AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 23

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2011
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 23
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430

Indon Ship (JAKARTA)

Indonesian police have arrested eight people in connection with an overloaded boat
carrying 250 asylum seekers that capsized en route to Australia.

Police say the arrested men are four soldiers, the two owners of the sunken boat and
two crew members.

The boat carrying mostly Afghans and Iranians sank 40 nautical miles off the coast
of eastern Java early on Saturday amid bad weather.

Sixteen more bodies have now been retrieved, bringing the confirmed death toll to 90.



Boat (CANBERRA)

Immigration Minister CHRIS BOWEN says Opposition leader TONY ABBOTT has no more excuses
to say no to talks over boat people, after the GILLARD government's decision to consider
reopening an asylum seeker processing centre on Nauru.

It closed this centre after coming to power in 2007 and has continued to condemn its
use ever since.

Now it says it will implement this key part of coalition migration policy, if the opposition
agrees to pass amendments to the Migration Act unchanged.

While Mr ABBOTT is yet to respond publicly to the government's offer, but his comments
so far suggest he might not play ball.



Xmas Weather National (SYDNEY)

Weather forecasters say the next few days will be a mixed bag, with Aussies facing
showers, thunderstorms and large coastal swells over Christmas and Boxing Day.

Forecasters say the variable conditions will produce predicted three-metre waves in
southern Queensland and send the Sydney to Hobart fleet off to a flying start.

But the weather will be kinder to cricket fans, with clear skies predicted for the
Boxing Day Test.

Sydneysiders will enjoy a warm, if not entirely sunny, Christmas.

Those in Queensland, northern New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australian
will enjoy drier conditions, while Australia's Top End will be the wettest due to a developing
tropical low, and southern Queensland can expect a large cyclone swell over the Christmas
period.



Domestic (SYDNEY)

Police say they could only watch as a man shot a woman in southern New South Wales
yesterday before turning the gun on himself in a suspected murder-suicide.

Police were called to a domestic incident at a property near Urana about 1.30pm (AEDT)
and as they approached the scene, officers saw a man in his 50s armed with a firearm near
a woman's vehicle.

Police say he shot the woman, aged in her mid-30s, and immediately turned the gun on himself.

Police are treating the incident as a murder-suicide, and a crime scene has been set up.



Retail (SYDNEY)

Retailer Harvey Norman has started selling computer games on a website based overseas
to let Australian consumers avoid GST.

Company founder GERRY HARVEY, who has been critical of the rise of international online
shopping, has told Fairfax he launched the website based in Ireland reluctantly, and he's
held out as long as possible.

Mr HARVEY'S told The Australian the odds are very high that Harvey Norman will soon
begin selling tax-free laptops, computers, digital cameras, mobile phones and iPads on
offshore websites.



Exorcism (DARWIN)

Four people who pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a woman died in an exorcism on
a remote island in the Northern Territory are set to receive their sentences today.

Last month GLENYS WURRWILYA, PAUL WURRAMARA, SUSIE WURRAWILYA and RODERICK MAMARIKA
pleaded guilty to causing the death of SARAH BARA in Groote Eylandt in November last year.

The four were accused of killing Ms BARA during a fire circle ceremony during which
they attempted to cleanse her of the devil.

The sentencing of the four was originally set down to happen yesterday in the Northern
Territory's Supreme Court, but has been delayed until today.



Ponies (SYDNEY)

A man will face court, after 25 dead ponies were found dumped near a cliff in northern
New South Wales.

Police received a tip-off on Saturday about the carcasses and went to a truck parking
bay near Glen Innes where they discovered them at a nearby cliff.

Police believe the animals were part of a group of 35 ponies that put into into a removalist
truck in the Kingstown District and taken to the north coast, but a lack of ventilation
may have contributed to the ponies' death.

Two ponies have survived the journey and have since been inspected, while eight more
have yet to be found.

A 39-year-old Pottsville has been interviewed by police and was issued with a notice
to attend court over committing an act of aggravated cruelty against an animal.

He's due to appear in Glen Innes Local Court on February 14.



Legal: Norway Breivik (OSLO)

A panel of experts has confirmed that the Norwegian gunman who killed 77 people in
twin attacks in July was criminally insane, meaning he'll likely be sent to a closed psychiatric
ward instead of jail.

The report by two psychiatrists found that ANDERS BEHRING BREIVIK suffers from paranoid
schizophrenia.

The 32-year-old right-wing extremist is currently being held at a high-security prison
outside Oslo pending his trial, which is due to open on April 16.

Although he has confessed, BEHRING BREIVIK has refused to plead guilty, claiming he's
waging a war against Islam.



Pakistan US (BRUSSELS)

A NATO investigation into an air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers has concluded
that both alliance and Pakistani forces made mistakes in the incident.

NATO's military chain of command has voiced its sincerest, heartfelt condolences to
the families of the victims of the November 26 incident, which has severely strained US-Pakistani
ties.

NATO says the investigation shows that a series of mistakes were made on both sides
in failing to properly co-ordinate their locations and actions, both before the operation
and during the resulting engagement.



Briefly in other news ..



Airport (SYDNEY)

The Nepean district in western Sydney has been tipped as a top location for a second
international airport by a government taskforce.



Namibia Ball (WINDHOEK)

A large metallic ball has fallen out of the sky in Namibia, prompting baffled authorities
to contact NASA and the European space agency.



Naden (SYDNEY)

New South Wales police hunting fugitive MALCOLM NADEN say they have found his fingerprints
after his break-in at in an empty house in the state's north.



in Sport ..



Cri Aust (MELBOURNE)

Batsman SHAUN MARSH is ready for a Boxing Day Test recall, belting 99 not out in last
night's Big Bash League match.

MARSH starred for the Perth Scorchers as they beat the Melbourne Renegades by eight
wickets in the last over at Etihad Stadium.

The Twenty20 match was a fitness test for MARSH, who's been sidelined for six weeks
with a back injury.

He's competing with allrounder DAN CHRISTIAN for the last Australian batting spot in
the Test that begins on Monday.



Soc AL (SYDNEY)

Adelaide United marked the arrival of new coach JOHN KOSMINA with a 2-2 draw with in-form
Sydney FC last night.

The draw kept the Sky Blues third on the A-League ladder and kept Adelaide winless
for a sixth straight game.

Tonight, it's a sell-out for the much-anticipated Melbourne derby between the fourth-placed
Heart and fifth-placed Victory.

The early game is Wellington at home to Newcastle and the late kick-off is Perth against
leaders Central Coast.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

Broadcast Desk inquiries 24 hours: 02 9322 8714

AAP RTV wf

KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.