RM Williams farms put under receivership

A PRIVATE carbon farming company run by former News Limited chief Ken Cowley has been placed into receivership.

RM Williams Agricultural Holdings, which owns carbon and cattle stations in Queensland and the Northern Territory, appointed insolvency firm PPB Advisory as administrators last week.

Mr Cowley, the Sydney-based company's chairman, is also the chief shareholder.

The receivership does not affect the well-known RM Williams fashion and boot retailer, which Mr Cowley also owns in partnership with private equity.

"These entities will continue to trade on a business as usual basis," PPB Advisory said in a statement.

PPB Advisory receiver Stephen Parbery said the administrators were "working closely and collaboratively with the board of RM Williams Agricultural Holdings to conduct a review of the business".

RM Williams Agricultural Holdings owns the 516,800 hectare Henbury carbon farm in the Northern Territory.

It also owns the Labelle Downs and Welltree stations in the Northern Territory, and the Mirage Plains and Inglewood Farms properties in Queensland.

RM Williams Agricultural Holdings, formed in May 2009, was named after the late Australian bush entrepreneur Reginald Murray Williams.

Mr Cowley, a former chairman and chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd, was a close friend of Mr Williams until his death in 2003.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gunpowder blast kills man in Qld

A MAN is dead and two others have been seriously injured after gunpowder exploded in far north Queensland.

Police say the men were believed to have been trying to dispose of expired gunpowder in a burn-off on a rural property west of Mareeba on Saturday morning.

It caused an explosion, killing a 58-year-old Cairns man and seriously injuring another 58-year-old man and a 33-year-old man.

One suffered chest injuries and the other had serious lacerations to his arm.

Police say the cause of the blast is not suspicious.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rudd could push for an early ETS

AS the dust settles after the Labor leadership spill, climate observers are wondering what the future holds for Australia's carbon price under a Rudd government.

The change in leadership - coupled with the departure of Climate Change Minister Greg Combet - has led to speculation Prime Minister Kevin Rudd might bring forward the start date for a floating carbon price.

Under Labor's clean energy laws, Australia's existing carbon pricing mechanism isn't due to transition to a market-based emissions trading scheme (ETS) until July 2015.

Until then carbon prices would remain fixed, currently at $23 per tonne of emissions but set to rise from Monday and once again in 2014.

Business has complained that Australian companies are slugged with a higher pollution impost than their competitors, and have lobbied for an early move to an ETS to drive down their carbon liability.

The Business Council of Australia on Thursday said bringing the carbon price into line with global prices - EU allowances have traded recently for around $6 - should be on the agenda for Mr Rudd.

Such a move would be attractive politically for Mr Rudd, who vowed upon taking the Labor leadership on Wednesday that his government would work closer with business.

Lower carbon prices would also flow through to consumers and diffuse the coalition's charge that Australia pays more than other nations for its emissions.

The Climate Institute's John Connor said there was "short-term appeal" to lower carbon prices, but it wasn't a long-term solution.

He urged Mr Rudd to use his new tenure to ramp up climate action in areas like renewable energy and preparing for the impacts of global warming.

When ousted as Labor leader in 2010, Mr Rudd said his efforts to introduce an ETS were among his proudest as prime minister.

Analysts have pointed to Mr Rudd's previous calls for a review of the fixed-price period and a faster transition to an ETS as a sign change could be on the way.

Carbon advisory firm RepuTex said the market would notice if Mr Combet - seen by many as the strongest advocate of Labor's carbon laws - wound up back on the frontbench but without the climate portfolio.

"A fresh face should be interpreted by the market as a stronger chance of a new policy," RepuTex's Hugh Grossman told AAP.

"If there is to be a policy change then certainly ... the early start and the early transition to a market price would be that logical step."

Labor MP Richard Marles told reporters on Thursday climate change was an area of passion for Mr Rudd, and an announcement in relation to this policy would likely be made in coming days.

Greens MP Adam Bandt hoped Mr Combet's departure wasn't a sign Mr Rudd was preparing a "backflip" on climate policy by watering down the carbon laws achieved under Julia Gillard.

Climate think tank Zero Emissions said Mr Rudd had form on climate policy, and urged him to take action to lock in the Renewable Energy Target introduced during his previous stint as prime minister.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Samsung puts curve in new televisions

SAMSUNG Electronics is rolling out a curved TV that uses an advanced display called OLED.

Samsung said on Thursday the 55-inch TV will sell for 15 million won (about $A14,000) in South Korea. That is more than five times expensive than LCD televisions of the same size.

The TV industry has been struggling to excite interest with new technologies.

Samsung is not the first to introduce a curved TV using OLED. In May, LG Electronics launched a 55-inch curved OLED TV in South Korea.

Samsung and LG are the only companies to begin sales of OLED TVs.

Mass producing OLED displays is difficult so prices are high.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man dead, another injured in Vic crash

POLICE continue to investigate a fatal crash in northern Victoria which has left one teenager dead and another seriously injured.

A Holden Commodore sedan was reportedly travelling westwards along the Toolamba-Rushworth Road, near Winter Road, Tatura when it veered off and crashed into a tree.

The 16-year old driver died at the scene, while the other occupant, also 16, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

A witness said he drove past the car at 3am (AEST), but did not check for any occupants until he saw it again at 5am.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

China furious at US spy's phone hack claim

Whistleblower Edward Snowden says the US is hacking Chinese mobile phone companies. Source: AAP

CHINA has attacked the United States as an espionage "villain" after former spy Edward Snowden raised new allegations about the far-reaching extent of US cyber-snooping against Chinese targets.

The official Xinhua news agency noted Washington was now pressing Hong Kong to extradite the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor after he turned up in the Chinese territory last month.

But the US government first owes the world an explanation, it said, as a prominent Hong Kong lawmaker noted the territory has the legal right to resist an extradition request made for political reasons.

In the latest revelations published by Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post, Snowden said the NSA was hacking Chinese mobile phone companies to gather data from millions of text messages.

He said US spies have also hacked the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing - home to one of six "network backbones" that route all of mainland China's internet traffic - and the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which operates one of the Asia-Pacific region's largest fibre-optic networks.

"These, along with previous allegations, are clearly troubling signs," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"They demonstrate that the United States, which has long been trying to play innocent as a victim of cyber attacks, has turned out to be the biggest villain in our age," it said.

The United States slapped an arrest warrant on Snowden on Friday, and White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said the charges "present a good case for extradition under the treaty, the extradition treaty between the United States and Hong Kong".

"Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case," he told CBS Radio News on Saturday.

There was no immediate comment from authorities in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, but the government and police have said that the law will take its course.

And that, experts say, could take months if not years if Snowden appeals against any extradition ruling by a Hong Kong court. Beijing, meanwhile, has the right ultimately to intervene.

Xinhua noted Washington had set the extradition process in train.

"But for other countries, Washington should come clean about its record first. It owes too an explanation to China and other countries it has allegedly spied on. It has to share with the world the range, extent and intent of its clandestine hacking programs," it said.

The Sunday Morning Post said that Snowden, who turned 30 on Friday, remained "safe" in Hong Kong and had not been detained by police after he was charged in the United States with theft and espionage.

Abandoning his well-paid job as an intelligence technician in Hawaii, Snowden came to Hong Kong on May 20 with a cache of documents detailing the reach of NSA operations around the world.

"The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese mobile phone companies to steal all of your SMS data," Snowden said in the Post interview, which the newspaper said was conducted on June 12 and released after it had scrutinised and clarified his claims.

His claims about Pacnet followed a report in the Guardian in which he claimed the British government's electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ had gained secret access to fibre-optic cables carrying global internet traffic and telephone calls, and was sharing the information with the NSA.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cadets suspended in defence scandal

A probe has been launched into alleged cadet misconduct from the Australian Defence Force Academy. Source: AAP

SEVEN Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) cadets have been suspended and more could follow for "drunken stupidity" around a Canberra nightspot.

Revealing the latest scandal, Vice Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin said defence had made clear that unacceptable conduct would not be tolerated but there was still a minority who "just don't get it".

Similarly, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, whose reviews following the 2011 ADFA "Skype" sex scandal form the basis of defence's efforts to reform its culture, acknowledged more work was needed.

"While cultural progress has been made, there is clearly much more to do," she said.

This latest episode comes a week after it was revealed a group of long-serving soldiers were under investigation for producing and distributing offensive material and imagery including filmed sex acts.

Air Marshal Binskin said the last episode involved male cadets and midshipmen (naval officer cadets) behaving "contrary to the values and standards expected of ADF members and our future leaders".

Seven have been suspended and others could follow.

"Enough is enough. People who exhibit unacceptable conduct need to understand their actions will have consequences and we will not tolerate what is alleged to have happened here," he said.

He provided scant details of the alleged misconduct.

However a defence source said male cadets mostly associated with the ADFA rugby team had engaged in "drunken stupidity" and "quasi-initiation" rituals in and around a Canberra nightspot.

"The point is there was no women, no sex and no violence," the source said.

Neither were police involved.

But it does not appear to have been a one-off event.

Air Marshal Binskin said it had been going on for "less than a year".

It came to light through the moral courage of a number of ADFA cadets who came forward to report it.

"So I actually think that is demonstrating a good culture which is developing in ADFA," he said.

After the 2011 ADFA "Skype scandal", when a male cadet filmed himself having sex with a female cadet and had the imagery streamed live to his mates in a nearby room, defence embarked on broad-ranging reforms.

Air Marshal Binskin said the ADF would not accept conduct that contradicts defence values.

"Individuals involved will be treated fairly but I and the rest of the Defence senior leadership will not apologise for the decisive actions we are taking in dealing with these matters."

Opposition defence personnel spokesman Stuart Robert said this raised some serious matters over the conduct of certain ADFA cadets and midshipmen.

"There is absolutely no place in the ADF for those personnel who continue to act in a manner contrary to the core values of the ADF and in the face of the reform already underway," he said in a statement.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Guard shoots Jew dead at Jerusalem wall

AN Israeli security guard has shot dead a Jewish visitor at Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, mistaking him for a Palestinian militant, police say.

"He for some reason shouted 'Allahu Akbar'," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP on Friday, referring to the Islamic phrase.

"A security guard drew his weapon and fired several shots at the suspect... He died from his wounds a few moments ago."

12.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

India monsoon floods kill 120 people

MILITARY helicopters have carried out emergency food drops for thousands of people stranded by flash flooding from early monsoon rains which have killed at least 120 people in northern India, officials say.

The states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have witnessed torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual since last week when the annual monsoon broke a fortnight ahead of schedule.

Thousands of houses have been swept away in the flash floods and authorities are using helicopters to evacuate people and drop essential food supplies.

"At least 110 people have died. The state government and the army are trying to rescue thousands of tourists who are stranded near the submerged valleys and Hindu shrines," said Jaspal Arya, the disaster relief minister of Uttarakhand on Wednesday.

Arya said portions of a Hindu temple were washed away on Tuesday and about 10,000 pilgrims were stranded.

"The Kedarnath temple is submerged in mud and slush. We just hope that it does not collapse," Arya told AFP.

Authorities have cancelled pilgrimage trips, fearing further rains and landslides in the state, often referred to as the "Land of the Gods" because of its many Hindu temples and Hindu religious sites.

Officials in Uttarakhand, the worst-hit state, said about 200 cars, two earthmoving equipment and even a parked helicopter had been swept away by floods.

The torrential rains began lashing the region on Saturday and local officials said 40 relief camps have been set up to provide food and water to locals and tourists.

On Tuesday, 250 people were rescued by air force helicopters from different parts of the state and many were moved to the relief camps.

"But many are still stuck and it could take us three more days to rescue all of them, Arya added.

According to Uttarakhand chief secretary Subash Kumar 21 bridges have collapsed in the state. "We have lost access to several villages across the state."

In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, flash floods destroyed more than 500 houses and government buildings and at least 10 people were killed in landslides.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bono enjoys lunch with Obama family

U2 singer Bono (pic) has shared lunch with US First Lady Michelle Obama at his favourite Dublin pub. Source: AAP

IRISH rocker Bono has enjoyed a very special lunch date after inviting US First Lady Michelle Obama to join him for lunch at his favourite local pub.

The U2 frontman and his wife Ali closed down Finnegan's of Dalkey in his native Dublin for the private event as Obama and her two daughters, Sasha and Malia, arrived for the meal, but they weren't alone - around 60 other guests were also in attendance for the luncheon.

Dishes on the menu included fish and chips, cottage pie and smoked bacon, and the owners of the family-run pub even made an extra effort to make the Obamas feel at home by hanging an American flag above the main entrance.

Addressing the high-profile lunch meeting, Bono says, "We talked about everything and nothing. It was a family lunch."

US President Barack Obama was not in attendance at the meal as he was meeting with world leaders at the G8 summit in neighbouring Northern Ireland.

13.00 | 0 komentar | Read More