Opera House gets price tag for birthday

The economic, cultural and digital value of the Sydney Opera House works out at $4.6 billion. Source: AAP

IT'S a priceless national icon, but a new report has put a figure on what the Sydney Opera House means to Australia.

The tourist magnet is worth $4.6 billion - or about $200 per citizen - to the Australian public, according to Deloitte.

Ticket sales, iconic status, digital presence and the unique design were all quantified to come up with the value.

"We all know in our bones how important it is,", Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said.

"(But) here is the number - this is what we're worth, don't take us for granted."

By putting a price tag on the venue, management can make a stronger case for government funding for upkeep, she said.

"We have this 40-year-old thing which is magnificent, but absolutely needs to be renovated," she said.

Commissioned ahead of the building's 40th anniversary, the report also found the Opera House injects roughly $775 million into the national economy annually.

Jorn Utzon's famed creation rates higher than the national identity on a marketing index of brand esteem, the report says.

"It's slightly counterintuitive that Australia would have as it's symbol a work of art, but we do," Ms Herron said.

Looking ahead, the Opera House is hoping to grow its online presence and digital audience with blogs, live-streaming and social media.

But for now the focus is on birthday festivities, including an anniversary concert on October 20 attended by Danish royals Mary and Frederik.

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Duchess hits volleyball court in heels

THE Duchess of Cambridge has been praised for her prowess on the volleyball court - as well as her trim waistline.

Kate ran around in five-inch high heels making passes and hitting balls over the net as she visited London's former Olympic Park on Friday to see how the Olympians and Paralympians are being helped by one of her charities.

The extra inches of the black cork wedges may have given the duchess a height advantage but she made the most of it as she leapt to reach balls.

Kate's impromptu workout came as toured the copper box arena to learn about athlete workshops run by SportsAid.

As the Duchess jumped up to push the ball over the net, her striped top flew up to reveal a perfectly flat stomach.

Her son, Prince George, was born just over three months ago but she has already been able to shed the weight that most mothers put on during pregnancy.

Tim Lawler, chief executive of SportsAid, said: "I'm no volleyball expert but I thought she did great. She showed good skills and hand-eye co-ordination."

He added, joking, that his patron, who was attending her first public SportsAid event, realised she would have to change her footwear for the next visit: "She said 'I must remember to bring my trainers next time - this is great fun'."

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Appeal for UK Savile cop to come forward

A FORMER UK police officer who anonymously told journalists that he caught Jimmy Savile trying to seduce an underage girl in 1965 has been urged to come forward and speak to investigators.

The ex-Leeds Pc spoke to the Daily Mirror and the BBC under the pseudonym Paul Leonard, claiming that Savile was found parked in a lay-by with a young girl in his Rolls Royce.

He told the newspaper that the disgraced DJ said he was waiting for midnight when the girl turned 16, and threatened: "If you want to keep your job I suggest you get on your bike and f-off."

Today West Yorkshire Police appealed for the man to speak to them about the incident.

The force released a statement that said: "West Yorkshire Police are appealing for a man who spoke to the media yesterday in relation to the Jimmy Savile case to get in touch.

Previous appeals have been made for witnesses with information about Savile to come forward, but the force said they do not believe that he has made contact before.

The statement went on: "To our knowledge, Mr Leonard was not one of those who made contact. Given that Paul Leonard used a pseudonym, a false name, in his media interviews his identity or the content of what he says is very difficult to verify.

"We are however keen to speak to 'Mr Leonard' in order that this can be investigated thoroughly."

The former officer told the Daily Mirror that he had been warned off pursuing the incident by a more senior officer.

He claimed that a sergeant had said: "Shut up, son, he's got friends in high places. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave it there."

The officer told the newspaper: "There wasn't a copper in Leeds who didn't know Savile was a pervert. But he was so well-connected. He was like a superstar."

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Drug offers hope for pancreas cancer

A BREAST cancer drug can double two-year survival rates of patients with pancreatic cancer, trial results have shown.

Nab-paclitaxel, marketed as Abraxane, also increased the proportion of patients still alive after one year by 59 per cent.

It is already approved for women with spreading breast cancer who have run out of other options.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, killing 80 per cent of patients within a year.

The disease claimed the life of Hollywood star Patrick Swayze.

Data from the MPACT (Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Clinical Trial) study showed significant improvements when patients were treated with Abraxane in combination with standard chemotherapy.

Average survival increased from 6.7 months to 8.5 months. One year survival rates rose from 22 per cent to 35 per cent and at two years they doubled from 4 per cent to 9 per cent.

The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Today's news represents a major step-forward in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer," said consultant oncologist Dr Harpreet Wasan, from Hammersmith Hospital in London, who runs a pancreatic cancer research program.

"The prognosis for these patients is exceptionally poor and, unlike many other cancers, current treatment options are limited. Based on this data, nab-paclitaxel offers patients a major new advance."

Ali Stunt, founder and chief executive of the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: "Pancreatic cancer is lagging behind other cancers in terms of treatments that extend survival, but nab-paclitaxel has the potential to offer hope to patients with this deadly disease."

Abraxane's manufacturer Celgene has applied to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for a licence to use the drug to treat advanced pancreatic cancer.

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Opera House gets price tag for birthday

IT'S a priceless national icon, but a new report has put a figure on what the Sydney Opera House means to Australia.

The tourist magnet is worth $4.6 billion - or about $200 per citizen - to the Australian public, according to Deloitte.

Ticket sales, iconic status, digital presence and the unique design were all quantified to come up with the value.

"We all know in our bones how important it is,", Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said.

"(But) here is the number - this is what we're worth, don't take us for granted."

By putting a price tag on the venue, management can make a stronger case for government funding for upkeep, she said.

"We have this 40-year-old thing which is magnificent, but absolutely needs to be renovated," she said.

Commissioned ahead of the building's 40th anniversary, the report also found the Opera House injects roughly $775 million into the national economy annually.

Jorn Utzon's famed creation rates higher than the national identity on a marketing index of brand esteem, the report says.

"It's slightly counterintuitive that Australia would have as it's symbol a work of art, but we do," Ms Herron said.

Looking ahead, the Opera House is hoping to grow its online presence and digital audience with blogs, live-streaming and social media.

But for now the focus is on birthday festivities, including an anniversary concert on October 20 attended by Danish royals Mary and Frederik.

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Laos plane crash leaves 44 dead

A LAO Airlines plane carrying 44 people from the capital Vientiane to the southern town of Pakse has crashed killing all on board.

Laos officials say the plane carrying 39 passengers and five crew went down around 8km from the airport in Champasak province in southern Laos, according to Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee.

"I can now confirm, according to our reports, that all 44 people on board have died, including five Thai," he said on Wednesday.

Thailand's English language Bangkok Post reported that the plane had ditched into the Mekong River in bad weather at it tried to land at Pakse airport.

Pictures on Thai television showed a plane, half submerged in the river, with what appeared to be bodies lying on the banks.

A spokesman from ATR in France confirmed the crash and said that the state-owned Lao Airlines flight was one of its ATR-72 planes.

An official at the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos told AFP on condition of anonymity that all on board the plane had been killed.

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Coca-Cola's profit up on increased sales

COCA-COLA says its profit have risen in the third-quarter as the world's biggest beverage maker managed to sell more of its drinks despite choppy economic conditions.

The maker of Sprite, Powerade and Vitaminwater said global sales volume edged up two per cent, fuelled by its performance in emerging markets such as China, India and Russia.

Although the Atlanta-based company is struggling to sell more of its namesake soda back at home, it has continued to boost sales by introducing smaller cans and bottles that better fit with people's lifestyles, as well as focusing more heavily on other drinks, such as flavoured water.

In North America, for instance, soda volume was flat for the period, following a four per cent decline in the previous quarter and flat growth a year ago. But uncarbonated drinks such as tea, juice and bottled water, rose five per cent. As a result, overall volume for the region rose two per cent.

Meanwhile, soda sales are faring much better in developing markets; the company said its namesake brand saw volume growth of 22 per cent in India. In China, soda volume rose eight per cent.

The company blamed volatile economic conditions for more disappointing results in other parts of the world. In Europe, volume fell one per cent. Coca-Cola also cited hurricanes for a two per cent volume in Mexico.

For the quarter, the company said it earned $US2.45 billion ($A2.59 billion), or 54 cents per share, up from $US2.31 billion, or 50 cents per share, a year ago.

Not including one-time items, earnings per share were 53 cents, which was in line with Wall Street expectations.

Shares of Coca-Cola Co rose 1.6 per cent at $US38.51.

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Johnson & Johnson 3Q net rises slightly

HEALTH care giant Johnson & Johnson's third-quarter profit has edged up as a big jump in prescription drug sales and lower research spending made up for slumping sales of medical devices.

Its results beat Wall Street estimates and its shares rose 1.3 per cent to $US91 in premarket trading.

The maker of baby shampoo, joint replacements and drugs for immune disorders says net income was $US2.98 billion ($A3.15 billion), or $US1.04 per share, up from $US2.97 billion, or $US1.05 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time charges, it earned $US1.36 per share. That was four cents per share better than analysts expected.

The company, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, says revenue totaled $US17.58 billion, up three per cent. Analysts expected $US17.43 billion.

J&J nudged up its profit forecast to $US5.44 to $US5.49 per share. Analysts expect $US5.46 per share.

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Cost and number of cyber attacks drops

THE average cost of a cyber attack in Australia has dropped by $100 over the past 12 months.

The average victim now loses $200, down from an average of $300 just 12 months ago, according to the annual cyber crime report from security firm Norton.

The report shows the number of victims has also dropped from an estimated 5.4 million in 2011-2012 to five million in the past year.

The combined cost to Australians has dropped from $1.65 billion to $1.06 billion, the report estimates.

Sean Kopelke, Norton's head of technology for the Pacific region, says the drop in crime could be the result of better security awareness.

"(Australians) are getting a little bit more sensible around understanding the security risks," Kopelke said - especially with emails and social networking.

Meanwhile, cyber attacks are "focusing more on select individuals".

He said attackers were trying to secure lower cash sums - in the tens rather than hundreds of dollars - in order to "slip under the radar".

"(Criminals) aim for this 20 or 30 dollar figure instead of several hundred dollars because people will be more prone to pay it," he said.

So-called "ransomware" attacks, where criminals lock computers down and demand a payment to unlock them, are increasingly common, he said.

Fraud and identity theft are also common.

Australia compared well with the rest of the world, where the average cost per victim remained at more than $300.

The global cost was estimated to stand at $US113 billion ($A119.36 billion), up slightly from $US110 billion in the last report.

Kopelke said the number of victims in developed countries was down across the board, but this was more than offset by an increase in victims from developing countries.

The report surveys 500 people in each of 24 countries each year, but overall estimates include data from Norton's global intelligence network.

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Synthetic drugs gain popularity: study

SO-CALLED synthetic highs are becoming increasingly popular among recreational drug users in Australia, according to an annual survey of people who use psychostimulants like ecstasy.

It's a big worry, says chief investigator Dr Lucy Burns of the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The main problems are that the contents of the drugs are unknown and the effects are unpredictable.

Although use by the general population is likely to be "very low", Dr Burns is worried about the growing popularity among users of psychostimulants.

"Almost half of people who take conventional drugs like ecstasy also use the new class of drugs or emerging psychoactive substances (EPS). It's a concern. There have been fatalities," says Dr Burns, who is presenting the survey results at a drug trends conference in Melbourne.

Her team surveys hundreds of drug users each year in an attempt to keep up to date with popularity, price and availability of illicit drugs.

The latest survey, conducted in state and territory capitals in early 2013, shows 44 per cent of regular drug users used an EPS - including synthetic cannabis - in the previous six months.

This is up from 40 per cent in 2012.

Although ecstasy is still the most popular drug after cannabis, Dr Burns says things have changed.

"It's a whole new world out there. We have something like 250 substances," she said.

"We really don't know what's in them. What people get over the internet is often not what they think they are getting.

"A very significant proportion of young Australians in the recreational drug scene are using them and the effects can be unpredictable."

The survey shows use of methamphetamines like speed and ice has fallen significantly among the people interviewed.

The use of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and ketamine has increased significantly, although frequency of use is low.

Although ecstasy is the most common drug of choice among people in the survey, they use cannabis and tobacco more often than any other substance.

Their tobacco consumption has fallen, however.

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Hope for new way to beat aggressive cancer

AUSTRALIAN researchers are optimistic they have found a way to treat triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive disease that mainly affects younger women.

Although still being tested on mice, the treatment is based on two drugs that are already in use and human trials could start relatively quickly.

Triple-negative cancer affects about 15 per cent of people with breast cancer and is particularly difficult to treat.

After many years of research, Professor Robert Baxter and his team at Sydney's Kolling Institute of Medical Research have discovered how a protein helps some breast cancers grow and become resistant to treatment.

Using that knowledge they combined two drugs to create a new treatment they say has been remarkably effective in the laboratory.

"We discovered that two drugs in combination might be an effective way to stop tumour growth," says Prof Baxter.

"Our tests have shown the drugs to be extremely effective when used together. We are now hoping to move on to further preclinical studies," Prof Baxter says.

"The prognosis for people with triple-negative breast cancer is not good," says Dr Libby Topp of Cancer Council NSW, which partly funds Dr Baxter's research.

"The five-year survival rate is much lower than 89 per cent for breast cancer in general."

Funds raised on Cancer Council's Pink Ribbon Day on October 28 will go towards prevention programs, support services and research like Prof Baxter's project, she says.

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Sea cucumber overfishing could hurt reef

OVERFISHING is putting sea cucumbers in a pickle on the Great Barrier Reef, marine biologists say.

Sydney University's Professor Maria Byrne and Dr Hampus Eriksson, a post-doctoral researcher at Stockholm University, say more than 24 sea cucumber fisheries have closed in recent years.

Over 70 per cent of tropical sea cucumber fisheries are now considered depleted, fully exploited or over-exploited.

After analysing catches in the Great Barrier Reef over the last 20 years, the researchers say sea cucumber fishing is now showing worrying signs of being unsustainable.

"Sea cucumbers play a vital role in reef health and our previous research indicates that they may help reduce the harmful impact of ocean acidification on coral growth," Prof Byrne said in a statement.

"The crown-of-thorns starfish is often singled out as responsible for the decline in the barrier reef.

"This work suggests that overfishing of ecologically important species such as sea cucumbers, may have also contributed to this decline."

Dr Eriksson said that with declining catches of high value sea cucumber species, Australian fishers had turned to other, lower value species, which were also being overfished.

"Pursuing profits by targeting abundant species which sell for less while continuing to fish scarce high-value species is a pathway to their extinction," Dr Eriksson said.

Prof Byrne said further studies were needed to understand the impact of declining sea cucumber numbers on the reef.

"We recommend introducing precautionary reductions in sea cucumber fishing," she said.

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Union to protest Telstra job cuts at AGM

THE public sector union will use Telstra's annual general meeting on Tuesday to demand the company stop sending jobs overseas.

The union will demonstrate outside Telstra's AGM against "massive" job cuts made by the company.

It claims there are at least 10,250 people working offshore on Telstra business "on any one shift".

The union also points to Telstra's decision to cut 3157 workers since January.

"Telstra likes to boast that it is 'creating' new jobs but what it doesn't like to mention is that for the most part these jobs are overseas and were once fulfilled by an Australian worker," CPSU lead organiser for Telstra Teresa Davison said in a statement.

"Telstra is actively helping overseas companies build their capacity to take Telstra's Australian jobs."

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Iran to send another monkey into space

IRAN is reportedly planning to send another monkey into space.

Conservative daily Jomhuri Eslami quoted on Sunday the deputy head of Iran's space agency, Hamid Fazeli, as saying the planned launch, within a month, is part of the country's plans to send a human to space in 2018.

Earlier this year, Iran claimed it launched a monkey out of the earth's atmosphere and successfully had it return.

Fazeli was quoted in the article as saying animals with a similar weight as monkeys are under consideration as future space test subjects.

In September, Iran suggested it may start launching Persian cats into space.

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Flying doctors offer chance to buy the sky

THE Royal Flying Doctor Service is giving donors a chance to claim a patch of the Australian sky.

Demand for the flying doctor service has grown by more than a quarter in the past seven years as the mining boom sent more people into remote areas.

The famous flying doctors are now launching their biggest ever fundraiser on Monday in a bid to secure their long-term future.

A $50 donation gives people a chance to put their name on a piece of sky on the Royal Flying Doctor Service flight paths.

They can then choose to get weekly updates of the lifesaving doctors' activity in their patch.

While supported by the commonwealth and state governments, the service - which ensures no patient is more than two hours from medical help - relies heavily on the community.

"Buy the Sky" donations will be used to purchase and equip aircraft, and to finance major capital initiatives.

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Attacks across Iraq kill at least 31

A STRING of bombings in mostly Shi'ite-majority cities across Iraq has killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but car bombs are frequently used by al-Qaeda's Iraq branch.

The Sunni militant group and other Sunni extremists often target Shi'ite civilians in an effort to undermine the country's Shi'ite-led government.

The deadliest Sunday's attacks, which targeted mainly commercial areas and bus stations, was in the southern city of Hillah, 95 kilometres south of Baghdad.

Back-to-back car bombings hit an outdoor market, killing eight people and wounding 22, a police officer said.

Two parked car bombs ripped through a commercial area of Suwayrah, 40 kilometres south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 14.

Two other car bombs that exploded simultaneously in Kut, 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, killed four and wounded 16.

In nearby Samawah, four other people were killed and 13 wounded when two car bombs exploded.

Two other car bombs killed three and wounded 13 in Diwaniyah, 130 kilometres south of the capital.

In northern Samarra, two people were killed and 15 were wounded when a bomb targeted a gathering of mourners for some of the 17 people who were killed in a car bombing there on Saturday.

Five other people were killed and 34 were wounded in other attacks in the southern city of Basra and the central towns of Mahmoudiyah and Madain.

More than 5000 people have been killed in Iraq since attacks began accelerating in April following a deadly crackdown against a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija.

More than 258 people have been so far killed in October.

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Vatican beatifies 522 killed in Spain

THE Vatican has beatified 522 people - mostly priests and nuns - killed in the turmoil that led to Spain's civil war.

The beatification, the last step the Roman Catholic church takes before sainthood, was conducted on Sunday by Cardinal Angelo Amato in an outdoor ceremony attended by thousands in Spain's northeastern Tarragona region.

Among the congregation were almost 4000 relatives of those being beatified.

In the 1930s, Spain was engulfed in instability that saw the head of state, King Alfonso XIII, abandon the country and anti-clerical mobs attack clergy and burn churches.

The mayhem culminated in a 1936-1939 war, won by forces allied to Nazi Germany and fascist Italy and led by General Francisco Franco.

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