Australia to shut state border as Melbourne infections surge

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities were preparing to close the border between the country’s two largest states, as the country’s second-largest city, Melbourne, recorded two deaths and its highest-ever daily increase in infections on Monday.

The border between the states of New South Wales — home to Sydney — and Victoria — home to Melbourne — is due to be shut late Tuesday.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian was a critic of states that closed their borders to her state when Sydney had Australia’s largest number of coronavirus cases. But she said she changed her stance because the situation in Melbourne was unprecedented and indicated the pandemic was in a new phase.

The overwhelming majority of new infections detected in Melbourne in recent weeks were from community transmission. Everywhere else in Australia, the vast majority of people who tested positive for the virus were infected overseas or had been infected by a returned traveler, Berejiklian said.

“What is occurring in Victoria has not yet occurred anywhere else in Australia,” she said Monday. “It’s a new part of the pandemic and, as such, it requires a new type of response.”

The Victorian government locked down 36 of the most virus-prone Melbourne suburbs last week and at the weekend added another four suburbs because of the disease spread.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said of the 127 new cases recorded overnight, 53 were among 3,000 people who have been confined by police to their apartments in nine public housing blocks since Saturday.

Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer Paulk Kelly has described the high-rises as “vertical cruise ships” because of the high risk of virus spread.

Police allege a 32-year-old man bit a police officer on Monday as he attempted to leave a high-rise in the suburb of Flemington. He would be charged with assault, resisting police and attempting to breach a pandemic order, Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said.

The infections announced Monday surpassed the first surge of infections in Melbourne that peaked on March 28 at 111 cases recorded in a day.

Daniels said he agreed with Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a Sydney resident, that the border needed to close. Three in five Australian residents live in Sydney or Melbourne and the air services between the two cities before the pandemic were among the busiest in the world.

“I think it is the smart call, the right call at this time, given the significant challenges we face in containing this virus,” Andrews said.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd confirmed that federal authorities agreed with the closure. The federal government had previously opposed any internal border closures aimed mostly at stopping spread from Victoria and New South Wales. Morrison had urged state leaders to open their borders for the good of the economy.

Kidd said that only 16% of new cases detected in Australia in the past week had been infected overseas. Two weeks ago, 50% of new cases were people infected overseas and detected in hotel quarantine, he said.

“The situation in Melbourne has come as a jolt, not just of the people of Melbourne but people right across Australia who may have thought that this was all behind us. It is not,” Kidd said.

Outside of Victoria, another 13 cases reported in the past 24 hours were people infected overseas. Of those, 10 had been in hotel quarantine in New South Wales and three in Western Australia

New South Wales police will enforce the Victorian border closure. Some flights and trains services would continue for travelers who are given permits and exemptions, Berejiklian said.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said officers would use drones to detect people who attempt across the border via forest tracks to avoid the 55 policed road and bridge crossings.

Nationwide, Australia has recorded more than 8,500 total infections and 106 deaths.

_____

McGuirk contributed to this report from Canberra Australia.

Associated Press

Longest non-stop flight to take off from New York to Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia — A plane and its passengers are set to test the mental and physical limits of long-haul aviation when Qantas operates the first direct flight by a commercial airline from New York to Sydney this weekend.

In the first of three "ultra long-haul" test flights planned by Australia's national flag carrier this year, researchers will monitor the effects on passengers of the 19-hour non-stop journey.

Up to 40 passengers and crew—most of them Qantas employees—will be on board the Boeing 787-9 when it departs New York on Friday. The plane is scheduled to arrive Down Under Sunday morning.


Passenger numbers have been restricted to minimize the weight on board and give the plane sufficient fuel range to travel approximately 16,000 kilometers (about 9,500 miles) without re-fuelling, heading west over the Pacific.

No other airline has ever achieved the feat, which Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has called the "final frontier in aviation."

Scientists from two Australian universities will be on board to monitor passengers' sleep patterns, melatonin levels, and food consumption.

Pilots will also wear a device that tracks their brain waves and alertness.

With a 15-hour time difference between New York and Sydney, the impact of jetlag will be closely watched.

"We know from the basic science of circadian rhythms that a bigger time difference between departure and arrival locations, and travelling east rather than west, tends to mean people feel more jetlag," University of Sydney professor Stephen Simpson told AFP.

"But people seem to be wildly different when it comes to the experience of jetlag—and we need more research on what contributes to jetlag and travel fatigue, so we can try and reduce the impact of long-haul flights."

Qantas last year introduced the first direct service from the western Australian city of Perth to London, with the 17-hour journey one of the longest passenger flights in the world.

As well as the New York-Sydney route, Qantas will test a service from London to Sydney in the coming months.

The airline is considering launching commercial services on the marathon routes—if the economics stack up.

A decision will be made on the validity of the flights at the end of the year. Joyce has said it is "ultimately a business decision."

Pilots concerned 

Another hurdle could come from within the organization.

Qantas pilots have raised concerns about the impact of ultra long-range flying on safety standards.

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), which represents Qantas pilots, said the exploratory flights "will produce a limited set of data that will not adequately replicate real-world flying conditions."

AIPA safety director Shane Loney has called for a "scientific long-term study" into the impacts on crew.

"Pilots are concerned about being able to get enough quality rest during ultra long-range flights to maintain peak performance and we believe significant caution should be exercised in the initial operations to make sure there are no unintended consequences," he said.

A Qantas spokesperson said the test flights are "just one part of the work we are doing to assess how to the operate these flights safely".

Both Airbus and Boeing have pitched aircraft for the Qantas ultra long-haul routes. Joyce has said it is not a "foregone conclusion" which company will be chosen.

source: philstar.com

Microsoft to launch first flagship store outside US in Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia — Microsoft on Tuesday said it will open its first flagship store outside the United States in Sydney, as the technology giant expands its physical footprint to take on global rivals Apple and Samsung.

Microsoft Australia’s managing director Pip Marlow said the shop, to be located in Sydney’s main Pitt Street shopping district, was a “significant development” for the American firm.

“This is a significant development for our business locally as well as globally,” Marlow said in a statement on the company’s website.

“This will be much more than a store. It will embody the world class innovation that you have come to expect from Microsoft and be a space where consumers… can visit and learn how to make the most of their technology.”

A flagship store is commonly seen as a way for firms to showcase their brand’s products and have more recently been adopted by technology companies keen to establish direct contact with their customers in large, downtown outlets.

The store will be just several hundred metres from Apple’s flagship shop and a Samsung outlet, and will reportedly take up 581 square metres (6,254 square feet) over two floors.

Marlow did not say when it would open but The Australian Financial Review said it would be in time to capture the busy Christmas shopping period.

The Redmond, Washington-based company announced last year its first flagship store would be on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The firm has 110 physical stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and 17 store-in-store locations in China. Along with the flagship shops, they are a reflection of Microsoft’s push towards a more visible presence.

Apple said in March it has 453 physical stores in 16 countries.

Microsoft is seeking to take on the mobile operating systems space dominated by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. The Windows operating system for PCs, which was launched in the 1990s, has been a cash cow for Microsoft, but the platform is lagging in mobile.

Microsoft has also launched its own mobile devices such as Surface tablets and Lumia smartphones.

source: interaksyon.com

Legs bared around the world for annual 'No Pants' commute

NEW YORK - Bare legs and briefs filled train cars from Sydney to New York Sunday as passengers traveled trouserless -- provoking laughs and perplexed looks -- for the 13th annual "No Pants Subway Ride."

Commuters in some 60 cities braved public transportation in their undies for the stunt, which has gone global since its first staging by US group Improv Everywhere in New York in 2002.

The premise is simple: participants convene on a given route on a designated day every year without trousers on, and ride the rails (or road) for shock value and laughs.

"It is just about fun, and providing a laugh and a smile," said Charlie Todd, who created the event 12 years ago when just seven people took part.

Act "normal. Remember to keep a straight face," Todd instructed participants in the Big Apple -- some 3,000 to 4,000 people this year aged three months to 71.

"If somebody tells you you have no pants, just say you forgot, and yes it's cold, yes it's unfortunate," he said.

Underpants must be worn and, although flashy designs are allowed, organizers prefer those involved to look -- at least from the waist-up -- as though they are going about their daily lives in an effort to up the impact on bystanders.

Uniforms and business suits are encouraged to amplify the lower-half effect, as are props -- bicycles, prams, shopping bags, or even a briefcase.

Seven New York subway stops were designated for this year's stunt, with the group planning to reconvene ultimately at Union Square in Manhattan.

"It's a bit chilly, but it is fun," said Pedro, in red underwear and socks, wearing a hat and carrying a briefcase, as he stood on a subway platform.

A woman in her thirties donning briefs and talking on her cell phone prompted amused glances from passersby, with one older woman sporting a perplexed stare.

In Paris, the meeting point was the Charles de Gaulle-Etoile metro stop, with pants-free passengers headed all the way to Bastille. More than 1,200 people had signed up ahead of time via Facebook.

Other events were smaller, like in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where a handful of young people, mainly men in suits, ties -- and brightly-colored flowery boxers -- drew laughs.

In Sydney, a small but dedicated group dropped their trousers on the city circle loop train, packed with bemused weekend sightseers on a busy summer's day, then switched routes for a return trip to Bondi.

"Insist that it is a coincidence that others also forgot their trousers," the organizers told participants, who were also forbidden from speaking to one another.

There was a no trousers tram ride in southern Melbourne and Adelaide and people also went pants-less for a train trip in northern Brisbane.

On a busy Hong Kong subway, around 40 people, including Australian Bess Hepworth and her 18-month-old son, joined in the fun.

"It's the first time he will be publicly taking off his pants, although he does it regularly already," the 37-year-old said.

In Beijing, a handful of trouserless people took to the Chinese capital's fast-growing subway, drawing confused glances from onlookers.

"I want to show that (Chinese people) are internationalized now," said 22-year-old Huang Li, wearing blue underwear decorated with dots.

But "people say I'm a psycho," she added.

source: interaksyon.com

New Aussie PM Abbott moves to repeal climate tax

SYDNEY -- Australia's new conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott Wednesday moved to abolish a carbon tax designed to combat climate change as his first major economic reform since taking office.

Abbott said the September 7 election that he won decisively had been a referendum on the future of the tax, which was imposed by the former Labor government on major polluters from 2012 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

"No one should be in any doubt -- the government is repealing the carbon tax in full," he said as he introduced a bill to repeal the tax into parliament. "We are doing what we were elected to do. We have said what we mean and we will do what we say -- the carbon tax goes. It goes."

Scrapping the divisive tax was a central election promise of Abbott who had argued the cost of the levy was passed on to consumers, resulting in higher utility bills and day-to-day costs.

"The intention of the new government is to put power prices down by axing this toxic tax and by using other means to reduce emissions," he said.

"This is our bill to reduce your bills, to reduce the bills of the people of Australia."

Abbott also said the removal of the tax would strengthen the economy of Australia, which is among the world's worst per capita polluters due to its reliance on coal-fired power and mining exports.

The carbon tax had charged the country's biggest polluters for their emissions at a fixed price and was due to transition to an emissions trading scheme.

The new government instead favors a "direct action" plan that includes an incentive fund to pay companies to increase their energy efficiency, a controversial sequestration of carbon in soil scheme, and the planting 20 million trees.

Abbott had earlier been forced to wait for about an hour to move the legislation after Labor, which opposes the dismantling of the tax, stalled proceedings with debate about the government's nickname for opposition leader Bill Shorten.

The prime minister had referred to his opposition counterpart as "Electricity" Bill Shorten during a media interview earlier in the day, a moniker attacked by Labor as "name-calling."

Then as he began to move the bill, Abbott was interrupted by yelling protesters in the public gallery.

"Inaction (on climate) is simply not good enough," shouted one protester, one of more than a dozen removed from the chamber.

The government also introduced a bill to repeal the mining tax -- a levy once proposed as a 40 percent tax on "super profits" within the industry but which was ultimately greatly reduced in size and scope after a backlash from the mining sector.

source: interaksyon.com

Australian capital is first territory to allow gay marriage Down Under

SYDNEY -- Australia's national capital on Tuesday passed laws making it the first territory to allow gay marriage and said a legal challenge from the federal government would not stop same-sex weddings from going ahead.

Same-sex unions are available in a majority of Australian states but because marriage comes under federal legislation these couples are not formally recognized as married by the government.

The new law passed by the Australian Capital Territory's 17-member Legislative Assembly in Canberra means the first weddings could take place by the end of the year, Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said.

"I am sorry that the Commonwealth threat hangs over this law, but couples who marry will do so with their eyes open to the action that the Commonwealth is taking," Gallagher said in introducing the bill.

"We understand this creates some uncertainty ahead, but that should not deter us; it does not rattle us and it doesn't change our path."

Australia has six states and two mainland territories.

The Marriage Equality Act means that gay couples from outside the small Australian Capital Territory, home to the city of Canberra and the national parliament, could travel there to be wed by an authorized celebrant.

Gallagher said the national Attorney-General George Brandis had urged her not to go ahead with the legislation as it was inconsistent with federal laws that do not permit same-sex weddings.

Brandis has vowed to challenge the move in the High Court, with the outcome potentially affecting those who used the law to wed.

Gallagher said activists had fought for the right for too long to be put off by another legal hurdle, adding that the Australian Capital Territory was confident its law was strong.

"We are simply legislating to improve outdated, inhumane laws," she said.

Gallagher acknowledged opposition to the change, particularly from those of strong religious faith, but said the bill did not in her view challenge, diminish or undermine the religion or faith of any individual.

"If we are to be judged by a higher being on this law then let it be so," she said.

ACT opposition leader Jeremy Hanson opposed the bill, which was passed with the support of Greens member Shane Rattenbury.

"We do not see the ACT Assembly as a vehicle to drive national agendas on social agendas," he said. "We are Australia's smallest parliament in a small jurisdiction and we do not think that a majority of one person in the ACT should change the definition of marriage for a country of over 23 million people."

In April New Zealand became the first Asia-Pacific country to legalize gay marriage.

source: interaksyon.com

Bushfires ravage communities in southeastern Australia

WINMALEE -- Residents faced scenes of devastation Friday after bushfires ravaged communities and destroyed hundreds of homes in southeastern Australia with dozens of blazes still burning out of control.

Cooler temperatures and a drop in wind offered firefighters some relief overnight but about 100 fires were still raging across the state of New South Wales with a smoke haze hanging over Sydney.

NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that despite the cooler conditions the situation was still "very active, very dynamic, very dangerous".

"The situation is very subject to change," he told the Nine Network, adding that 50,000 hectares (120,000 acres) had been burnt out so far.

Five major blazes fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm 34 degree Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) weather ripped through communities in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Thursday with whole streets razed.

One fatality has been reported so far.

Hundreds of residents spent the night in evacuation centers and awoke Friday to confront the extent of the disaster.

Winmalee resident Jordie Cox said it had been a frightening experience.

"I've lived in Winmalee since I was four and my parents always said to us during fire season that our house would be safe because we were surrounded by other houses so others would have to burn down before it got to us," she told ABC television.

"But we were pretty much the last house standing -- all the houses around us burnt down."

Ron Fuller was one of those who lost his home in Winmalee, a town with a population of about 6,000 and located 80 kilometers (50 miles) inland from Sydney.

"We've had a number of fires through here before but this was an extraordinary fire. The speed was extraordinary, it just raced through this whole area, took out some houses, left other ones standing," he told the broadcaster.

In a tweet, the Rural Fire Service said crews would be assessing the damage across the state street by street during Friday.

"It appears there may be hundreds of homes destroyed," the service said.

"More properties have come under threat overnight, with further warnings issued. 100 fires across NSW, 36 uncontained."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell praised the response from fire crews, many of whom are volunteers who battled through the night.

"I think the planning, preparation and response has been some of the best we've seen," he said, calling the fires "some of the worst we have experienced around Sydney in living memory".

"We're in for a long, tough summer," he added.

Wildfires are common in Australia's summer months between December and February, and authorities are expecting a bad season this year due to low rainfall in the winter and forecasts of hot, dry weather ahead.

source: interaksyon.com

Katy Perry confronts Australia’s opposition leader on gay marriage

SYDNEY | US pop star Katy Perry on Thursday took Tony Abbott to task over his stance on gay marriage, telling the Australian opposition leader she would not vote for him.

Abbott’s three daughters, aged 20 to 24, are Perry fans and he phoned in when she was a guest on Sydney’s 2DayFM radio station.

He said his “big question” was when would the 28-year-old again tour Australia.

“When are you coming back (to Australia)? We need you, we want you,” Abbott said.

Perry, however, was keener to discuss the policies of his conservative coalition ahead of elections on September 7.

“Oh come on, that’s not a political question. Let’s talk about gay marriage,” she replied from the United States, urging voters to speak out against Abbott’s stance on the issue.

“I love you as a human being but I can’t give you my vote,” Perry said, adding: “I just don’t believe in your policies so that’s what a lot of people should be doing.”

Despite having an openly gay sister, Abbott is opposed to same-sex marriages, in contrast to election rival Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to introduce a bill legalizing the unions if returned to office.

Questioned later by reporters about Perry, Abbott, seen as the favorite to win the election, said they “respectfully disagreed”, although they did agree to meet for lunch when Perry heads to Australia next year.

“I respectfully disagree with a number of people, including my own sister, on this subject, but no doubt we’ll all continue to say our piece,” he said, adding of his chat with the singer: “My daughters for once were envious of their dad.”

While leading in opinion polls, Abbott’s campaign has been littered with gaffes this week, including one on gay marriage Tuesday when he said: “I’m not someone who wants to see radical change based on the fashion of the moment.”

He later back-pedalled, saying it was a “very significant issue” among many in his party.

Perry is best known for hit songs such as “Teenage Dream,” California Gurls,” and “I Kissed a Girl.”

Abbott said her catchy hit “Hot n Cold” would make a good election anthem for his party, but Perry was not so sure.

“I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s the best song we can pick for a politician,” she said of a song that begins with the lyrics: “You change your mind like a girl changes clothes”.

source: interaksyon.com

Long lines greet Apple’s iPhone 5 in Sydney, Tokyo

SYDNEY/TOKYO — Apple Inc’s iPhone 5 hit stores around the globe on Friday, giving the consumer giant a boost ahead of the crucial end-of-year holiday season as rival Samsung Electronics Co stepped up its legal challenge over key technologies.

The new phone – which was unveiled last week – went on sale first in Australia, where long lines formed for the opening of the California company’s Sydney store at 8 a.m. local time (2200 GMT, Thursday).





Apple has booked more than 2 million pre-orders for the device in the first 24 hours, double the first-day sales of the previous iPhone 4S.

But South Korea’s Samsung moved to crash the party on the eve of the phone’s debut, saying it planned to add the new device to existing patent lawsuits against its U.S. rival.

Samsung and Apple are locked in patent battle in 10 countries and the stakes are high as the two vie for top spot in the booming smartphone market.

Both companies are also raising marketing spending to promote their latest products ahead of the holiday sales quarter.

Long queues

An estimated 600 people queued around the block from the Apple store in central Sydney and customers were limited to buying a maximum of two phones. In a rainy Tokyo, the lines stretched back several blocks.

Guerrilla marketers grabbed the first dozen or so spots in the queue in Sydney, with companies paying staff members to line up for several days in the hope of being photographed and interviewed for being among the first in the world to get their hands on the new devices.

At the head of the queue was Todd Foot, who lined up with colleagues – all wearing clothing branded with their price comparison website logo – for three days. Staff from an online buyer and seller of used Apple products roamed the long lines offering free coffees.

But most of those waiting were aficionados already hooked on Apple’s earlier iPhones and best-selling iPad tablet computers.

“I feel like if I leave it at home, I go a bit crazy,” James Vohradsky, a 20-year-old student said of his current iPhone. “I have to drive back and get it. I can’t do my normal day without it,” said Vohradsky, who had queued for 17 hours with his younger sister.

Some analysts expect Apple to sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 models in the remaining days of September and JP Morgan estimates the phone release could provide a $3.2 billion boost to the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter.

In Japan, where the line outside the Tokyo Apple store stretched for several blocks, one of the two carriers selling the iPhone 5 said it was concerned the U.S. company does not have enough production capacity to meet demand.

Softbank president and founder, Masayoshi Son, said demand for the iPhone 5 was greater than the first iPhone. KDDI Corp, the other Japanese carrier offering the iPhone, said that it had already run out of the iPhone 5.

The new phone has a larger, 4-inch screen and is slimmer and far lighter than the previous model. The iPhone 5 supports faster 4G mobile networks and also comes with a number of software updates, including Apple’s new in-house maps feature.

Maps miss mark

The new maps feature, however has been criticized by some users for a number of geographical errors, missing information and a lack of features.

Kim Tudo, a student at the University of New South Wales who queued overnight, said he was disappointed the turn-by-turn navigation feature under the iOS 6 mobile operating system behind the new phone is not immediately available in Australia.

Vohradsky said the lack of mobile payment chip was also “a bit of a letdown”. Apple did not embed Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used to turn cellphones into mobile wallets into the iPhone 5.

Tudo and Vohradsky were less bothered by Apple’s decision to drop the wide dock connector used in the company’s gadgets for the best part of a decade in favor of a smaller one, a move that some critics have noted adds to costs for users who will now have to buy an adaptor for speakers or other accessories.

The iPhone is Apple’s highest-margin product and accounts for half of its annual revenue. Apple has said it will make initial deliveries of the iPhone 5 on Friday in the United States and most of the major European markets, such as France, Germany and Britain. The phone then goes on sale on September 28 in 22 other countries.

Apple plans to sell the new phone in 100 countries by the end of the year.

Influential reviewer Walt Mossberg labeled it the best smartphone on the market but criticized the mapping application.

The latest iPhone comes as competition in the smartphone market has reached a fever pitch with Apple up against phones that run on Google Inc’s Android software. Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while Samsung has taken the lead in smartphone sales.

Samsung released new ads mocking Apple fans queuing for the new iPhone, showing users favorably comparing the features of Samsung’s top-selling Galaxy S3 smartphone.

source: interaksyon.com

Australia hits Facebook over 'racist' page

Sydney - Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has hit out at Facebook over its failure to immediately take down a page that stereotyped Aboriginal people as hopeless petrol-sniffing drunks.

While the content could not be viewed Thursday, Conroy said Facebook should have shut down the site as soon as it was brought to its attention and urged more cooperation from the social network.

"I think it's absolutely inappropriate," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation late Wednesday of the page "Controversial Humor Aboriginal Memes."

"We don't live by American laws here in Australia, we live by Australian laws and this is an Australian who is using the fact that Facebook is based in the US to get away from Australian laws."

An online petition against the page on change.org had by Thursday attracted nearly 17,000 supporters and the Australian Media and Communications Authority said it was investigating.

Conroy said he was in touch with Facebook more broadly about inappropriate content.

"We've had a lot of debate and discussion with Facebook. They've now finally employed an employee here in Australia. We're in conversations with that employee," he said.

"Our views have been strongly made to Facebook in the US but at the end of the day it's a US company operating under US law."

Facebook could not be reached Thursday but in a one-line statement to The Australian newspaper it reportedly said: "We don't have anything to share on this but if that changes, we'll let you know."

Asked if Australia had any power to take down a site down generated in Australia, Conroy said they had tried before and got nowhere.

"In the past there's been a whole range of pages, not just on Facebook but on other sites where people have made complaints," he said.

"We've gone to the courts, the courts have issued notices, the police have gone to enforce them over in the US and in the past we've got nowhere."

Race Discrimination Commissioner Helen Szoke said if people felt offended by the page they could also complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

"In the last three years we have had an increasing number of complaints which related to cyber racism," Szoke told reporters.

"I have had a look at the images, and I do think they're quite insulting to Aboriginal people.

"There's a tipping point between humour and even controversial humor and material that's just offensive and just insulting." — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

KFC guilty in Australia salmonella brain damage case

Sydney -- An Australian girl who suffered severe brain damage and was left paralysed by food poisoning won a court case against fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, in a judgment published Saturday.

Monika Samaan was seven years old when she suffered salmonella encephalopathy -- a brain injury linked to food poisoning that also left her with a blood infection and septic shock -- in October 2005.

Several other family members also fell ill and they claimed Samaan's injuries, which include severe cognitive, motor and speech impairment and spastic quadriplegia were caused by a KFC chicken Twister wrap.

She went into a coma in hospital and was so ill last rites were given.

The Supreme Court ruled in the family's favour, finding that her sickness was caused by "a KFC Twister... consumed predominately by Monika and in lesser quantities by her family."

Justice Stephen Rothman said the chicken became contaminated "because of the failure of one or more employees of KFC" to follow proper preparation rules, which he described as "negligent".

"There is some evidence, which I accept, that some employees were unaware of the full consequences of a breakdown in the system that was to be implemented," Rothman said in his judgment.

"Nevertheless, the conduct of the employee was negligent and KFC, as the employer, is vicariously liable for the negligence."

An internal review of standards at the store in the months before Samaan's illess assessed them at "breakdown" level, with particular criticism of hygiene and food preparation, Rothman said.

Though compensation will be determined in a separate hearing Rothman described the now wheelchair-bound Samaan's injuries as being of a type and severity that were "most rare".

"She is now intellectually disabled, is unable to function independently, she needs total care and she will be unable to live a life filled with normal activities, relationships, milestones and achievements," he said.

"The plaintiff has been severely disabled at a very young age and as a result of her injuries, it is clear she will never enjoy the normal life that was expected of her prior to this catastrophic event."

KFC said it would appeal the decision.

"We believe the evidence showed KFC did not cause this tragedy and, after reviewing the judgment and seeking further advice from our lawyers, we have decided to appeal Justice Rothman's decision," said KFC Australia spokeswoman Sally Glover.

"We feel deeply for Monika and the Samaan family however we also have a responsibility to defend KFC's reputation as a provider of safe, high quality food."

source: interaksyon.com

Man dies in Australia after stun gun shooting

SYDNEY — An Australian man died after being shocked with a Taser stun gun in central Sydney by police investigating reports of a robbery on Sunday, but officials conceded there may not have been a crime.

The man was zapped with one of the U.S.-manufactured devices after resisting arrest by police responding to reports of a convenience store robbery in Sydney’s central business district at about 5:30 a.m., according to police.

He stopped breathing and could not be revived.

Acting assistant police commissioner Mark Walton said it was uncertain whether a robbery had actually taken place or if the stunned man had been involved.

“It’s unclear as to the involvement of this man or the extent of that actual incident. Whether it is a robbery or not is unclear at this time,” Walton told reporters.

New South Wales (NSW) Premier Barry O’Farrell would not be drawn on the incident until he had been fully briefed, but said his government had “always supported the use of Tasers as a non-lethal alternative” to guns.

Civil rights activists however said the incident highlighted the dangers of the device, which has killed some 500 people worldwide since being introduced in 2001 according to Amnesty International.

“This incident raises serious concerns about the way in which they’re used,” said Cameron Murphy, from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.

“What’s a particular concern in this case is… they used both capsicum spray and a Taser on this individual,” added Murphy. “There are serious questions whether that may have led to the person’s death.”

Tasers are meant to incapacitate a person with a 50,000-volt jolt of electricity, but they have been linked to a number of deaths in Australia and around the world.

A five-year study into the use of the weapons published in 2010 showed 85% of cases involved a person with a mental illness and 28% of those targeted were unarmed.

source: japantoday.com

Aspirin may inhibit spread of cancer

SYDNEY —Aspirin and other household drugs may inhibit the spread of cancer because they help shut down the chemical “highways” which feed tumors, Australian researchers say.

Scientists at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre said they have made a biological breakthrough helping explain how lymphatic vessels—key to the transmission of tumors throughout the body—respond to cancer.

“We’ve shown that molecules like the aspirin… could effectively work by reducing the dilation of these major vessels and thereby reducing the capacity of tumors to spread to distant sites,” researcher Steven Stacker said.

Doctors have long suspected that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin may help inhibit the spread of cancer but they have been unable to pinpoint exactly how this is done.

By studying cells in lymphatic vessels, the researchers found that a particular gene changed its expression in cancers which spread, but not when the cancer did not spread.

The results published in Cancer Cell journal reveal that the gene is a link between a tumor’s growth and the cellular pathway which can cause inflammation and dilation of vessels throughout the body.

Once these lymphatic vessels widen, the capacity for them to act as “supply lines” to tumors and become more effective conduits for the cancer to spread is increased.

But aspirin acts to shut down the dilation of the vessels.

“So it seems like we have found a pivotal junction point in a biochemical sense between all these different contributors,” Stacker said.

The discovery could lead to new and improved drugs which could help contain many solid tumors, including breast and prostate cancer, as well as potentially provide an “early warning system” before a tumor begins to spread.

Last year, a study published in medical journal The Lancet found that rates of cancer of the colon, prostate, lung, brain and throat were all reduced by daily aspirin use.

Many doctors recommend regular use of aspirin to lower the risk of heart attack, clot-related strokes and other blood flow problems. A downside of extended daily use is the risk of stomach problems.

source: japantoday.com