VIC:Net fishing indiscriminate on marine life

AAP General News (Australia)
08-03-2011
VIC:Net fishing indiscriminate on marine life

A new report's found trawler fishing is ruining slow growing marine life and damaging
Australia's oceans.

The study's found seafloor fishing and gill netting is indiscriminate in its impact
on marine life.

Less than five per cent of Australian waters are protected from fishing and mining.

NT Environment Centre director STUART BLANCH says the practice of trawling is as destructive
as the clear-felling of forests.

AAP RTV ees/gfr/nap

KEYWORD: NETS (MELBOURNE)

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

Sport Shorts.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

UAE RACING: Ibn Khaldun is Godolphin's leading contender for Saturday's stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. The Boys in Blue have three possible runners with Rio De La Plata and Fast Company also still engaged but the participation of the latter will depend on rain. "He (Ibn Khaldun) is an intended runner at Newmarket while the forecast rain will be in Fast Company's favour so we expect him to take his chance as well," said Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford. "Rio De La Plata is still more likely to go to France. They are in form."

RUGBY UNION: England duo David Strettle and Danny Care will be hoping the presence of the UAE's national bird - the Falcon - can help them fly in their final home game of the season for Harlequins this weekend. Etihad Airways will bring a taste of the UAE to the Twickenham Stoop for Sunday's game against Sale Sharks by hosting the the first-ever "Abu Dhabi Day" at the home of the English Guinness Premiership side. Etihad, will bring an array of Arabian cultural and entertainment to the Quins' final home game of the season against Sale Sharks on Sunday. A traditional Arabic welcome, including coffee and dates, will be offered to spectators, while the crowd will also be entertained with a live falconry display at half-time. Etihad's Peter Baumgartner said: "Etihad Airways and Harlequins have enjoyed a hugely successful first season together. We are thrilled to be hosting Abu Dhabi day."

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

FED:Union may exempt Qld from wharf strike

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-2011
FED:Union may exempt Qld from wharf strike

SYDNEY, April 7 AAP - The maritime union says it may exempt Queensland from planned
national strikes if possible action hinders the flood recovery.

The dispute with Australia's biggest stevedoring company, Patrick, is set to begin
on Saturday unless it agrees to key demands on wages and safety from the Maritime Union
of Australia (MUA).

The dispute involving 2000 workers would affect ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle
and Brisbane, and could shape up as the biggest maritime strike since the heated 1998
waterfront dispute.

But the MUA's deputy national secretary Mick Doleman, who is negotiating with Patrick,
said the union may consider exempting the Brisbane port from the action.

"Where the recovery is under way, we will give consideration to exempting these areas,"

Mr Doleman told AAP on Thursday.

"If there's a clear demonstration our action will affect Queensland, we'll discuss
that with the Queensland government."

The commitment comes after Patrick divisional director Paul Garaty said the industrial
action would cripple productivity, and threaten the pace of flood recovery.

"If that action takes place over the next week it will affect some 33 ships and 35,000
containers," Mr Garaty told ABC Radio.

"That's at a time where, in a lot of rural areas, they're recovering from floods and
natural disasters.

"With the high value of the Australian dollar this is going to make it even more difficult
for people to get their products to market."

The dispute between Patrick and the MUA is set to escalate into bans on overtime, transfers
of stevedores between work sites and 24-hour stoppages.

Mr Doleman said Patrick had not returned his phone calls since the MUA told the company
on Tuesday afternoon it would take action unless its demands were met.

The MUA is pushing for a six per cent annual pay increase over three years, down from
a previous claim of 10 per cent, and more generous retirement benefits.

Patrick has offered a four per cent increase.

The union also wants a workplace safety co-ordinator, independent of Patrick's management,
arguing four deaths had occurred on wharves during the past five years.

"We want someone who will not be pressured commercially or otherwise," Mr Doleman said.

The industrial tribunal Fair Work Australia in February gave the MUA permission to
strike if the log-jam with Patrick could not be broken.

Patrick did not attend the hearing.

AAP saj/psm/

KEYWORD: WATERFRONT UPDATE

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

FED:McInnes welcomed to new board role

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2010
FED:McInnes welcomed to new board role

CANBERRA, Dec 17 AAP - Board members of a new Sydney racing club have welcomed disgraced
former David Jones boss Mark McInnes as their new director.

Mr McInnes is one of three independent directors appointed to the recently merged Australian
Jockey Club and Sydney Turf club.

He stepped down as David Jones' CEO in June after admitting to inappropriate behaviour
towards young female publicist Kristy Fraser-Kirk.

She had launched a multi-million law suit against the retail giant and Mr McInnes,
but the sexual harassment case was settled out of court for a reported $800,000.

Australian Jockey Club vice chair, John Cornish, who is also on the board of the new
club, welcomed Mr McInnes' appointment, noting his vast knowledge of marketing and business,
and passion for racing.

"He's got lots and lots of skills ... for us he basically ticks all the boxes," Mr
Cornish told ABC Radio, noting that the racing industry was in decline.

He refused to comment on the sexual harassment case, but said the selection group that
appointed Mr McInnes weren't concerned about his notoriety.

"Obviously, not (because) they voted for him unanimously."

AAP sld/psm/

KEYWORD: MCINNES

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

NSW:Main stories on ABC 702's 0530 news

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2010
NSW:Main stories on ABC 702's 0530 news

- Fed gov't and opp'n at loggerheads over true cost of election spending promises;
Andrew Robb says $25.5bn, but Labor says it's more than $27bn; Robb says Labor hasn't
costed $3bn;

- Julia Gillard rejects suggestions that indigenous affairs have been neglected in
election campaign;

- New study finds Aust has one of highest rates of alcohol abuse in world, with one
in five abuse alcohol; young men more likely to have problem;

- Muslim groups in Germany criticise police search and closure of mosque;

- Naomi Campbell's former agent and Mia Farrow give evidence at war crimes trial of
Charles Taylor, contradicting Campbell's version of events over receipt of diamonds;

- Raiders keep finals hopes alive with win over Penrith.



- RailCorp says Thursday's strike postponed after further negotiations;

- Security guard taken to hospital after robbery in Sydney's west;

- 22yo man and his 21yo girlfriend have car jacking in Yagoona;

- Police seek witnesses after explosion in Sydney's west;

AAP RTV psm/

KEYWORD: MONITOR 0530 ABC (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: The news of the week at a glance

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2009
Fed: The news of the week at a glance

MILESTONES:

REVEALED - That a Nigerian man who attempted to blow up a US airliner was a student
at Australia's University of Wollongong campus in Dubai just months ago.

DECLARED - Parts of northern NSW as natural disaster zones, following flooding caused
by heavy rain.

DESTROYED - 38 properties by bushfires in the south of Western Australia.

WON - Line honours in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race by New Zealand maxi Alfa Romeo.

TOPPED - The list of most successful Test cricket captains by Australia's Ricky Ponting,
who has the most wins as captain and has also been involved in the most wins as a player,
following Australia's win over Pakistan in the first Test at the MCG.

QUOTES:

- "It's all I have. The car, the dog and the cat. I had to leave everything in it.

All those photos of my daughter when she was a baby, of my mother - she died last July
... the beautiful garden. They're the things you can't replace." - Toodyay resident 58-year-old
Beverley Phillips on her escape from Western Australia's bushfires.

- "If you live in an area with a catastrophic fire danger rating you should put your
survival first and leave early. That is hours before a fire starts. Under no circumstances
will it be safe to stay and defend your home." - A statement issued by the Fire and Emergency
Services Authority of Western Australia.

- "If it was any other normal part of the state, this amount of water would have definitely
caused major flooding. So it was a bit of a saving grace that it was sort of drought-stricken
because the ground absorbed 75 per cent of that water." - SES spokesman Terry Pappas on
flooding in northern NSW.

- "We've got the best crew in the world. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart is the ultimate.

To win that is a good one to have in your resume." - Alfa Romeo skipper Neville Crichton
following his Sydney to Hobart win.

- "It's no different to any sport. You can't always win and it's good for the sport
that someone else does win every now and then and we gave it our best shot. You've got
to be a good winner as well as a good loser. Well done to Alfa Romeo, they did a fantastic
job." - Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards.

- "They're things I'm very proud of, hopefully there are a lot more wins around the
corner and if we play the cricket that we've played over this five days then we will definitely
win a lot more games." - Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting on his new mantle as
the most successful captain in Test history.

- "Everyone knew there were two deceased in the vehicle, two young children at the
time, ... even the bystanders there that actually pulled people out of the vehicles."

- Ambulance Service of NSW Shoalhaven district manager Wayne Dunlop on the petrol tanker
crash and explosion that killed three people.

- "The state government has refused to accept responsibility for this road ... (it)
refused for 15 years to put funding into the Princes Highway that it deserves given the
growth in the region. And that is ultimately playing a Russian Roulette with people's
lives." - NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell.

- "If you're one of these fools that can't handle their grog and likes to go out and
ruin other people's nights, make yourself a new year's resolution to grow up and behave
yourself and start practising that tomorrow night, on New Year's Eve." - NSW Police Minister
Michael Daley.

- "He was a normal student, a student that was passing his subjects. We had no background
on any of his activities outside the university." - University of Wollongong vice-chancellor
Gerard Sutton on accused Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who studied at the
university's Dubai campus.

- "It's all very well getting Indonesians to intercept boats, but what happens to the
people on them? Mr Rudd needs to tell us exactly what he said to President Yudhoyono,
because plainly the Indonesians now think these people are our responsibilities, not theirs."

- Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott.

ODDITIES:

+ New Yorkers and tourists seeking a fresh start in the new year have gathered in Times
Square to put the bad memories of 2009 behind them, and into a shredder.

Participants in the third annual Good Riddance Day lined up, pitching their bad memories
into an industrial-sized shredder.

A dumpster and a sledgehammer were provided for items that couldn't be shredded, which
included an old computer and a tin of fattening snacks.

The winner of the prize for most creative item shredded was 12-year-old Alissa Yankelevits
of Los Angeles, who shredded the memory of a counsellor on a school trip who was later
featured on the television show America's Most Wanted.

+ A Southern California man was hospitalised with head injuries after riding a Christmas
tree dragged behind a sport utility that slammed into a parked car.

The 18-year-old and another teenager were Christmas tree "surfing", says Orange County
sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

The vehicle was travelling at 40km/h when the female driver took a corner and the tree crashed.

The driver fled the scene and the injured man was hospitalised with moderate head injuries.

+ A Florida man who called police claiming he had been beaten and shot at, was actually
looking for a ride to another bar, authorities say.

Gregory Oras, 37, is facing charges of misusing the emergency call system and battery
of a law enforcement officer.

He had called police three times before his arrest in Oldsmar, telling dispatchers
he had a broken nose and bleeding ears and claiming that people were shooting at him.

Authorities say he was actually looking for a ride to another bar.

Oras kicked a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy in the knees and a Taser was used to
subdue him before he was arrested.

AAP bm/mo

KEYWORD: THE WEEK

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

Fed: Smith warns of violence ahead in Afghan poll

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2009
Fed: Smith warns of violence ahead in Afghan poll

CANBERRA, Aug 18 AAP - Afghanistan is set to see a continuing escalation of violence
in the lead-up to elections on Thursday, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has warned.

Mr Smith said the Taliban had announced they planned to deliberately target the elections
and that was vividly and tragically demonstrated by the suicide attack which killed seven
in Kabul on Saturday.

He said the Afghan government, UN agencies and the International Security Assistance
Force had done much to ensure elections were credible, secure and with the broad participation
of the Afghan people.

"This has not been easy for a range of reasons, including Afghanistan's challenging
geography, nascent institutions and a security environment where the Taliban aim to disrupt
the elections and prevent ordinary Afghans from exercising their democratic rights," he
said in a ministerial statement to parliament.

"I am concerned that the days ahead are likely to see a continuing escalation of violence.

Afghanistan is a dangerous environment and the election makes it even more so."

Mr Smith said elections were important in reinforcing the authority of the Afghan government
which was striving to present the Afghan people a better future than that offered by the
Taliban.

He said at some point in the process there needed to be a political reconciliation
to ensure that the vast bulk of the Afghan people who wanted to take part in a political
process in a peaceful way were able to do so.

"Those who do not want to pursue their ideas or ideals through the barrel of a gun
must have the full and appropriate opportunity to engage in such a political process without
ongoing fear for their security," he said.

Mr Smith said these political efforts were not a substitute for military, construction
and capacity-building efforts.

"On the contrary, if political reconciliation and realignment efforts are to yield
fruit, it will be essential to maintain military pressure on hardcore terrorists, while
at the same time offering those less committed to such a course the opportunity to renounce
violence and accept the Afghan government's conditions for rapprochement," he said.

Ensuring the Afghan people succeeded politically and economically was essential to
defeat extremism, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said.

Some 11 Australian soldiers had paid the ultimate price while helping rebuild the war-torn
country, she told parliament.

Ms Bishop said Australian taxpayers would contribute $1.2 billion to Afghanistan this
financial year alone.

"Given the scale and depth of this likely commitment the Rudd government must ensure
that it continues to keep the coalition, the parliament and the Australian community fully
informed about Australia's commitment in Afghanistan and developments in (bordering) Pakistan,"

she said.

Meanwhile, five federal police officers headed to Afghanistan on Tuesday to assist
their counterparts in the strife-torn nation.

The officers, along with five AFP colleagues already in Afghanistan, will provide support
for local police during the national elections.

AAP mb/jcd/sb/mn

KEYWORD: AFGHAN AUST

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

Fed: Small businesses on the hunt for bargains

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2009
Fed: Small businesses on the hunt for bargains

By Colin Brinsden, Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 8 AAP - Nearly half of small Australian businesses intend to buy their
way out of the global downturn with the takeover of competitors at bargain prices, a new
survey shows.

Research by business consultancy Grant Thornton International found 47 per cent of
businesses were planning to grow through acquisition this year, with 82 per cent targeting
domestic firms.

The number was significantly higher than the global average of 37 per cent.

The mining states of Western Australia and Queensland were the most aggressive.

Fifty-six per cent of WA respondents and 54 per cent of Queensland businesses were
planning to grow through acquisition in the next three years.

"Due to the general slowdown in China and South-East Asia, Australian businesses are
beginning to take advantage of the current bargains that are available," Grant Thornton
Australia spokesman Tony Markwell said.

"This is an ideal time for those Australian businesses which have the capacity to purchase
and capitalise on the weaker market position of their competitors.

"Domestic acquisition will put these businesses in a stronger position for when the
market turns, which it eventually will."

Among the 250 Australian respondents to the global survey, the key reasons to grow
were the need to build scale within the existing business (47 per cent), a desire to gain
access to new geographic markets (39 per cent), and the need to access lower-cost operations
(27 per cent).

An interest in acquiring new technologies or established brands was put at 24 per cent.

The survey also found a significant drop in the proportion of privately held businesses
planning on selling up within the next three years.

Just 14 per cent were expecting to sell up in 2009 compared to 22 per cent in 2008.

However, Australia still had more than double the global average of firms hoping to
exit (six per cent), and is second only to New Zealand in terms of plans to sell (18 per
cent).

"With the shutters coming down across the rest of the world, it seems likely that domestic
firms will turn their attentions inwards when planning their next strategic investment,"

Mr Markwell said.

AAP cb/kms/tnf

KEYWORD: ACQUISITIIONS

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

Fed: Rudd delivers national security statement = 4

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2008
Fed: Rudd delivers national security statement = 4

Mr Rudd pledged to strengthen e-security.

"The irony of technology today is that, while on the one hand we are seeking to invest
in sophisticated information, intelligence and military technology, on the other we have
to protect ourselves from the extreme use of basic, readily available technology by terrorist
groups," he said.

The threats posed by climate change, including unregulated population movements, declining
food production and catastrophic weather events would be incorporated into Australia's
national security policy, Mr Rudd said.

The prime minister said one of Mr Lewis' first tasks would be to establish an executive
development program in national security.

"This program will initially be aimed at senior officials, with a view to broadening
(it) over time to include counterparts in the private sector, academia and the non-government
sector," he said.

One of the options under consideration as part of the program was a national security college.

Mr Rudd said he intended to periodically deliver national security statements to parliament.

MORE mj/kms/tnf

KEYWORD: SECURITY 4 CANBERRA

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

Burgundy is coming alive again

Eric Asimov The New York Times Media Group
International Herald Tribune
06-06-2008
Burgundy is coming alive again
Byline: Eric Asimov The New York Times Media Group
Edition: 1
Section: FEATURES

POMMARD, France --

The black clouds gathered last week over the Cote d'Or, the slender 50-kilometer-long swath that comprises the great vineyards of Burgundy. And for at least the fifth day in a row they burst forth, drenching the vineyards shortly before the critical period of flowering, when the grape bunches begin to form on the spindly vines.

Rain is the farmer's blessing, when it comes at the right time and in the right amount. But when the ground is saturated and the air is warm, the resulting moisture and humidity is a curse that can threaten the grapes with mildew and rot.
In past decades such weather might have spelled doom for the year's vintage. But nowadays it means something else entirely. "It means more work for us," said Benjamin Leroux, 33, the manager of Comte Armand, one of the best producers in Pommard in the Cote de Beaune, the southern half of the Cote d'Or. "All the things we're doing in the vineyard right now, we're insuring the vintage."

Twenty years ago nobody could have predicted that Burgundy could be trusted to produce reliably good wines in tricky vintages. As captivating as the great wines of Burgundy could be at their heights, too often they revealed their depths - diluted, overly acidic wines that seemed to vary not just vintage to vintage but almost bottle to bottle. The only thing consistent about the region was its inconsistency.

In fact, the quality of Burgundy - red Burgundy in particular - has risen strikingly over the last two decades. From the smallest growers to the biggest houses, the standards of grape-growing and winemaking have surpassed anybody's expectations. These days, Burgundy has very few bad vintages, and among good producers, surprisingly few bad wines.

The best producers, like Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Armand Rousseau, always managed to achieve a high standard, but nowadays the bar has risen for everybody. And it's not just the Cote d'Or, the heart of Burgundy, that has shown such improvement. Surrounding areas like the Cote Chalonnaise and the Mconnais, still part of Burgundy, are producing better wine than ever, at not unreasonable prices. Sure, you can still find bad Burgundy. But really, it's not hard to find bad wines from any fine wine region.

"It's not so much an improvement as a blooming," said Becky Wasserman, an American wine broker who has lived in Burgundy since 1968. "It's a realization of potential."

I spent five days in Burgundy last week to get a first-hand look at the reasons for the surge in quality. In traveling the Cote d'Or from Marsannay in the north to Santenay in the south, visiting two dozen producers, tasting hundreds of wines and drinking not quite that many, it was easy to see that this leap upward has been 25 years in the making, an eternity in the Internet world but a split second at the rhythmic agricultural pace of viticulture.

Most striking of all was the number of young producers making superb wines, whether they have taken charge of their family domains or started out new. In Marsannay, perhaps the least-esteemed commune in the Cotes de Nuits, the northern half of the Cote d'Or, Sylvain Pataille, 33, is turning out excellent reds, whites and roses. In the Hautes-Cotes de Nuits, once a backwater in the hills, David Duband, 37, is producing light, fresh regional wines from his ancestral vineyards, along with a series of more ambitious, elegant reds from grand cru vineyards like Echezeaux and Charmes- Chambertin.

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, 35, in Vosnes-Romanee has reclaimed some of the greatest vineyard property in the north, which his family had leased out for years, and is making wines of purity and depth.

In Meursault in the south, Arnaud Ente, who took over his father- in-law's vineyards in the 1990s, is turning out small amounts of whites of focus and clarity that show tremendous minerality. Pierre- Yves Colin-Morey, 36, left his father's domain, Marc Colin et Fils, and set up shop in Chassagne-Montrachet, where he is making light yet intense, mouthwatering whites.

"Half the superstar domains today didn't exist 20 years ago," Clive Coates, author of "The Wines of Burgundy" (University of California Press, 2008), told me in a recent interview. Few could have envisioned such a level of quality back in the early 1980s, a time when Claude Bourguignon, a French soil scientist for numerous wine estates, famously said that the soil of the Sahara had more life in it than the soil of Burgundy.

Their first order of business was to wean the soil off two decades' worth of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The postwar dependency on science and industry had dealt a severe blow to Burgundy, which more than most wine regions prided itself on its soil. The nuances of terroir, the semi-mystical French term that encompasses earth, atmosphere, climate and humanity, were said to be transmitted to the wines by the qualities of the differing soils throughout the Cote d'Or.

Over the next 20 years a great many producers turned to organic farming, and others adopted biodynamic viticulture, a particularly demanding system that takes a sort of homeopathic approach to farming.

These days it's the rare farmer who still uses chemical herbicides. Burgundy vignerons take pains, however, to make clear that they are not doing anything new. As Leroux pointed out, organic viticulture is simply a return to pre-World War II methods.

"We can now understand what our grandparents were doing," said Jean-Marie Fourrier of Domaine Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin. "We're rediscovering the logic of the past."

Domaine Fourrier was moribund, with no market for its wine, when Fourrier took over from his father, Jean-Claude. Fourteen years later he exports wine to 27 countries and has just finished construction on a new fermentation room. His wines are pure and light-bodied, embodying the grace and finesse for which Burgundy's best wines were always known.

Prosperity is evident all over Burgundy, and every domain seems to be adding on, building a new cellar or a new winery, buying a tractor, or hiring workers.

Now, despite the plunge of the dollar, American thirst for Burgundy has never been higher, and the opening in the last few years of new markets like Eastern Europe and Asia, along with demand for the widely acclaimed 2005 vintage, has sent prices for Burgundy soaring higher than ever. Much of the profit seems to be going back into the wine.

Profits and the willingness to put them back into the business have helped to save vintages like 2007, which was marked by rain and hail.

Leroux, of Comte Armand, is typical of younger vignerons in Burgundy today. Unlike previous generations, who often began working in the fields as teenagers and never got far from their homes, they were trained in viticulture and enology. they've traveled the world, and they know how to taste.

Regardless of the stability that Burgundy is able to achieve, absolute consistency will never be possible. It's antithetical to the nature of the pinot noir grape, which is proverbially fickle and troublesome to grow, and to the nature of artisanal winemaking, which takes as a matter of romantic faith that greatness only comes with risks. "Burgundy is and will always remain the anti-product," Wasserman said. "Burgundies react differently according to their age, according to the weather, according to the ambiance. It's nice to have natural things that react."

(Copyright 2008)

NSW: Hens move easier, bus commuters more expensively

AAP General News (Australia)
12-28-2007
NSW: Hens move easier, bus commuters more expensively

SYDNEY, Dec 28 AAP - Layer hens will move a little easier, and Sydney bus commuters
more expensively, thanks to a few state government minor changes coming into effect in
the new year.

Sydney commuters using public and private bus services will have to pay up to 20 cents
more per ticket from next Wednesday, after the state government approved fare hikes in
mid December.

The average 3.6 per cent fare increase was based on a report by the Independent Pricing
and Regulatory Tribunal, and will mean the cost of some TravelTen tickets will rise by
up to $1.60.

However, bus fares in outer metropolitan areas of NSW such as the Blue Mountains, Illawarra
and Central Coast, will decrease, as costs fall into line with Sydney's pricing structure.

"The same way the family motor car costs a bit extra each year to run, so do buses,"

then acting Transport Minister Verity Firth told the city's disgruntled bus travellers.

While Sydney bus trips become that little more expensive, restrictions on the state's
layer chickens will become more relaxed.

The NSW government has promised improved conditions for layer hens, with an increase
in cage sizes from 450 to 550 square centimetres.

In November, national legislation was amended to increase the cage size in a move aimed
at improving the welfare of the birds.

And from January 1, NSW will come into line with other states, such as Queensland and
Victoria, which have already adopted the increased cage sizes in the amended Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act (1979).

"Those hens will be able to move a little bit more freely within these larger cages
as per the national framework," Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said at the
time.

An unlikely alliance between the NSW Greens and Shooters party unsuccessfully opposed
the changes, saying the boost in cage sizes was insignificant.

AAP ab/hn/cjh/de

KEYWORD: CHANGES NSW

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

NSW: US sailor pleads guilty to grooming child for sex

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2007
NSW: US sailor pleads guilty to grooming child for sex

SYDNEY, Aug 20 AAP - A US sailor faces up to 12 years jail after pleading guilty to
grooming a 14-year-old girl for sex in Australia.

David Wayne Budd, 28, was arrested at Sydney Airport on June 23 after an online conversation
with a detective posing as a young girl on June 21.

The Petty Officer 2nd Class had been stationed at Rockhampton in Queensland, where
he had been posted as part of a joint US-Australian military training exercise.

He joined the operation from the US Navy's Southwest Regional Maintenance Centre in
San Diego, California.

Appearing in Sydney's Parramatta Local Court today, Budd pleaded guilty to using a
carriage service to groom a person under 16 years of age for sex.

The maximum penalty for the offence is 12 years jail.

He will be sentenced in the NSW District Court on August 31.

AAP kjd/was/cp/sp

KEYWORD: BUDD

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

NSW: O'Farrell says Liberals will change following latest defeat

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2007
NSW: O'Farrell says Liberals will change following latest defeat

The New South Wales Liberals' newly installed leader .. BARRY O'FARRELL .. says his
party's determined to change .. after losing an election to an unpopular Labor government.

Mr O'FARRELL'S been unanimously elected to replace PETER DEBNAM .. who decided not
to recontest the position after it became clear he didn't have the numbers.

And JILLIAN SKINNER defeated BRAD HAZZARD in a ballot of lower house Liberal MPs this
morning for the deputy leadership.

And MIKE GALLACHER remains Liberal leader in the upper house .. after defeating GREG PEARCE.

Liberal MPs will reconvene at a later date to elect a deputy leader for the upper house
.. after a ballot between Matthew MASON-COX and CATHERINE CUSACK resulted in a tie.

Mr O'FARRELL says his 31 colleagues in the parliamentary Liberal Party realise they
have to work harder .. and be more unified .. after the party's fourth consecutive election
loss to Labor.

AAP RTV pj/hn/rt/bart

KEYWORD: LIBERALS NSW (SYDNEY)

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

NSW: Ellison rubber stamped extradition request: Court told

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2006
NSW: Ellison rubber stamped extradition request: Court told

A Sydney court's been told .. federal Justice Minister CHRIS ELLISON simply rubber-stamped
a request to extradite American stock market guru LARRY WILLIAMS to the US.

64-year-old WILLIAMS is wanted by the US Internal Revenue Service .. on charges of
attempting to evade 1.5 million US dollars in taxes between 1999 and 2001.

He's the father of Hollywood actress MICHELLE WILLIAMS and grandfather to MATILDA ..

her one-year-old daughter with Australian film star HEATH LEDGER.

WILLIAMS was arrested on an extradition warrant in May .. after flying into Sydney
ahead of a 24-day lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand.

His barrister ROBERT RICHTER has challenged the validity of the extradition certificate
in the Federal Court in Sydney.

He says Senator ELLISON didn't see a copy of the American warrant for WILLIAMS' arrest
or a copy of an indictment .. simply rubber-stamping the request.

But JAMES RENWICK .. representing the government .. said Senator ELLISON received expert
advice before signing the certificate.

Justice MARGARET STONE adjourned the hearing without indicating when she'd give her
judgement .. but it is expected to be within a few weeks.







Acting on a request from US authorities .. Senator ELLISON issued a certificate allowing
a magistrate to rule on whether WILLIAMS should be extradited.

Mr RICHTER told the court the alleged offence committed in the US had to be one that
could attract a penalty of more than one year in prison .. if committed in Australia.

But he said the US offence of wilfully attempting to evade income tax is not necessarily
equivalent to the Australian offence of dishonest conduct.

Mr RICHTER said the minister couldn't come to an informed opinion on whether the extradition
request was valid .. based on the paperwork presented to him.

WILLIAMS is due to face a four-day extradition hearing in Sydney's Downing Centre Local
Court in March next year .. if his Federal Court challenge is unsuccessful.

AAP RTV smm/klw/rt/bart

KEYWORD: WILLIAMS (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: Labor says changes need to be made to repatriation

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2006
Fed: Labor says changes need to be made to repatriation

CANBERRA, April 28 AAP - Incompetence from all involved in the repatriation of Private
Jake Kovco resulted in the wrong body being returned to Australia, Labor says.

Opposition defence spokesman Robert McClelland condemned the use of a private contractor
to transport the body of the dead soldier, describing it as "quite improper".

The family of Pte Jake Kovco - who died from an accidental gunshot wound in Baghdad
last Friday - has condemned the federal government and military officials after his body
was left in Kuwait and a casket containing the body of a foreign soldier was sent to Melbourne.

The family also is angry over Defence Minister Brendan Nelson changing the government's
original story that Pte Kovco's pistol discharged while he was cleaning it.

Mr McClelland said the case showed there was a need for major changes to the repatriation
process.

"It just seems incompetent from all around but certainly quite improper, we believe,
for a deceased soldier to have his remains handled by a private contractor," he told ABC
Radio.

Mr McClelland said Australian soldiers should be repatriated by the Australian government.

"They should be bought home by their own," he said.

"They're entitled to that. I think any serving soldier would expect that would be the case now.

"Any soldier would expect that to be the case now."

He said people should not speculate on the cause of Pte Kovco's death and should instead
await the outcome of the inquiry.

"I think for a number of reasons people shouldn't be making prejudicial statements
to what occurred," Mr McClelland said.

"I understand the family's angst but I think there are a number of factors here where
people will be able to put their own cases and test evidence.

"In terms of the cause of the death that will be the subject of an inquiry. I actually
think it's important for people to await the outcome of the inquiry," he said.

AAP klw/rj/bwl

KEYWORD: KOVCO MCCLELLAND

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

Fed: Govt worried by threats to damage whaling ships

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2005
Fed: Govt worried by threats to damage whaling ships

By Robin Pash

CANBERRA, Dec 30 AAP - Threats by a conservation group to battle Japanese whalers will
do nothing to help its anti-whaling cause, warns the government amid fears the Southern
Ocean protest will put lives at risk.

The fighting language used by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), which indicates
it is prepared to damage Japanese ships, has been condemned by the government as counter-productive.

Statements by the Sea Shepherds' founder, captain Paul Watson, have also been criticised
by Greenpeace, which has distanced itself from the group.

In an email to friends and supporters last week, 55-year-old Mr Watson said he was
expecting a confrontation with the whalers as he steamed towards the Japanese fleet on
the Canadian-flagged Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat.

"We anticipate that we may sustain some damage but our objective is to shut down their
illegal activities and we will risk losing the ship if need be to further that objective,"

he said.

"The crew are ready and eager to engage the Japanese whalers."

The email also said: "We may lose our ship and find ourselves in our lifeboats within
the next few hours. I am quite sure we will sustain damages".

Mr Watson was a founding member of the Greenpeace Foundation but split from the group
in the late 1970s to set up SSCS.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell said Mr Watson's language would do nothing to help
the anti-whaling cause. He has referred the email to Justice Minister Chris Ellison.

"The word deranged came to mind when I read it," Senator Campbell said.

"I couldn't not do something about it."

A spokesman for Senator Ellison said the the situation was being closely monitored.

He said no formal complaint had been received from the environment minister or the
Japanese whalers, but Senator Campbell had discussed the matter with Senator Ellison in
recent days.

"If there was a formal complaint, we would obviously look at it promptly," the spokesman said.

Senator Campbell said statements like Mr Watson's would not help turn Japanese public
opinion against the country's so-called scientific whaling program.

"Tactics that are clearly designed to harm or potentially harm the Japanese themselves
will be incredibly counter-productive," he said.

AAP was unable to contact Mr Watson via satellite phone on board the Farley Mowat today.

But Greenpeace expedition leader Shane Rattenbury, who is on board one of two Greenpeace
ships in the Southern Ocean, said his organisation would never condone the tactics suggested
by the Sea Shepherds.

"We are working independently from the Sea Shepherds," he said.

"The reason for that is that we do have a different understanding of what we consider
to be non-violent direct action.

"For us the idea of ramming vessels or endangering the lives of Japanese whaling crew
is out of the bounds we would consider to be appropriate."

He said he had seen no evidence of such tactics since the Sea Shepherds' vessel found
the Japanese whalers on Christmas Day.

The Japanese fleet sped off when the Farley Mowat arrived and the Sea Shepherds had
been unable to keep up with the whaling ships and had not been seen since, Mr Rattenbury
said.

Japan plans to slaughter 935 minke whales and 10 fin whales in Antarctic waters this
summer as part of its whale research program.

Conservationists maintain it is a commercial, not a research, operation.

AAP rp/cdh/jlw

KEYWORD: WHALES (REISSUING)

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

ACT: Dangerous fire conditions in the ACT

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2005
ACT: Dangerous fire conditions in the ACT

Huge fuel loads are combining with high temperatures to create some of Canberra's most
dangerous fire conditions .. since the devastating fire storm of two years ago.

Authorities have declared a total fire ban for the New Year weekend .. raising doubts
about whether a major fireworks show in the capital will go ahead.

The ACT Fire Brigade says a wet winter and spring has produced tall grass around the
capital .. which has dried with little rain in December.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting 38 degrees for both Saturday and Sunday ..

with strong north westerly winds.

Meanwhile .. the ACT government says no decision will be made on the New Year's Eve
fireworks show .. before tomorrow afternoon.





Yesterday a grass fire wrecked two homes in the inner suburb of Yarralumla and damaged
two others .. in a suspected act of arson.

AAP RTV rp/tm

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES ACT (CANBERRA)

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

Qld:Police crackdown on New Year's Eve misbehaviour

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2005
Qld:Police crackdown on New Year's Eve misbehaviour

By Rosemary Desmond

BRISBANE, Dec 30 AAP - Queensland police are preparing to crack down on misbehaving
New Year's Eve revellers.

More than 300 police will be patrolling popular areas for Brisbane partygoers, such
as Southbank, Fortitude Valley and the CBD tomorrow night, Superintendent Tonya (Tonya)
Carew said.

"There's a lot of police working tomorrow night, right into the early hours and up
to midday on Sunday," Supt Carew told reporters today.

"We are asking people not to get too boisterous on the streets and if people play up
on the streets, if they have had too much to drink, they will find very easy access to
our watchhouse and we'll accommodate them very quickly."

He said revellers should stay in groups, keep away from darkened and isolated areas
where they may be vulnerable, use public transport or taxis and don't drink and drive.

Sniffer dogs may be brought into nightclubs if police suspect there may be drugs there,
Supt Carew said.

"The dogs will be out and about and if we have intel (intelligence) that suggests that
we need them, we'll use them.

"If people have drugs on them, be prepared to be picked up with them."

In Brisbane, extra bus, train and ferry services will run until the early hours of
New Year's Day.

On the Gold Coast, police were warning residents and visitors not to use illegal fireworks
as part of their celebrations.

Superintendent Brett Pointing said that many people did not realise fireworks were
a form of explosive and in Queensland only a licensed pyrotechnician could legally discharge
them.

Supt Pointing also warned people it was illegal in Queensland to consume alcohol in
a public place, including parks and beaches.

The RSPCA advised pet owners to take special precautions to keep their pets safe during
New Year's Eve celebrations, particularly during fireworks displays.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the noise and light flashes created havoc each
year with animals often running onto roads.

"It's likely that scores of animals will end up at our shelters or council pounds,"

Mr Beatty said.

Pets should be kept inside the house or garage in an environment in which they felt at ease.

Horses should be securely stabled or moved to a location away from the fireworks.

AAP rad/lma/jlw

KEYWORD: EVE QLD

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

EMI and Time Warner close in on record deal; Business Staff.

Media group EMI said yesterday it was close to striking a merger deal with US giant Time Warner's music division to create the world's biggest record company.

The combination would bring together EMI's list of stars such as the Spice Girls, Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams with Warner Music's playlist including Cher, Eric Clapton and Madonna.

Full details of the partnership were due to be released today but a statement from EMI described the deal as a "50-50 joint venture", and took pains to say it would not represent a takeover of EMI.

"The transaction contemplated represents an opportunity to establish the world's premier music group and to create very considerable value for shareholders of both companies," the statement said.

The move will be the latest in a string of major global media mergers. Time Warner itself recently announced a merger with Internet giant America On Line, while EMI's shares surged last week on speculation that it was close to a deal with Germany's Bertelsmann media group.

As well as a host of famous artists, the combined company would own some of the best-known recording labels in the industry, including EMI's Virgin and Capitol and Time Warner's Atlantic, Elektra and Warner Brothers.

Executives at EMI, led by chairman Mr Eric Nicoli, were said to be meeting Time Warner management including Warner Music head Mr Roger Ames this weekend.

Warner EMI Music, as the venture is expected to be called, would have sales of more than pounds 5 billion a year and the pair could bring in cost savings of up to pounds 500 million a year by combining their overheads.

EMI has already said it is looking to cut manufacturing costs of CDs and tapes. Combining operations with Warner could allow the pair to close a number of factories.

The combined group would also have more marketing muscle to promote its artists.

Meanwhile, EMI will be able to ally itself with internet behemoth AOL.

Shopping for CDs is already commonplace over the Internet but analysts say the future for the music industry lies in downloading music directly on-line to customers.

Mr Ken Berry, chief executive of EMI's record business, is tipped to become chief executive.

It was reported that Warner and EMI executives have been in secret talks for weeks. EMI has been the subject of takeover speculation for years.

Two years ago merger talks with Canada's Seagram collapsed but a host of other media groups have since been mentioned on the City rumour mill.

Valued after the close of play on Friday at pounds 5.11 billion, EMI is Britain's 65th biggest stock market-quoted company.

Its history dates back to 1897 when it traded as The Gramophone Company but its place was assured in pop culture when it signed the Beatles in the early 1960s.

When the founding fathers of EMI set up The Gramophone Company they could not possibly have imagined that 100 years later records would become almost extinct.

Even in the 1960s, when EMI was signing up the likes of the Beatles, science-fiction B movies were not predicting we would be buying and downloading music from computers in our living rooms.

But that is the situation record companies now face.

While Internet sales of cassettes and CDs have been growing steadily for several years, especially in the US, the norm will soon be for music to be sold and distributed directly on-line.

It is partly for this reason that the City today will be warming to the joint venture agreed between EMI and Time Warner, the US group soon to merge with internet giant AOL.

EMI is the world's third biggest producer of recorded music and the largest music publisher, owning and administering more than a million copyrights.

This vast catalogue, ranging from Singin' in the Rain to the Spice Girls' Wannabe, is seen as a vast resource to sell to music fans over the Internet.

NSW: Teens arrested after crashing stolen car following chase

AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2005
NSW: Teens arrested after crashing stolen car following chase

SYDNEY, April 21 AAP - Three teenagers have been arrested after crashing their stolen
car into a block of units following a police chase in Sydney's north overnight.

NSW police pursued the youths in the 4WD Honda CRV about 11.30pm (AEST) after radio
inquiries confirmed the car was stolen.

After tailing the car for a short distance, the chase was terminated, a police spokesperson said.

Moments later, the driver lost control of the vehicle, veering off William Street into
a unit complex where it hit a brick wall.

No one inside the units were injured nor was there any structural damage to the building.

Police arrested the three teenagers at the scene and one was taken to Royal North Shore
Hospital for observation.

The two remaining youths were taken to North Sydney Police Station where they are currently
assisting police with inquiries.

AAP na/snp

KEYWORD: TEENAGERS

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

earnest money

earnest money, see GOD'S PENNY.

SINGER MONROE GETS PACEMAKER.(News/National/International)

Q: Do you have any information about bluegrass singer Bill Monroe? I saw that he was hospitalized in Memphis, Tenn., for circulatory problems.

A: Monroe, 84, is recuperating from having a pacemaker installed, manager Tony Conway said. Monroe welcomes cards and letters. Send to: Bill Monroe, c / o Tony Conway, Buddy Lee Attractions, 38 Music Square East, Suite 300, Nashville, Tenn. 37203.

Q: About William Hayes, the American imprisoned in Turkey whose story was the basis for Midnight Express: What ever happened to Brad Davis, the actor who portrayed Hayes?

A: He died of AIDS in 1991. His last movie was When the Time Comes, a right-to-die drama starring Bonnie Bedelia.

Q: Why is it that Georgia, with no petroleum industry, has lower gasoline prices than anywhere else?

A: The state motor-fuel tax, 7.5CENTS a gallon, is the lowest in the country, according to the American Petroleum Institute in Washington. Connecticut has the highest, 36CENTS.

Q: Was Erma Bombeck's death caused by her body's rejection of the transplanted kidney?

A: The cause of death was listed as ``complications'' after her kidney transplant in a San Francisco hospital. The 69-year-old writer died April 22. Since at least 1991, she had battled polycystic kidney disease. She also was fighting cancer and underwent a mastectomy.

Q: Where did the phrase ``It's raining cats and dogs'' come from?

A: In northern mythology, dogs often were pictured as attendants of Odin, the storm god, with cats believed to cause storms. A more earthly explanation: In 17th-century England, some city streets were literally awash with dead dogs and cats during and after torrential rains.

Q: Is there any way to find out what each item sold for at the auction of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis?

A: You'll have to have either the catalog or Internet access. You can see a complete listing on the USA Today Estate auction page: http: / / 167.8.29.7 / life / special / jackie / ljack000.htm . Sotheby's page is less useful, listing items only by lot number and price, without any description. To view the results, you need Adobe's Acrobat Exchange or Acrobat Reader software. But without a catalog showing items and their lot numbers, that wouldn't tell you much anyway. If you have a catalog, use this Internet address - http: / / www.sothebys.com - or phone (212) 606-7901 and follow the instructions.

Q: We're having problems getting a visa from Paraguay for an adopted baby. The U.S. Consulate said we should pull as many strings as we can. Do you have an e-mail address or fax number for Hillary Rodham Clinton?

A: It's worth a try. The first lady's press office says she has no e-mail address, but you can send her a fax at (202) 456-7805.

Inflation news calms traders' fears.(News)

The FTSE-100 made some modest gains yesterday following Tuesday's six-month closing low as investors took some short-term hope from the Bank of England's new inflation report.

The 148-point drop on Tuesday was prompted by fears of rising interest rates. Figures yesterday showing unemployment falling and a slight rise in average earnings pointed to interest rate rises in the near future.

But the Bank of England's report suggested it would be two years before inflation rose above its target and that the immediate future would see inflation undershooting its target.

Even the eclipse failed to plunge London trading into total darkness, with the FTSE-100 Index closing up 36 points at 6,014.4.

Among some of the highest risers was satellite broadcaster BSkyB which gained 22p to 583p after unveiling full year results. The broadcaster's bottom line was badly hit by its digital costs, but figures for subscribers were ahead of forecast and cheered investors.

CGU reported half year figures showing profits at the top end of analysts' forecasts, buoyed by strong life and pension sales. Shares rose 11p to 840p.

Many of yesterday's worst fallers staged a slight recovery.

Standard Chartered gained 22p to 828p and Dixons bounced back 54p to pounds 10.95.

Freeserve, the 80 per cent Dixons owned Internet group was up 3p to 181p, and Exchange Holdings, another recent Internet float recovered some of its recent losses - up 4p to 193p. Telecom stocks also recovered with Telewest up 7p to 224p, Energis up 39p to pounds 14.20 and BT up 2p to 913p.

Colt Telecom unveiled blockbusting second quarter turnover figures, pushing its shares up 56p to pounds 12.53.

Another strong telecom gainer was Kingston Communications, the Hull-based group floated on the market last month. A strong set of first quarter figures lifted the formerly council-owned telco up 12p to 310p.

Country Gardens saw its shares grow by 1p to 292p after unveiling an 11 per cent rise in like-for-like sales and a 15 per cent jump in first-half profits.

However, travel group Airtours dived 7p to 412p following its announcement that its third quarter profits had fallen, partly due to the pounds 2.8 million cost of its bid for smaller package holiday rival First Choice.

First Choice shares also lost 9p to 163p.

Sun Life gained 18p to 434p ahead of today's figures, with traders speculating that the insurer could also reveal a deal to sell its GRE life operations to Dutch insurance giant Aegon.

Lloyds TSB saw gains 33p of 840p, with many still seeing the bank as the "pick of the sector" in the wake of the recent interim results reporting season.

Shares in FI Group were also on offer, down 26p at 362p, as Merrill Lynch downgraded its stance to "neutral" from "accumulate", citing concerns about "stretched valuations" at current levels. Forecasts for the company, however, were held - with year to April, 2000, set to rise to pounds 26.2 million.

Insignia Solutions joins DVB Project; Company aims to make its accelerated Jeode platform the premier Java solution for digital set-top box and TV applications.

M2 PRESSWIRE-21 March 2000-INSIGNIA SOLUTIONS: Insignia Solutions joins DVB Project; Company aims to make its accelerated Jeode platform the premier Java solution for digital set-top box and TV applications (C)1994-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:20032000

Fremont, CA -- Insignia Solutions (NASDAQ:INSGY) announced today that its has joined the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) Project to aggressively market its accelerated Jeode platform as the premier Java solution for digital set-top box and television applications.

"Participating in the DVB Project is an important part of our strategy for the digital set-top box and television markets," said Jon Hoskin, chief technology officer of Insignia Solutions. "It will allow us to have full access to technical specifications for emerging standards and provide us with the opportunity to serve on technical committees to review and refine future specifications. By bringing our Java technology expertise to the table, we can ensure that, as we bring new products to market, there is a close integration between our Jeode platform and the DVB technology for advanced set-top box and digital television."

"We`re very pleased to welcome Insignia to the DVB Project," said DVB Chairman Theo Peek. "Like Insignia, the DVB is strongly committed to Java technology."

The DVB unanimously selected Java technology for its digital interactive broadcasting standard late last year. The landmark agreement, which was announced by Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW) on November 22, 1999, is expected to enable completion of the DVB Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) specification by early this year, accelerating the availability of rich interactive content running on a wide variety of digital television products from many vendors.

The DVB Project

The Digital Video Broadcasting Project is a consortium of more than 200 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators and regulatory bodies in more than 30 countries worldwide, committed to designing a global standard for the delivery of digital television. Numerous broadcast services using DVB standards with millions of compliant decoders are now operational in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Equipment compliant to DVB standards dominate the marketplace and DVB transmissions are on the air in five continents. The DVB System provides a complete solution for digital television and data broadcasting. All DVB systems are based on MPEG-2 video compression and include the necessary elements to bring digital broadcast services to the home through cable, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast systems.

The Multimedia Home Platform API consists of a software specification which will be implemented in set-top boxes, integrated Digital TV receivers and Multimedia PCs. The MHP will connect the worlds of broadcast television, Internet computing and telecommunications through these devices and their associated peripherals.

Insignia Solutions

Insignia Solutions is the leading provider of accelerated Java solutions that dynamically optimize the use of available system resources.

The Jeode platform is Insignia`s accelerated implementation of Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW) PersonalJava and EmbeddedJava specifications tailored for Internet appliances and embedded devices. At the core of the Jeode platform is the "Sun Authorized Virtual Machine", the Jeode Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM), an accelerated runtime engine that delivers an optimal balance of performance and predictability in a smaller memory footprint. Using a proprietary technique called adaptive dynamic compilation, the Jeode EVM can execute Java applications on average six times faster than interpretive VMs.

The Jeode platform is designed to run with a wide range of operating systems and target processors. It currently supports operating systems such as Windows CE, Windows NT, VxWorks and Linux, and processors such as MIPS, ARM, Intel x86, PowerPC and Hitachi SH.

Insignia Solutions is publicly-held with headquarters in Fremont, California, and its main R&D facilities in High Wycombe, England.

Sales and marketing departments are located in Fremont and High Wycombe. For additional information on Insignia and its products, call 800/848-7677 in the United States, +44 (0)1628 539 500 in Europe, +81 3 5404 3440 in Japan or visit the company's website at http://www.insignia.com.

Insignia and Insignia Solutions are registered trademarks and Jeode, EVM and Embedded Virtual Machine are trademarks of Insignia Solutions, Inc. Sun, Java, EmbeddedJava, and PersonalJava are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release relating to matters that are not historical are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include the anticipated timing of product releases, the expected customer demand for existing and new products, the expected revenue from product sales, the growth of the market for the Company's products, and the market demand for Jeode. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to market and support an Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM) product or that such product will be accepted by customers. The Company's business is subject to a variety of other risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to, rapid technological changes in the industry, increased competition, and timely introduction and customer acceptance of the Company's products. These and other risks and uncertainties are further described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and will be described from time to time in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data prepared by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

CyberSource(R) Corporation Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering.

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberSource Corporation (Nasdaq: CYBS), a leading developer and provider of real-time e-commerce transaction services, today announced that it has priced its initial public offering of 4,000,000 shares of its common stock at $11.00 per share. These shares began trading today on the Nasdaq National Market under the trading symbol CYBS. CyberSource is offering all of the common stock.

( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990513/CYBRSOURCELOGO )

The shares will be offered by an underwriting group lead managed by Merrill Lynch & Co. and co-managed by J.P. Morgan & Co., PaineWebber Incorporated and C.E. Unterberg, Towbin. CyberSource has granted the underwriters an option to purchase an additional 600,000 shares of its common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriters may exercise this option within 30 days following the pricing of the offering.

A copy of the final prospectus related to this offering may be obtained from:

Merrill Lynch & Co.

Attn: Final Prospectus Department

44 B Colonial Drive

Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

Telephone: 732-885-2760

J.P. Morgan & Co.

Attn: Equity Capital Markets

60 Wall Street

New York, New York 10260

Telephone: 212-648-1236

PaineWebber Incorporated

Attn: Prospectus Department

1000 Harbo Boulevard

Weehawken, New York 07087

Telephone: 201-902-3000

C.E. Unterberg, Towbin

Attn: Syndicate Office

10 East 50th Street

22nd Floor

New York, New York 10022

Telephone: 800-538-7003

About CyberSource

CyberSource is a leading developer and provider of real-time e-commerce transaction services. Through its CyberSource Internet Commerce Suite, it offers services to online merchants for global payment processing, fraud prevention, tax calculation, export compliance, territory management, delivery address verification and fulfillment management. More than 400 customers have chosen to use CyberSource services. CyberSource's customers include Beyond.com, BUY.COM, Compaq Computer, Egghead.com, Fawcette Publications, Remedy and Shopping.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

For more information visit http://www.cybersource.com or email to info@cybersource.com.

NOTE: CyberSource is a U.S. registered trademark. CyberSource Internet Commerce Suite is a service mark of CyberSource Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

The Legal Arena, LLC to Launch Thelegalarena.com -- An Innovative Approach to Discovering the Best Local Lawyers.

West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) July 28, 2011

After spending three years in the development phase, The Legal Arena, LLC is eagerly gearing up for the release of their patent pending website, thelegalarena.com. This new online tool aims to offer consumers an easier and more effective way to retain a lawyer than the outdated methods currently available. Instead of spending hours hunting through hundreds of phone book pages or infinite online directory listings, thelegalarena.com will direct applicable listings straight to the user.

Clients using thelegalarena.com will be able to select the area of law they need representation in, the geographic location where they need these services, and then privately post their case (with the option to upload documents or pictures for review). The client also has the ability to browse the website catalog of legal professionals and select several potential lawyers for their case based on specific area of law and geographic location. The key to the site is that the consumer remains in 100% complete control.

"The site is believed to be revolutionizing because it is easy and simply more effective than the standard way of 'throwing darts' and selecting someone from a phone book or internet directory. Just look at your local phone directory. It is one-third thick with lawyer listings and internet directories are endless. Who do you call? It's time consumers have a better way and were going to give it to them," says Steve Prince, founder of The Legal Arena, LLC. "Our concept is kind of like a directory with a 'twist'. Usually in a directory the consumer calls the company within; with us, the company calls the consumer," adds Prince.

One of the most exciting and empowering features of the site is the "Consumer Approvals" element. While most lawyer-based websites feature a "peer-to-peer" rating of each entry, The Legal Arena, LLC is unique in that they believe it is far more important for consumers to be able to communicate amongst one other. Much like product reviews and rankings on sites like Amazon and eBay, attorneys will be ranked according to the number of "Consumer Approvals" they receive; the more they have, the higher they rank.

"A fantastic site designed to empower consumers in need of legal representation. Will definitely change the way consumers hire attorneys," remarks Managing Partner Todd Fronrath, of Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath.

In fact, The Legal Arena, LLC is already reporting an overwhelmingly positive response from many lawyers nationwide. West Palm Beach, FL "Super Attorney" John F. Romano, of the Romano Law Group, states, "You guys are going to create a paradigm shift in the entire legal profession."

Lawyers can view member benefits at The Legal Arena's Facebook page and can apply early directly from the company's "Coming Soon" page.

Thelegalarena.com is a free service for anyone in need of legal representation.

For more information please visit: http://www.thelegalarena.com.

###

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/thelegalarena/comingsoon/prweb8664979.htm

Man beaten at garage.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

A five-man gang tied a Pakistani national to a chair and beat him with a metal bar after he arrived at a garage to collect some money he was owed, a court heard yesterday. The victim went to the garage in Rashidiya in January.

"I was shocked when one of the suspects crashed into my car and destroyed it," the victim said according to court records. "The other four beat me badly with an iron bar on my head and then dragged me inside the garage and tied me to a chair and kept assaulting me until police came after one of my friends who had come with me called them."

The five suspects deny assaulting the man. The trial continues.

A[umlaut] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

Scott's still looking for major surge.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

ADAM SCOTT is hoping to capitalise on Tiger Woods' current injury misfortune and take his first giant steps into Major-winning territory. The world No.1 will be out for around six weeks as he undergoes knee surgery, and Scott believes that gives the big-name stars more of a chance of Major success this year.

Woods was beaten into second at Augusta after South African Trevor Immelman led from start to finish to claim a first Major. Australian star Scott only managed a 25th-placed finish at the Masters after a poor final round of 76 in Augusta - not a good return for a player hotly tipped for Major success. But he believes that the failure of Woods is good news for the challengers.

He said: "It gives up hope. He hasn't won his last two (tournaments) so he's human. He's out for a few weeks so hopefully we can take advantage of that." Scott is confident that a concerted effort in America over the next three weeks can be the launchpad to success this season. Scott was so convincing when he roared to victory at the Qatar Masters earlier this year. And the world No.10 feels his form is still good despite a poor return in the season's first Major.

He said: "It ended on a bit of a sour note but my form is good. I'm really happy. I've done a lot of stuff different this year. I just haven't quite put it together for four days. It's going to happen. I just have to be patient and convert what I'm doing. The rankings come and go, they're so volatile. I'm a couple of good weeks away from being back up there."

Scott is looking to put together a good run in America over three weeks in a bid to ensure his game is in gear for the US Open at Torrey Pines in June. Scott lines up at the EDS Byron Nelson in Texas this weekend before heading to North Carolina for the Wachovia Championship and then to the TPC Sawgrass in Florida the following week for the Players Championship.

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

Il Rustico.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

If you asked 100 people in the UAE to describe how their ideal Italian restaurant would look, I'm pretty certain a chunk of them would say exposed brick, wooden tables, a pizza oven and so on.

Perhaps the sort of place where Lady and The Tramp got their pasta or where doe-eyed young lovers eat dishes cooked by dough-bellied Italian chefs. In fact, many would describe the interior of Il Rustico. Unfortunately, Il Rustico at Rydges Plaza has, for a while now, been tagged with the 'it's not as good as it used to be', having previously been regarded as the best cheap Italian in the country. So I set out to discover if this is really the case.

First up, I'm glad to report that they still bring out the garlic at the start.

A whole garlic bulb is sliced in half and roasted, still in the skin, so by the time it reached your table the little segments are cooked to a perfect consistency ready to pop out and spread on the fresh focaccia bread. If there's a more delectable start to a night with an Italian then I'm sure only French President Nicolas Sarkozy knows about it.

The rule with garlic is that either you both have it, or nobody has it, but when the entire bulb has been sliced in half, the cloves roasted in the skin, any lingering potency vanishes and the sweet flavour makes it a perfect accompaniment for a basket of bread.

And yes, the setting is still charming. Of course it's faux rustic rather then genuine rustic but this is Dubai - even the 'old' Arabic buildings here are new, so we can forgive the lack of authenticity and just admit that this warm and snug setting is perfect for a romantic Italian meal. It's cosy in a way that somewhere fantastic like Quattro at the Four Seasons just can't compete.

While Quattro has one of the most inventive and modern interiors, with top Milanese dishes to match, Il Rustico is still the master at warm and wonderful. When the starters came, however, I realised why people were saying standards had fallen. My beef carpaccio was fine enough and the meat was fresh and delicate with shavings of cheese and leaves of rocket completing the Italian standard, but it was something that's now done better in many other places.

My dining partner's mussels arrived in a cloud of steam in a little red Le Creuset pot. Resisting the temptation to appropriate this kitchen classic and add it to her own collection of burned pans and motley pots, my companion set about instead removing the oversized mussels from their homes. This particular rendition of the seafood classic proved to be a winner; plump mussels drowning in a creamy tomato and ginger sauce were eagerly mopped up with the remnants of the homemade bread.

Sadly, the chili crust salmon that she ordered for main course proved unable to live up to the mussels. The chili crust lacked any kick and resembled little more than greasy breadcrumbs spread over the top of the slab of pink fish.

The accompanying orzo pasta (that's pasta pretending to be rice) was passable but uninspiring. My order of beef was a little tough and dry in parts and not as good as I could have done myself at home. I know all men think they can cook a beef steak, but that just means that restaurants have to get it right even more regularly and this was not a great piece of meat.

I wished I'd ordered pizza as I know it's pretty good here, but that's not enough to sustain the place, especially as there's Roundtable Pizza specialising in great pizza just down the road. The tiramisu we shared for dessert lacked punch and deep flavour. It was just 'alright', which pretty much sums up the entire experience.

Il Rustico can't coast by on the setting alone now that there are so many more options in the city. That said, the fall in standards from its glory days (about three to five years ago) are not as great as some suggest and crucially it's still busy on most nights.

Perhaps it's just the simple fact that lots of new Italian restaurants have opened in the last few years and the old faithful has been superseded. But far from having to get the shotgun and take this old friend out behind the woodshed, it's still got legs in it yet. A bit more love with the dishes could easily see this romantic corner of Dubai put the spring back into our relationship with it.

7DAYS Verdict

Cheap, cheerful but still falling a bit short. The bill came to dhs339 including two glasses of wine that cost dhs30 each.

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

Singapore Airshow was a runway success.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

Despite on-site disclosed contracts at last year's Dubai Airshow exceeding $100 billion in value - the highest ever for any global aviation event - the Singapore Airshow, although paling in comparison, still registered significant deals. The Singapore Airshow saw more than $13.4 billion in sales of aircraft and related equipment this week, thanks to a booming aviation market, organisers said.

Another $2.6 billion was generated from contracts for facilities and other services, they said in a statement at the inaugural event. The small but wealthy city-state decided to host its own airshow after organisers of the Asian Aerospace fair moved the event to Hong Kong after a long presence there.

The biggest deal announced at the airshow was an order for 56 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft worth more than $4.4 billion by Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air. Indonesian flag-carrier Garuda ordered four Boeing 777-300ERs worth one billion dollars and business jet operator BJets signed a $600 million contract for 40 Cessna and Hawker jets.

US-based Boeing's European rival said it had secured orders for five A330-200F cargo planes from BOC Aviation, an aircraft leasing firm fully owned by Bank of China. The deal is worth a total of $877 million at catalogue prices. Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer said US aircraft leasing firm Jetscape has ordered ten E190 jets, with options for another ten and purchase rights for ten more.

The deal is worth $375 million at list price. It could be worth up to $1.1 billion if all the options and purchase rights are confirmed, Embraer said at the airshow. Embraer also said Australia's Virgin Blue has signed a contract to exercise four purchase rights for E190 jets worth $150 million. This takes the number of firm orders from Virgin Blue to 24, consisting of six E170s and 18 E190s.

"The new deals announced at the airshow demonstrate once again that Asia is the world's fastest-growing aerospace market," said Jimmy Lau, managing director of the event's organisers. He said 70 per cent of the exhibitors have already confirmed bookings for the biennial event in 2010 being held at a new location near Changi Airport.

Lau promised "an even bigger and better" show in 2010, saying this year's event already had 40 per cent more exhibition space than Asian Aerospace which was last held in Singapore in 2006 and saw $15.2 billion in deals. More than 30,000 accredited industry professionals visited the airshow. Organisers have dubbed the Singapore Airshow as Asia's biggest aerospace event because it has civilian and defence components, while Asian Aerospace has focused on commercial aviation after its shift to Hong Kong.

More than 800 exhibitors from 42 countries, including US defence firms Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, took part in the airshow that featured the latest warplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles and executive business jets. "Asia is a vital market for us and it has been our constant endeavour to establish and strengthen our ties with this dynamic region," said Bernard Buisson, Singapore managing director for European aerospace giant EADS, which owns Airbus.

Joe Song, Asia Pacific vice president for business development at Boeing's defence arm, said the presence of "sophisticated customers", emerging security threats and military air transport requirements for humanitarian operations make the region an attractive market.

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company