AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 6

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2003
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Dec 6
BREAKFAST ROUND-UP: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


RUSSIA TRAIN (MOSCOW)

At least 40 people have died and more than 150 are injured after a suicide blast blamed
on Chechen rebels blew apart a Russian commuter train near the war-torn republic.

Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN has condemned the blast, saying it was an attempt
to destabilise the situation in the country before parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The blast comes two days before a national parliamentary election.

The head of the Federal Security Service, NIKOLAI PATRUSHEV, says three women and one
man carried out the blast during the early morning rush hour.

Two of the four jumped off the train before the attack, a third was injured and the
remains of the fourth were found with grenade fragments in his body.

He says the blast was so powerful that it cut one of the cars of the train in half.



CHOGM (ABUJA)

Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD and British prime minister TONY BLAIR's effort to have Zimbabwe
suspended from the Commonwealth have suffered a setback.

Instead, Australia has been included in a six-nation committee to examine the suspension
of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

The committee includes pro-suspension advocates Australia and Canada, two countries
opposed to sanctions, South Africa and Mozambique - and two neutral members, Jamaica and
India.

The committee was decided on during a heated first executive session of CHOGM, in which
all officials apart from national leaders, were expelled from the room for 20 minutes.

At a press conference after the session, an abrupt HOWARD did not mention the committee
at all, but said if the Commonwealth fudges over Zimbabwe, it will do itself damage.



MORGANPOLL (SYDNEY)

An opinion poll conducted while federal Labor was leaderless a week ago says the troubled
party could have won government if minor party preferences were counted.

The latest Morgan Poll surveyed more than 1,000 voters on the weekend of November 29-30,
just after SIMON CREAN quit the leadership.

Primary support for the ALP was 38 per cent, two percentage points below the federal government.

However, Labor rose to a majority of 52 points on a two-party preferred basis with
the Coalition left behind on 48 per cent.

If a federal election had been held in late November, pollster GARY MORGAN says the
ALP would have won on minor party preferences.



LATHAM LEFT (SYDNEY)

New opposition leader MARK LATHAM has promised a compassionate approach to asylum seekers
and to put gay rights and the environment back on the agenda.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr LATHAM says he will target voters
on the centre and left of politics.

He says Labor will be tougher than the government on border protection, but will ensure
asylum seeker claims are processed swiftly.

Mr LATHAM also disagrees with Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD on gay rights, saying relationships
are not defined on religious grounds, but by love and care, regardless of the gender involved.

Putting the environment near the top of his priorities, Mr LATHAM says his first official
trip as leader will be to Tasmania next week to discuss forest policy.



CHILD (CANBERRA)

The federal government has rolled out thousands of new childcare places for working
parents struggling to find care for their kids these school holidays.

But parents have been warned it could come at a cost with higher fees to keep childcare
workers happy.

Under the four-year package, an extra 10,000 outside school hours care places will
be created immediately.



MISSILES (SYDNEY)

The federal government is reportedly considering buying long-range stealth cruise missiles
to be launched from Australian F/A-18 jet fighters.

The Australian newspaper says the self-guided missiles can can strike targets more
than 370km away and would help cover any defence gap when F-111 bombers are retired early.

Australia would be the first country in southeast Asia with such a weapon, which has
four times the range of any missile currently used by the RAAF.

Meanwhile, Indonesia says it should have been told of Australian plans to join the
US in developing a defence against long-range ballistic missiles.

The reaction has set the scene for a diplomatic storm as Foreign Minister ALEXANDER
DOWNER prepares to fly to Indonesia tomorrow.



ASIO (CANBERRA)

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation now has stronger powers to question
foreign terrorist suspects under changes to legislation passed in the Senate.

The ASIO Bill yesterday passed the Senate without amendment with the support of the
government and opposition.



IRAQ (BAGHDAD)

A bomb has exploded near a Baghdad mosque as a US military convoy passed by, killing
a soldier and two Iraqi civilians and injuring 13 others.

The US military says the soldier was travelling in a three-vehicle convoy when a roadside
bomb exploded nearby.

Most of the civilian casualties were passengers on a nearby bus.

Meanwhile, US troops have cordoned off part of the main highway after a fire destroyed
an armoured personnel carrier in Mishada, 30 kilometres north of the capital.



MIDEAST BORDERS (JERUSALEM)

Israel's vice-premier says there is no chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians
and Israel will have to draw its own borders.

Vice-Premier EHUD OLMERT says unilateral steps are necessary because Arabs will soon
outnumber Jews in areas under Israeli control.

Elsewhere, the Israeli army has expelled 12 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank
and sent them to the Gaza Strip.

And, the latest poll shows Prime Minister ARIEL SHARON'S public approval rating at
an all-time low of 33 per cent amid a rift with main ally Washington.

Meanwhile, Israel is holding a Canadian citizen on terrorism charges, with Canadian
radio saying the 23-year-old has confessed to preparing to strike at Canada.



BARTLETT (MELBOURNE)

Democrats leader ANDREW BARTLETT reportedly has assaulted a female Liberal senator
and hurled abuse at her during a late-night fracas over stolen wine.

The Herald Sun says Liberal Senator JEANNIE FERRIS was left nursing an injured upper
arm after chasing Senator BARTLETT.

The paper says 39-year-old Senator BARTLETT had taken five bottles of wine from a Liberal
Party Christmas barbecue in Parliament House.

The paper says Senator BARTLETT, a former champion rugby player, has apologised.



AND BRIEFLY . . .



Asia-Pacific countries have hailed United States President GEORGE W BUSH's decision
to end illegal tariffs on steel imports as a vindication for fair trade rules.




Taxpayers are reportedly to fund a safety net for doctors with high negligence insurance
bills under a federal government proposal.




The government says brains behind dodgy tax avoidance schemes will face fines of over
half a million dollars under a new crackdown.




The Family Court has been given powers to override asset agreements between husbands
and wives to stop failed businessmen like JODEE RICH escaping their creditors.




A federal agency will sell access to Australia's rail freight lines from Perth to the
Queensland border under a new historic leasing deal.




Two weeks after MICHAEL JACKSON'S arrest on child molestation charges, the case against
him appears to be in trouble, with prosecutors delaying the filing of formal charges.



AND IN SPORTS . . .


CRICKET AUST (BRISBANE)

Australia's bowlers are looking forward to making use of a fiesty Gabba pitch when
India bats on the third day of the cricket Test in Brisbane today.

Australia will resume at nine for 323 with NATHAN BRACKEN on six and STUART MACGILL on one.

India ripped through Australia yesterday, claiming seven for 61 to restore some balance
to the Test, with ZAHEER KHAN taking five for 95.



OLY TRIAL (SALT LAKE CITY)

A US judge has thrown out all charges against two men accused of bribing International
Olympic Committee members in a bid to win Salt Lake City the right to host the 2002 Olympics.



SOCCER WORL OCEANIA (FRANKFURT)

In the draw for the Oceania zone preliminary soccer round of the 2006 World Cup, two
groups of five teams play a league system with two tournaments at two different venues.

The group winners and runners-up advance to the second stage.

They will be joined by seeded teams Australia and New Zealand who received byes.



ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

AAP RTV wz

KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

2003 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.