AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 15

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 15
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


ABC Gillard (CANBERRA)

It's been revealed most of the ABC Learning childcare centres deemed unviable .. will keep going.

Court-appointed receiver STEPHEN PARBERY .. of PPB .. says operators have been found
for 210 centres .. but 19 will close.

Deputy Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD has promised the government will help affected
families to find alternative childcare spots .. just as it did when 55 ABC centres closed
before Christmas.

The ABC Learning group collapsed last year owing more than one and a half billion dollars.



Qantas Joyce (CANBERRA)

Qantas chief executive ALAN JOYCE says the airline's safety won't be jeopardised ..

despite plans to slash up to one thousand 750 jobs.

Australia's national carrier announced plans for another round of job cuts yesterday
.. on top of 15-hundred last year.

The recent massive decline in international travel has seen Qantas slump into the red
for just the second time in 15 years.

Mr JOYCE says the airline continues to spend 1.5 billion dollars a year on maintenance
and is constantly investing in new facilities .. including hangars and aircraft.

The assurances come after a string of incidents in the past 12 months .. including
an exploding oxygen tank which blew a hole in the fuselage on an international flight.



Fiji (WELLINGTON)

Fiji's military leader FRANK BAINIMARAMA remains defiant .. saying he's not going to
be forced into holding elections.

He's told Radio New Zealand he's imposed emergency restrictions so reforms essential
for his country's return to democracy can be made.

Commodore BAINIMARAMA has suggested the Appeal Court judges who ruled his interim government
was illegal had made up their minds before hearing the case .. and he appears unconcerned
about the prospect of Fiji being suspended from the Commonwealth and the Pacific Island
Forum.

He's justified tough restrictions on the media .. saying freedom of speech "causes
trouble" .. and must be curbed to allow his military government to do its work.



Wind (MELBOURNE)

A Victorian man's in hospital with suspected spinal injuries .. after a tree fell on
his car on the Mornington Peninsula during wild weather in the state's south-east.

And a Melbourne woman's escaped unhurt after a tree fell on her Belgrave house .. shattering
windows and damaging the roof.

The SES says it's received hundreds of calls .. mostly about fallen trees and downed power lines.



Floods Qld (BRISBANE)

A police officer has swum into floodwaters to rescue a woman stranded on top of her
car south of Gympie on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Police say the water on East Deep Creek Road at Monkland was deeper than the woman
thought .. and as her car filled up .. she scrambled onto its roof.

Police got the call about 4.30 this morning .. and an officer pulled her to safety.

Meanwhile it's hoped floodwaters will have subsided enough for divers to join the search
for a 12-year old girl feared drowned after she was swept off a Caboolture weir on Monday.



Storm (SYDNEY)

And in Sydney .. residents are mopping up homes after a short but severe thunderstorm
last night that caused flash flooding .. fallen trees .. and flight delays at Sydney Airport.

The SES and fire crews responded to dozens of calls for help from people whose homes
either flooded or had been hit by trees.

Hailstones measuring two centimetres battered the Bankstown area .. where 25 millimetres
of rain fell in just 17 minutes .. and wind gusts reached more than 75 kilometres an hour.



Johnson (BRISBANE)

A 15-year-old Brisbane boy with Asperger's syndrome has been found 950 kilometres away
in Sydney .. two weeks after he set off on his bike down the Pacific Highway.

ETHAN JOHNSON slept at truck stops .. under bridges and ate at fast food restaurants
during his six-day .. dawn-to-dusk ride to Sydney.

His mother TAMMY JOHNSON says the family put a little bit of money in his bank account
each day so he could continue to eat .. but not enough so that he could get further away.

She says ETHAN decided to make the trek because he didn't get to see enough of the
city during a school excursion when he was 12.

Now he says it's good to be back home and he won't do it again.



Briefly in other news ..



Murray SA (ADELAIDE)

The South Australian government says irrigators along the River Murray will get no
increase in water allocations during the current financial year .. as the drought persists.



Postie (BRISBANE)

Posties in Queensland are calling on the public to take more care .. with more than
850 avoidable accidents last year .. many caused by people reversing cars down driveways.



US Harrison (LOS ANGELES)

Hundreds of fans and friends including PAUL MCCARTNEY have turned out to see a posthumous
star for the late Beatle GEORGE HARRISON unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.



in Finance ..

At 11.15am (AEDT) the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was DOWN 3.3 points at 3749.4 while
the broader All Ordinaries Index FELL 2.6 points to 3695.3.

The Australian dollar was at 71.90 US cents, DOWN from Tuesday's local close of 72.46 US cents.

It was at 54.29 euro cents, DOWN from 54.50 euro cents on Tuesday.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US892.8, DOWN $4.40 from $US897.20 per fine ounce
on Tuesday.



in Sport ..



AFL Dickson (SYDNEY)

Former Hawthorn and Brisbane player and sporting filmmaker ROBERT DICKSON'S eight-year-old
son GABRIEL has died in a South African hospital.

DICKSON, 45, and his other son BYRON, 5, were killed after their car crashed between
Sun City and Pretoria last week while on holiday from Australia.



Soccer Champions (LONDON)

Chelsea survived one of the most dramatic matches in Champions League history to reach
the semi-finals with a 4-4 draw against Liverpool in the quarter-final second leg for
a 7-5 aggregate victory.

In Munich .. Barcelona drew in their second-leg against Bayern Munich to go through
5-1 on aggregate.


Boxing DelaHoya (LOS ANGELES)

Ten-time boxing world champion OSCAR DE LA HOYA has announced his retirement from the
sport in Los Angeles today.

The 36-year-old Mexican-American's last bout was back in December when Filipino MANNY
PACQUIAO stopped him in the eighth round.



ENDS MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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