AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Feb 15

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2008
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Feb 15
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


Timor Aust (CANBERRA)

Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD will visit Dili today .. in a show of support following the
attempted assassinations on East Timor's leadership.

He says the trip is designed to send a clear message to all in East Timor .. that Australia
is a rock solid supporter of the democratically-elected government.

The day trip comes in the wake of rebel attacks on East Timorese President JOSE RAMOS-HORTA
and Prime Minister XANANA GUSMAO.

RAMOS-HORTA is currently in a serious but stable condition in Royal Darwin Hospital
.. while Mr GUSMAO was unhurt.

Australia has already sent extra troops and police to East Timor .. and Mr RUDD is
visiting the nation at the request of Mr GUSMAO.



Wages (CANBERRA)

Federal politicians will tighten their belts .. as households feel the squeeze from
higher mortgage payments .. grocery prices .. and fuel costs.

MPs and senators will take a pay cut this year .. after Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD ordered
a freeze on any salary increase for 18 months.

Mr RUDD wants politicians to lead by example .. to help rein in inflation and take
the pressure off interest rates.

Deputy Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD .. who will lose as much as 17-thousand dollars
from her salary .. will take the proposal to the Remuneration Tribunal before it makes
its next ruling in July.



Sorry Vic Compo (MELBOURNE)

A day after Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD'S historic apology .. a man plans to sue the
state government .. in Victoria's first stolen generation claim.

Forty-four-year-old Reservoir man NEVILLE AUSTIN will launch Victoria's first stolen
generation claim .. which could trigger legal action by indigenous people around Australia.

News Limited newspapers report Mr AUSTIN saying he was taken from his mother in 1964
.. aged five-months-old .. after he was admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital with
a chest infection.

News Ltd says he lived in foster homes and orphanages .. where he was ostracised for
the colour of his skin.

His solicitors have briefed barrister JACK RUSH, QC, .. who was part of the legal team
that won a four billion dollar payout from James Hardie Industries for former workers
exposed to lethal doses of asbestos.



Indon Drugs (DENPASAR)

An Australian student's been arrested in Bali for alleged drug possession.

Denpasar Police drug squad head GDE ASTAWA says the 23-year-old was arrested in north
Kuta on Tuesday afternoon .. after he was found with 0.3g of methamphetamine.

The Sri Lankan born Australian citizen .. known only by his initials AS .. is in police
custody in Denpasar .. and faces a maximum five years jail if convicted.



Mitsubishi (ADELAIDE)

Special services will be set up at the Mitsubishi car assembly plant in Adelaide next
week .. to help almost a thousand workers find new jobs.

The Tonsley Park plant will close at the end of March .. with all the company's assembly
staff to be made redundant.

South Australian Employment Minister PAUL CAICA says from Monday .. workers will be
provided with a tailored service to help them move into new positions.



Weather Qld (BRISBANE)

The results of a post mortem examination are likely to be known today .. following
the death of a mother who collapsed and died after saving her six-month-old son from raging
floodwaters in central Queensland yesterday.

Police say 36-year-old KELLY JOANNE BOCK and her husband were travelling north from
their home in Miles .. in southern Queensland .. when they encountered flash-flooding
on the Capricorn Highway at Gogango .. west of Rockhampton.

The car aquaplaned on the flooded roadway before it came to rest in the overflowing
Gogango Creek about 8.40 (AEST) Wednesday evening.

Inspector DARREN SOMERVILLE from Rockhampton police says the 36-year-old father made
it out of floodwaters with their two-year-old son .. but his wife was dragged by the water
and was forced to cling to a tree with the baby in her arms.

She collapsed and died not long after rescuers pulled her and the baby from the water.



Meanwhile .. more flooding is expected in Queensland today as a monsoonal trough moves north.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the trough will move slowly to be around Proserpine
and the Whitsundays today .. bringing with it up to 200mm of rain.



Child (BRISBANE)

A mother .. found guilty of raping her daughter .. will be sentenced in Brisbane District
Court today.

A jury yesterday found the 41-year-old woman guilty of raping her eight-year-old daughter
at her home at Donnybrook .. north of Brisbane .. between November 2005 and February 2006.

The mother had pleaded NOT guilty.



BRIEFLY IN OTHER NEWS:



Sydney's water storage has passed two-thirds of its capacity and is nearing a six-year
high .. after more than two months of regular rainfall.




An adult cane toad has been found in a home in Adelaide .. but authorities say the
toad is most likely a stowaway .. and not an indication the pests have successfully migrated
to South Australia.




Elective surgery will be cancelled .. and some outpatient clinics closed today .. as
hundreds of Victorian medical scientists go on strike.




Queensland Premier ANNA BLIGH will meet with the mayors of 19 indigenous communities
in Cairns today .. as part of a new push to tackle alcohol abuse.



IN FINANCE:


Canada Moly (TORONTO)

Moly Mines Ltd says it's awarded a $A1.1 billion earth-moving contract for its Spinifex
Ridge Molybdenum Project to Macmahon Holdings Ltd.

The miner says the seven-year contract is a significant step forward in developing
the mine in Australia .. which will produce more than 180 million cubic metres of material
.. and employ about 270 workers over that time.



AND IN SPORT:


TRI AUST (PERTH)

ADAM GILCHRIST will play his last match on his home ground when Australia meet Sri
Lanka in a one-day tri series match at the WACA today.

Allrounder JAMES HOPES and spinner BRAD HOGG have been reinstated into the Australian
side at the expense of paceman STUART CLARK and GILCHRIST'S probable long-term replacement
BRAD HADDIN.



CRICKET AUST PAKISTAN (MELBOURNE)

Cricket Australia and its players have admitted to concerns over touring Pakistan next
month because of security fears, but the two organisations want to wait until after Pakistan's
elections -- scheduled for Monday -- before assessing the situation again.



CRICKET IPL (MELBOURNE)

Australian captain RICKY PONTING fears the Indian Premier League could drain world
cricket of experienced players unless the sport's administrators bow to pressure and allocate
the new competition its own timeslot.

PONTING says the fledgling Twenty20 competition could become attractive to players
in their early 30s who are tired of travel and find the big money on offer in the IPL
more tempting than prolonging their international careers.



SOCCER AL WRAP (SYDNEY)

Retiring Central Coast marquee star TONY VIDMAR says winning the A-League championship
would provide a nice finish to his footballing career.

The former Socceroo defender has announced his retirement from all forms of the game
following Sunday week's grand final.

Central Coast will play either Newcastle or Queensland in the grand final at the Sydney
Football Stadium on February 24 with the Jets and Roar to clash in the preliminary final
this Sunday in Newcastle.



SOCCER RONALDO (MILAN)

The career of 31-year-old AC Milan and Brazil striker RONALDO is in jeopardy with his
Serie A club confirming he has ruptured a ligament in his left knee and must undergo surgery.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

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