AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 9

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 9
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630


Indon Shooting Smith (PERTH)

Foreign Affairs Minister STEPHEN SMITH says the Australian government won't be leaping
to any conclusions as it waits for confirmation South-East Asia's most wanted terror suspect
has been killed.

NOORDIN MOHAMMED TOP is believed to be one of three men killed during a police raid
on a suspected militant hide-out in Central Java .. Indonesia .. yesterday.

The dead man's remains have been moved to Jakarta for DNA testing and Indonesian authorities
say it could take up to two weeks to confirm the identity of the body.

But Mr SMITH says it would only take a matter of hours or days.

NOORDIN is believed to have been the mastermind behind the bombings at the Jakarta's
JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels on July 17 .. where nine people .. including three
Australians were killed.



Dealers (CANBERRA)

Labor is likely to get its way on a Senate investigation into the roles opposition
leader MALCOLM TURNBULL and Senator ERIC ABETZ played in the OzCar affair.

It comes after Family First senator STEVE FIELDING and Nationals Senate leader BARNABY
JOYCE announced their support for the move.

The government is keen to maintain the political heat on Mr TURNBULL after it was revealed
last week he discussed with Treasury official GODWIN GRECH and Senator ABETZ evidence
presented to a Senate inquiry.

The government intends referring the issue to the Senate's privileges committee for
investigation.



US Collision (NEW YORK)

Search crews have recovered three of the nine people believed killed after a helicopter
and a light plane crashed mid-air over New York's Hudson River.

Media reports say the bodies of two adults and one child have been pulled from the
Hudson .. between Manhattan and New Jersey .. and operations have now been suspended for
the night.

The chopper was carrying five Italian tourists and a pilot .. the plane was carrying
a pilot and two passengers including a child.



Crime Vic (MELBOURNE)

An extra 120 police will hit the streets in Victoria armed with tougher search powers
as booze-fuelled violence continues to spiral out of control.

The latest crime figures show street violence climbed 4.5 per cent in the past year.

The government has announced an extra 120 police will begin training in November with
recruits hitting the ground from May next year.

The government will also introduce new laws by the end of the year to give police tougher
powers to conduct weapons searches .. move troublemakers on and fine louts causing public
disturbance.



AIDS (ADELAIDE)

The Australian government is being called on to provide urgent funding for regional
HIV prevention measures .. with new data showing the virus is sweeping through Asia and
the Pacific.

The annual International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific is underway in Bali.

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations has told the Congress .. two hundred
gay and bisexual men a day are becoming infected in the region.

Federation executive director DON BAXTER has called on the Australian government to
fund HIV prevention measures in the region.



Language (CANBERRA)

The federal government has pledged 9.3 million dollars over the coming year to help
take 113 indigenous languages off the critically endangered list.

A 2005 report found .. 110 of the 145 indigenous dialects spoken in Australia are at
risk of being lost.



Mortgage (SYDNEY)

The country's biggest mortgage broker says the average value of a new mortgage in Australia
has risen to its highest ever level as property investors return to the market.

Mortgage broker AFG says the average new mortgage lodged in Australia rose to 354 thousand
dollars in July .. eclipsing the previous record of 353 thousand in October last year.

The average mortgage value was highest in New South Wales .. at 407 thousand dollars
.. with the lowest in South Australia at 270 thousand.

The data also shows the proportion of fixed rate mortgages fell to five per cent from
8.3 per cent in June.



City2Surf-Casualty (SYDNEY)

A man's in hospital after going into cardiac arrest just moments after setting off
in the City2Surf race in Sydney.

The man .. aged between 50 and 60 .. collapsed in the William Street tunnel in Darlinghurst
about nine thirty this morning .. just 12 minutes after starting the city to Bondi race.

He's in a serious but stable condition in Saint Vincent's Hospital.

Meanwhile .. Gold Coast student MICHAEL SHELLEY won the race in 41:02 minutes.



Briefly in other news ..



Triple0 (CANBERRA)

A Canberra man's been charged after allegedly making more than 60 triple-0 calls.



Film (BRISBANE)

Australian film Balibo .. about the murder of five Australian journalists in East Timor
in 1975 .. has won two of the five jury prizes at the Brisbane International Film Festival.



in Sport ..



League Warriors (AUCKLAND)

Dual international MAT ROGERS ran in two tries to inspire the Gold Coast to a 30-10
NRL victory over the Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium today.

Rogers scored a double in his return from injury and set up another to keep the Queenslanders
on track for a top four finish.

ANTHONY LAFFRANCHI, KEVIN GORDON and SCOTT PRINCE also found the tryline in the the
one-sided blowout.



Cricket Aust (LEEDS)

Australia have taken a massive step towards winning the fourth Ashes Test after reducing
England to 5-82 in their second innings at stumps on the second day at Headingley.

Resurgent paceman MITCHELL JOHNSON took three late wickets as England's top order crumbled
for the second time in the match.

England need a further 261 runs to make Australia bat again.



CRICKET ASHES PRANK (SYDNEY)

An Australian cricket supporter group has admitted responsibility for a fire-drill
prank which forced the English team out of their hotel on the opening morning of the fourth
Ashes Test.

Head of the Fanatics WARREN LIVINGSTON says of his 100-member group had set the fire
alarm off at the Radisson .. with the intention of disrupting the English team's sleep.



Tennis ATP (WASHINGTON)

American top seed ANDY RODDICK has outlasted JOHN ISNER 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 7-5 to book a
finals date with defending champion JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO at the ATP Washington Classic.



ENDS EVENING ROUND-UP

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