to the simple 'Thank you!'," Machel, 67, said in a message.

South Africa's first black president was rushed to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with a recurrent lung infection and remains in a serious condition although he is said to be improving.

Mandela, who is due to celebrate his 95th birthday on July 18, has been hospitalised four times since December.

South African President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday that Mandela was showing a "sustained" improvement after more than a week in hospital although his condition remained serious.

The Nobel peace laureate had appeared frail and distant in the last images broadcast of him at the end of April during a visit by Zuma and other ANC leaders.

Although he has retired from public life, Mandela is still venerated by an entire people who see him as the incarnation of the end of three centuries of white-minority rule in South Africa.

Black South Africans were able to vote for the first time in 1994.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More