Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from April 2004

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from April 2004

No place like home for Gunners, and they want it to continue.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Their Australian Basketball Association season is only five games old, but the Canberra Gunners have set an ambitious goal to remain unbeaten at their ''real home'' - Belconnen Basketball Stadium. The Gunners...

Beer drinkers work up a premium thirst.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Australian breweries are turning to the premium end of the market as beer drinkers opt for more expensive beverages. Beer giants Carlton and United Breweries and family run South Australian company Coopers, who...

Dollars for agricultural research are an investment for peace.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) I F ASIA is to alleviate rural poverty and quell the instability it causes, publicly funded rice research needs revitalised donor support. Terrorism and instability are taking hold in parts of Asia. Unrest in...

Brigades to share radio frequencies under deal.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) ACT and NSW volunteer bushfire brigades will be able to use each others' radio frequencies under a new deal being brokered by authorities in each jurisdiction. They are also pursuing new laws which will give...

Is our pursuit of material rewards at expense of deeper satisfaction?
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Do families still matter? Is our pursuit of economic growth and material reward occurring at the expense of deeper satisfactions such as family life? What does the future hold in regards to the nature of families and...

Nurse case highlights need for criminal trial reform.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) Muscle-relaxant slaying Former male nurse Daisuke Mori was sentenced Tuesday to life imprisonment for the murder of an elderly patient and attempting to murder four others at a clinic in...

Intimidation is sometimes relative, says Hindmarsh.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Parramatta second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh may terrorise most teams but he holds few fears for his older brother, Ian, when the pair clash for the first time in this Saturday's Raiders-Eels match at Canberra Stadium....

Gai hopes her boy can end filly folly in the Slipper.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Fillies have dominated the last four Golden Slippers but Gai Waterhouse rates time and not gender the key to Saturday's $3million showpiece. Debate has raged over whether the 3kg pull fillies receive from colts...

World record but no Athens yet.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Libby Lenton joined two of the greats of Australian swimming by shattering the world 100m freestyle record last night, but still hasn't made the Olympic team. Lenton drowned Dutch Olympic champion Inge de Bruijn's...

A lesson from Lleyton mixed with Rafter's manners inspires feeling on clay.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) There was plenty of feeling in yesterday's second-round match between Australian Peter Luczak and Switzerland's Michael Lammer at the Australian Men's Claycourt Championship at Lyneham. It might not have been...

Crusaders' confidence back: Deans.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has called on his team to produce a similar defensive effort to the one which blunted the ACT Brumbies' attack in 2003. In the final round of last year's Super 12, Deans...

Key to keeping young players is development off and on the field.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) There has been a lot of debate over the preseason about which club has the best list of youngsters. The Cats came out and said they did with the likes of Gary Ablett junior and Cameron Ling. Others suggest St...

Kidd gloves pack a punch as he weathers storms.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) He is the runt of the Australian Institute of Sport's boxing litter, but his training partners know better than to underestimate the skinny kid with the ''heart of a lion''. Todd Kidd, 18, was the unexpected star...

Don't write off the Storm yet - it's set to bounce right back.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) The ACT A-Grade softball grand final between the Storm and the Boomerangs is far from a one horse race. With the Storm having struggled to win a game since it lost its star pitcher Rhonda Denbow at Christmas some...

A good start is not enough, it's the end that counts.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) It's been a good start for the University of Canberra Hockey Club this year, with a 4-0 win in the first round and a 7-0 win in the second. But new coach Russell Cornish is more interested in the big picture. ...

Persuasive Jacko gets her man.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) After being wined and dined by the world's best player, Lauren Jackson, the Capitals' last championship-winning coach Tom Maher would like to return to the helm of Canberra's Women's National Basketball League team...

Boy from Cooma gets on the A list.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) What do Mark Viduka, Hayden Foxe and ex-Socceroo captain Paul Okon have in common with a 19-year-old boy from Cooma? You would think not much. But by winning the National Youth League Northern Division...

Devilish battle coming up.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) The Belconnen Blue Devils might have a week off from the NSW Premier League but that does not mean they can rest. The Blue Devils will play host on Saturday night to fellow Premier League club Sydney Crescent Star...

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS AND ACTTAB DIVIDENDS.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) WARWICK FARM TRACK GOOD 1. READING HCP 1100m: 12.00 GYPSY HONOUR (N Moraitis's ch g 2y Covetous - Frisky Gypsy. Trainer: Kevin Moses) 53 (J A Cassidy) 1, 2.40 fav ABOVE DECK 56.5 (C W Brown) 2, 11.00 MAGIC PINS 55.5...

DISTRICT ACCEPTANCES AND WEIGHTS.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) CANBERRA WEIGHTS Tomorrow 1. MAIDEN PLATE 1600m: Apostasy (3), Cafu (8) 57.5; Minoa (5), Stay All Night (2) 57; Damah Gem (4), Mila Gleam (7) 55.5; Busking (10), Colour Therapy (1), La Romana (9), Rexter (6) 55. ...

In For Life still favourite despite horror box draw.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Cranebrook veterinarian Tom Astbury may find his hobby provides for a nice pay rise this weekend after his three greyhounds won the box draw battle for Sunday's Capital Classic (530m) at Narrabundah. A horror box...

Forget chocolate, south coast offers dishy fish for Easter.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) With good tides, plenty of fish reports and the promise of good weather, Easter is looking to be one of the more outstanding fishing opportunities for the year. It's only a week away. Two of us fished along the...

Regional exporters leading the way.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Exporter numbers in regional Australia are growing at three times the rate of their metropolitan counterparts, according to research by Austrade.The Government agency, which helps Australian companies to reduce the...

SCOREBOARD.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) here ACT ATHLETICS at AIS Athletics Track March 20 - Female, 100m: Jessie Pritchard SCT 12.55 U18, Amy McIlrick NCG 12.72 U16, Ashleigh Lascelles NCG 13.19 U18. 200m: Jessie Pritchard SCT 25.94 U18. 800m: Lisa...

Macquarie booming in deregulated market.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Macquarie Corporate Telecommunications opened its new office in Canberra yesterday as the company continues to expand its business in the ACT and push for government contracts. Speaking at the opening of...

FRIDGE DOOR.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) All information for Fridge Door must be on the proper form. RECYCLING: Recycling bins will be emptied in BARTON, DEAKIN, DUNTROON, FORREST, FYSHWICK, GARRAN, GRIFFITH, HARMAN, HUGHES, ISAACS, KINGSTON,...

Outlook for PNG remains bleak without reforms.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) T HE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund has propped up many incompetent governments by sanguine reports. Amazingly, it always finds its clients on the verge of improvement. When its hopes do not come about, it throws...

Canberra is still an abnormal city, but for how much longer?
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) O NE OF the things we like to do when a biologist visits from the United States, or from Mexico, or Europe, is take them to an eagle's nest inside the city limits. We struggle up a hill somewhere, through forest, and...

Lack of an exit strategy not in our best interest.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) S MOKE and mirrors are standard tools of politics. But in the politics of national security they seem to predominate. Few Australians would have been able to see anything solid in the controversy of last week that...

Mental health: a step in the right direction.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) WE ARE the parents of Andrew Wood, who committed suicide in the ACT on June 24 last year. Our story has been featured in recent articles by The Canberra Times about the mental health crisis in the ACT. Like...

A tax hike will deliver the services we need.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) IN THIS election year, some parties and candidates insist in offering tax-cuts. I for one, do not want tax cuts. I want tax increases. I do not want tax money spent in sending Australian soldiers to the other...

ATSIC flaws at a political level.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) T HAT LABOR'S announcement that it would, in Government, abolish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, has seemed inevitable and sensible speaks volumes for the way in which ATSIC has conducted itself...

TIMESPAST.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) From The Canberra Times 50 and 25 years ago: April 1, 1954: Two Japanese fishing boats operating hundreds of miles outside the atomic test danger zone in the Pacific are contaminated with radioactive dust from US...

All stops out in UK's biggest anti-terrorist operation.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) I T WAS in February that eight young British citizens living in and around London first became the focus of what would turn into MI5's biggest operation against suspected el- Qaeda terrorists. Over the next six...

Distinguished life ends after 2869 'Letters from America' OBITUARY.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) A LISTAIR COOKE delivered his last Letter from America after 58 years on Friday, February 20, (repeated, as ever, on Saturday and Sunday) and, having unusually missed the following week through illness, retired only...

Terrorists' explosive of choice has killed hundreds.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) I T WAS used in the Bali bombings in 2002, the bombings last November of British targets in Turkey, the World Trade Centre bombing in 1993 and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Ammonium nitrate - the compound...

ANSWERS.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) 1. True. Mauna Kea is 4205 metres above sea level, compared with Mount Kosciuszko which is 2228 metres above sea level. 2. A painful inflammation commonly of the big toe and foot caused by a build-up of uric acid in...

DATA.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) FELLOWS FIVE: Canberrans make up a quarter of the 20 new Fellows elected by the Australian Academy of Science. The locals to win the esteem of their peers are Professors Martin Banwell and Christopher Easton, of...

It's better to bat second, study finds.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) T HE COMMON wisdom that it's better to bat first if you win the toss in Test cricket has been debunked by a new statistical analysis. Sports statistician Professor Stephen Clarke and PhD student Paul Allsopp, of...

Nuclear researchers set for a change reaction.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) A S AUSTRALIA'S new research reactor project moves toward its planned 2006 commissioning, the International Atomic Energy Agency says the future of research reactors is radically changing. In the next 15 years the...

Has Cong called it a day in state?
April 1, 2004... (From The Times of India) Byline: Leena Misra AHMEDABAD: When Sonia Gandhi launched her roadshow in Gujarat earlier this month, several 'young' Congressmen who followed the cavalcade, refused to even get out of their air-conditioned...

Bit of magic comes to school as much-loved story turns 21.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) It was celebrations all round when two of Australia's best-known children's literary characters turned 21 on Tuesday. The young and the old turned out for Weetangera Primary's Possum Magic birthday party, one of...

Handyman Cam builds foundation for serious laughs.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) If laughter is the best medicine then smiling is the best way of raising funds to cheer people up, according to the Humour Foundation. Today is Australia's first Smile Day and foundation spokesman Scott Cam said...

Suspended sentence over attack on guard.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) A Mongolian student who admitted assaulting a guard who was stabbed during an attack by a group of men at the Southern Cross Club in Woden in February was given a six- month suspended jail sentence in the ACT...

Corbell hails success of surgery service.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) About 1000 patients had operations at ACT public hospitals earlier than planned since elective surgery coordinators were introduced, Health Minister Simon Corbell said. The service was set up two years ago to...

Aussie Son of Star Wars would not be full shield.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Australia's involvement in America's Son of Star Wars program would not protect the country from all forms of missile attack, the Defence Force said. A Defence submission to a parliamentary inquiry into...

Aust intelligence lagging: claim.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) America believes Australia is not providing its fair share of intelligence, a parliamentary committee has been told. However, Defence Strategy Deputy Secretary Shane Carmody rejected the claims of University of...

New team in grassroots republic push.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) An aspirational young Ross Mooney became a republican when he was gutted after his first vote was effectively thrown out in the Whitlam dismissal, and 81-year-old Dorothy Collings vows she will live to see an...

U-Turn sparks metamorphosis as teens find their artistic wings.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) With butterflies and poetic words, Canberra's young people have emerged from their cocoons to tentatively express themselves as part of National Youth Week celebrations. For the past four weeks, Belconnen...

Heritage Festival to open with a look at old Ainslie gardens.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) It is out with the new and in with the old for the next two weeks, as Canberra's Heritage Festival kicks off today. To start off the festivities, Canberrans are invited to explore the historic Corroboree Park precinct...

The right music mix makes radio history.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Radio history was made this week when FM station MiX106.3 toppled FM104.7 as the city's most popular radio station. Attracting 20.4 per cent of the listening audience across all sessions in the latest radio...

Over 10,000 attend farmer's funeral.
April 1, 2004... (From The Times of India) Byline: Yudhvir Rana BAKIPUR (Tarn Taran): A pall of gloom descended on Bakipur, the native village of Angrej Singh who lost his life after the police opened fire to disperse agitating farmers at Manawala...

Clinics no cure for full wards.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Free GP clinics at public hospitals were unlikely to ease overcrowding in casualty departments, according to Australasian College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. ...

Uni fee rises spark national protests.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Students in cities across Australia attended rallies yesterday to protest against the Federal Government's higher education policies and fee increases at universities. More than 100 people attended a peaceful...

ACT urges student payments review.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) ACT students were living in debt and below the poverty line because the Federal Government's welfare payments were inadequate and too hard to attain, the ACT Legislative Assembly said yesterday. After a motion put...

No punches pulled as students grill minister.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Young people quizzed yesterday Federal Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Larry Anthony about everything from GST on condoms, to graphic TV ads on abortion to youth wages. At the first Talkback Classroom session...

Stanhope backs away from blame.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has refused to repeat his promise to resign if an independent authority found any individual should accept responsibility for the January 2003 bushfires and leave their own position....

No place like home as Govt offers rebuilding help.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) A retired builder and architect will be employed by the ACT Government to help people trying to rebuild their homes after they were destroyed in the January 18 firestorm nearly 15 months ago. The appointments come...

Claim ACT losing out over seats.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Canberra voters get the worst deal in Australia, federal Parliament was told yesterday. Labor's Bob McMullan made the claim as he said the Northern Territory had two federal seats with fewer voters than in his...

No time to be idle as star search hits Canberra.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Canberra could be hiding the next Australian Idol with auditions for the second series of the hit show being held in the national capital later this month. Grundy Television and Network Ten are conducting auditions...

Wrong reasons for a caesarean section.
April 1, 2004... (From The Times of India) Byline: Mrityunjay Ram HYDERABAD: Caesarean operations are on a rise in the city. So much so that, they now exceeded the levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. While the WHO recommends that...

Environment report simplistic: Stanhope.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) The State of the Environment report ignored all of the work done by the ACT Government in creating a more sustainable society, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said yesterday. Mr Stanhope said while the report was a...

Little by little lazy planning is killing our bushland: expert.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Canberra's bushland is suffering a death of a thousand cuts and urban land clearing is threatening the ACT's ecological integrity says one of Australia's leading experts on biodiversity conservation. Dr Denis...

John James, AFP nominated for work and family awards.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) In his six years at John James Memorial Hospital, Darren Leseberg has taken full advantage of flexible work practices. He's had three stints of paternity leave, and worked part time, after hours and at weekends....

Working or not, all mums deserve helping hand.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Kylie Harvey likes the idea that both working and stay- at-home mothers would be eligible for Labor's baby care payment. ''Even if you've gone back to work, it can still be a hard time financially,'' Mrs Harvey said....

Parties vie for school.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) The ACT Government was aware of six parties interested in buying the cash-strapped Australian Hotel School, a spokesman for Business Minister Ted Quinlan said yesterday. ''There are several options and they are...

Air marshal ends Canberra mission proudly.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) David Evans stepped down as chairman of the National Capital Authority after four consecutive two-year terms, yesterday and said he believed he left the national areas of Canberra in better shape than when he had...

Labor plan to strip back NCA powers.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) A Federal Labor government would strip back the National Capital Authority's ''aggravating'' planning powers, effectively confining it to the Parliamentary Triangle - and slash its budget by 40 per cent. ...

Labor proposes $2.2b baby-care payment scheme.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Australian mothers would eventually get the equivalent of 14 weeks' pay for every new child under Labor's $2.2billion Baby Care Payment proposal announced yesterday. Opposition Leader Mark Latham said the...

Dunne facing censure over markets flyers.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne is likely to face censure by the Legislative Assembly this morning over her distribution of flyers at the Belconnen Markets promoting the construction of an Aldi supermarket.Labor Caucus will...

LOTTERIES.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) $2 Jackpot Lottery draw 8091: First, $100,000, No, 54021; second, $10,000, No, 169847; third, $5000, No, 49388. The jackpot prize $6,500,000 of was not won. Tatts 2: 31, 36. Division 1 dividend: $649. Tatts Keno:...

Mental-health system fails youth: magistrate.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) There was nowhere but Quamby detention centre to send a Canberra boy who lit a fire a week after the devastating 2003 firestorm and who the justice and mental-health systems had failed, Magistrate Elizabeth Symons...

Big water users facing steep bills.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Canberra's high water users face price increases of up to 28 per cent from July 1 while low- end users will see their bills fall by as much as 40 per cent. Price increases for water and wastewater services...

Meenaxi : A tale of three 'ceetees'.
April 1, 2004... (From The Times of India) The claps, whistles and high fives began before the film did. At a private screening of M.F Husain's magnificent Meenaxi, the mood was upbeat from the word go. Husain himself was the first to applaud as the titles...

Parliament has sport with humble functionaries.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Yesterday's vituperative debate was held where Question Time used to be - and raised a whole lot of questions of its own. Is it right and proper to reveal the substance of conversations with the Deputy Secretary...

ACT total fire ban for today.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Today is a day of total fire ban in the ACT. The ban is in place until midnight tonight. The restriction is based on current weather forecasts and may be extended. The department of Urban Services...

Latham uses spy brief to defuse attack.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Labor Leader Mark Latham was accused yesterday of inventing intelligence briefings to back his policy of withdrawing troops from Iraq as the Coalition launched a strong attack on his integrity. However, Mr Latham...

Road on hold after court win.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Planning Minister Simon Corbell has vowed the Gungahlin Drive Extension will go ahead, despite a decision in the Supreme Court yesterday which could set the project back months and cost the Government hundreds of...

Labor plans to curb NCA.
April 1, 2004... (From Canberra Times) Federal Labor plans to strip back the National Capital Authority's planning powers if it wins government, effectively confining it to the Parliamentary Triangle. Opposition Leader Mark Latham revealed yesterday...

Following tragedy, developer may remove revolving doors.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) The Asahi Shimbun Citing safety concerns, the president of the real estate developer Mitsubishi Estate Co. said Tuesday his firm will consider removing all revolving doors from its...

Officials passed by in agency hirings.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) Koizumi meets private-sector appointments goals for now. The Asahi Shimbun Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's goal to reduce the number of senior bureaucrats filling the ranks at...

Farm boss held for ignoring bird flu.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) The Asahi Shimbun KYOTO-Police on Wednesday night arrested a poultry producer who they believe tried to conceal a massive outbreak of avian flu that spread to rival businesses Hideaki...

Tanaka article injunction lifted.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) Though an invasion of privacy, the high court rules the story did not warrant prior restraint. The Asahi Shimbun and wire reports Calling freedom of expression the most important right in...

Prison guard found guilty of abusing inmates.
April 1, 2004... (From International Herald Tribune (Herald Asahi)) But a suspended sentence will keep him from spending any time behind bars. The Asahi Shimbun NAGOYA-A senior prison guard was found guilty Wednesday of involvement in the death of an inmate...