NSW fisherman drowns trying to save wife

A SYDNEY rock fisherman who jumped into rough seas to save his wife has died and his mate is feared drowned.

The two men, 24 and 26, were part of a group of six that travelled to the NSW Central Coast from Sydney on Friday to go rock fishing.

The friends, some of whom are students, were on a notoriously dangerous rocky ledge at Wybung Head, near Lake Macquarie, when a woman was swept into the ocean by a wave.

The woman's husband and a friend entered the water to rescue her but disappeared. The woman survived after being washed back onto the rocks.

A major search operation was sparked about 6:30pm on Friday when the men failed to resurface.

Police say no one in the group was wearing a life jacket.

A helicopter winched the woman from the rock ledge while paramedics and police rescued three other people.

The emotional woman and her supportive friends returned to Wybung on Saturday as the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, police and surf life savers searched for her missing husband and friend.

The husband's body was pulled from the ocean at 9am.

"The wife is absolutely devastated as you can imagine," Tuggerah Lakes police acting Inspector John Dooley told AAP.

The search has been called off but will resume at 8am on Sunday.

Local fishermen say the stretch of coast is treacherous and catches many people off guard.

"At that actual location, the people who go rock fishing aren't prepared for the danger of the sport," Peter Trenear, of Pelicans Wharf Fishing Tackle, told AAP.

"For the inexperienced, it can be life threatening."

Mr Trenear said he was washed off rocks in the same area about six years ago and had to be plucked from the ocean by a rescue helicopter.

"It was so easy, the water caught me by surprise," he said.

Insp Dooley said police had carried out several rescues and body recoveries at the spot over the years.

He warned people planning to rock fish to wear life jackets and check ocean conditions.

"You must be appropriately equipped to go down on these rock ledges," he said.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woolworths investigates deadly mushrooms

WOOLWORTHS has advised any customers who may be feeling ill after recently buying mushrooms from an ACT supermarket to seek immediate medical attention following a possible Death Cap mushroom poisoning.

ACT Health is investigating three cases of possible poisoning by Death Cap mushrooms which may have been purchased from a Woolworths in the suburb of Dickson.

Three patients from the same household attended Canberra's Calvary Hospital in the last 48 hours with symptoms of Death Cap mushroom poisoning.

"This appears to be an isolated incident and there have been no other recent reports of Death Cap mushroom poisoning in the ACT," the territory's chief health officer Dr Paul Kelly said.

In a statement on Saturday night, Woolworths advised that customers who feel ill to follow ACT Health's recommendations and seek immediate medical attention.

ACT Health also advised people who bought mushrooms from Woolworths Dickson around April 17 to throw them away as a precaution.

Woolworths says it is not aware of any other cases.

"We take customer safety very seriously and are working closely with our supplier and ACT Health to investigate the claims," the company said.

In Canberra in 2012, a man and a woman died and two others were poisoned but recovered after consuming a meal which contained Death Cap mushrooms.

"People are reminded not to pick and eat any wild mushrooms. It can be extremely difficult for even experienced collectors to distinguish Death Cap mushrooms from other edible mushrooms," Dr Kelly said.

The highly toxic Death Cap mushroom is a native to Europe but has spread around the world, with populations observed in Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide. It resembles a common edible variety used in Chinese cooking.

16.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Younger veterans to lead Perth Anzac march

YOUNGER post-Vietnam military veterans will be brought to the front of the Anzac Day march in Perth, one of three firsts for this year's annual commemorations.

Returned and Services League of Western Australia president Graham Edwards said they would lead the ex-military contingent, only marching behind senior veterans in cars.

With the focus of Anzac Day being World War I for the next four years - given November 2014 marks 100 years since Australian troops departed for the four-year conflict - this year's march was a good time to shine the spotlight on former servicemen from more recent hostilities, Mr Edwards said.

In another first, the RSLWA has held daily Last Post ceremonies at Kings Park's State War Memorial this week in a bid to cap ever-swelling crowds on the Anzac Day public holiday. More than 40,000 people are expected to attend on Friday.

Crowds of up to 500 people have been attending the 15-minute sunset services since they started on Sunday, with the final ceremony to be held on Thursday.

Mr Edwards said the sunset ceremonies would return in 2015.

"Anzac Day itself is getting so big, people tell us that they felt like they've lost the important connection that's there," he told AAP.

"We hope that these (sunset) services will continue to grow and people will become involved in them, because that's what it's all about."

On Thursday at 5.30pm, a service will be held at Blackboy Hill in Greenmount, where West Australian World War I troops trained before marching to Midland, catching a train to Fremantle and setting sail.

The rest of the convoy, from New Zealand and other parts of Australia, left from Albany.

"While there's a strong focus on Albany as there should be, we can't lose sight of the fact most West Australians left from Fremantle and they joined the convoy after," Mr Edwards said.

And on Friday, the dawn service at Kings Park will be broadcast live for the first time.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brisbane's southside on measles alert

Brisbane's southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the infectious disease. Source: AAP

BRISBANE'S southside is on measles alert after a man was diagnosed with the highly infectious disease.

It's likely he was infectious when he visited the Underwood Marketplace shopping centre between 9am and 11.30am last Thursday, health authorities say.

Public health physician Dr Kari Jarvinen says people who were at the shopping centre around that time should immediately contact their GPs.

Residents in Logan and Brisbane's southside should be particularly vigilant for symptoms, he said.

A red, spotty rash and other measles symptoms, including a fever, cough and runny nose, usually appear 10 days after infection.

Dr Jarvinen said that given the large numbers of people potentially exposed to the latest infection, further measles cases could emerge in Brisbane over the next few weeks.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cancellations on Everest as sherpas walk

ANOTHER major mountaineering company has abandoned its Everest expedition after a deadly avalanche killed 16 Nepalese guides, as the government strives to save the climbing season, a vital earner for the country.

You have reached your daily Guest Access
limit of 2^* FREE ARTICLES.

^*Subject to change

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

China car show opens with fanfare

Global and Chinese automakers are unveiling their new vehicles at Auto China 2014 this week. Source: AAP

LEADING car makers have gathered in Beijing for China's biggest car show, expressing confidence in the world's largest car market although lacklustre growth and environmental restrictions have thrown uncertainty into the mix.

More than 1100 vehicles are on show at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in the capital's suburbs, which opens on Monday.

General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai are among the manufacturers taking part, along with SAIC and Dongfeng, China's top two domestic automakers.

At Ford's display, president and CEO Alan Mulally arrived in a bright red Mustang, the latest incarnation of the iconic model celebrating its 50th year.

The expo comes as a growing number of Chinese cities are restricting the number of cars, in a bid to battle pollution and congestion - moves that analysts warn could cut into purchases.

The eastern city of Hangzhou, a popular tourist destination, last month became the sixth major city to implement such a restriction, with some estimates placing the limit at 80,000 car plates a year.

China's car sales jumped by 13.9 per cent to 21.98 million vehicles last year. But that growth hit a speed bump in March, slowing to a 6.6 per cent year-on-year rise after reaching a record 17.8 per cent high in January.

China's economy has also turned in its weakest performance in 18 months, growing 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.

Despite the concerns, industry players and analysts say the China market's importance to global manufacturers cannot be overstated.

"I think the market for cars is going to continue to be fantastic," Mulally said on Sunday, adding that the promise of increased domestic spending outweighed concerns about congestion.

China's overall plan "to move to a consumer-based economy" was a key factor "that reduces risk", he said.

"We are also working with all of the cities and the government because just to add more cars in the cities is not going to be the answer," he said.

Ford has opened three plants in China since 2012, with four more under construction, Mulally said.

"This is part of our biggest global manufacturing expansion in 50 years," he said.

Karsten Engel, president and CEO of BMW's operations in China, said the German manufacturer would introduce 10 new models to China this year, and carry out more manufacturing and research and development inside the country.

"All these efforts are based on our confidence in the long-term development of our success here," he said.

Further underscoring China's significance, French auto giant Peugeot Citroen's agreed earlier this year to hand over part control to Dongfeng and the French state.

German giant Daimler said last month that it had signed a deal worth 1 billion euros ($A1.485) with Chinese partner Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation to expand production at their joint venture in Beijing.

South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor also announced in March that it was planning a fourth plant in China.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pope calls for solidarity at Easter mass

Pope Francis has baptised 10 people at an Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica. Source: AAP

POPE Francis has celebrated Easter mass with a message of social solidarity as the world's Orthodox marked a holiday marred by bitter divisions over Ukraine and clashes breaking out in Jerusalem.

Francis led the ceremony for the holiest day in the Christian calendar on St Peter's Square, which will be followed by a special blessing and address to crowds of Catholic faithful in the famous Vatican piazza.

Swiss Guards and cardinals could be seen as tens of thousands of people crowded into St Peter's Square and the main avenue leading up to the Vatican, which was decorated with 35,000 flowers donated by Dutch growers.

At an Easter vigil on Saturday, Francis asked Catholics to bring "the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world... to all people, to the very ends of the Earth".

Francis said the core of the Easter message was about returning to the basics and asking: "Have I gone off on roads and paths which made me forget it?"

This is Francis's second Easter since he was elected by fellow cardinals in March last year promising to make the Catholic Church less "Vatican-centric", more transparent and closer to ordinary people.

On Good Friday, Francis attended a traditional torch-lit ceremony at the Colosseum in Rome where he called for help to "abandoned people" and railed against "the monstrosity of humankind".

Prayers read out during the event honouring Christian martyrs past and present touched on pressing contemporary social issues including drug addiction, unemployment, prison overcrowding and domestic abuse.

The Vatican almoner meanwhile dispensed charity on the pope's behalf to homeless people sleeping rough around Rome's main train station Termini, handing out an Easter greeting card and 50-euro ($A74) notes.

At the start of four days of Easter rituals on Maundy Thursday, the pope washed the feet of 12 disabled people at a centre in Rome in a new take on a traditional ceremony inspired by Christ's humility.

Easter this year coincides with the Orthodox calendar and Ukraine's government said it was holding off on a confrontation with pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine until after the Easter holidays.

But four people were reported killed in a gunbattle at a barricade in the volatile eastern Ukrainian town of Slavyansk on Sunday, a local leader told journalists.

And there was a bitter war of words between religious leaders, with Kiev's Patriarch Filaret thundering that Russia was an "enemy" whose "attack" was doomed to failure because it was evil and against God's will.

In Moscow, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill prayed for God in turn to put "an end to the designs of those who want to destroy Holy Russia" and said Ukraine was "spiritually and historically" at one with Russia.

There were also tensions in Jerusalem amid Easter celebrations, with Israeli police arresting 16 Palestinians as they clashed with demonstrators at the Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City - a sensitive holy site revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Picture perfect royals visit the zoo

Last week to find MH370 wreckage

THE current search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing six weeks ago, will conclude within a week, authorities say.

Don't get dudded on refunds

YOUR chances of getting a refund are greatly improved if you keep good records. But some companies won't budge — even when presented with irrefutable proof.

16.42 | 0 komentar | Read More