Sydney siege triggers security review

Tony Abbott will urgently review how a lone gunman known to authorities was able to take hostages. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott will urgently review how a lone gunman known to federal police and ASIO was able to take hostages in a Sydney cafe.

SELF-PROCLAIMED cleric Man Haron Monis and two of his hostages died at the end of a 16-hour siege in Sydney's CBD, in the Lindt cafe before dawn on Tuesday.

Monis was bailed last year in NSW on an accessory-to-murder charge and was also facing a series of indecent and sexual assault charges.He had also threatened the families of dead Australian soldiers and publicly challenged Mr Abbott to a debate over the merits of the Afghanistan war.The prime minister said the national security committee of cabinet was seeking answers to questions on the minds of all Australians, as the tragedy echoed around the world."How can someone who has had such a long and chequered history not be on the appropriate watch lists and how can someone like that be entirely at large in the community?" Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney."These are questions that we need to look at carefully and calmly and methodically, to learn the right lessons, and to act upon them."Mr Abbott said agencies and the government had been responding effectively since terrorists began threatening acts of random violence against Australians.But had the "sick and disturbed" individual behind the siege been on a watchlist it was still possible the incident could have occurred."The level of control that would be necessary to prevent people from going about their daily life, would be very, very high indeed."Government MPs have questioned why Monis was not already in jail.Liberal MP Alex Hawke wrote on Twitter: "We must also ask our judicial system why a known criminal who hated our country was not in prison."Mr Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten laid flowers at a makeshift memorial in Martin Place on Tuesday.Mr Shorten joined the prime minister in expressing the heartfelt condolences of the nation."There is still a lot to learn about why this happened and indeed what happened. We need to also learn how we can ensure that this doesn't happen again," he said.Australia's intelligence partners have been working with agencies such as ASIO to get a more detailed picture of how the incident occurred."It's a reminder, albeit on the other side of the world but a country very close to all our hearts, of the threat we face from Islamist extremist terror," British PM David Cameron said.Former FBI counter-terrorism analyst Matthew Levitt said it appeared to be more a case of "lone offender violence" than an act of terrorism.Despite Monis being known to authorities it would not have been possible to keep tabs on him."Outside of the movies, in the real world no law enforcement agency, not locals, not AFP, not FBI, has the resources to track everybody who's of any interest whatsoever 24/7," Mr Levitt said.ASIO and AFP officials will appear at a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss the third tranche of anti-terrorism laws, dealing with mandatory data retention.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bolivia cracks down on overweight soldiers

Bolivia's military and police have begun making a count of overweight members in their ranks. Source: AAP

BOLIVIA'S military and police have begun making a count of overweight members in the ranks after President Evo Morales complained that too many soldiers and cops are out of shape.

MILITARY sources quoted La Razon newspaper said the census will be compiled using data from promotion exams and that the plan aims to help overweight officers and soldiers get fit.

Defence Minister Ruben Saavedra said earlier this week that overweight members of the armed forces will not be allowed to don military uniforms until they shape up."They must be prepared both on the intellectual and the physical level," he said.Bolivia's national police announced similar steps.On December 2, Morales suggested that soldiers and officers who neglect their physical fitness should not be promoted, insisting that staying in good shape is a "responsibility" for members of the security forces.Among its goals, Morales said, the army should aim to nurture athletes capable of representing Bolivia in international competitions.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Father says sorry for daughter's nut rage

The chairman of Korean Air, Cho Yang-ho has apologised for his adult daughter's mid-air nut rage. Source: AAP

THE chairman of Korean Air Lines has apologised for the behaviour of his adult daughter who delayed a flight in an incident dubbed "nut rage".

CHO Yang-ho made a deep bow before journalists in response to simmering public anger over his daughter's brattish behaviour.

Cho Hyun-ah, who was head of cabin service at Korean Air, was angered when a flight attendant in first class offered her macadamia nuts in a bag, not on a plate.She ordered a senior crew member off the plane, forcing it to return to the gate at John F Kennedy airport in New York City.Cho Yang-ho called his daughter's behaviour foolish and says he regrets he didn't raise her better."It's my fault," he said of the December 5 incident. "As chairman and father, I ask for the public's generous forgiveness."Her actions caused uproar in South Korea and abroad.South Korean media called the 40-year-old a princess and some Koreans said she was an international embarrassment to her country.Korean Air Lines had earlier excused her behaviour even as it apologised for inconveniencing passengers.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Perth Zoo animals beat the heat

MOUSE, blood and chicken flavoured popsicles were on the menu at Perth Zoo to keep the dingoes cool with the city's first hot day of summer.

FEMALE Mirri and male Daku munched on the ice blocks dished out by their dedicated carers Stephen Catwell and Kristy Eriksen as the temperature reached 35C.

The frozen food helps keep them hydrated, but is also a novelty and gets the dingoes thinking about the best way to eat it."Curiosity is important for any creature," a spokeswoman said."As part of our environmental enrichment program, we constantly provide different opportunities for the animals such as food puzzles, introducing different scents or faeces and branches from other exhibits to arouse their interest."With a burst of warm weather, we just added a summer spin to it."She said creating food ice blocks for pets at home was a good idea during summer heat.Not to be outdone, Perth Zoo's bull Asian Elephant Putra Mas enjoyed a splash in his pool and a wallow in cool mud.He turns 25 on Monday and visitors are encouraged to join in his birthday celebrations at 10am when he will be gifted a frozen bran cake studded with fruity treats.

22.35 | 0 komentar | Read More

120 arrests at Melbourne music festival

SNIFFER dogs have caught 120 people with drugs at the two-day Stereosonic music festival in Melbourne.

POLICE say among those arrested at the Melbourne Showgrounds, two were charged with drug trafficking.

A 22-year-old North Rosebud man was charged with trafficking and possessing ecstasy while a 21-year-old Highett man was charged with trafficking and possessing MDMA.Nine people were cautioned and 102 were given diversions.Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Pilkington says it's concerning that despite warnings people are still doing the wrong thing."At the end of the day, as a user, you really have no idea what you are putting in your body, and you have no idea what it will do to you," he said.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pell finds million off Vatican's books

Cardinal Pell, the Vatican's economy tsar has said he wants the Holy See to be boringly successful. Source: AAP

THE Vatican has found hundreds of millions of euros during an overhaul of the system aimed at transforming the once-murky institution into a paradigm of transparency.

"WE have discovered that the (Vatican's financial) situation is much healthier than it seemed," the pope's economy czar, Australian cardinal George Pell, told Britain's Catholic Herald.

"Some hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet," he said in an essay published on Thursday which set out to explain how the papal bank, dogged by accusations of corruption, is cleaning up its act.Pell, picked by Pope Francis to head up the Secretariat for the Economy and oversee the reforms, spoke frankly about the Vatican's former practice of secrecy and allegations of money laundering which dogged the bank for decades.The bank was the main shareholder of the Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in 1982 amid accusations of ties to the Mafia, while its chairman Roberto Calvi - dubbed "God's Banker" - was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London in a suspected murder by mobsters.He also spoke of the "almost unanimous consensus among the cardinals" during the conclave which elected Francis last year that the bank needed to be brought into line with international standards.The reforms are now "well under way and already past the point where it would be possible to return to the 'bad old days'. Much remains to be done but the primary structural reforms are in place," he said.The cardinal, 73, said the changes were "designed to make all Vatican financial agencies boringly successful."He also admitted the Vatican was "not broke", saying it was "paying its way, while possessing substantial assets and investments".After a campaign to weed out suspect accounts at the bank, he said the Vatican was guarded against criminal infiltrations and was determined to invest donations "efficiently and honestly".The centuries-old institution was perceived by some as "an old noble family sliding towards bankruptcy... incompetent, extravagant and easy pickings for thieves. Already this misapprehension is dissolving," he said.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chance of clemency for Bali Nine pair slim

The Indonesian president has ruled out clemency for drug traffickers sentenced to death. Source: AAP

IN a blow for the two members of the Bali Nine who are on death row in Bali, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ruled out granting clemency to convicted drug traffickers sentenced to death.

THE sentences should be carried out for convicts who have exhausted all avenues for appeals, said Tedjo Edy Purdijatno, the co-ordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, the Media Indonesia newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"They can control drug transactions from inside their cells," Tedjo was quoted as saying. "This has to stop."Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly said Joko had ordered authorities to take "strong and firm action" against drug traffickers, according to Media Indonesia."Because it [the drug problem] is a national emergency," he said.The justice minister said 68 people were currently on death row for drug offences.Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have had a clemency request before the president for more than two years.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan quarantines possible Ebola victim

PAKISTANI health officials have hospitalised a man suspected of being infected with the Ebola virus after he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Liberia.

THE 47-year-old passenger was in frail condition, and was handed over to health officials under screening laws relating to passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries, an airport official said.

"The suspect had some symptoms of Ebola and after initial medical assessment he was sent to a hospital," the official said.Private Dunya TV reported that the man was taken to state-run Jinnah hospital and put in an isolation ward prepared to deal with Ebola patients.Blood samples of the patient were being analysed.If confirmed, he would be the first case of Ebola in Pakistan.Last week, a man suspected of carrying the virus was later found to be in the terminal stage of hepatitis C, coupled with dengue fever.He died in a hospital in the eastern city of Faisalabad.Ebola has infected more than 15,000 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

'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.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pope decries 'unimaginable' Middle East

APPEALING for the protection of Christians in the Middle East, Pope Francis said it was "unimaginable" that they could be driven out of the region after 2000 years.

"WE cannot be resigned to imagining a Middle East without Christians," Francis said on Monday at a special meeting of cardinals, known as the consistory.

While the number of Christians has been dwindling throughout the Middle East, recently there has been an exodus of the minority community from Iraq and Syria following the steady advance of the Islamic State extremist group."The latest developments, especially in Iraq and Syria, are very worrying," Francis said. "We are looking at a terrorist phenomenon of previously unimaginable dimensions."He described it as an "unjust situation" that requires not only constant prayers, but also an adequate response from the international community.Earlier this month, an Iraqi Christian politician spoke at the Italian parliament in Rome of the fate of non-Muslim minorities in Iraq."Yezidis have faced genocide, while Christians have faced ethnic cleansing," Hadaya Anwar, a member of the provincial council of Niniveh, in northern Iraq, told a press conference.Anwar said that 120,000 to 130,000 Iraqi Christians have fled to Kurdish areas not controlled by the Islamic State since early August. In addition, some 30,000 have left the country, he said."Us Christians in Iraq have always been the victims of attacks, it's not news, it has been happening for 1400 years," Anwar said. "But today we are the target of the most ferocious aggression that we have seen in the history of Mesopotamia."Francis is expected to return to the issue of Christian minorities in the Middle East when he visits Turkey in late November.

22.34 | 0 komentar | Read More