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Posts Tagged ‘Melbourne’

Indonesia ‘tortured’ Balibo Five

July 24th, 2009 | No Comments

By Nick Bryant
BBC News, Sydney

East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta (file)

A film receiving its world premiere in Melbourne is likely to revive the controversy over the deaths of five foreign journalists in East Timor.

The five Australia-based correspondents died during Indonesia’s invasion of the territory in 1975.

Jakarta has always said that the five, who died in the town of Balibo, were killed in crossfire, an explanation accepted by Australian governments.

The film, Balibo, shows them being shot on the orders of Indonesian officers.

It is the first feature film to be shot in East Timor, and it tells the story of five journalists – two Australians, two Britons and a New Zealander – who were killed when Indonesian troops overran the border town of Balibo in October, 1975.

Jakarta has always maintained that the journalists were killed in an exchange of fire between its own troops and East Timorese rebels, an official explanation accepted by successive Australian governments.

But the film shows them being brutally executed, on the orders of Indonesian military chiefs.

The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos Horta, was a rebel commander at the time, and is a central figure in the film.

He claimed it was largely accurate, but that its makers were unable to convey the full horror of the killings because it would be too shocking for cinema audiences.

In Melbourne for the premiere, he claimed that the journalists were not just executed by the Indonesian military but, as he put it, "brutally, brutally tortured".

The film makers have said that the Indonesian and Australian government’s version of what happened is absurd, a view validated by the findings of an Australian coroner in 2007.

After a fresh review of the evidence, he ruled that the journalists had been killed as they tried to surrender to Indonesian forces.

The film makers are hoping that Balibo will spur the Australian government into action.

Almost 18 months on, it still has not given its official response to the coroner’s findings – a reticence which may stem from its fear of upsetting diplomatic relations with Jakarta.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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No stone left unturned in hunt for Australia’s stolen curling rocks

July 23rd, 2009 | No Comments

File photo of Scottish curler Eve Muirhead

More than a third of Australia’s total supply of stones for the winter sport of curling have been stolen from a refrigerated lorry in Melbourne.

Police say the thieves probably thought they were taking a lorry full of alcohol from a secure car park at an ice rink.

The loss of 58 expensive stones has disrupted training for both serious curlers and those new to the sport.

Officials are appealing to the thieves to return the stones.

"They are useless to anyone else except for us, apart from as a doorstop or propping up a coffee table," curler Paul Meissner told the Associated Press.

"They might be valuable… but that won’t do you any good. They could sell them to the Canadians, but they’ve got their own rocks."

‘Massive loss’

Australia has only about 150 granite rocks, which are each valued at about $400 (£242). The lost rocks will cost more than $23,000 (£14,000) to replace, officials say.

The rocks had been stored in the refrigerated trailer to keep them frozen as part of the Curling Federation’s attempts to boost membership to the sport in Melbourne.

"We had a lot of fun introducing about 40 people to the sport every Tuesday night, who really enjoyed coming here, which is an important part of developing the sport," said Mr Meissner.

"It is a massive loss. We might have to explore options including a loan from the World Curling Federation."

Curling is an Olympic sport that involves four players on two teams who sweep ice in an attempt to slide the rock towards its target.

Australia is currently ranked 12th in the world for men’s curling. Canada is ranked 1st, with Scotland 2nd.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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It’s official: active kids sleep better

July 23rd, 2009 | No Comments

A new study has confirmed what many parents already knew – running around in the day means your child may fall asleep faster at night.
The study of 500 children also found that children who fall asleep faster tend to stay asleep for longer.
The study, by experts from Monash University in Melbourne and the University of [...]

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Human flu jab trials ‘under way’

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Vaccines

Human trials of a vaccine to protect against the H1N1 swine flu virus have begun in Australia.

Vaxine and CSL have both started injecting volunteers this week, but it will be at least six weeks before the initial results are known.

Meanwhile, in the UK Gordon Brown has sought to reassure the public by saying the plans in place were "robust".

It comes as another death has been announced in the West Midlands, bringing the UK total to at least 31.

No more details are being released about the latest person to die with swine flu.

And the overall figure is likely to climb on Thursday when the Department of Health gives its weekly update. Worldwide, more than 700 people have died.

Adelaide-based Vaxine began trials Monday with 300 subjects, and Melbourne’s CSL has 240 people in its trial, which started Wednesday.

Neither firm has a contract with the UK government, which expects the first vaccine batches by the end of August.

SWINE FLU SYMPTOMS

  • 1. High temperature, tiredness and lowered immunity
  • 2. Headache, runny nose and sneezing
  • 3. Sore throat
  • 4. Shortness of breath
  • 5. Loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea
  • 6. Aching muscles, limb and joint pain

Source: NHS

But Vaxine research director Nikolai Petrovsky said: "There is no guarantee any of these vaccines will work. Swine flu is a very peculiar beast, its a very different virus that we’re dealing with. But we are hopeful."

Mr Brown admitted swine flu was putting the health service in the UK under strain.

But the prime minister said some of the pressure would be relieved by the National Flu Service, which is being launched in England later this week.

The phone and internet service will allow people with swine flu to get access to anti-flu drugs without needing to consult a doctor.

Mr Brown said: "I want the public to be reassured that we have been preparing for the possibility of a pandemic for a number of years.

"The NHS is continuing to cope well, but as swine flu cases have started to increase we have needed to be able to give anti-virals more quickly.

"From the end of this week the National Flu Service will be up and running. This will free up GP and NHS time."

GPs have started to raise concerns about the number of calls they are getting about flu with every region of England apart from Yorkshire and the Humber seeing "exceptional" levels of demand.

Under contingency plans, non-emergency operations can be cancelled and doctors moved around the health service to help tackle hotspots.

It has not reached that stage yet, but ministers have been forced to set up the flu service.

Challenge

Mr Brown was speaking the day after Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson admitted the flu pandemic was presenting the NHS with its "biggest challenge in a generation".

In the worst-case scenario, up to a third of the population could become infected this winter with as many as 65,000 deaths.

Sir Liam said coping with such huge demands would be a real test for everyone working in the health service.

• The Meningitis Research Foundation has warned the focus on swine flu risks masking other serious illnesses.

A 17-year-old from Derbyshire was admitted to hospital last week after originally being diagnosed with swine flu.

The foundation warned people to be aware of the disease as the early symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia were "very similar" to flu.

The group also said the levels of flu circulating in the UK meant that immune systems were compromised and could lead to a rise in meningitis cases. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Chinese directors shun festival

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Rebiya Kadeer

Two Chinese directors have boycotted Australia’s biggest film festival over the screening of a documentary about political activist Rebiya Kadeer.

Richard Moore, head of the Melbourne International Film Festival, said their films were pulled after he ignored political pressure from Beijing.

He told the AFP news agency "It’s hard to draw any other conclusion."

Chinese authorities blame Kadeer – leader of the World Uighur Congress – for inciting ethnic unrest in Xinjiang.

Earlier this month, at least 197 people died and more than 1,600 were injured during fighting in the region between the mostly Muslim Uighurs and a growing number of settlers from China’s Han majority.

Kadeer, 62, spent six years in a Chinese prison before she was released into exile in the US in 2005.

In 2004, she won the Rafto Prize for human rights.

She is expected to attend the screening of Ten Conditions of Love, by Australian documentary-maker Jeff Daniels.

‘Annoyed and irritated’

In a statement, Mr Moore said Jia Zhangke, director of the short film Cry Me A River, and Emily Tang, the director of Perfect Life, "have decided to withdraw their films from this year’s festival".

He added that Ms Tang had cancelled her trip to Melbourne as a guest of the festival.

Clashes between ethnic groups claimed hundreds of lives

Mr Moore said the screening of Ten Conditions of Love, which has sold out at the event, was the subject of a phone call from a Chinese consular official last week.

But he said the festival would stand firm by its decision to include the documentary in the programme.

He told AFP: "It makes me feel angry, annoyed and irritated all at the same time, that they would try to interfere with our programme for blatantly political ends."

China has not commented on the films being withdrawn.

A third Chinese film-maker, Zhao Liang, has also asked the festival to drop his film Petition, a controversial documentary examining injustices in China’s court system. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Qantas airways poke fun at Australian team

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Australian airliner Qantas has launched a cheap air fare promotion, which pokes fun at the Australian captain Ricky Ponting and his underperforming cricket team.
“Hurry! Once (these tickets) are gone they”re gone – a bit like the Aussie Ashes hopes,” The News.co.au quoted one travel agent’’s website, as saying.
While, STA Travel’’s advertisement features a sad-looking kangaroo [...]

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Human swine flu vaccine trials begin

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

• Two biotechnology companies start injecting adult volunteers with swine flu vaccine
• Experts say it could be two months before they can verify vaccine’s effectiveness

The world’s first human trials of a swine flu vaccine have begun in Australia, drug company officials said today, as the global death toll from the virus rose to 700.

Two biotechnology companies have started injecting adult volunteers in the southern city of Adelaide. CSL, a Melbourne company, has 240 people in its seven-month trial starting today. Vaxine, from Adelaide, began trials on Monday with 300 people.

At least 41 people have died in swine flu-related illness in Australia, now well into its winter flu season.

“We’re in the southern hemisphere, and that is where the problem is right now,” Vaxine’s research director, Nikolai Petrovsky, said. “The demand was here yesterday. We’re right in the middle of a surge of swine flu cases where perhaps the US won’t have to worry about it as much until their flu season hits, in six months.”

Australia had confirmed 14,703 cases of swine flu, while the number of deaths from the virus globally is more than 700, according to the World Health Organisation, which recently stopped counting the number of cases worldwide. A surge in cases is predicted in September and October, when students and workers in the northern hemisphere return from summer vacation.

The Australian government has already ordered 21m doses of CSL’s vaccine for use in Australia, should it be proved to work.

“We have a specific vaccine that we believe will be able to protect millions of people against this new H1N1 flu,” Andrew Cuthbertson, CSL’s director of research and development, told reporters. He called swine flu “a novel strain of influenza”, and said the trial would determine the dose and schedule of the vaccination.

Petrovsky said it would be six to eight weeks before results would verify whether a vaccine was effective.

“There is no guarantee any of these vaccines will work,” he said. “Swine flu is a very peculiar beast. It is a very different virus that we’re dealing with. But we are hopeful.”

Medical experts warned against rushing the vaccines through trials.

“I think it’s important for the public to know that they’re going to get a safe and effective vaccine,” Andrew Pesce, president of the Australian Medical Association, told Sky News television. “No one will give anybody brownie points for putting out a vaccine that didn’t work or caused harm.”

In Britain, the UK’s health protection agency (HPA) estimates there were 55,000 new cases of swine flu in England the week before last, including people visiting GPs and those who are looking after themselves at home.

The British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline, said in May it had agreed to supply nearly 130m doses of the swine flu vaccine to the UK, France, Belgium and Finland. It also said it would donate 50m doses to developing countries. The vaccine is expected to come before the end of the year.

Glaxo is one of several companies charged with producing a vaccine for H1N1 after the outbreak of the virus was declared a pandemic last month.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


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Australian Immigration Minister assures quality education to Indian students

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans on Tuesday assured quality education to Indian students, following apprehensions over slump in migration after the racial attacks Down Under.
Evens, who is currently on a visit to India said this while speaking to media after meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in New [...]

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Wolfmother Returns

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Wolfmother Tour With The Killers Before Releasing New Album

Cosmic Egg, On October 13


Wolfmother

The Australian rock outlaws that comprise Wolfmother are back together – minus two founding members – ready to release a new body of work and spend some time on the road. The band will preview new material on the road this summer, with a run of shows alongside The Killers. For the six shows in support of The Killers the Aussies will unveil new songs they’ve spent months recording in L.A.

Fans in L.A. can experience the whole album set to mind-blowing visuals on July 27 at the Laserium CyberTheater at the historic Vine Theater in Hollywood. Wolfmother also plays August 22 at KROQ’s Epicenter ’09 festival at the Fairplex at Pomona in California.

The Grammy-winning four-piece recently dropped teaser track “Back Round” on iTunes, MySpace.com/wolfmother and wolfmother.com. Wolfmother is also opening for AC/DC on its “Black Ice Tour,” beginning in February in 2010. The down-under tour sold out faster than any other tour in the Australia’s history.

Led by hirsute shredder Andrew Stockdale, the band cooked Cosmic Egg for three years, taking time to lock in a permanent lineup and build on the self-titled album that gave the world the insta-classic and much overplayed track “Woman.” Wolfmother recorded over the course of two months with heralded U.K. producer Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers, My Bloody Valentine). His sweeping and storied career as an iconic record-maker coupled with Wolfmother’s immortal song craft add up to nothing short of a truly enjoyable listen.

Wolfmother plans to headline a U.S. tour after the album’s release later this year.

Tour Dates:

08/22/09 Sat Pomona Fairplex Pomona, CA

08/31/09 Mon Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD

09/01/09 Tue Nikon at Jones Beach Theater Wantagh, NY

09/02/09 Wed PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel, NJ

09/04/09 Fri TD BankNorth Garden Boston, MA

09/05/09 Sat Jacques Cartier Pier Montreal, QC

09/06/09 Sun Molson Amphitheatre Toronto, ON

09/17/09 Thu Tivoli Theatre Brisbane, AU

09/19/09 Sat Enmore Theatre Sydney, AU

09/23/09 Wed The Capitol Theatre Perth, AU

09/24/09 Thu HQ Complex Adelaide, AU

09/25/09 Fri The Palace Melbourne, AU

09/26/09 Sat The Pier Hotel Frankston, AU

10/31/09 Sat City Park New Orleans, LA

02/11/10 Thu Etihad Stadium Melbourne, AU

02/13/10 Sat Etihad Stadium Melbourne, AU

02/15/10 Mon Etihad Stadium Melbourne, AU

02/18/10 Thu ANZ Stadium Sydney, AU

02/20/10 Sat ANZ Stadium Sydney, AU

02/22/10 Mon ANZ Stadium Sydney, AU

02/25/10 Thu Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre Brisbane, AU

02/27/10 Sat Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre Brisbane, AU

03/02/10 Tue Adelaide Oval Adelaide, AU

03/06/10 Sat Subiaco Oval Perth, AU

03/08/10 Mon Subiaco Oval Perth, AU


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How To Become Comfortable With Yourself

July 20th, 2009 | No Comments

Reflections On My 30th Birthday
As I type this I just turned 30 years old and if you’re reading this and it’s still Sunday July 19 where you are, make sure you wish me a happy birthday .
I had a conversation leading up to my 30th birthday with a fellow 29 year old who [...]

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Holmes ‘takes secret dance class for So You Think You Can Dance act’

July 16th, 2009 | No Comments

Katie Holmes is taking private dance lessons at Jason Coleman’’s Ministry of Dance studio, it has emerged.
The actress reportedly left her daughter Suri with a minder and rehearsed for two hours at the North Melbourne studio owned by the ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ judge, the Herald Sun reports.
The Dawson’s Creek star, who [...]

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China tries to block Uighur film

July 15th, 2009 | No Comments

Rebiya Kadeer 10.7.09

Organisers of Melbourne’s International Film Festival have defied calls from China not to show a documentary about an exiled Uighur leader.

Festival director Richard Moore said a Chinese consular official had insisted that the film be withdrawn, but he had refused to do so.

The film, Ten Conditions of Love, centres on Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based head of the World Uighur Congress.

China accuses the group of inciting recent ethnic unrest in Xinjiang.

Beijing and Canberra are already locked in a row over an Australian mining executive who has been arrested for spying in China.

‘Strident’

Mr Moore said that after the event’s programme was published, he was contacted by Melbourne-based Chinese cultural attache Chunmei Chen who urged him to withdraw the film.

"I said I had no reason to withdraw the film from the festival and she then proceeded to tell me that I had to justify my decision to include the film in the festival.

"No-one reacts well to strident approaches, or to the appearance of being bullied. I don’t think it’s a positive way of behaving," he added.

He said he told Ms Chen he did not have to justify the film’s inclusion, "then politely hung up".

Ethnic Uighur women and Chinese troops in Urumqi (14.7.09)

The Chinese consulate in Melbourne has not commented on the incident.

China has accused Ms Kadeer of orchestrating recent bloodshed in Xinjiang, home to the ethnic Muslim Uighurs and a growing number of China’s Han majority.

Violence between the two groups this month has left more than 180 people dead and more than 1,600 injured, Chinese authorities say.

Ms Kadeer, one of China’s richest women, was jailed in China for endangering national security but released in 2005 on medical grounds. She now lives in the US.

Ten Conditions of Love, by Melbourne film-maker Jeff Daniels, tells of Ms Kadeer’s relationship with her activist husband Sidik Rouzi and the impact her campaigning had on her 11 children.

Three of her children have been jailed.

‘Spying’ arrest

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned China on Wednesday that governments and corporations around the world were watching how it handled the case of an Australian mining executive.

Stern Hu, the Australian head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business in China, was detained on suspicion of industrial espionage relating to negotiations with Chinese steel mills over iron ore prices.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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China issues alert in Algeria

July 15th, 2009 | No Comments

Armed Chinese soldiers patrol in Urumqi on July 15, 2009

China has urged its citizens in Algeria to take extra care, after reports that a militant group might take revenge for the recent deaths of Muslim Uighurs.

On Tuesday a UK-based security firm reported that an al-Qaeda-linked group had threatened to target Chinese workers in north Africa.

The Chinese foreign minister recently appealed for understanding within the Muslim world in the wake of the unrest.

Officials say 137 Han Chinese and 46 Uighurs died in the riots, in Urumqi.

Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, is currently under heavy police and military control.

Safety precautions

On Tuesday the London-based risk firm Stirling Assynt reported that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had threatened to target Chinese workers in north Africa.

In response to the report, the Chinese embassy in Algiers has urged all 50,000 Chinese who live and work in Algeria to be more aware of safety precautions.

It told residents to strengthen security measures "in consideration of the situation after the 5 July incident in Urumqi".

XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST

  • Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese
  • 26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han Chinese and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two Uighurs dead
  • 5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead – most of them thought to be Han – and more than 1,000 hurt
  • 7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of menfolk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march
  • 8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis

Q&A: China and the Uighurs

Views from China

Exiled Uighur organisations have said they oppose all forms of violence and condemn the alleged al-Qaeda threat.

One nation which has seen a particularly strong anti-China reaction in the wake of the Urumqi violence is Turkey.

Demonstrations have been held across the country to protest against the Chinese government’s handling of the incident, and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Chinese of "genocide".

Uighurs are Turkic-speaking people and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Turks.

Turkish news agency Anatolia reported on Wednesday that a Chinese diplomat, Song Aiguo, was in Ankara for talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Mr Song, a former ambassador to Ankara, said the Chinese government felt sorrow over the Xinjiang incidents, adding that he was in Ankara to avoid possible damage to Sino-Turkish ties.

Contentious film

Meanwhile Chinese diplomats in Australia are reportedly trying to block the screening of a film about exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.

The director of the Melbourne Film Festival, Richard Moore, said that when the programme for next month’s festival was published, a Chinese consular official contacted him and insisted he withdraw it.

Mr Moore said he had declined the request.

The film – The Ten Conditions of Love – explores the impact on the family of Ms Kadeer of her fight for the rights of China’s Uighur minority.

China blamed the Xinjiang riots of Ms Kadeer, a claim she vehemently denies.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Indians among 36 foreign students held on study visa breach charges in Australia

July 15th, 2009 | No Comments

Thirty-six international students, including some Indians, have been taken into immigration confinement for allegedly breaching study visa conditions in Australia.
Most of the student visa holders being held are from China, but others come from Pakistan and India, The Australian reports.
The detention comes in a time when India is closely watching the Australian treatment to its [...]

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Meredith Whitney Bullish on Goldman

July 13th, 2009 | No Comments

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks traded modestly higher Monday morning as investors were cautiously optimistic ahead of earnings reports this week, including key readings from the banking sector.
Investors had been cautious as they prepare for earnings reports this week, including from some of the nation’s largest financial firms. Banks have been among the hardest [...]

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