'Number spoofing' scam hits UK consumers

BRITISH consumers are increasingly being targeted by a "number spoofing" scam in which criminal gangs fool telephones into displaying the numbers of legitimate organisations.

THE con works by fraudsters cloning the telephone number of a trusted organisation such as a bank and then making that number appear on the victim's caller ID display, according to Financial Fraud Action UK, the name under which the financial services industry co-ordinates its fraud prevention efforts.

They do this using technology, often employed by call centres, which can copy any number even if the one they are calling from is entirely different.The criminal will gain the victim's trust by drawing their attention to the number, claiming it is proof of their identity, before trying to defraud them.Banks have reported an increase in the scam, which is a new variation on telephone frauds where criminals cold-call people and pose as bank staff, police officers or other trusted organisations to persuade their victim to part with financial and personal details.Often, criminals pretend they are phoning to tell the victim that a fraud has been detected on their bank account.Once they have their victim's confidence, they will try to elicit information such as the victim's PIN details, online passwords or other sensitive information which will then be used to steal from their bank account.Some criminals will also trick victims into sending money to other accounts or to hand over cash or cards to a courier for "safe-keeping", whereas in reality the courier is delivering the card straight to the fraudster.The anti-fraud body's intelligence unit, the Financial Fraud Bureau, has seen evidence that the scam has become increasingly common in recent weeks, with organised criminal gangs making use of it.It warns people never to assume that someone is who they say they are just because their number matches that of an organisation.If someone tries to draw a consumer's attention to the number on their caller ID display, the consumer should immediately treat this as a warning sign of a scam.A bank or the police would never call someone and ask for their four-digit PIN, full online banking passwords or ask them to transfer or withdraw money or to hand their card over to a courier.

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Charlie's Country looks for Oscars nod

AFTER a rapturous reception at Cannes, Australian film Charlie's Country is in line for an Oscars nod.

THE story of an Aboriginal man who takes a stand after the invasion of his Arnhem Land community is Australia's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

Nominations will be announced on January 15.Charlie's Country was developed, written, produced and directed by Rolf de Heer, and co-developed by lead actor David Gulpilil.When it screened at Cannes Film Festival, Gulpilil earned rave reviews and was awarded the Best Actor prize in the Un Certain Regard section.No Australian film has yet been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

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CSG risks can be managed: chief scientist

THE NSW Greens are calling for coal seam gas (CSG) mining to be banned across the state despite the NSW chief scientist backing the controversial industry.

AFTER more than 18 months of investigating the industry, Professor Mary O'Kane handed down her eagerly awaited report on Tuesday, which Premier Mike Baird said would be the "line in the sand" for the industry.

The report comes after the NSW government last week extended its freeze on new CSG exploration licences for another year.While Prof O'Kane's report acknowledged CSG mining posed risks to the environment, she said those risks could be "managed" by tighter regulation, closer monitoring of the industry and more training for CSG companies.She said the industry should be allowed to proceed under stricter laws and safeguards. Prof O'Kane has also recommended a single independent regulator to be established to oversee the CSG projects.Acting Resources and Energy Minister Kevin Humphries said the government would consider the report's 16 recommendations and officially respond "in due course"."We are committed to a safe and sustainable gas industry, while protecting the environment and the state's other critical industries," he said in a statement.Carmel Flint, spokeswoman for anti-CSG group Lock the Gate, urged the government to halt Narrabri and Gloucester CSG projects until Prof O'Kane's recommendations are implemented.NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham went a step further and called for a "complete ban" on CSG mining."This report highlights the risks associated with coal seam gas, risks that the Greens have been highlighting for many years and that communities across NSW have been campaigning against," he told reporters."Many of the risks highlighted in the report cannot be mitigated."Opposition Leader John Robertson said the report backed Labor's call to suspend CSG exploration and extraction across the state until more work is done to investigate its risks.NSW Farmers president Fiona Simson rejected claims the report gave the industry a "green light" to operate in NSW."There has been a strong message sent to government and industry here," Ms Simson said in a statement."If they cannot operate in a world's best practice manner and guarantee the protection of agricultural land and water, then they will continue to have difficulty in their quest to operate in this state."Cotton Australia chief Adam Kay, says the report had the potential to be "game-changing" for agriculture in the state if fully implemented."If implemented, all of these recommendations would provide the state's cotton growers with greater protection and certainty when interacting with the CSG process and resources companies," he said.

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HK protesters threaten to occupy buildings

PROTEST leaders clarified their ultimatum for the Hong Kong government on Wednesday, after pro-democracy demonstrators turned their backs on a Chinese flag-raising ceremony on National Day.

"BECAUSE the government ordered police to fire 87 rounds of tear gas at protests, there is now no room for dialogue. Chief executive Leung Chun-ying must step down," said Lester Shum, vice secretary of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.

"If he doesn't resign by (Thursday) we will step up our actions, such as by occupying several important government buildings," Shum said.But the organisers backtracked on an earlier threat to widen the protest areas or stage a labour strike.The activists are demanding reforms ahead of the 2017 elections, including open nominations of candidates for next chief executive.Visitors from mainland China gawked at Wednesday's big crowd of pro-democracy protesters. One mainlander shouted, "Go home and stop inconveniencing people."Fireworks planned for the evening to mark National Day were cancelled, city officials said.Student leader Joshua Wong, 17, said the cancellation of holiday celebrations showed the government was under heavy pressure.Wong reiterated protesters' demands for Beijing to withdraw its election reform plan and for Hong Kong's current leader to resign.Beijing has been left grappling with one of the biggest challenges to its rule over the city at a time when the Communist Party is cracking down hard on dissent on the mainland.The most intense civil unrest Hong Kong has experienced since its 1997 handover from British rule was sparked by Beijing's decision in August to restrict who can stand for the city's top post.Hong Kongers will be able to vote for their next chief executive in 2017 but only two or three candidates vetted by a pro-Beijing committee will be allowed to stand.Protesters call this fake democracy. They have two demands - that Leung step down and that Beijing rescind its insistence that candidates for future leaders be vetted.But Beijing has stayed defiant, saying it supports Hong Kong's handling of the protests. Analysts say the chance of the Chinese government backing down is virtually non-existent.In comments to mark the National Day anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping said "all tumours grown on the healthy organism" of the Communist Party must be removed."We must never waver in our faith and must never separate ourselves from the people," Xi added at the commemoration, according to Xinhua news agency.

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At least 1,119 Iraqis killed in Sept: UN

AT least 1,119 Iraqis died in violence in September, the UN mission in Baghdad says.

WEDNESDAY'S statement says 854 civilians and 265 members of the Iraqi security forces were killed and 1,946 Iraqis were wounded last month.

The worst-hit city was Baghdad, with 352 civilians killed.The United Nations says the figures are the "absolute minimum" number of casualties and they do not include deaths in the western Anbar province or other militant-held parts of northern Iraq.The August death toll stood at 1,420. In June, 2,400 were killed as Sunni militants swept across Iraq, the highest figure since at least April 2005.

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50th anniversary of Japan's bullet train

JAPAN celebrated the 50th anniversary of its emblematic bullet train with several ceremonies around the country on Wednesday.

WHEN it began, the bullet train was the world's first high velocity train and became the Asian country's symbol of modernity following the devastation of World War II.

To mark the anniversary, a new generation model N700A train left the central station of Tokyo on Wednesday for Fukuoka under the watchful eyes of Japan Railway company workers and guests.Similar acts took place in the central Japanese cities of Shizuoka and Nagoya, and the western city of Osaka.Wednesday's celebrations marked the departure of Hikari No.1, the first Shinkansen train on the Tokaido line to leave Tokyo's central station on October 1, 1964.The line covered the Eastern Sea Route, the main trade route of Japan which joined Edo, or old Tokyo, with western cities of Kyoto and Osaka for centuries.On those inaugural trips, the trains achieved a maximum speed of 210km/h and covered the 550km journey between Tokyo and Osaka in four hours, unlike the conventional line, which took almost seven hours.The Shinkansen now runs on the route at a speed of 270km/h, connecting both cities in two hours and 25 minutes. They are plans to increase the train's speed to 285km/h from next year.

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Australia continues to lose global edge

AUSTRALIA is continuing to lose its competitive edge in the global economy, strangled by government red tape.

AUSTRALIA dropped one place in the latest World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index to 22nd, continuing a downward trend since 2009/10 when it was ranked 15th.

Australia Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said more of Australia's competitors were "leap-frogging" the local economy.The most telling result was the burden of government regulation, which had now tumbled to 124th from 60th in 2010/11, he said.The report reinforces calls from the business community for greater urgency to be injected into building domestic productivity and competitiveness.That was particularly the case with industrial relations with restrictive labour regulations identified as the most significant impediment to doing business in Australia, Mr Willox said.WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS INDEX 2014/15Rank (previous)1 (1) Switzerland2 (2) Singapore3 (5) United States4 (3) Finland5 (4) Germany17 (18) New Zealand22 (21) Australia

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Silly walks palace guardsman investigated

Massive waves of windy drama

THE men of Bondi Rescue were no match for Mother Nature yesterday, as one was wiped out by 3m waves and knocked off a jetski.

NSW

Illegal and dangerous bush raves hit Sydney

Partygoers were seen swimming naked near cliffs and dancing in asbestos-filled tunnels in a wave of illegal bush raves that have emergency workers worried.

North Shore

Fatal Ballina crash a rash rush to ruin

IF Jesse Camidge had waited just a couple of minutes longer on one of the state's most notorious stretches of road, four people would be alive today.

NSW

• 1 video
  • Four killed in Pacific Highway crash 0:28

Lone Wolf threatened to 'put a bullet in' police informant

LONE Wolf bikie called a police informant a "weak dog" before allegedly spraying his house with six bullets, court documents revealed as his bail application was denied at Wyong.

NSW

Ice lab was hidden in chemical supply business

EXCLUSIVE: AN alleged drugs cook is in custody after police trying to break Sydney's deadly ice plague raid another clandestine narcotics lab in a Western Sydney industrial block.

News

• 1 video
  • Police shut clan labs, arrests two in ongoing investigation 1:01

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Carmody appointment still rankles: Davis

QUEENSLAND'S former bar association president has renewed allegations that the body was threatened by someone linked to the state government to support the appointment of Tim Carmody as chief justice.

SPEAKING at a forum organised by left-leaning think tank the TJ Ryan Foundation at Queensland parliament on Tuesday night, Peter Davis QC discussed the war of words between the state government and senior judicial figures over the decision.

Tim Carmody's appointment as chief justice was met with criticism from many in legal circles who were concerned he may be perceived as being too close to the Liberal National Party (LNP) government.Mr Davis told the forum prior to Mr Carmody's promotion, there had been a series of actions and statements made by him as chief magistrate which "at least, on their face, had suggested an uncomfortable connection with the government."Mr Davis resigned from his position after accusing attorney general Jarrod Bleijie of leaking confidential communications about the decision.He also told those gathered that the public "launch" of Mr Carmody as chief justice, attended by the premier and attorney general, was "a huge mistake" and the process of consultation "badly flawed."Mr Davis alleged that prior to his resignation, a person with close ties to the LNP threatened the bar association with retribution unless the appointment was supported."Those threats were removal of the bar association's statutory regulatory function," he said."And also threats of likelihood that future judicial appointments would come from the ranks of solicitors, not from the ranks of barristers."Mr Davis told the forum that judicial appointments must be seen to be made at arms' length and not "bedevilled by controversy."He claimed the court is unsettled and the controversy remained."But of course, the character of our judges is such that they will simply do what they always do, and that's turn up to court every day and fulfil their oaths of office."Mr Bleijie's office declined to comment.

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Ashya to get treatment in Prague

Ashya King's parents have been released from prison after their arrest warrants were withdrawn. Source: AAP

BRITISH brain tumour patient Ashya King is set to go to the Czech Republic for the treatment his parents wanted him to receive.

THE five-year-old's medical records have been sent to the Proton Therapy Centre in Prague, which said it had agreed the specialised technique is suitable for him.

The development came as Ashya's parents Brett and Naghmeh prepared to be reunited with their son.They were freed from Soto del Real prison near Madrid after British authorities dropped the case against them amid a storm of criticism.As they prepared to see their son for the first time since they were detained on Saturday, Brett King, the five-year-old's father, said his heart was "aching" while his wife Naghmeh said she had been "crying and crying" in a prison cell.King told the BBC: "My heart is aching for my son. I want to see my son's face."Asked what the ordeal had been like, Naghmeh King said: "All I was doing all the time was crying and crying. What could I do in a prison cell?"The couple were freed on Tuesday night after British authorities abandoned their attempts to extradite them amid a public backlash.Asked how angry they were, King said: "I wouldn't say angry, I'm just missing my son so much. Anger can't come in at the moment because I've just got these feelings I've got to see my son's face."The boy's mother said: "I just want to wet his mouth because he can't drink through his mouth, I want to brush his teeth, I want to turn him side to side every 15 minutes because he can't move. I just want to do all those things I was doing from Southampton, I want to do it for him here."Asked about being separated from her son, she said: "I was just praying so I could be reunited with him again. I couldn't do much, really - all I could do was just cry and pray."A spokesman for the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) disclosed that it had received additional information concerning the status of Ashya's health.He said Dr Gary Nicolin, a consultant paediatric oncologist and lead for paediatric neuro-oncology at the Department of Paediatric Oncology at University Hospital Southampton, had sent complete medical reports, including operation notes, histology reports and imaging reports.He said the PTC medical board reviewed this documentation at 8am local time on Wednesday.Dr Jiri Kubes, head of proton therapy at Proton Therapy Center Czech, said: "We have agreed that proton therapy is a suitable method of treatment for Ashya."So, Ashya shall go for proton therapy to the Czech Republic. However, prior to this he will need to return to England first."The centre said Dr Nicolin had confirmed that Ashya must first undergo two cycles of chemotherapy, which are expected to take several weeks.After that he would be able to travel to Prague for proton therapy, the spokesman said.A fundraising page set up to help pay for the treatment has so far raised more than STG21,000 ($A38,331.66).

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Lambie calls for defence royal commission

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has used her first speech in parliament to slam defence. Source: AAP

NEW Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has used her first speech in parliament to slam defence and the Department of Veterans Affairs for a culture of cover up, lies and official misconduct.

SENATOR Lambie, Palmer United Party senator and a former soldier who waged a long battle against Veterans Affairs for compensation for an injury, said there needed to be a royal commission into defence.

One of the most compelling reasons, she said, was the case of former Lieutenant Marcus Saltmarsh, who was watching her speech from the Senate public gallery.He faced a court martial over the death of his best mate Corporal Stuart Jones, shot dead in East Timor in August 2000 while travelling in the back of an ASLAV armoured vehicle.It was Mr Saltmarsh's Steyr rifle which discharged. Mr Saltmarsh had insisted the weapon was faulty as there had been numerous cases of inadvertent firing of Steyr rifles in East Timor.Senator Lambie said he was cleared, but despite repeated requests he was never properly and publicly exonerated and became a scapegoat."Abuse and harassment from all ranks dogged his whole military career,"Lambie said.That included him being sent the autopsy photos of Corporal Jones."Was it sheer incompetence that caused these photos to be sent to Mr Marcus Saltmarsh or was it a deliberate, abusive act," she asked.Senator Lambie said the appalling treatment of many former defence members stemmed from a complete failure of leadership at the highest levels of the Australian Defence Forces."A culture of cover up, lies and official misconduct can be found in both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Australian Defence Force, and the only remedy to address the gross injustices is for a royal commission," she said.Senator Lambie paid tribute to her party leader, businessman MP Clive Palmer."Clive placed his faith in me, embraced my ideas and welcomed me wholeheartedly to his team. I'm proud to be part of the Palmer United Team," she said.

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Breakthrough hope for MS treatment

Anja unfazed by debut album flop

ANJA Nissen won The Voice but failed to gain momentum with her self-titled release that sold just 1952 copies in its first week.

MacGill and Singo's ex-wife step out

SYDNEY'S hottest new couple Julie Singleton and Stuart MacGill made a very public statement by attending Catalina's birthday celebrations together.

Bachelor favourite spills on Blake's dates

BUBBLY blonde Sam has revealed the truth behind those extravagant dates with Blake, but just how much does the hunky Bachelor contribute towards the romantic rendezvous?

'I am afraid to leave my room'

A WOMAN has waged war on her alleged rapist — a fellow uni student — by staging an unusual protest she vows to continue until he's expelled.

Rod Stewart turns 70, tours Oz

ROD Stewart announces an Australian-wide tour for April and May next year, just months after he turns 70. Has he plans to retire?

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UK Speaker under fire over Aussie choice

Anja unfazed by debut album flop

ANJA Nissen won The Voice but failed to gain momentum with her self-titled release that sold just 1952 copies in its first week.

MacGill and Singo's ex-wife step out

SYDNEY'S hottest new couple Julie Singleton and Stuart MacGill made a very public statement by attending Catalina's birthday celebrations together.

Bachelor favourite spills on Blake's dates

BUBBLY blonde Sam has revealed the truth behind those extravagant dates with Blake, but just how much does the hunky Bachelor contribute towards the romantic rendezvous?

'I am afraid to leave my room'

A WOMAN has waged war on her alleged rapist — a fellow uni student — by staging an unusual protest she vows to continue until he's expelled.

Rod Stewart turns 70, tours Oz

ROD Stewart announces an Australian-wide tour for April and May next year, just months after he turns 70. Has he plans to retire?

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Photo hacking revives digital privacy fear

AS the celebrity photo-hacking scandal has made clear, privacy isn't what it used to be.

WHETHER famous or seemingly anonymous, people from all walks of life put all sorts of things online or into cloud-based storage systems, from vital financial information to the occasional nude photo. Periodic cases of hacking fuel outrage, but there's no retreat from digital engagement or any imminent promise of guaranteed privacy.

"We have this abstract belief that privacy is important, but the way we behave online often runs counter to that," said Nicholas Carr, whose extensive writings about the internet include the 2010 book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains."I'd hope people would understand that anything you do online could be made public," Carr said. "Yet there's this illusion of security that tempers any nervousness ... It's hard to judge risks when presented with the opportunity to do something fun."The latest headlines involved nude photos of actress Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities which were accessed via hacking and then posted online. Apple, which created the iCloud and other content-sharing systems, says individual accounts of some of the celebrities were targeted and hacked.Privacy experts said users of online and cloud technology need not be famous to be vulnerable."What we're seeing is people who innocently and in many ways naively are lulled into sharing information that they wouldn't share with their nextdoor neighbour," said Marlene Maheu, a San Diego-based psychologist whose TeleMental Health Institute trains mental health professionals in how to expand their practice online.Worries about privacy are part of a complex attitude that many Americans have toward their digital engagement.Even as they share more information online, they also want to better control over who can see it, according to a study last year by the Pew Research Center's internet and American Life Project.According to Pew, 50 per cent of internet uses were worried about the information available about them online, up from 33 per cent in 2009. While 86 per cent had tried at least one technique to hide their activity online or avoid being tracked, 59 per cent did not believe it was possible to be completely anonymous.The Pew study, done with help from Carnegie Mellon University, was based on data from 792 internet and smartphone users contacted by telephone by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The margin of error was 3.8 percentage points.The director of Pew's internet project, Lee Rainie, said most Americans view digital engagement as a trade-off, deeming the benefits - including social networking and online shopping - to be worth the risks."They say they're concerned about their privacy, yet they act in ways that don't necessarily show these concerns are a high priority to them," he said. "Old boundaries that people used to be able to attach to their identities and personal information are obliterated."In June, the US Supreme Court came down emphatically in defence of digital-age privacy, ruling unanimously that police generally may not search the mobilephones of people they arrest without first getting search warrants.Mobilephones are "not just another technological convenience," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court."With all they contain and all they may reveal, they hold for many Americans the privacies of life."

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British PM breaks holiday over beheading

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has broken off his holiday for talks on the threat posed by ISIL jihadists following the "shocking and depraved" apparent beheading of US journalist James Foley.

CAMERON was returning to his Downing Street office in London to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria as experts worked on trying to identify the executioner in the beheading video, who spoke with a British accent.

"If true, the murder of James Foley is shocking and depraved. I will today chair meetings on the situation in Iraq/Syria," Cameron said on Twitter.The video posted on Tuesday on the internet showed a masked militant beheading a man resembling Foley, who has been missing since he was seized in Syria in November 2012.Downing Street said in a statement on Wednesday that Cameron would meet with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and other senior officials "to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria and the threat posed by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, also Islamic State) terrorists".Wednesday was to have been the second day of the prime minister's break in Cornwall, southwest England.Hammond voiced his "absolute horror" at the apparent beheading, which he said is "just is one more example in a catalogue of brutality by this organisation", referring to ISIL.He said "atrocities" carried out by ISIL as it has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria were driving the international community's efforts to support Iraqis and Kurds in pushing back against the "evil organisation".He also said the apparent attack showed the security threat posed by European extremists fighting with IS if they attempted to return home.The masked executioner in the video speaks English with a British accent."On the face of it, it appears to have been a British person. We'll have to do some more analysis to make quite certain that that is the case," Hammond said.Around 400 Britons are believed to have gone to Syria over the past two years.British extremists are among the "most vicious and vociferous fighters" in the ISIL ranks, said Shiraz Maher, an expert on jihadism.Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, said they had been operating as suicide bombers and executioners."Foreign fighters going out to Syria are not going out there to be backseat riders. They are going out to be full participants in the war, to be at the forefront of the conflict," he said.He said he and his colleagues were "fairly satisfied that it's a Brit" in the video "due to the colloquialisms" used, as well the accent."We have a database of several hundred fighters in Syria and myself and my colleagues are frantically looking through it to try to pin him down," he added.France on Wednesday lashed out at the apparent execution of Foley, labelling it a "barbaric" and "disgusting" act."This is a barbaric act that plays on fear," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told reporters after Francois Hollande convened his first cabinet meeting after the summer break.In a statement Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that if confirmed, the "disgusting assassination would show the true face of this 'Caliphate of Barbarism'."It merits the firmest condemnation from the international community and strengthens our determination to fight against the 'Islamic State' in accordance with Resolution 2170 of the UN Security Council" that condemns the activity of ISIL.Fabius added his condolences to the flood of messages of support. "In such a sad moment, our thoughts go to the relatives of the journalist - a great professional, acclaimed by all in France - and in particular to his mother Diane Foley, whom we hosted last April," the minister said."More than ever, France is committed to the right of journalists to work safely. There can be no impunity for those that carried out these barbaric acts."Thousands of people have already posted messages of condolence on the Facebook site Free James Foley.

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Chinese economy facing some risks

FALLING property prices in China and unregulated borrowing will have to be monitored closely to make sure it is not a risk to the world's second largest economy, the RBA says.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens says the Chinese economy is going along okay despite some volatility in monthly economic data.

"The real issue is the financial part of the economy," he said.Mr Stevens is confident that as the Chinese government deregulates the banking sector, there will be less shadow banking.Shadow banking is when some lending institution operate outside of the regulated banking system.Mr Steven acknowledged that property prices in China were falling, which could be a risk to its economy."I cannot really say with any accuracy at all just how this will unfold," he said in Brisbane."This is an issue that authorities have been alert to for quite a some time."

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Tips for parents: To post or not to post?

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR PARENTS, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN:

- ASK FIRST, POST LATER

If you don't know how a parent feels about having photos of their kids posted on Facebook, Instagram or elsewhere, ask before uploading a photo and before you tag the parents in a photo. This goes even for close relatives. Actually, it's not a bad idea to ask everyone you post a photo of if they're cool with it, especially if the snaps were taken at a party, swimming pool or any other less buttoned-up situation. It can prevent awkward conversations later.- LIMIT AUDIENCESFacebook's privacy settings are complex, but they also offer granular settings that let you pick who can see your updates. One way to do this: Create a "secret" group and add the members you want. The problem here is that anyone in the group can add new members to the group.Another way to limit the audience of each post you share is to click on the right tab under your update, which may currently say "friends" or "public." Click on "custom" and choose which of your Facebook friends you want to share with and which ones you'd like to exclude. It's simpler on Instagram, where you can either lock your account or set it to public.- TALK TO YOUR KIDSOpinions on the age at which parents should start talking to their kids about internet and social media use vary. Some parents start as soon as their child is old enough to use a smartphone, which can be as early as two or three years. Amy Heinz, who blogs about her kids, often talks to her eight-year-old about posts she writes about him, but says her younger children, who are five and three, know about the blog but "don't have a concept" of what it means exactly. Caroline Knorr, parenting editor at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, waited until her son was 15 before posting a photo of him on Facebook - and asked his permission first.- GO THE OLD-FASHIONED ROUTESome parents opt for emailing or texting photos to one person or to a small group rather than sharing them more widely on social media. Online storage services such as Google Drive and Dropbox also let you distribute photos privately, as do photo-sharing sites such as Flickr. Of course, there's always the old-fashioned snail mail method, if you can still find a place to print snapshots.- DON'T EMBARRASS THEMThat photo of your little one with pea soup all over her face, or the one that shows her first time on the potty might be funny at the time, but think about what she may think of the photo if it's still online when she's a teen. Today's generation of parents did not grow up with the reality that their private moments growing up will be documented and often posted on the internet for all eternity. Before posting a photo or anecdote, take a moment to imagine a conversation about it with your child 10 or 15 years from now.

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Apple's stock bounces back; hits new high

APPLE'S stock has touched a new high, reflecting investors' renewed faith in CEO Tim Cook's ability to outwit the competition and expand the technological hit factory.

WEDNESDAY'S milestone represents a dramatic turnaround in sentiment since Apple's shares reached its previous split-adjusted peak of $US100.72 ($A108.97) in September 2012.

After peaking at $US100.77 on Wednesday morning, shares slipped three cents to $US100.50, giving Apple a market value of $US602 billion - far more than any other publicly held company.Apple's stock had fallen to a split-adjusted $US55.01 in April 2013 to wipe out about $US300 billion in shareholder wealth amid worries that the California company had run out of ideas without the late Steve Jobs as its mastermind.The anxiety escalated as sales of iPhones and iPads slowed amid the growing popularity of less expensive smartphones and tablet computers made by Samsung Electronics and other rivals relying on Google's free Android software.Now, there are signs that Samsung's devices are losing momentum while Apple prepares to release the next version of its iPhone and investors wait for Cook to deliver on his promise to introduce a product that will open up new opportunities.The breakthrough is widely expected to be a smartwatch that will include sensors to help people monitor their health.Hewing to its secretive ways, Apple hasn't provided details about its upcoming products.Cook, though, has been raising hopes that Apple is poised to create a new product category for the first time since the iPad's release four years ago."We've got some great things that we're working on that I'm very, very proud of and very, very excited about," he told analysts in April.

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Woman jailed for calling police 637 times

AN unemployed French woman has been jailed for calling the police 637 times in the space of 48 hours last week, French media is reporting.

THE 24-year-old was given a six-month jail sentence, half of which was suspended, on her twelfth court appearance on Tuesday in the central town of Bourges.

She has been charged with harassing the police.The woman, who was found by psychiatrists to be suffering from depression and severe personality disorders, had been given four months probation for a similar offence in July, Le Parisien newspaper reported.She had refused hospitalisation, reports said.The public prosecutor accused her of acting like a "punching ball"."The more we punish you, the more you keep coming back," he was quoted as saying.

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US parents to keep kids off Facebook

BEHOLD the cascade of baby photos, the flood of funny kid anecdotes and the steady stream of school milestones on Facebook.

IT all makes Sonia Rao, a stay-at-home mother of a one-year-old in the US, "a little uncomfortable".

At a time when just about everyone and their mother - father, grandmother and aunt - is intent on publicising the newest generation's early years on social media sites, an increasing number of US parents like Rao are bucking the trend by consciously keeping their children's photos, names and entire identities off the internet."I just have a vague discomfort having her photograph out there for anyone to look at," says Rao."When you meet a new person and go to their account, you can look them up, look at photos, videos, know that they are travelling."Reasons for the baby blackout vary. Some parents have privacy and safety concerns. Others worry about what companies might do with their child's image and personal data. Some simply do it out of respect for their kids' autonomy before they are old enough to make decisions for themselves."I have a no tolerance policy," says Scott Steinberg, a business and technology consultant. Steinberg says he shares no photos, videos or any information about his child.As for Rao, she stays active on Facebook. She's happy posting photos of her dog, but not the many snapshots of her daughter and the pet together - no matter how cute they are. Rao does share baby pictures, via email or text, but only with close friends and family.Facebook, for its part, encourages parents to use the site's privacy setting if they want to limit who can see baby photos and other posts. It's possible, for example, to create a group of close friends and relatives to share kid updates with. But that's not enough for some users.A big reason parents are wary, even if they use social media sites themselves, is that the companies "have not been very transparent about the way they collect data about users," says Caroline Knorr, parenting editor at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which studies children's use of technology."Facebook's terms of service and privacy (policies) - no one reads it, it's too obscure."Some parents look back to their own childhoods, when they were able to make mistakes without evidence of those blunders living on - forever - online.People have shared baby photos since the dawn of the camera, and stories about kid's shenanigans long before that. Parents who decide to keep photos of their children and other data off social media say they still want to share those things, but are bothered by the idea of online permanence.Parents who enforce strict blackout rules are still in the minority. In a 2011 poll conducted at the University of Michigan, 66 per cent of Generation X parents (people born in the 1960s and '70s) said they post photos of their children online, while more than half said they have shared news about a child's accomplishment online.Aisha Sultan, a fellow at the Michigan institute where the poll was conducted, thinks the results might be different if the same questions were posed to respondents today."Back (then) there wasn't a lot of conversation about this," says Sultan, who is a parenting advice columnist."When parents first started joining Facebook in large numbers it wasn't the primary concern. We felt like we were in control of information we were sharing with friends and family."Facebook's privacy blunders over the years, not to mention frequent updates to its confusing privacy policies, changed all that. Now, Sultan says, parents are more aware of the little control they have over their personal data online.Politicians have begun to pay attention to the issue, too. A new California law requires online services, websites or apps that collect personally identifiable information to remove content that minors have posted, if requested. The measure goes into effect next year."It's a good start, but I don't think it replaces a lot of parental conversation, regulation and oversight," Sultan says.

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Vic healthcare staff protections broadened

The VIC government says it will broaden new laws designed to curb attacks on healthcare workers. Source: AAP

NEW laws designed to curb assaults on Victorian healthcare workers will be broadened to include more professions, and house calls.

LEGISLATION will be introduced to parliament this week to create two new offences - for assaulting a registered healthcare practitioner in a hospital, or anywhere they are providing care to a patient.

Health Minister David Davis said it would build on law changes earlier this year, which set out tougher penalties for assaults on doctors or staff in hospitals or healthcare facilities."The Victorian coalition government is already demonstrating it is committed to improving safety and security in our hospital and healthcare services, and will not tolerate violence against hospital staff and healthcare practitioners," Mr Davis said in a statement on Wednesday."Our new legislation further extends this commitment to all registered healthcare practitioners going about their normal duties including GPs, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and psychologists."The new offences will also extend the protection to healthcare practitioners during house calls.People who attack a healthcare professional in Victoria will face up to six months in jail - double the penalty for a common assault.

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Heineken reports sales, profit drop

HEINEKEN NV, the Amsterdam-based brewer, has reported first half earnings showing a small drop in both revenues and profits - but says its underlying performance was good.

NET profit was 631 million euros ($A946.45 million), from 639 million euros in the same period a year ago.

Sales were down 1.4 per cent to 1.2 billion euros, which Heineken, the largest brewer by sales within Europe, said was due to the strong euro.Stripping out currency and acquisition effects, Heineken said its sales prices were up 1.5 per cent, and sales volumes rose 3.9 per cent.Chief Executive Jean-Franois van Boxmeer said on Wednesday the company's operations grew on a like-for-like basis in almost all regions in the first half but warned that growth in underlying profit and revenues would "moderate" in the second half.Meanwhile Danish brewer Carlsberg says uncertainty in its eastern European and vast Russian market continued to weigh on its financial performance during the second-quarter of the year.Carlsberg said on Wednesday net profit grew slightly to 2.2 billion kroner ($A42.63 million), up from 2.1 billion for the same period a year ago, on a modest revenue increase to 19.2 billion kroner for the three-month period ending June 30 against 19.06 billion kroner.The group said its eastern European markets are "increasingly challenging and uncertain", and expects them to deteriorate further in the second part of 2014 especially with consumption declines in Russia and Ukraine.Carlsberg's full-year net profit was expected "to decline by mid- to high-single-digit percentages".

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UK AG won't challenge Harris jail sentence

British government won't challenge the sentence handed down to convicted paedophile Rolf Harris. Source: AAP

DISGRACED entertainer Rolf Harris's sentence for sex offences will not be referred to an appeals court despite numerous complaints that it was too lenient, the attorney general's office in Britain says.

THE 84-year-old Australian-born Harris, a long-time fixture on British television, was jailed earlier this month for five years and nine months for a string of sexual assaults against girls.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright, the government's chief legal adviser, received 150 complaints asking to review the sentence for being too lenient.But his office said on Wednesday that the sentence will not be referred to the Court of Appeal."After very careful consideration, the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright... has decided not to refer the five year and nine month sentence given to Rolf Harris to the Court of Appeal, as he did not think they would find it to be unduly lenient and increase it," said a spokeswoman from his office.Wright acknowledged that the ruling would cause disappointment, but said the courts were bound by the maximum sentence in force at the time of the offences.Trial judge Nigel Sweeney made some of the sentences on the 12 counts consecutive to make up the total term, of which Harris will serve around half, but also had to take into account the entertainer's age.The television star, artist and songwriter was found guilty of indecently assaulting four victims between 1969 and 1986, including the childhood best friend of his daughter Bindi."You have shown no remorse for your crimes at all," Sweeney told Harris as he handed down his sentence earlier in July."Your reputation lies in ruins, you have been stripped of your honours, but you have no one to blame but yourself."Harris was the second person to be convicted under a wide-ranging police investigation set up in the wake of revelations that the late Jimmy Savile, a fellow major BBC star, was a prolific abuser.Seven of the 12 counts against Harris related to the friend of Bindi, including one incident when she was 15 where he seriously sexually assaulted her while his daughter slept in the adjacent bed.The entertainer's conviction caused widespread revulsion in Britain, where his television programs were watched by millions of children, and his homeland of Australia.He was made a CBE in 2006 - one step below a knighthood - and even painted Queen Elizabeth II's portrait to mark her 80th birthday.

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US companies add 218,000 jobs

A PRIVATE survey shows that businesses hired at a healthy pace in July, though the job gains slowed from the previous month.

PRIVATE employers added 218,000 jobs, down from 281,000 in June, payroll provider ADP said on Wednesday.

It was the fourth straight month of job gains above 200,000, a healthy pace that usually is enough to lower the unemployment rate.The figures suggest that the government's jobs report, to be released on Friday, will also show a solid increase, but the ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often diverge from the government's more comprehensive report.Economists forecast that the government's report will show that 225,000 jobs were added in July, while the unemployment rate stayed at 6.1 per cent, according to a survey by FactSet."It feels to me like the job market is humming," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which helps compile the report.The job gains were mostly broad-based.Construction added 12,000 positions, most of which likely pay mid-level wages.Retail, shipping and utilities gained 52,000 and professional and business services, which mostly include higher-paying jobs, gained 61,000.Manufacturing, however, added just 3000 jobs, according to ADP.A separate government report on Wednesday showed the economy grew at a rapid four per cent annual pace in the April-June quarter, following a sharp 2.1 per cent contraction in the first three months of the year.But the second half of 2013 was also revised higher to show growth at a four per cent annual pace.The better growth figures should support continued strong hiring, Zandi said."This feels a lot more consistent with the jobs numbers and more supportive of the idea that the economy is gaining traction," he said.

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Airlines divert flights over Iraq

Turia Pitt finally wins compensation

THE burns survivor and her boyfriend today made their first court appearance to confirm a multi-million dollar settlement made with ultra-marathon firm.

NSW

Man carjacked at lights, forced to drive 140km

POLICE are hunting for a man in a hoodie who jumped into Phillip Waltis' car at Leumeah and made the motorist, pictured, drive him to Jilliby, on the Central Coast.

NSW

Derelict Merrylands home fetches $3.2m

IT has cracks in the walls, no electricity and is covered in spiderwebs, but this western Sydney home sold for $3.2 million. What is its secret?

Parramatta

Businessman has corrupt conduct finding overturned

BUSINESSMAN John Kinghorn has won his appeal against ICAC, becoming the first person since former Premier Nick Greiner to overturn a corrupt conduct finding.

NSW

'We're looking at the positives' says fiancee Teigan Power

As her fiance Alex McKinnon faced the fight of his life, Teigan Power has been behind the scenes, a tower of strength for the young NRL player.

The Hills

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British Airways sued for pilot 'sex abuse'

A LONDON law firm representing 16 girls in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania says it is initiating legal proceedings against British Airways over allegations that one of its pilots sexually abused the girls during layovers.

THE 54-year-old British Airways pilot, Simon Wood, who is now dead, was able to abuse the girls, between the ages of eight and 20 years, because of his employment with the airline and the company's community outreach work, Leigh Day lawyer Nichola Marshall said on Wednesday.

"The schools and orphanages that our clients attended were all in receipt of charitable donations from the airline, and Wood played a key role in administering those donations, on behalf of British Airways," Marshall said in a statement.British Airways said it was shocked and horrified by the allegations, which the company said appeared to be related to activities "entirely outside the scope of his employment with British Airways".The airline extended its sympathies to the victims."It is disappointing that the conduct of one person has caused so much distress to the many thousands of decent people who engage in charitable works on a regular basis," the company said in an email to The Associated Press.Wood was struck by a train and died two weeks before he was to appear in court last August.He had faced charges of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16 and making and possessing child pornography, the statement said.An investigation into his death began Wednesday, the law firm said.Marshall said a team will be travelling to meet with other potential victims who have recently come forward in Kenya and Uganda.

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Hyundai recalls 883,000 Sonatas

HYUNDAI is recalling its popular Sonata midsize sedan to fix problems with the gear shift levers.

THE recall covers 883,000 cars from the 2011 through 2014 model years.

The Korean carmaker says the automatic transmission shift cable can separate from the shift lever.If that happens, the lever may not show the correct gear, increasing the risk of a crash.The company says in documents posted Wednesday by US safety regulators that it has received 1,171 warranty claims about the problem, plus seven other reports with related symptoms.The documents don't say if there have been any crashes or injuries.Hyundai will notify owners by letter between now and the end of September.Dealers will inspect the shift cables and repair the connection if needed.

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Fiat 2Q profits drop by 55 per cent

Turia Pitt finally wins compensation

THE burns survivor and her boyfriend today made their first court appearance to confirm a multi-million dollar settlement made with ultra-marathon firm.

NSW

Man carjacked at lights, forced to drive 140km

POLICE are hunting for a man in a hoodie who jumped into Phillip Waltis' car at Leumeah and made the motorist, pictured, drive him to Jilliby, on the Central Coast.

NSW

Derelict Merrylands home fetches $3.2m

IT has cracks in the walls, no electricity and is covered in spiderwebs, but this western Sydney home sold for $3.2 million. What is its secret?

Parramatta

Businessman has corrupt conduct finding overturned

BUSINESSMAN John Kinghorn has won his appeal against ICAC, becoming the first person since former Premier Nick Greiner to overturn a corrupt conduct finding.

NSW

'We're looking at the positives' says fiancee Teigan Power

As her fiance Alex McKinnon faced the fight of his life, Teigan Power has been behind the scenes, a tower of strength for the young NRL player.

The Hills

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Landslide kills 17 in Indian village

TORRENTIAL rains have triggered a massive landslide that buried a remote village in western India, killing at least 17 people as it swept away scores of houses and possibly trapping many more people under debris, officials said.

NATIONAL rescue personnel reached the area before nightfall, but continuing rains and bad roads were hampering rescue efforts and preventing reinforcements from reaching Ambegaon, a village in Pune district in Maharashtra state, said Alok Avasthy, a National Disaster Response Force commander.

District official Suresh Jadhav said 17 bodies had been recovered from under mud, rocks and trees and other debris and rescuers planned to work overnight using floodlights mounted on two jeeps being sent from Pune, along with earthmoving vehicles."Everything on the mountain came down," he said.But with 70 homes buried and reports of another 158 hit by the landslide, rescuers anticipated more dead in the village, home to 704 people in the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains.The landslide hit early on Wednesday morning, but details of the damage only began to trickle out several hours later.The area around the village has been deforested extensively, increasing its vulnerability to landslides and the area received 10.8 centimetres of rain on Tuesday, with a heavy downpour continuing through Wednesday.Some 250 disaster response personnel were in the area assisting local police and medical teams who began clearing the debris. At least 100 ambulances were also sent to the area, Jadhav said.One local commissioner said more than 150 people could be trapped.Pune district is about 150 kilometres southeast of Mumbai, India's commercial capital, with the nearest medical centre about 15km from the village.

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Pistorius prosecutor submits summary

Turia Pitt finally wins compensation

THE burns survivor and her boyfriend today made their first court appearance to confirm a multi-million dollar settlement made with ultra-marathon firm.

NSW

Man carjacked at lights, forced to drive 140km

POLICE are hunting for a man in a hoodie who jumped into Phillip Waltis' car at Leumeah and made the motorist, pictured, drive him to Jilliby, on the Central Coast.

NSW

Derelict Merrylands home fetches $3.2m

IT has cracks in the walls, no electricity and is covered in spiderwebs, but this western Sydney home sold for $3.2 million. What is its secret?

Parramatta

Businessman has corrupt conduct finding overturned

BUSINESSMAN John Kinghorn has won his appeal against ICAC, becoming the first person since former Premier Nick Greiner to overturn a corrupt conduct finding.

NSW

'We're looking at the positives' says fiancee Teigan Power

As her fiance Alex McKinnon faced the fight of his life, Teigan Power has been behind the scenes, a tower of strength for the young NRL player.

The Hills

23.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK 'cancels' Assange working group

Last Updated: June 19, 2014

THE UK Government has cancelled a working group set up with Ecuador to find a way of resolving the future of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder has claimed.

Coldplay perform hottest gig in town

IF you saw Coldplay perform their intimate gig for the Max Sessions count yourself very lucky, because the band are only doing seven concerts this year.

More teen angst for Ashleigh

GALORE: Puberty Blues' Ashleigh Cummings, a teenage love triangle and the 2003 Canberra bushfires. Does Australia really need another coming-of-age drama?

Appealing rapport fights appalling script

BLENDED: With the regular release of two-tonne turkeys Adam Sandler is clearly Not Really Trying. But no matter how bad, enough tickets will be sold to justify another one.

The cleverest sequel to a dumb movie of all time

22 JUMP Street: Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill share a rare comedic connection that money just can't buy in a film that cracks plenty of strong gags at its own expense.

Oil duo lose their Pot of Gold

WHICH TV talent show judge rejected the stars of Midnight Oil? Drummer Rob Hirst still has the 'f--- off' letter and reveals all.

Blues end eight-year stranglehold

FINALLY. The reign is over. After eight years of frustration, defeat and heartbreak, NSW have ended Queensland's Origin stranglehold.

Men and makeup? Yep, it's a thing

DON'T be surprised if you bump into a bloke next time you're shopping for makeup. More Aussie men use skincare and makeup in their grooming routines.

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Knox defence turns to Italy's last resort

Last Updated: June 19, 2014

AMANDA Knox's lawyers have formally asked Italy's court of last resort to review the US student's appeals court conviction for the 2007 murder of her British room mate.

Blues end eight-year stranglehold

FINALLY. The reign is over. After eight years of frustration, defeat and heartbreak, NSW have ended Queensland's Origin stranglehold.

Men and makeup? Yep, it's a thing

DON'T be surprised if you bump into a bloke next time you're shopping for makeup. More Aussie men use skincare and makeup in their grooming routines.

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Nine dead after boat sinks off Malaysia

AT least nine people have drowned and 26 others are missing after a boat carrying Indonesian migrants sank off Malaysia, officials said.

FISHERMEN recovered the bodies of a man and a woman, believed to be from the boat, floating near the mouth of the Sungai Langat river in the town of Kuala Langat, 45 kilometres west of Kuala Lumpur, said Jazlizad Jalil, from a local fire and rescue department.

More bodies - six male and one female - were recovered by rescuers at sea, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).Sixty-two people were rescued after the accident, which occurred before dawn about three kilometres from the coast, the agency added.MMEA official Ibrahim Mohamed said the wooden fishing boat was believed to be heading for the Indonesian province of Aceh, whose nearest point is about 400 kilometres from the coast of Kuala Langat."A survivor said the boat was overloaded and began taking in water after it was battered by huge waves, causing it to sink," Ibrahim said."It's difficult to speculate on the fate of the missing since the accident happened near the shore, so some of them could have swum to safety."We will just continue our search and hope to recover more survivors."The Indonesian workers were returning home to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a source at the MMEA said.An Interior Ministry official says of the estimated 1.5 million undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia, more than half are from Indonesia and many make the journey between the two countries on rickety wooden boats in search of employment."Most of these illegal Indonesian workers are working as maids, helpers in restaurants, or in palm oil and rubber plantations," he said.Malaysia has a high demand for Indonesian labour migrants, the International Office of Migration said, "and is highly dependent on their contribution to its development and industrialisation".

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ANAO says Customs missing most contraband

CLOSE to half a million prohibited items could have evaded Customs mail screening in 2012-13, allowing guns, drugs and quarantine risk items into the community.

THE Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) says Customs' seizure of 67,123 prohibited imports represented around 13 per cent of potential prohibited imports.

In a 2012 report on its own performance, Customs cited the increasing number of successful seizures of contraband and concluded that this demonstrated "low level of leakage of a small number of prohibited imports of a minor nature."But the ANAO said Customs really didn't know as it had never calculated its leakage rate - done by sampling cleared mail items.ANAO did its own calculations and estimated Customs missed 467,893 prohibited items in 2012-13."Customs' high estimated leakage rate, particularly in unscreened non-letter class mail would suggest that Customs' screening activities miss a large number of prohibited imports," it said.ANAO acknowledged screening was a challenging job.In 2012-13, Australia Post reported that around 180 million international mail items arrived in Australia. Over the last five years, parcels have increased 200 per cent with the rise in online shopping.Most pose no threat but some contain drugs, guns and risky plant or animal products.International mail arrives at four Australia Post gateway facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth where it's screened by Customs and Agriculture visually and by x-ray scanners and sniffer dogs.Where previously everything was screened, it's now done according to risk assessment.Since 2006-07 the number of items screened by Agriculture has reduced by 76 per cent and 45 per cent for Customs. The government provided funding this year to increase the screening rate.ANAO said Customs described its targeting approach as "intelligence-led and risk-based".But in practice targeting decisions were often not documented and did not align with risk analysis, providing little assurance that it was adequately and consistently targeting high risk mail groups.Customs and the Department of Agriculture have agreed to ANAO recommendations to improve screening procedures.

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Slipper says he's been vindicated

James Ashby says he is ditching his case against former parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper (pic). Source: AAP

FORMER house of representatives speaker Peter Slipper says sexual harassment claims by a former staff member caused enormous personal stress which require ongoing psychiatric treatment.

MR Slipper said he'd now been vindicated by the decision of James Ashby to drop his sexual harassment claim.

He said the impact of those allegations had been "immeasurable and irreparable.""The allegations brought by Mr Ashby have caused enormous personal stress which has required ongoing psychiatric and psychological treatment and many weeks of inpatient hospital care," he said in a statement on Wednesday."My mental illness is both ongoing and debilitating."Mr Ashby announced on Wednesday he would drop his legal action.That started in 2012 when he revealed lurid details of alleged sexual harassment by Mr Slipper, then the Labor government-appointed house speaker.His appointment was highly controversial as it had increased Labor's majority in the finely balanced parliament. At the height of the scandal, Mr Slipper stood down from the speaker job.In a scathing decision in 2012, Federal Court Justice Steven Rares threw out Mr Ashby's case, finding his main purpose was to pursue a political attack against Mr Slipper.However, the full bench of the Federal Court reversed that decision and the case was set to proceed on June 30.Mr Ashby said he was aware of reports Mr Slipper was mentally unwell and he did not want to continue lengthy proceedings that could cause further harm."After deep reflection and consultation with those close to me, I now have decided to seek leave to discontinue my Federal Court action against Peter Slipper," he said in a statement."This has been an intense and emotionally draining time for me and my family, taking its toll on us all."Mr Ashby also cited the potential costs, given the Abbott government had confirmed the Commonwealth continued to cover Mr Slipper's legal fees.He said this kind of "deep pocket litigation" was fundamentally unfair for an ordinary person seeking justice.Mr Slipper said the decision came as a complete surprise and it meant no court had ever found sexual harassment occurred."I very much regret that these horrendous allegations have meant that I was never able to complete my reform agenda for the House of Representatives," he said.However, Mr Slipper, 64, still faces three criminal charges relating to dishonest use of a taxpayer-funded Cabcharge card for trips to wineries near Canberra in 2010, before he became speaker.After failing in a Supreme Court bid to have those charges thrown out of court, he's now set to argue they should be dropped on grounds of his mental illness. That's listed for the ACT Magistrates Court for next Wednesday.

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Fish feel pain too: Expert

FISH have feelings and intelligence on a par with other animals and deserve better consideration of their welfare, according to a behavioural biologist at Australia's Macquarie University.

DR Culum Brown came to the conclusion after reviewing the scientific evidence on fish capabilities.

He found that fish have good memories, lived in social communities, co-operated, and learned from one another.They displayed behaviours normally seen in primates and were even able to build complex structures and use tools.While their brains differed from those of other vertebrates, they contained structures that performed similar functions seen in other animals.There was also mounting evidence that they felt pain in the same way humans do.Brown believes fish are just as likely to be sentient as other animals.He wrote in the journal Animal Cognition: "Although scientists cannot provide a definitive answer on the level of consciousness for any non-human vertebrate, the extensive evidence of fish behavioural and cognitive sophistication and pain perception suggests that best practice would be to lend fish the same level of protection as any other vertebrate."We should therefore include fish in our 'moral circle' and afford them the protection they deserve."People rarely thought about fish other than as food or pets, said Brown.He pointed out that fish were second only to mice in terms of the numbers used in scientific experiments.With more than 32,000 known species, fish far outweighed the diversity of all other vertebrates combined, he added.

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FedEx Q4 profit rises to $US730m

FEDEX says its quarterly profit rose as growth in online shopping gave its ground-shipping business a lift.

THE earnings of $US2.46 per share beat Wall Street's forecast by a dime. Revenue also topped expectations.

Its shares rose 4 per cent in premarket dealings before the opening bell.The package-delivery company said on Wednesday that it earned $US730 million ($A789.83 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended May 31, compared with $US303 million a year ago, when write-downs weighed on the results.Revenue rose 3.5 per cent to $US11.84 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $US11.66 billion.Revenue in the ground-shipping business grew 8 per cent, helped by gains in e-commerce. That helped offset slower growth in FedEx Express, which accounts for more than half the company's revenue.The Memphis-based company said that it would earn between $US8.50 and $US9 per share in the new fiscal year, which ends in May 2015. That is in line with analysts' average expectation of $US8.74.Last month, FedEx announced that it will start charging more for large but light packages that take up space in its delivery trucks and add to costs. That includes bulky products that consumers buy online instead of in stores. Rival United Parcel Service said on Tuesday that it would do the same by considering a bulky package's dimensions and not just its weight in setting prices for ground shipments.The results marked an improvement over FedEx's third quarter, when the company was slowed by winter storms that raised costs and cut into shipping volumes. They also indicated that that while e-commerce continues to boost the ground-shipping business, express-delivery remains virtually flat as customers shift to slower, cheaper services for international shipments.

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