FED:News Diary for Tuesday, Aug 16

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2011
FED:News Diary for Tuesday, Aug 16
Good Morning news editors and chiefs of staff

Here is AAP's preliminary news diary for Tuesday (not for publication).

This is a guide only and stories, local times and locations are subject to change. In
some cases times and locations may not be available. Story coverage is subject to staffing.

TOP STORIES
CLIMATE/BOAT/CSG - Carbon tax, Malaysia asylum seeker solution and coal seam gas mining
are among issues on the agenda as federal parliament resumes after the winter recess;
two protests in Canberra today - one anti-climate tax, one pro-gay marriag;
BOMB - Arrest made in the US over Maddy Pulver collar bomb hoax; police presser at 0900
in Sydney; more to come.

ZENTAI - Ruling due in the Federal Court on Perth resident Charles Zentai, who is fighting
extradition to Hungary as an accused Nazi war criminal.

COURTS
ADELAIDE
- Luka Kageregere in Supreme Court charged with murder of his wife in a house fire on
New Year's Day, 2009.

- Supreme Court trial continues for Angelika Gavare, charged with murdering a pensioner
and cutting up her body. (On merit)
- District Court trial continues for Fabian Francis, charged over the abuse of his ex-wife
(On merit)
BRISBANE
- Coroner to consider submissions on application to revoke non-publication order issued
on the defendant's name during the Daniel Morcombe inquest. 1600
MELBOURNE
1000 - Sentence for a man who king hit and killed a dual Australian and Canadian citizen
outside a Melbourne pub in 2009
1030 - Trial expected to begin for Fergal Downey, accused of bashing a close friend to
death with a hammer
PERTH
- Full court of Federal Court due to deliver judgment on Charles Zentai, who has been
fighting extradition to Hungary to face war crime allegations.

SYDNEY
0930 - Ahmadi v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; challenge to Malaysian solution,
before High Court.

0930 - Commonwealth DPP v David Matthew Hicks. Directions Supreme Court.

1000 - Frank Cammareri v Dr Satya Pal Bhatia, medical negligence against plastic surgeon.

Recently prosecuted by Health Care Complaints Commission. District Court.

OTHER NEWS
BRISBANE
- Outwatching developments in the Daniel Morcombe case as search continues near Beerwah
on Sunshine Coast for clues to the missing teenager's whereabouts and court hears application
on non-publication orders.

- Aussie orange farmers rally in Brisbane as part of Aussie Orange Week.

- Senior resource company executives and mayors from areas of high unemployment will attend
Work for Queensland summit on the Gold Coast.

SYDNEY
- Two senior NSW police officers and an AFP officer have been suspended after allegedly
returning positive drug tests.

1800 - Former NSW premier Kristina Keneally, Marrickville Labor MP Carmel Tebbutt and
Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham to attend community meeting with DART Energy on coal seam
gas. St Peters Town Hall.

CANBERRA
- Expected joint presser for Wayne Swan and World Bank boss Robert Zoellick. 1030, Blue
Room, Parliament House.

1000 - National Marriage Day Rally, Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, Presser 1230
Committee Room 1R6.

1100 - High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, Thisara Samarasinghe, to address journalists about
Sri Lanka's post-conflict reconstruction. Room 2R1 Parliament House.

1200 - Anti-carbon tax rally. Parlt House lawns, Organisers Consumer and Taxpayers Association.

1200 - Inquiry into Registration Process and Support for Overseas Trainied Doctors. Committee
Room 1R3.

- Parliament resumes.

1230 Senate sits.

1400 House of Reps.

1900-2200 - Joint Select Committee on Australia's Immigration Detention Network, Room
2S3 Parliament House.

MELBOURNE
- Outseeking more on light plane crash that killed two, left one critical.

- State parliament resumes after winter break
- State memorial service for Labor stalwart Clyde Holding; PM Julia Gillard to attend. 0900
- Victoria's politicians will get the same pay rises that the Baillieu government has
given to other public servants - a 2.5 per cent increase.

PERTH
- Professor Tim Flannery and other members of the Australian Climate Commission join a
panel discussion with members of Western Australia's Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

- Offenders who engaged in a bribery scam involving English Language Tests at Perth's
Curtin University are sentenced in the District Court.

MEDICAL
SYDNEY - Australian scientists have made a breakthrough in how cancer is passed on in some families.

FINANCE
ECONOMIC NEWS
Sydney - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) publishes meeting minutes of its August 2 board
meeting and interest rate decision

EQUITIES

Sydney - Westpac Banking Corp Q3 trading statement

Sydney/Dublin Ireland - James Hardie Industries SE annual general meeting

Sydney - OneSteel Ltd full year results

Sydney - Primary Health Care Ltd full year results

Sydney - Carsales.com Ltd full year results

Brisbane - GWA Group Limited full year results

Brisbane - Echo Entertainment Group full year results

Melbourne - TABCORP Holdings Ltd full year results

Melbourne - OZ Minerals half year results

Perth - Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan to address Australian British Chamber
of Commerce luncheon on "Increased Iron Ore Tariffs"

SPORT

LEAGUE

SYDNEY - Wrap of NRL news.

WOLLONGONG - St George Illawarra players Matt Cooper and Jason Nightingale for interview
at training at WIN Stadium, 1100.

SYDNEY - Teams named for NRL round 24.

BRISBANE - Brisbane Broncos training at 0830 and team announcement.

AFL

MELBOURNE - Wrap of AFL news.

MELBOURNE - Media conference with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse, 1200 Westpac Centre.

CRICKET

SYDNEY - Pace bowler Trent Copeland interview as Australian Test players fly out to
Sri Lanka tour, 1300, Sydney Airport.

HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka - 3rd ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1900AEST.

HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka - Interview/news from Aust. tour to Sri Lanka.

BOXING

SYDNEY - Anthony Mundine in 1130 media conference at Tony Mundine's gym in Redfern
re his next fight.

RACING

SYDNEY - Weights for Saturday's Warwick Stakes meeting at Warwick Farm.

MELBOURNE - Weights for Moonee Valley Saturday featuring the Mitchell McKenzie Stakes.

SYDNEY - Previewing Wednesday's Randwick meeting.

BRISBANE - Previewing Wednesday's Eagle Farm meeting.

AAP was

KEYWORD: DIARY NEWS TUESDAY AM UPDATE

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NSW: Body of missing swimmer found

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-2007
NSW: Body of missing swimmer found

SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - The body of a man who went missing in the Murrumbidgee River yesterday
in the NSW south west has been recovered.

Tony Davidson, 38, from Yanco, was last seen swimming in the river with family and
friends at nearby Horn Beach about 3.30pm (AEDT) yesterday, police said.

Mr Davidson did not resurface after diving underwater, prompting a search of the river
and the surrounding area which continued early this morning.

"At about 8.30am (AEDT) today police located Mr Davidson's body beneath the water a
short distance downstream from where he was last seen," a police statement said.

A post mortem examination will be conducted and a report prepared for the coroner.

AAP dmc/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: SWIM NIGHTLEAD

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

QLD:Rally for Research to hit Brisbane streets

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2011
QLD:Rally for Research to hit Brisbane streets

BRISBANE, April 19 AAP - Researchers in Brisbane will be taking part in a rally to
show their support for a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the impact of federal
funding cuts to medical and health research.

The Rally For Research on Tuesday follows similar rallies in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth
and Adelaide that attracted more than 7000 people.

The researchers are concerned about the "considerable impact" the reduced funding will
have on all Australians.

"Medical research provides an increased understanding of disease and susceptibility,
and leads to the development of better diagnostics, preventative treatments and new therapeutics,"

said Professor Lyn Griffiths, the Director of the Griffith Health Institute.

"This leads to Australians being able to lead longer and more productive lives with
associated economic benefits including lower health care costs," she said in a statement.

Professor Griffiths said continued financial support from the federal government is
vital if researchers are going to address the challenges facing Australians.

Griffith Health Institute receives funding through the National Health and Medical
research Council and is using the funds in research for heart disease, anti-cancer drug
development and to establish Australia's first centre of Research Excellence in Nursing
Interventions for Hospitalised Patients.

The Rally for Research will start at 12pm (AEST) and will be held in King George Square
in the Brisbane CBD.

AAP crh/goc/

KEYWORD: RESEARCH QLD

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

Wizzard Media Touts Mobile Apps for Android Mobile Devices

Wireless News
01-17-2011
Wizzard Media Touts Mobile Apps for Android Mobile Devices
Type: News

Wizzard Media, a podcasting network, announced the availability of over 1,000 Apps for Apple and Android mobile devices now available for sale.

In a release, the Company noted overall revenues for Wizzard's App immediately increased by an average of 20 percent with the launch of Wizzard Media's App for Android.
"We have continued to execute and see success from our strategy to extend our mobile media monetization efforts for our podcast publishers," said Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. "Our state-of- the-art distribution service combined with our unique monetization solution can be quickly and easily extensible to future podcasting and mobile App platforms such as the much anticipated Amazon App Store. Further, the expected Amazon Android Store signals an opportunity for greater revenues resulting from the marketing power and reach of the leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide."

Wizzard's In-App Purchase upgrades and promotional efforts have demonstrated success with above industry average conversion rates up to 40 percent. The marketing of bonus episodes available only through In-App Purchase upgrades increased daily downloads and sales by a factor of almost 7, or by almost 700 percent. Conversion rates to subscriptions from paid Apps showed 40 percent on a unit basis and almost 70 percent based on revenue.

"We have always had a lot of great premium content and our audience has been able to buy episodes from our web site," said Marc Maron, host of WTF with Marc Maron, a Wizzard Media Network App offering Premium Subscription upgrades. "We are excited to now be able to offer that same premium upgrade via the App. We are thrilled to see such an overwhelming response when new ones are posted. It's awesome! WTF!"

Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

WA:Shots fired at Perth house

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2010
WA:Shots fired at Perth house

PERTH, Aug 21 AAP - Shots have been fired at a house and a car while a couple were
at home in the Perth suburb of Bayswater.

Police said six or so shots were fired about 6am (WST) on Saturday by someone who
drove past the house.

No one was hurt and police were investigating whether earlier disturbances at the house
were linked to the shooting, Inspector Gary Lewis said.

AAP ldj/jhp

KEYWORD: SHOTS

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

Qld: Record fine tally in Qld as govt clamps down on dodgers

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2010
Qld: Record fine tally in Qld as govt clamps down on dodgers

BRISBANE, April 14 AAP - Queenslanders are forking out for fines in record numbers,
handing over a record $15.6 million to state coffers in March alone.

Attorney-General Cameron Dick says it's proof the government's tough new fine collection
laws are working.

He said that in March, the State Penalties Enforcement Registry had the highest recorded
collection month in its history.

"Last month SPER collected a record $15.6 million - the first time SPER has cracked
the $15 million mark, beating the previous monthly record set in July 2009 by $1 million,"

he said.

"This is no coincidence - this increase is directly related to the impact of the Bligh
government's tough new laws.

"Fine dodgers are getting the message. Queenslanders expect people who break the law
and receive a fine to pay their debt in full."

The new laws, which came into effect on 1 January, target chronic fine dodgers by increasing
SPER's enforcement powers.

SPER can now clamp wheels, seize property and suspend licences for fines relating to
all offences, not just motor-vehicle-related offences.

"Since I announced these tough new measures in July, the average monthly collection
has been $13.5 million, an increase of $1.6 million over last year's monthly average,"

Mr Dick said.

"It's unfortunate that it takes the threat of having a licence suspended or wheels
clamped for people to do the right thing and pay their fines."

AAP tnf/maur/

KEYWORD: FINES

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

Fed: Indigenous kids need free pre-school: Save the Children

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2009
Fed: Indigenous kids need free pre-school: Save the Children

CANBERRA, Aug 31 AAP - All indigenous children should have access to free pre-school
education to help close the literacy and numeracy gap, says Save the Children Australia.

Suzanne Dvorak, the group's Chief Executive, said only 79 per cent of indigenous students
living in cities achieved the minimum Year three reading standard in 2008.

That's 13 per cent less than non-indigenous students.

"Significantly less indigenous students compared to non-indigenous students in all
year levels achieved the national minimum standards for reading, writing and numeracy
in 2008," said Ms Dvorak.

"In particular, school children in remote areas face even greater difficulties reaching
the minimum education standards."

Ms Dvorak urged the agreement of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to ensure
all indigenous four-years-olds in remote communities had access to early childhood education
within five years. It should be extended to all communities, she added.

"We would urge Federal and State Governments to introduce cost-free, accessible early
education to all Indigenous communities as soon as possible," Ms Dvorak said.

AAP sjc/ca/maur

KEYWORD: INDIGENOUS PRESCHOOL

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

NSW: Campbell avoids flogging over commuter charter

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2009
NSW: Campbell avoids flogging over commuter charter

With CityRail meeting all the criteria set out in its charter three months ago .. New
South Wales Transport Minister DAVID CAMPBELL says he's avoided a public flogging.

Launched in December 2008 .. the charter set specific targets in areas like train punctuality
.. crowd management .. ticket sales .. safe travel and complaints handling.

At the time of the launch Mr CAMPBELL said he was prepared for a public flogging ..

if services didn't improve.

But Opposition Leader BARRY O'FARRELL says the report on the commuter charter is a
joke .. as it lacks any independent scrutiny.

AAP RTV nr/evt/tm

KEYWORD: CITYRAIL (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: Solar panel means-test to be scrapped

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2008
Fed: Solar panel means-test to be scrapped

By Cathy Alexander

CANBERRA, Dec 17 AAP - More households will qualify for up to $7,500 to install solar
panels under changes to a federal government rebate.

The government on Wednesday announced it would scrap an unpopular means test, which
restricted the rebate to households earning less than $100,000.

The means-tested rebate was worth up to $8,000.

Under the new system, to come into force in July next year, the rebate will be smaller
but everyone - households, businesses and community groups - can access it, regardless
of income.

The maximum rebate, for an average-sized 1.5 kilowatt system, will be about $7,500.

A smaller-sized 1.0 kilowatt system will attract a rebate of about $5,000.

The value of the rebate will fluctuate and it will decline from 2012.

The government came under attack from environmentalists, some solar industry chiefs
and the federal opposition for introducing the means test in this year's budget.

It was seen as discouraging some people from going green, and a step backwards for
the solar industry.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett, in announcing the changes, said people loved solar power.

"Australians want to do their bit to take action on climate change," he said.

"This (new system) will provide more Australian households with the opportunity to
go solar, and the industry with a strong footing for long-term growth."

The current system will stay in place until July, when the new system will take over.

AAP ca/rl/nf

KEYWORD: SOLAR

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

Fed: Around 20 WYD pilgrims seeking asylum in Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2008
Fed: Around 20 WYD pilgrims seeking asylum in Australia

CANBERRA, Aug 12 AAP - More World Youth Day pilgrims could seek asylum in Australia
once their three-month visa expires, a support group says.

About 20 pilgrims - mostly from African nations - have applied to stay in the country.

That number has not surprised the Asylum Seeker Centre of NSW which is handling the applications.

"At this stage we've had about 20 people present to us as identified pilgrims, indicating
that they're needing to seek protection in Australia," centre director Tamara Domicelj
told ABC Radio today.

"Any large event in Australia is going to absolutely have in amongst the people who
come here, those who are seeking protection.

"It's a very clear and known means for people to flee persecution in their country of origin."

It was something very much sanctioned under international law, Ms Domicelj said.

"We're seeing people from Cameroon, we're seeing people from Burundi, we're seeing
people from Kenya, we're seeing people from Pakistan.

It was hard to predict at this stage, whether there would be more applications.

"Obviously we're aware that there are pilgrims out there who have been given three-month
visas and so it might well be at the end of those three months we see a spike in applications
for protection."

AAP srj/rl/it/bwl

KEYWORD: YOUTH ASYLUM

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

Fed: China's Olympics crackdown getting worse, says Amnesty

AAP General News (Australia)
04-02-2008
Fed: China's Olympics crackdown getting worse, says Amnesty

Eds: Adds quotes, details



By Doug Conway, Senior Correspondent

SYDNEY, April 2 AAP - China's crackdown on peaceful activists has deepened in the lead-up
to the Beijing Olympics, according to Amnesty International.

The human rights group has accused Chinese authorities of using "excessive, sometimes
lethal" force to disperse protesters in Tibet, and of imprisoning human rights protesters
in Beijing in a pre-Games "clean-up".

"The crackdown has deepened, not lessened," said Amnesty International's Australian
director Claire Mallinson.

"This is because of, not despite, the Olympics."

Chen Yonglin, a former first secretary in the Chinese consulate-general in Sydney,
said he expected more activists to be placed under house arrest as the crackdown would
probably continue until July, one month before the Games.

The former diplomat, who left his post in 2005 and was granted a permanent protection
visa by Australia, said Chinese authorities were also "clearing out" some 300,000 so-called
"petitioners" from the outskirts of Beijing.

Petitioners are peasants from rural China who travel to the capital seeking legal redress
on a range of issues.

Amnesty's Australian China Campaign Coordinator, Sophie Peer, said there had been "serious
human rights violations" in recent days.

"These actions cast doubt on whether the Chinese authorities are really serious about
improving human rights in the lead-up to the Games," she said.

Amnesty International's final report on China in a three-year project ahead of the
Games calls for an immediate end to the "repressive" measures.

It calls on China to give immediate access to Tibet to UN investigators and other independent
observers, to cease arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment of activists, and
to allow full and free reporting across China for all journalists.

"With the Games just four months away, the International Olympic Committee and world
leaders should speak out strongly," said Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan.

"A failure to express concern and demand change publicly risks being interpreted as
a tacit endorsement of the human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese authorities
in preparation for the Olympic Games."

"In view of long-documented patterns of torture and other ill-treatment in Tibet, Amnesty
fears Tibetan detainees are likely to face beatings or other abuses.

"Some risk being sentenced to death after unfair trials.

"The organisation calls on the authorities to disclose the names, whereabouts and legal
status of all those detained, and to release anyone detained solely for peaceful protest."

Amnesty said a "near total media blackout" on Tibet was a betrayal of official promises
to ensure media freedom in the run-up to the Olympics.

Its latest report calls for the release of peaceful protesters including land rights
activist Yang Chunlin, who was sentenced to five years in prison for 'inciting subversion'
after he spearheaded a campaign under the banner "We don't want the Olympics, we want
human rights".

Amnesty said he was reportedly tortured by the police in detention, but was denied
the opportunity to raise this allegation in court.

AAP dc/imc/de

KEYWORD: OLY08 AMNESTY NIGHTLEAD

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

Fed: Queanbeyan club anxiously awaits horse flu results

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2007
Fed: Queanbeyan club anxiously awaits horse flu results

CANBERRA, Aug 31 AAP - The Queanbeyan Racing Club, just outside Canberra, is anxiously
awaiting test results on a horse showing signs of equine influenza (EI).

The racehorse was tested after its temperature was abnormally high.

"This horse had visible signs of distress - which is not unusual for a horse in winter
- and therefore it's temperature was checked and found to be abnormal - once again not
unusual - but every precaution has to be taken," Queanbeyan Racing Club President Neil
Head said today.

Mr Head said the horse's temperature had now returned to normal.

But it could take up to 24 hours for the test results to come through.

"I'm told that the bad news comes back quickly and the good news takes longer," Mr Head said.

But even so, everyone involved in the club was on tenterhooks today.

"(They're) very anxious because even the best case (scenario) is very difficult with
no races and so forth, so we've got the horses training and everybody's got the bills
coming in and no income," he said.

"The very best circumstances are diabolical and the very worst is unthinkable."

The Queanbeyan Racing Club holds 20 races every year and was supposed to be hosting
a meet tomorrow which it hopes to postpone to next Saturday.

But that depends on whether the racing ban is lifted in NSW.

Across the border, in the ACT, the ban on all horse movements has been extended indefinitely
today, which means a race meeting at Thoroughbred Park in Canberra is unlikely to proceed
next Friday.

AAP kc/cdh/bwl

KEYWORD: STALLIONS QUEANBEYAN

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

Fed: National museum hints at expansion plans

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2007
Fed: National museum hints at expansion plans

By David Crawshaw

CANBERRA, April 17 AAP - The National Museum of Australia says it is running out of
exhibition space, just six years after opening to the public.

Museum director Craddock Morton said the popular tourist attraction would seek funding
for new buildings to alleviate space constraints.

While an application for funding was some way off, Mr Morton said he envisaged building
additional wings to the strikingly designed museum, which occupies a prominent site on
Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin.

The new buildings would allow the museum to better present elements of Australia's
development such as environmental history and the nation's place in the region.

"I believe that there are a number of stories which ... we can't address in the amount
of physical space that we have currently," Mr Morton said.

"But being a recently funded institution, it's hard to go back after five years and
say we want more."

Mr Morton said he would have liked a smaller entrance hall and more exhibition space
for the award-winning museum, which opened in March 2001.

His comments came as he unveiled details of a new facility, the Centre for Historical
Research, designed to boost the museum's research capability and improve its standing.

"The great museums of the world use their collections to enhance research and to develop
an understanding of the particular fields that they're in, in a way which we have done
to some extent but we've done unevenly," Mr Morton said.

"One of the reasons that we're setting up the research centre is to provide the opportunity
both for independent researchers to come in and research using the museum's collection
and also to allow ... our curatorial staff to get away from the demands of their jobs
and to really focus on their areas of research interest."

The new centre, which will focus on multidisciplinary research, will be headed by war
historian Dr Peter Stanley.

It will offer short-term fellowships, the first of which has been awarded to Professor
David Day, an Australian studies expert based in Tokyo.

Also today, Mr Morton said the national museum looked set to attract between 750,000
and 800,000 visitors this year, having recovered from lower numbers a couple of years
ago.

AAP dcr/mfh/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: MUSEUM

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

NSW: NSW bushfire breaks contaiment lines, highway closed

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2006
NSW: NSW bushfire breaks contaiment lines, highway closed

A bushfire in central New South Wales has regained strength and broken containment
lines .. forcing the closure of the Newell Highway between Coonabarabran and Narrabri.

Authorities say traffic's being diverted from the 118 kilometre stretch via Gunnedah.

The Goldmine Road fire .. 45 kilometres south-west of Narrabri .. became active again
yesterday with winds pushing flames toward the major north-south highway.

MEEKA BAILEY from the Rural Fire Service says the section's expected to be closed for
most of today.

Ms BAILEY says property isn't under threat but about 80 firefighters .. from New South
Wales and Queensland .. are working with waterbombing aircraft to construct containment
lines.

The Goldmine Road bushfire and six other contained blazes have been burning for weeks
around Coonabarabran and Narrabri .. blackening more than 130 thousand hectares.

Meanwhile .. in state's south .. mild conditions have given the township of Tumut ..

near the New South Wales Snowy Mountains .. a reprieve from a nearby bushfire.

Firefighters have been working to strengthen containment lines around a pine plantation
fire nearby.

More than 10 thousand hectares of bush and pine plantation have been razed by the fire
burning close to the Goobragandra Valley .. about 10 kilometres from Tumut.

While the fire's still burning .. it remains under control .. with about 270 firefighters
working on containment lines.

There is no threat to property from the fire.

AAP RTV pc/cp

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: NSW Police not told about 2nd gun in Kovco room

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2006
Fed: NSW Police not told about 2nd gun in Kovco room

The inquiry into Private JAKE KOVCO's death has heard defence officials in Baghdad
didn't tell NSW detectives investigating the case .. there were two pistols in the room
when he was shot.

The inquiry has previously heard .. one of Private KOVCO's roommates also had a pistol
issued to him at the time Private KOVCO died .. after being shot in the head with his
own pistol on April 21.

A NSW Police ballistics expert has told the inquiry he would've liked to have tested
both pistols .. if he'd known about the second one.

The inquiry went into closed session late this morning to hear evidence from a soldier
who was on duty with Private KOVCO just hours before he died.

AAP RTV bt/hn/srp/cp

KEYWORD: KOVCO (SYDNEY)

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

WA: world trial may lead to vaccine for child asthma

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2006
WA: world trial may lead to vaccine for child asthma

A world first trial to create a vaccine for childhood asthma has been launched.

200 children from Perth .. Melbourne and New York will take part.

They'll have a daily dose of drops under their tongue .. made up of house dust .. grass
and cat allergens.

The same method is being used in a desensitisation program .. but the new trial involves
children who don't have asthma.

AAP RTV jp/klf/bart

KEYWORD: ASTHMA (PERTH)

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

Nevada County Abandons Proposed Ban on Segway HTs.

The Las Vegas Sun reported last week that the Clark County, NV board of county commissioners will not consider a proposed ordinance banning the use of Segway, LLC's two-wheel, battery-powered Human Transporters (HTs) on the sidewalks adjoining the Las Vegas Strip.
The newspaper said commission members decided to remove the proposed ban from its agenda after receiving complaints from a local HT dealer that rents and sells the electric scooters, as well as offers tours on the devices along the Strip. According to the Sun, the county plans to conduct additional research to evaluate whether the use of HTs poses a risk to pedestrians sharing the crowded Strip sidewalks.
The Sun noted that HTs rented by Segway of Las Vegas are modified to have a top speed of four miles per hour, with inexperienced riders required to attend a one-hour training class.

RTC Operates New Dealership for Segway HTs.(Regional Transportation Center )(Brief Article)

The Regional Transportation Center (RTC) in San Diego, CA recently announced it will serve as Southern California's first dealership for Segway, LLC's two-wheeled, battery-powered Human Transporters (HTs).
RTC said consumers will be able to "experience the [HTs] first hand, purchase machines and participate in product orientation" at the center's alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) sales showroom.
In addition, officials said information about HTs will be available for students and adults in the RTC education center, which is "designed to educate people about the benefits of AFVs and a clean environment."

Vic: Vic govt moves to ban cocaine kits

AAP General News (Australia)
08-02-2005
Vic: Vic govt moves to ban cocaine kits

MELBOURNE, Aug 2 AAP - Cocaine snorting kits will be banned from sale in Victoria.

The Victorian government today said the kits, which package together items that can
be used to take the drug, such as a razor blade, mirror and gold-plated tube, were openly
available for sale for around $50 in central Melbourne tobacco and drug paraphernalia
retailers.

Premier Steve Bracks said planned amendments to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances
Act would prevent the kits being displayed or sold.

"This government will not condone the sale of items which blatantly promote the use
of illegal drugs," Mr Bracks said.

"We cannot legislate against the separate sale of each individual item in these kits,
but we can prevent these items being marketed as a whole and sold for drug use."

A government spokeswoman said the government had not yet finalised details of the plan
and would draft the legislation with a view to making the changes later in the year.

Mr Bracks said the government was also considering restricting the sale of bongs and
other water pipe instruments to minors.

But the premier did not advocate a blanket ban as he said many people used bongs to
smoke legal substances like tobacco, sometimes mixed with fruit and molasses.

AAP jb/gfr/jt/de

KEYWORD: COCAINE

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

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve The first parents of the human race, whose story is told in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. There is no doubt that until the nineteenth century Adam and Eve were held to be historical figures, but with the discovery of the great age of the earth and of human civilization many modern Jews have tended either to read the story as a myth expressing important ideas about the human condition in non-historical form or to identify Adam with prehistoric man in general.

Avaya scores goal for FIFA World Cup with high performance converged voice and data communications network; Enterprise class network carries nearly four terabytes of data in the first 14 days of world's largest sporting event.

M2 PRESSWIRE-20 June 2002-Avaya: Avaya scores goal for FIFA World Cup with high performance converged voice and data communications network; Enterprise class network carries nearly four terabytes of data in the first 14 days of world's largest sporting event (C)1994-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:06212002

SEOUL and TOKYO -- Avaya Inc., (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of voice and data networks to businesses, today announced its converged voice and data communications network, which is powering the operations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup is delivering enterprise-class levels of performance, reliability and security for the world's largest sporting event.

Avaya said its network, which FIFA uses to handle mission-critical functions - such as stadium operations, logistics management for the 32 teams, media relations including provision of match statistics and information on players, and materials inventory among more than fifteen other functions and applications - is performing at peak efficiency. The company said the FIFA World Cup network carried nearly four terabytes of data between May 31 and June 14. A terabyte is a measure of computer storage capacity, and represents a thousand billion bytes (1,000 gigabytes).

At its current level of operation, by the end of the games the network is expected to ultimately carry 10 terabytes of data or 10 trillion bytes, which is equivalent to six years and seven months of continuous MP3 download-and-play music. Another way to compare the quantity of data is that it equals half of the 24 million volumes of books, photographs, recordings and other information available at the United States' Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. These high levels of data traffic are equivalent to four times what a Fortune 500 company might handle on any given day. For example, a large banking institution would average 100-200 Gigabytes daily through its entire Asia Pacific network, while the FIFA World Cup network averages about 500 Gigabytes per day.

Among some of the notable statistical analysis of the network's performance are:

* There has been virtually zero downtime in the network since it went live on May 8.

* Of the billions of packets of information routed through the network, effectively 100 percent were successfully transmitted as Avaya reported a packet loss of less than 0.00001 percent. How little is that? It is about the same as reading today's newspaper and perhaps finding a missing period at the end of 1 sentence on 1 page.

* The hundreds of switches, routers and other devices in the FIFA World Cup(tm) event network are being monitored remotely around the clock by Avaya services technicians in five network monitoring centers worldwide (Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Denver, Colorado and St.

Petersburg, Florida). Nearly 98 percent of all alarms generated in the network have been resolved remotely by Avaya's Expert Systems without having to dispatch a services technician.

* Not only is the network proving to be highly robust and efficient, the Avaya technical team also reports extremely fast transmission times for moving data to various locations within the network. During peak usage times the average roundtrip network speed for transmitting a typical file is 70 milliseconds, or 7/100 of a second between the Korea International Media Center and the Japan IMC. That same file would move from the Korea IMC to a stadium in Korea in about 64 milliseconds, while a round trip between the Korea IMC and a stadium in Japan takes roughly 82 milliseconds. Those times compare favorably with the blinking of an eye, which averages between 5.19 and 8.23 milliseconds1.

"The 2002 FIFA World Cup is providing Avaya with a showcase to demonstrate our technology on a world stage, while significantly increasing the company's brand awareness," said John McCabe, Managing Director, Avaya in Ireland. "Avaya is proving that enterprises can effectively and efficiently support mission-critical communications through IP convergence and we're doing it with millions of people watching our every move. With the eyes of the world on Korea and Japan, the 2002 FIFA World Cup is uniting the globe and Avaya is connecting it." The 2002 FIFA World Cup is the first time a network has had to support simultaneous matches in two countries. It features 40,000 connections among 20 stadiums, two international media centers and two remote FIFA headquarters locations.

Among the technologies being used for the first time at the FIFA World Cup is Internet Protocol (IP) telephony. This technology enables FIFA to establish its voice communications on the same network as its data operations. The network is carrying nearly 100,000 IP phone calls a day.

By routing voice calls over its own data network, FIFA has simplified its network administration and has reduced the cost of connecting the stadiums and FIFA remote headquarters, generating a cost savings estimated at more than $200,000 over the month-long event.

"FIFA is extremely pleased with the success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup to date," said Gerard Gouillou, General Manager, Information Technology for FIFA. "To manage an event the size and scope of the World Cup, many thousands of people are involved. Avaya has enabled us to manage the business of football, which has enabled the teams to stage what is shaping up to be one of the most memorable FIFA World Cups in history. We're happy to have Avaya as an official partner of the FIFA World Cup." Avaya Wireless allows mobility and easy access to Internet Among the more popular network applications provided at this year's World Cup is Avaya Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) Cards. More than 450 FIFA executives and staff are connecting to e-mail and the Internet to conduct their daily work using Avaya Wireless at FIFA headquarters hotels in Seoul and Tokyo. Additionally, journalists using Avaya Wireless have the ability to be connected to the FIFA World Cup network without being tethered to their assigned workstation and wired telephone connection at the stadium or the International Media Center. Instead, they can move freely and easily to various locations within the IMC and the stadiums, while never being out of touch with editors and continuously empowered to transmit stories and photography from anywhere at any time.

"Delivering the world's most watched sporting event is no small task. It takes staff in multiple nations coming together to make sure billions of fans around the world are able to view the matches on TV and get up-to-the-minute information on FIFA's official website," said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. "Avaya has provided FIFA with exceptional technology, such as its Avaya Wireless solution in our headquarters hotels in Seoul and Tokyo, which allows the FIFA delegation spread over the two countries to stay connected and communicate with speed and reliability from any location within the hotel. I am convinced wireless technology will play an increasingly important role in sports and in the 2006 FIFA World Cup(tm) in Germany." Wang Tao is a sports reporter from Beijing Daily in China who is covering the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea. He sends news stories to his publication back home via the Internet. At the beginning, he used the wired telephone line to access an Internet connection in the Main International Media Center in Seoul. "It was not convenient because I had to write stories with my laptop in one place and then go to another location to plug into the line and send out the stories," he said. Then Wang decided to use the Avaya Wireless Card, which would enable him to access the Internet anywhere in the media center or the media tribunes at the stadiums. "I got the card and an Avaya engineer helped me to install it in my laptop. Five minutes later, I was on the Internet. I was thrilled," he said. "With the wireless card, I can research information on the Internet, write the stories and send them out in one single place and at one go." Avaya also supplied wireless Internet connections to more than 100 players, officials and family members of the U.S. team at its headquarters hotel in Seoul. Cobi Jones, who is playing in his third World Cup is one of the more enthusiastic members of the U.S. delegation using Avaya Wireless. "The Avaya Wireless system has been fantastic," Jones commented. "We can use it all over the hotel and the connection speed has made using the Internet fast and efficient."

Avaya at the FIFA World Cup - A Valuable Branding Opportunity

In addition to providing it with an unprecedented venue in which to showcase its enterprise class communications solutions - defined as providing enough feature functionality, reliability and security for a company to stake its business on them - Avaya said the 2002 FIFA World Cup also provides the company with a significant branding opportunity afforded to only a select few companies. With more than 300 Broadcast Partners worldwide, which is twice the number of broadcasters who televised the 1998 FIFA World Cup(tm) in France, the cumulative television audience is expected to surpass 40 billion over the course of the championship. The opening match between France and Senegal drew a television audience of 500 million viewers worldwide. More than two billion people are expected to view the Final Match on June 30. Additionally, FIFAworldcup.com registered a record 80,621,278 page views on June 3, representing a 133 percent increase over the 34 million page views logged on May 31, the day of the opening match.

About Avaya

Avaya Inc., headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., is a leading global provider of voice and data networks as well as communications solutions and services that help businesses, government agencies and other institutions - including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500 -- excel in the customer economy. Avaya offers Customer Relationship Management Solutions, Unified Communication Solutions, Service Provider Solutions, MultiService Networking Infrastructure, and Converged Voice and Data Networks - including the company's no-compromise Avaya Enterprise-Class IP Solutions (ECLIPS) - all supported by Avaya Services and Avaya Labs. Avaya is the worldwide leader in unified messaging, messaging systems, call centers and structured cabling systems. It is the U.S. leader in voice communications systems and services. Avaya is an official sponsor for the 2002 FIFA World Cup(tm), the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup(tm) tournaments. For more information about Avaya, visit its Web site at .

Avaya in Ireland

Avaya employs over 220 people in Ireland and offers converged voice and data, customer relationship management, messaging, multi-service networking and structured cabling products and services. Customers in Ireland include American Airlines, Compaq, IBM, Lufthansa, Bank of Ireland (Banking 365) and Ulster Bank. Also, Avaya has a number of business partners in Ireland who sell a range of voice, data and cabling products.

For more information about Avaya Ireland, visit its Web site at www.avaya.ie or telephone +353 (0)1 204 2000.

1"Blink duration as an indicator of driver sleepiness in professional bus drivers," H. Hakkanen, H. Summala, et al., Sleep , vol. 22, no. 6, September 1999, pp. 798-802.

CONTACT: Hubert Grealish Tel: +353 (0)1 204 2297 e-mail: hubert.grealish@fireflycomms.com Renaldo Juanso Tel: +82 18 696 556 e-mail: juanso@avaya.com Inge Sengelmann Tel: +81 90 1532 3739 e-mail: sengelmann@avaya.com Hubert Grealish, Firefly Communications Tel: +353 (0)1 204 2297 e-mail: hubert.grealish@fireflycomms.com

((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)).

Littlejohn doesn't have credentials to be tyrant.(SPORTS)

1/3 There was some extra entertainment for reporters covering the Final Four in San Antonio late last month. In addition to three intriguing games, a sportswriter from the Big Ten brought along a bootleg tape of coach Bobby Knight addressing his Indiana Hoosiers before a contest against Purdue.

A few years back, a mischievous soul placed a tape recorder near the Assembly Hall court before an Indiana practice, then allowed it to run. Knight's screaming, profanity-filled tirade - replete with comments on how he will not stand for any more losing to Purdue - provides more evidence that the veteran coach has an anger-management problem. Recently, the tape has found its way onto the Internet, as well as into the tape recorders of sportswriters who always are in the mood for amusement.

Yes, Knight does rate as the leading tyrant in men's college basketball, but at least the man has a track record - first, as a valuable reserve on Ohio State teams that played in NCAA championship games in 1960, 1961 and 1962 (winning in 1960); now, as a coach with three national titles in 26 years at Indiana.

Pat Summitt has gained more notoriety than ever for her hard-nosed ways since being the subject of a long profile in Sports Illustrated. She was a star player as Pat Head. She has coached Tennessee to six national championships, including the 39-0 ride that the Volunteers completed nine days ago in Kansas City, Mo.

Knight and Summitt have the resumes to survive as tyrants. If you play for Knight, your family tree and basic intelligence will be questioned time and again, profanely and loudly. If you play for Summitt, you might get sent to bed without supper after a shoddy performance.

Until recently, players who have survived Knight could comfort themselves in knowing they had a chance to compete for big things in March. Summitt's athletes figure that enduring a few nights of lean cuisine and all those nasty stares from the sideline will bring another national title at season's end.

Another coach - Minnesota's Cheryl Littlejohn - has come along to demonstrate a nasty streak as wide as Knight's or Summitt's. The only problem with Littlejohn taking pride in her tyranny is this:

Littlejohn, 33, has no resume as a player or a coach. She was 6-3 and sat on the bench for Summitt at Tennessee. Her career bests were averages of 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds as a junior.

The numbers make it obvious: She couldn't play dead in a cowboy movie.

Littlejohn's major at Tennessee was criminal justice. Several of her players with the 1997-98 Gophers are now convinced that Cheryl's special interest was covert surveillance.

Littlejohn graduated in 1987, contemplated a career in law enforcement, then returned to basketball as an assistant coach at North Carolina State in 1991. She moved to Alabama in 1994 and then was hired by women's athletic director Chris Voelz to replace the fired Linda Hill-MacDonald.

Last October, on the eve of practice, Littlejohn said: "This is the ultimate - my own program." As it turned out, this was not unlike Dr. Victor Frankenstein's pronouncement before he put the electricity to his creation.

The Gophers went 4-22 in Littlejohn's first season, basically a duplicate of Hill-MacDonald's last two seasons. Littlejohn did succeed in reducing senior Angie Iverson, one of the best players in the Big Ten as a junior, into a beaten-down, spotty contributor to a team making no serious effort to compete.

Littlejohn had a favorite quote - "If you hang around dogs, you're going to get fleas" - in lobbying younger players and their parents to stay away from some older players. Audrey Sabbs, the mother of sophomore Kiauna Burns, said she was told this in reference to her daughter's friendship with veteran players.

Littlejohn seemed to take enormous delight in suspending seven players before the Big Ten tournament in late February. Apparently, the seven players had violated Littlejohn's edict against alcohol consumption during the season. Players have expressed amazement at how much Littlejohn seemed to know about what they did and said.

"Some of the girls actually think there was a recording device in the locker room," said Brad Seago, the father of sophomore Andrea Seago. "I'm serious. Conversations that took place [without a coach around] were repeated verbatim."

Five players have quit the team since the end of the season: juniors Lynda Hass and Sarah Klun, sophomores Burns and Seago and Rachel Young, a walk-on freshman. Young will leave in search of a Division I scholarship. Burns, Hass and Klun have quit rather than sign good-behavior contracts.

These preposterous agreements include getting parents to call a coach for permission if a player wanted to leave a dormitory after 11 p.m. This wasn't a contract. It was a loyalty oath. Littlejohn's favorite historical figure has to be Sen. Joe McCarthy, R-Wis.

Voelz already has suggested that five players leaving would be a non-story if it involved men's athletics. Really, Chris?

Tell that to Texas coach Tom Penders. He had four players threaten to leave and it became a national story and wound up costing Penders his job. And he had a track record of 208 victories and eight NCAA appearances in 10 seasons.

Robert Gaster to receive CHTE Distinguished Service Award.(HTS insider: NEWS FROM THE ASM HEAT TREATING SOCIETY)

Robert Gaster, a senior staff engineer for materials engineering at the Deere & Company Moline Technology Innovation Center, will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE), part of the Metal Processing Institute (MPI) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The award, which will be presented during the annual CHTE spring meeting May 24-25, recognizes individuals who, in the judgment of the CHTE board, have made significant, commendable and long-standing contributions to the promotion of CHTE. Among CHTE's most ardent supporters, Gaster has served in several capacities during his tenure with the center. He was chair of the board and the project-selection committee and served on CHTE's strategic-planning committee.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Gaster joined John Deere after receiving a B.S. in metallurgy from Iowa State University. At Deere & Company, he is responsible for enterprise heat-treating technology and innovation and consultation, and he has additional responsibilities in wearresistant coatings and metallurgical consulting for Deere & Company manufacturing units.
He has been a member of ASM for 37 years and is a founding member of the Heat Treating Society. He served in many leadership positions, including HTS board director (2000-2003) and HTS president (2003-2005). He also has served on various HTS committees, including the Awards and Nominations, Finance, Technology & Programming, and Research & Development Committees as well as the ASM Volunteerism Committee.

Autonomy Helps Vignette Customers Quickly Reap the Benefits of Internet Relationship Management.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--Autonomy, Inc. today announced that its Content Server now supports Vignette's StoryServer 4. By automating the categorization, tagging and hyperlinking of large volumes of information, Autonomy's Content Server allows companies to quickly reap the benefits of Vignette's Internet relationship management software to attract, engage and retain online customers.

According to Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch, Vignette's StoryServer 4 offers online businesses the ability to respond effectively to a visitor's needs by adapting a web site's presentation, navigation and content. "Depending on the volume of information that companies want to make available online, organizing the content and preparing it for use in StoryServer 4 can be a time-consuming task," said Lynch. "Autonomy's software expedites the process by automatically categorizing all of the information and inserting the right hypertext links and XML tags."

Lynch explained that Autonomy's software also offers companies using StoryServer 4 the ability to profile site visitors based on the information they read online. The advanced pattern recognition technology that fuels Autonomy's software analyzes the ideas in the content they read each time, not just by the URLs in their click stream or their response to questionnaires or forms. More importantly, over time the technology refines its understanding of each individual's interests and becomes increasingly accurate. "Vignette's StoryServer 4 can then use these Autonomy-generated profiles to personalize each customer's online experience and provide companies with decision support analysis to increase the effectiveness of their online business," said Lynch.

Greg Peters, Vignette president and CEO, stressed the importance of managing online customer relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. "Our Internet relationship management software is based on the premise that fostering customer loyalty depends on delivering relevant, personalized content to individual visitors," said Peters. "Companies using Vignette's StoryServer 4 could benefit from using Autonomy's software to profile visitors and automate the categorization, tagging and hyper-linking of large volumes of information."

About Autonomy:

Autonomy (www.autonomy.com) develops software that automatically organizes large, unstructured volumes of information into personally relevant communications to help corporate intranets and commercial websites serve the changing needs and interests of users. Autonomy's products for knowledge management and new media publishing save time, labor and money by automatically and precisely categorizing, linking, personalizing and searching large volumes of information.

The intelligent pattern recognition technology that fuels Autonomy's software was originally developed by Autonomy's sister company, Neurodynamics, for use in intelligence and defense applications. That technology is at the heart of the British police force's Holmes2 system, named after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. The Holmes2 system helps the police solve crimes by matching fingerprints or by finding similarities and connections in disparate crime witness statements or police reports. The same technology is now being used to find connections in commercial data.

Autonomy was founded in 1996 and has offices in San Francisco, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, England. Autonomy customers include News Corp., MacMillan Publishing, Associated Press, Barclays Bank, British Telecom, Shell International, Semi-Tech, The Royal Mail and Unilever. On July 10, 1998, the company went public on the EASDAQ exchange, achieving a valuation of $165 million and raising $35 million dollars.

About Vignette Corporation:

Vignette Corporation, a leader in the category of Internet Relationship Management software products and services, provides enterprise solutions for companies that are building businesses online. Vignette's products and services, which include StoryServer 4TM and its recently announced Vignette Syndication Server(TM) (VSS), are designed to allow businesses to use the Web as a new channel for customer acquisition and retention. More than 160 companies, including National Semiconductor, PNC Bank, Bay Networks, CNET and Ziff-Davis' ZDNet, use StoryServer to serve a combined 30 million page views per day. Vignette's numerous industry awards include the Red Herring Magazine's Best Overall Private Company in 1998, 1998 Best Product Award for StoryServer; Upside Magazine's Hot Private Company in the Net Infrastructure Category; and the NewMedia Magazine 500, Hottest Companies in Digital Media Award. Vignette partners with 20 leading vendors in advertising management, electronic commerce and personalization to provide comprehensive solutions for its customers. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vignette Corporation also has offices located throughout Europe and in Australia and can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.vignette.com.

StoryServer is a trademark of Vignette Corporation. All other names and terms in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

The Law Office of Weiss & Yourman Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Xerox Corporation.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 1999--

The following is an announcement by the law firm of Weiss & Yourman:

A class action lawsuit against Xerox Corporation ("Xerox" or the "Company")(NYSE:XRX) was commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of purchasers of Xerox securities. If you purchased Xerox securities between January 25, 1999 and December 10, 1999, your rights may be affected.

The complaint charges defendants with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of false and misleading statements concerning the declining demand for the Company's products and services and engaged in a number of deceptive practices to conceal these adverse trends. Prior to the disclosure of the adverse facts, certain insiders sold hundreds of thousands of shares of Xerox common stock to the investing public at artificially inflated prices. These sellers realized over $51.77 million in proceeds from these insider trading activities.

This action seeks to recover damages on behalf of defrauded investors who purchased Xerox securities. Plaintiff is represented by Weiss & Yourman, a law firm having significant experience and expertise prosecuting class actions on behalf of investors and shareholders in federal and state courts throughout the United States, particularly those involving financial reporting improprieties. Weiss & Yourman has been appointed by numerous courts as lead counsel in class action lawsuits and in that capacity has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of investors.

If you purchased Xerox securities during the period of January 25, 1999 and December 10, 1999, you may move the court no later than February 7, 2000, to serve as a lead plaintiff of the class. In order to serve as a lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. You do not need to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff in order to share in any recovery.

If you wish to receive an investor package or if you wish to discuss this action, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to this matter, or if you have any information you wish to provide to us, please contact:

Mark D. Smilow or James E. Tullman at (888) 593-4771 or (212) 682-3025 or via Internet electronic mail at wynyc@aol.com or by writing Weiss & Yourman, The French Building, 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1600, New York City 10176.

A TRIP TO THE SHOPS? HOW QUAINT...(Features)

Byline: MIMI SPENCER

I went shopping at 6.05am today (we have a new puppy in our house and, let's just say, Diggory is an early riser). So, rather than throw balls and eat toast for an hour, I went shopping and bought a new nozzle for the garden hose, two glow-in-the-dark Breo rubber watches, a scintillating book called No-Nonsense Maths 7-8 Years, and a pair of Carvela sandals decorated with jangly beads. What a haul, and all before I'd even thought about breakfast.

This is pretty much the way I shop these days: at home, alone, online, at odd times of the day. Last week, unusually, I found myself standing in a changing cubicle in a high-street chain, trousers around ankles, while I tried on a skirt, and it was like stepping back in time. It felt like going inside a telephone box (remember that?), or buying a quarter of tea. We just don't live that way any more - at least, I don't. My groceries come in a van, delivered to the door by a man who has the grace to text beforehand to let me know his whereabouts, his ETA and his first name (and, weirdly, the name of the van, too - which always seems a touch too much). My christening gifts and birthday presents are issued from a centralised depot, gift-wrapped and dispatched with a handwritten note (handwritten by a person in the depot, not by me). My kids' clothes arrive in fat, squashy parcels. Books come in Amazon cardboard envelopes. Meat is delivered in polystyrene chiller boxes. Wine comes by the dozen. I only really shop - proper hands-on shopping - for fruit (I like to feel for quality) and shoes (ditto). For almost everything else, I use the internet, chiefly because I don't have time to faff about in car parks, fanny about at checkouts, fart around on escalators that are going up when I want to go down. And, in the process, life has changed immeasurably.

Yours probably has too. When, for instance, was the last time you used your landline phone? In the UK,15 per cent adults now live with no landline at all, relying solely on mobile connections. My home phone rarely rings these days, and if it does, it will only be someone calling from the Philippines to sell me car insurance. So I let it go to answerphone mode, which I never pick up either (it is entirely possible that a long-lost uncle is trying to call to tell me I'm his sole heir, and I'll never know).

Similarly, my posh camera sits on a forgotten shelf, next to dusty dictionaries and desiccated chequebooks. The stacks of CDs are there too, equally obsolete, a bit sticky and nowhere near as appealing as the vinyl originals I still have, stashed somewhere in the unholy guff of the loft. Sometimes, I'll look up a word in the Oxford English Dictionary, just to get that anachronistic kick of finding it. Sometimes I'll unfold a proper map to plot a walk, rather than relying on the Google app on my phone. Sometimes, but not often - because, like you, I'm always in a tearing rush - I'll phone to see if the speaking clock is still there. Sometimes, at 6.05am, it can seem that the world has shifted on its axis, leaving just a stream of memories in its wake. Email Mimi at mimi@youmagazine.ie

Pakistani journalists slammed for actions.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

Pakistani journalists slammed for actions

It is, indeed, a disappointing and damningAa indictment of someAa psuedo Pakistani journalists reflected by some key appointments made in the last few weeks.Shaihid Masood has cashed in onAa his deliberate anti Musharraf onslaught and is now the Chairman ofAa Pakistan Television as a reward from his masters. So is the case with Javed Malik who has bagged the lolly for a Diplomatic assignment. Hussain Haqqani has already been gifted the Ambassadorship to the USA.Both Malik and Haqqani hold British and American nationalities respectively. How can they be Ambassadors for Pakistan when their allegiance is elsewhere?

It is a farce.None of these journalistsAa eitherAa find anything wrong with Pakistan now or consider America as an enemy of Pakistan. (See their broad grins on TV screens when they talk about Bush, Cheney or Condoleeza Rice!) What a shame

Waleed Mohammad

Dubai

A[umlaut] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

Immedium Offers Real-Time Advertising to Mobile Users with Support for HTML5/JavaScript Banners.

Immedium announced an upgrade of its real-time advertising platform with support for banners developed using JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS.

The upgrade complements Immedium's support for live banners developed using Adobe Flash, and enables advertisers to reach the mobile segment of Internet users who don't have a Flash Player installed on their devices, such as iPads, iPhones and iPods.

"Users of mobile devices such as the iPad are among those with the highest level of disposable income, and are prime targets for advertising spend," said Dennis Cookson, Immedium's founder and CEO. "It's an obvious mission to deliver display advertising that is animated, innovative and interactive to this audience rather than the fallback content of static images they typically see."

The upgrade makes it possible to create and manage animated banners that are truly cross-platform, with the ability to sense their environment and configure behavior accordingly. When accessed on a mobile device, Immedium ads can respond to user interactivity via touch. The same ads accessed on a desktop respond to mouse clicks.

Immedium acts as a content management tool for banner ads that is compatible with distribution and ad-serving technologies. Immedium ads remain editable after release, allowing advertisers to run real-time campaigns, optimize ad performance, or adjust content to exploit changing inventories and dynamic market conditions. Editable attributes include text in any language, font size and color, images, audio and video clips.

Immedium is a privately held company serving a global market via a network of distributors and resellers in North America, Asia, and Europe.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Take That, the unseen shots.(News)

Byline: James Tozer

THESE days, the waistlines are a little wider and the clothes a little more refined.

But as Take That embark on their first tour with Robbie Williams for 16 years, these previously unseen photos of the then fresh-faced group offer a glimpse of a bygone pop era.

They are also an example of how their 1990s fans effectively invented social networking long before the advent of Facebook and Twitter.

The candid snapshots were pasted into 'friendship books' - squares of paper stapled together and posted to pen-pals who would add star-struck comments before sending them on again.

Eventually the intricately-produced booklet would return to the fan who started it, by now a lavish memento of their fascination with the group from fans all over the world. Now that the full band is back together, surviving friendship books have been dug out and form the centrepiece of a new exhibition.

The month-long show began yesterday at the Kraak Gallery in Manchester to coincide with the group's eight performances in the city.

One of those who has donated her memorabilia is Joanna Howes, a die-hard Take That fan who plastered her Liverpool bedroom with their photographs as a teenager and is seeing their latest tour ten times. 'In the days before the internet it was amazing to receive these booklets which people all over the world had put so much effort into,' she said yesterday.

Now a 33-year-old office administrator married to an oil refinery worker, Mrs Howes added: 'What we did was so close to Facebook, but somehow it seems more special.

'We spent hours writing letters and drawing pictures, whereas now everything is sent instantly, and a new photograph can be seen by millions of people.'

CAPTION(S):

Fan: Joanna Howes in 1992 Clockwise from top left: Take That in the early 90s, Robbie Williams, Jason Orange and Mark Owen

Perrigo Announces FDA Final Approval for Ranitidine 150 - Generic Equivalent to Zantac 150.

ALLEGAN, Mich., May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company (Nasdaq: PRGO; TASE) today announced that it has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application for over-the-counter (OTC) Ranitidine 150 (regular and cool mint), a generic version of Zantac 150. We expect to launch early in our fiscal 2012.

Zantac 150 (ranitidine) is indicated for the relief of heartburn associated with acid indigestion and sour stomach and prevents heartburn associated with acid indigestion and sour stomach brought on by certain foods and beverages. It has annual sales of approximately $110 million, as measured by Information Resources, Inc.

Perrigo's Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa concluded, "This approval is the first from our Allegan, Michigan facility since the Company returned to acceptable regulatory status. It is another example of Perrigo's commitment to bring new products to market. Perrigo continues to deliver on its mission to provide quality, affordable healthcare to consumers."

Perrigo Company is a leading global healthcare supplier that develops, manufactures and distributes OTC and generic prescription (Rx) pharmaceuticals, infant formulas, nutritional products, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and pharmaceutical and medical diagnostic products. The Company is the world's largest store brand manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products and infant formulas. The Company's primary markets and locations of manufacturing and logistics operations are the United States, Israel, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia. Visit Perrigo on the Internet (http://www.perrigo.com).

Note: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended June 26, 2010, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Perrigo

AUST'S NEW BROADBAND NETWORK TO IMPROVE VIDEO CONFERENCING: CEO.

SYDNEY, April 29 Asia Pulse - Australia's new national broadband network (NBN) will improve video conferencing, allowing more people to work from home and improve the country's productivity, its chief executive says.

NBN Co head Mike Quigley has been appeared before a federal parliamentary inquiry in Sydney where he's been questioned about the nine-year project to build the network.

He said the network will the nation save money in the long run and cited the use of teleconferencing his own office as an example.

"We now have in our facilities in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra - high definition ... video conferencing which means large bandwidth that saves us getting on planes," he said.

"We also expect more of our people (to) telework from home - that will keep people off the roads, which means less money needs to go into normal infrastructure."

Mr Quigley said video conferencing was an overwhelming driver behind demand for more bandwidth.

"I would say that the world is simply becoming more video oriented," he told the parliamentary committee travelling the country getting views about the NBN and its role and potential.

"It's not just about entertainment, it's about video conferencing, it's about medical imaging, it's about remote education."

NBN Co's $36 billion mission is to reach 93 per cent of Australian homes.

Mr Quigley said there was still a common misconception that NBN will be an internet service provider, when in fact it will be a wholesale company.

"There's still a lot of people in the community who assume we are going to be the replacement for a retail service provider," he said.

"We've certainly learned that we need to increase our efforts in that communication."

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communication was sitting at NSW Parliament House in Sydney on Friday.

(AAP) ms 29-04 1124

Aplio Announces Availability of Aplio/Phone 1.5; Internet Telephone Appliance Delivers Even Greater Savings on Long Distance Charges.

SAN BRUNO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 1998--Aplio, creator of the innovative, award-winning Internet telephony appliance, today announced the availability of Aplio/Phone 1.5.

With Aplio/Phone 1.5, users can realize as much as 100% savings on their long distance phone bills. Aplio/Phone 1.5 takes the remarkable Internet telephony technology delivered by Aplio a step further by offering several enhancements including: easier setup, greater savings, improved voice interface (available in seven languages), enhanced ease of use for travelers, and greater security.

"Aplio/Phone 1.5 makes calling over the Internet easier and more cost-effective -- delivering at least 95% savings over conventional long distance," said Aplio CEO Olivier Zitoun. "Now connecting with far-flung friends, family and business associates via the Internet has become even simpler and more convenient."

Aplio 1.5 offers these key new benefits:

Aplio/Phone 1.5 is easier to set up. It features a new voice interface that facilitates an easier one-time configuration/programming, verification and testing process.

Aplio/Phone 1.5 delivers even greater savings. In addition to its normal mode, now Aplio/Phone 1.5 has a new and unique '100% Free Mode' that enables users to dial a six digit Aplio ID number to connect automatically to other Aplio users. There are no charges for the first minute of connection; it's a 100% free call.

It's available in seven languages. With Aplio/Phone 1.5, users can configure the appliance to 'speak' English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and Japanese by downloading the preferred version from the Internet.

It's easier for travelers to use. Aplio/Phone 1.5 can memorize a second ISP account, so the user can deploy the preferred ISP, depending on their location. Additionally, with the new 'Find Me' feature, travelers can be reached anywhere in the world via their unique six digit Aplio ID number, and regardless of their location, Aplio/Phone 1.5 will connect the call for free via the Internet.

It provides enhanced security. To avoid any interruption, users can disable call waiting with Aplio/Phone 1.5. If someone calls in, your original call will not be lost.

Aplio/Phone 1.5 is available everywhere and it's a risk-free purchase. It's now distributed in over 20 countries including the United States, Canada, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Since its launch, Aplio/Phone had been tested in over 55 counties and with the top 200 Worldwide ISPs.

Estimated street price is $199 in the United States; price may vary outside the United States. Product is backed by a free unlimited tech support, a 60-day money back guarantee and a one year warranty. In the United States, it is available through Aplio Authorized Resellers, at regional retail stores, online at www.aplio.com, or by dialing 888/OH-APLIO.

Aplio's Internet telephony appliance has won praise from many technology reviewers, including Internet Telephony's 'A' rating and Editors' Choice Award.

A standalone Internet telephone, Aplio/Phone 1.5 is a small device that connects to a regular telephone as easily as an answering machine, to provide dramatic long-distance savings using the Internet without incurring any additional charges, except for the cost of their Internet (ISP) connection.

Just dial the other party as usual, and once the connection is made, press the "APLIO" button to reroute the call over the Internet. The rerouted call enables users to converse over the Internet instead of over expensive long distance lines.

Aplio/Phone's telephony solution includes patent-pending technology that makes it simple to connect to other callers for a telephone conversation, without expensive and complicated PCs. Using Aplio/Phone and a standard telephone at each end, businesses and individuals who frequently place long-distance calls to the same locations, can reroute their calls over the Internet.

Aplio/Phone is a full-featured, smart Internet appliance with a built-in processor and modem, Flash RAM and hardware-based, full-duplex voice compression. Its small size makes it a convenient companion to any telephone, and its superior audio quality rivals that of today's advanced digital cellular phones.

In addition, the Aplio/Phone also boasts a full-duplex speakerphone which can be used even when the device is not connected through the Internet.

Aplio, Inc. is a pioneer in the Internet telephony appliance market. Founded in 1996, Aplio develops and delivers a new generation of very low-cost, easy-to-use Internet appliances, enabling any small business or home user to communicate and access information through the Internet, without using a PC or a network computer.

The company's flagship product, the Aplio/Phone, was introduced in March 1998. Since its introduction, the Aplio/Phone has received much acclaim, from the press (HomePC's Reviewer's Choice, Internet Telephony's Editor's Pick), analysts, and customers worldwide.

Located in San Bruno, Aplio, Inc. has a worldwide presence with offices in the United States, Europe and Israel. The privately held company is backed by major European and Asian venture capitalists.

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