Hellish search continues in Philippines

JOHN Lajara peers under a slab of crumbled concrete, lifts a sodden white teddy bear then drops it back into the filth. But he's searching for something far more precious - the body of his brother, Winston.

The search for the missing - 1,179 by official count - has become a hellish daily activity for some. In Lajara's seaside village, residents estimate that about 50 of the 400 people who lived there were killed. About half of the dead are still missing: mothers, fathers, children and friends.

"Somehow, part of me is gone," Lajara said as another fruitless expedition in the rubble ended Saturday.

Lajara has carried out the routine since both he and his brother were swept from their house by Typhoon Haiyan on November 8. And every day has ended so far with no answers on Winston's fate.

According to the latest figures by the Philippines' main disaster agency, 3,633 people died and 12,487 were injured. Many of the bodies remain tangled in piles of debris, or are lining the road in body bags that seep fetid liquid. Some are believed to have been swept out to sea.

After the initial days of chaos, when no aid reached the more than 600,000 people rendered homeless, an international aid effort was gathering steam.

"We're starting to see the turning of the corner," said John Ging, a top UN humanitarian official in New York. He said 107,500 people have received food assistance so far and 11 foreign and 22 domestic medical teams are in operation.

US Navy helicopters flew sorties from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities. The US military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.

So far, the US military has moved 174,000 kilograms of supplies and flown nearly 200 sorties.

The focus of the aid effort is on providing life-saving aid for those who survived, while the search for missing people is lower in the government's priorities.

The head of the country's disaster management agency, Eduardo del Rosario, said the coast guard, the navy and civilian volunteers are searching the sea for the dead and the missing.

Still, he said, the most urgent need is "ensuring that nobody starves and that food and water are delivered to them."

Lajara's neighbour, Neil Engracial, cannot find his mother or nephew, but he has found many other bodies. He points at a bloated corpse lying face down in the muddy debris. "Dante Cababa - he's my best friend," Engracial says. He points to another corpse rotting in the sun. "My cousin, Charana." She was a student, just 22.

Lajara remembers the moment his brother vanished.

They were standing alongside each other side by side with relatives and friends before the surge hit. They stared at the rising sea, then turned to survey the neighbourhood behind them, trying to figure out where or if they could run. Then the wave rushed in.

Lajara, Winston and the others dived into the water, and were swept away from each other. After Lajara's face hit the water, he never saw Winston again.

Lajara has trudged through the corpse-strewn piles of rubble and mud, searching for two things: wood to rebuild his home, and Winston. So far he has found only wood.

On Saturday, he set out again. The rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum echoed across the landscape, as a young boy played the instrument from the roof of a gutted building. It was a grim accompaniment to what has become Lajara's daily march into the corpse-strewn wasteland that was his home, where the sickly sweet stench of death mixes with the salty sea air.

Reminders of the people who once lived here are wedged everywhere among the warped piles of wood, glass and mud: a smiling, bowtie-clad stuffed bumblebee. A woman's white platform shoe. A wood-framed photograph of a young boy.

Suddenly, a neighbour, Pokong Magdue, approached.

"Have you seen Winston?"

Magdue replies: "We saw him in the library."

Lajara shakes his head. It can't be Winston. He's already searched the library.

Sometimes people come to him and inform him that Winston's body has been found. Lajara must walk to the corpse, steel himself, and roll it over to examine the face.

He then must deal with conflicting emotions: relief that the body is not his brother's. Hope that Winston might still be alive. And grief that he still has no body to bury. Because at least then, he says, he could stop searching.

Winston was his only brother. He had a wife and two teenage children. He was a joker who made everyone laugh. He drove a van for a living and was generous to everyone. He was a loving father.

"It's hard to lose somebody like him," Lajara says.

Now, the only trace of his brother that remains is his driver's licence. The upper left-hand corner of the licence is gone, and the picture is faded. Lajara leaves it with a friend for safekeeping when he is out hunting for wood and Winston.

He gazes at the card in his hand. "When I want to see him, I just stare at his picture."

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Severe storms can't dampen Schoolies

Steve Ots catches massive hailstones falling in the water of the Sunshine Coast.

ANOTHER day, another storm in the southeast. Follow all the weather action here.

10.45pm: RAIN has failed to dampen spirits on the opening night of Schoolies.

While severe thunderstorms delayed the party for about an hour, stages set on the stretch of sand at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast have been reopened.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Schoolies organiser Mark Weyburn said the party was closed off to young revellers amid concerns of wet weather affecting electrical equipment.

"We didn't open the gates until an hour or so later than we had hoped but it didn't stop the teens from partying," Mr Weyburn said.

"The rain just amped up the crowds even more so that when the storm passed they all flooded into the party in good spirits."

Mr Weyburn said Schoolies had been well behaved this year with very few incidents.

Head Red Frog Andy Gourley said this year's crop of graduates have been well behaved so far.

Schoolies celebrate the rain

"Moving them out of the hotel rooms has been fantastic and everyone seems to be getting right into it," he said.

"The next couple of hours will get busy as we start our 'walk home' service.

"Last year we did about 6000 walk homes and some volunteers have already taken some Schoolies back to Broadbeach. Red Frogs are going to clock up the kilometres tonight."

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

7.15pm: ACCESS to the schoolies beach party has been closed temporarily while emergency services evaluate the storm threat.

Thousands of schoolies are assembling on the streets around Cavill Mall.

Gold Coast Schoolies spokesman Wayne Hickson said emergency services are keeping an eye on a developing storm front but organiser have no plans to close off the beach party at this stage.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

"It would have to be cyclonic weather to stop these guys from partying," Mr Hickson said.

"At the moment the worst of the storm looks like it will go around us but we have plenty of systems in place in case we need to evacuate the beach quickly."

Messages broadcast on large television screens, SMS warnings and audio warnings are on hand to alert schoolies if required.

If the party is shut off, Red Frogs volunteers will do the rounds at hotel room parties to keep the estimated 30,0000 school leavers entertained and out of trouble.

Mr Hickson said schoolies week is off to a slow start but is sure to pick up as the night wears on.

Weather photo Saturday night at the Story Bridge with lightning clouds. Picture: Adam Armstrong

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

6.50pm: THE Bruce Highway has been reopened at two sections following separate incidents earlier this evening.

Motorists can now use one lane of the highway after a minor car crash 40km north of Gin Gin.

Emergency services are still removing the damaged vehicle from the road.

The highway is also open near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after a tree-related incident about 3pm.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Water spout forming over Moreton Bay at approximately 6.30am Saturday morning. Picture: Juliet Bates

6.30pm: THUNDERSTORMS may rain on the parade of school leavers with another round of severe weather warnings issued for southeast Queensland.

The weather bureau has warned residents near the NSW border to expect storms near the McPherson Range by 6.25pm and Springbrook and Little Nerang Dam by 6.55pm.

The storms are moving northeast and forecasters have advised locals near the Gold Coast to prepare to batten down the hatches.

Further north, similar warnings have been given to residents near Mackay, Prosperine, Moranbah, Collinsville, Hamilton Island and Sarina on the central Queensland coast.
 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

3pm: DOUBLE Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

A 'very dangerous' thunderstorm on the Sunshine Coast brings hailstones the size of tennis balls.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

2.50pm: Steve Ots is visiting the Sunshine Coast from the Gold Coast and witnessed the hail storm from his twelfth storey apartment on the Maroochydore esplanade.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

"I started hearing really loud noises - like a construction site," he said. 

"When I looked in the distance I could see all this splashing up the river and I realised it was hail. 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Hail hits the water at Maroochydore and leaves huge splashes. Picture: Steve Ots

"Originally I thought someone was throwing things from the apartment above us.

"The hail was orange-sized and it looked like a war zone…it was crazy, I've never seen hail like it before."

Taking shelter on his balcony Mr Ots said the hail caused considerable damage on the ground below.

"I wonder about the damage that it must have done," he said, 

"You wouldn't want to be on the ground when these things were coming down…the speed was pretty phenomenal."

2.45pm: Double Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

2.40pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated weather warnings with very dangerous thunder storms detected near Maroochydore and Beenleigh, both cells are moving east.

A resident of Mooloolah Valley holds up a massive hailstone from a storm that sounded like explosions on the roof.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Jacobs Well and Russell Island by 2:45 pm.

Thunderstorms were also located north of Noosa and at Lake Cooloola.

2pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has added to the list of southeast Queensland towns warned to brace for oncoming storms.

Dangerous storm cells have been detected on radars near Jimboomba, Logan Village, Greenbank and Conondale.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Beenleigh, Logan City, Nambour and Mapleton by 2:20 pm.

Cleveland, Manly, Wynnum and Yandina may be affected by 2:50 pm.

Hail at Novotel Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast.

1.35pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its storm warnings, with two storms cells centred around Maroochydore and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

The storms are moving towards the east to northeast.

The storms are classed as "very dangerous" and are forecast to affect Tamborine, Jimboomba, Logan Village and waters off Coolum Beach by 1:55 pm.

Beenleigh, Coomera, Hope Island and Jacobs Well will be hit by 2:25 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near the NSW border and the area south of the NSW border.

They are forecast to affect the area southwest of Noosa Heads, the area west of Noosa Heads, Tewantin and Pomona by 1:55 pm.

Coolangatta, Caboolture, Noosa Heads and waters off Noosa Heads are predicted to be affected by 2:25 pm.

Residents are warned to brace for large hailstones and damaging winds.

Massive hailstones pounded the Mooloolah Valley. Picture: Higgins Storm Chasing/Rebecca Shepperson

1.15pm: Tennis ball-sized hail has fallen at Buderim as a large storm cell sweeps over the Sunshine Coast.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

The Bureau of Meteorology has reported "very dangerous thunderstorms" detected on weather radar near Maroochydore, Boonah, Caloundra and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

They are forecast to affect Beaudesert, waters off Caloundra and waters off Maroochydore by 1:25 pm and Canungra, Mount Tamborine, Tamborine and Jimboomba by 1:55 pm.

Marburg, Lowood, northern Lake Wivenhoe and Mount Kilcoy will receive falls at around 1:25 pm.

Ipswich, Crohamhurst, Maleny and Conondale will receive further falls by 1:55 pm.

12.55pm: Residents are reporting a blanket of hail, some the size of large marbles, after more than 20 minutes of solid falls.

The water funnel as seen from a dive boat off Wynnum. Picture: Josh Keen

The storm cell is moving east to northeast and are forecast to hit Maroochydore by 12.55pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also detected severe thunderstorms near Esk and to the west of the town.

The storms are forecast to affect Boondah, Esk and the northwest of Esk by 12.55pm, and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert, northern Wivenhoe and Toogoolawah by 1.25pm.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Damaging winds and very large hailstones are likely.

Capricornia, parts of the Central Coast, the Whitsundays, the Central Highlands and the Coalfields districts are being warned to brace for damaging winds and large hail stones in the next two hours.

Emerald, Rockhampton, Clermont, Blackwater, Yeppoon, Baralaba, Marlborough, St Lawrence and Dysart may be affected.

Earlier, walkers on the Wynnum foreshore got a shock this morning when a large water funnel was spotted just off the coast.

Reader Janet Rough snapped a picture about 6.45am, with the odd formation dominating the skyline.

Commonly referred to as a water spout, Bureau of Meteorology Duty Forecaster Gordon Banks said the formation was more likely to be a small tornado over water.

Meet the one man weather bureau

Readers capture southeast storms

"In this instance being as it was associated with a thunderstorm it's most likely a tornado over water," he said.

"It would actually pick up water as it moved; it's hard to see if they don't have water or dirt wrapped around them."

Also spotted from the airport, if the formation is a tornado Brisbane could be on the receiving end of a weather phenomenon.

"If it was a tornado, and I suspect it was but it's hard to prove, then it's very unusual and very rare," Mr Banks said.

"Statistically we're unlikely to get another one, but if the environments produced one there remains a chance of another.

"It's just another part of the danger associated with thunderstorms and why it's always best to take cover."

Southeast Queensland's wet weather is expected to continue, with the bureau predicting significant rain over Sunday and Monday with thunderstorms also predicted.

- reporting by Caitlin Drysdale, Naomi Lim, Jacinda Tutty and Kathleen Donaghey

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Aust asylum patrol boats for Sri Lanka

AUSTRALIA will give two retired navy patrol boats to Sri Lanka in a bid to crack down on people smugglers.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday will visit a Colombo port to meet Sri Lankan navy officials and government members and tour a patrol boat.

"Australia appreciates its strong co-operative relationship with Sri Lanka in countering people smuggling," Mr Abbott said.

This year 14 asylum seeker boats have travelled directly from Sri Lanka to Australia, compared with 120 in 2012.

The prime minister said the Sri Lankan navy was getting better at disrupting people smugglers, with at least 12 on-water interceptions in 2013.

And a communication campaign in local villages was convincing people that "illegal entry by boat will never lead to resettlement in Australia", Mr Abbott said.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is using his role as host of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this weekend to show the world, and his own people, that economic and social conditions are improving.

But human rights advocates say basic freedoms and the rule of law are routinely breached and minorities are still persecuted.

Sri Lanka is also under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into state-sanctioned abuses against its Tamil minority as well as war crimes including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians during its 2009 defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

Mr Abbott has urged Commonwealth leaders to engage with rather than isolate Sri Lanka as it seeks to rebuild from three decades of war.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited the island's Tamil-led north on Friday told reporters the summit should not shy away from controversial topics.

"I think it's right to confront and discuss the difficult issues, the human rights issues, journalistic-freedom issues, importance of reconciliation," Mr Cameron said.

"But I think we do that not by gliding over the difficult issues."

Mr Cameron praised Mr Abbott as a "politician of immense stature and ability".

Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders will have to decide on hosts for consecutive forthcoming CHOGMs after 2015 host Mauritius pulled out.

The Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam, who boycotted the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights record, said he could not in good conscience host other leaders having not attended the 2013 event.

There is also a push to return Fiji to the fold, after it was suspended from the Commonwealth over the 2006 coup.

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New device aims to reduce stillbirths

AN experimental device that helps deliver babies during troubled labours was invented by an auto mechanic in South America.

It's being developed as part of an effort to reduce stillbirths around the world.

The instrument is named the Odon Device in honor of its inventor, car mechanic Jorge Odon of Argentina, who got the idea when friends re-created a YouTube video showing how to extract a cork from a wine bottle.

It is to be tested in Argentina and South Africa before wider distribution.

Birth is still a perilous event in the developing world.

According to the World Health Organisation, 2.6 million babies were stillborn globally in 2009, a number that has declined little since 1995, when there were 3 million stillbirths.

Moreover, about 260,000 women died in childbirth last year.

The device being developed by Becton, Dickinson and Co of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, essentially consists of a polyethylene bag and a tube.

The bag is inserted into the birth canal and inflated slightly to create a balloon that holds onto the baby's head.

That makes it easier to deliver the newborn, without the potential dangers that arise when a less-skilled practitioner uses forceps or vacuum suction.

It's also an alternative to cesarean sections, which are not readily available in poor countries.

"Developing countries just don't have access to the type of interventions that women would receive in the US or Western Europe," said Gary Cohen, executive vice president at BD, a medical technology company that is a leading manufacturer of needles and syringes.

Officials there estimate that if the tests go well, the device will be ready for use in about three years.

Odon got the idea in 2005 after seeing a plastic bag inserted into a wine bottle and inflated to get a cork out through the bottle's narrow neck.

He connected with officials at WHO, and the concept won a competition called "Saving Lives at Birth," which is sponsored by USAID, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organisations.

Officials from WHO reached out to Becton Dickinson in January 2012 because of the company's experience working with governments and non-profits to tackle health issues - especially HIV/AIDS - in the developing world, according to Cohen.

The company doesn't have any background in obstetrics, but it does have expertise in global distribution, as well as plastics molding, he said.

BD is working on the device under an exclusive licensing agreement with the inventor, as well as an agreement with WHO that calls for WHO to test the device.

BD said it plans to develop and manufacture the device in Singapore and distribute it globally, starting in areas where the maternal mortality rate is highest.

BD will make a profit on the product, but plans to offer it at an affordable price in developing countries. Cohen said it's too early to estimate prices for Odon.

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Another $10m gift for University of WA

ANOTHER multi-millionaire has given another massive donation to the University of Western Australia, with freight magnate Greg Poche gifting $10 million for a new centre for indigenous health.

Just weeks after mining billionaire Andrew Forrest gave the university $65 million, the former founder and owner of Star Track Express has made his own major bequest to the college.

It will fund a new Poche Centre for Indigenous Health in Perth, to work alongside sister centres at Flinders University in Adelaide and the University of Sydney.

Their goal is to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander health, while advocating stronger social and emotional wellbeing.

And so the UWA Poche Centre will work together with the University's School of Indigenous Studies, their Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health and their Rural Clinical School.

Mr Poche and his wife Kay said the couple were still committed to do their best for Indigenous Australians.

"Improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians is one of our nation's biggest challenges and it is vital that we do everything we can," Mrs Kay said.

"Greg and I are determined that the Poche Centres will make a big difference."

The centre will also tackle children's health, disability and developmental outcomes, as well as chronic disease.

Professor Paul Johnson, vice-chancellor of the university, said a long-established strength in Aboriginal health research and education would be added to by the Poche centre.

"This will bring together the University's considerable expertise, programs and resources in Aboriginal health in a strong partnership," Professor Johnson said.

"Fostering collaborations between health professionals and Aboriginal communities is critical for successful health outcomes."

Poche has consistently been listed among the richest Australians, valued at $620 million.

It is estimated he donated more than $105 million to causes around Australia - while also recently donating the use of his palatial Sydney home to the Ten Network to film the current series of the TV show The Bachelor.

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Girls may be undiagnosed with autism

NEW research suggests many girls could be suffering with undiagnosed autism - as they are better at covering up signs of the disorder compared to boys.

Teachers are six times more likely to identify boys as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than girls, with parents twice as likely to make the same assessment.

But a study by University College London found autistic traits were more common in girls than previously thought.

Researchers used a series of tests to analyse emotional reactions in more than 3500 participants in the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol.

In the tests, participants were asked to identify emotions of people as happy, sad, angry or scared.

They were then asked to attribute one of the same four emotions to an animated triangle and circle moving around a screen.

Boys and girls previously identified as having attributes of autism were more likely to make mistakes when identifying sad and scared faces and wrongly identify faces as happy.

When the genders were contrasted, girls with autistic traits were found to be better at recognising emotions in the photographs, but fared less well with the triangle and circle cartoons.

This suggests girls may be better at masking the signs of autism in social situations, but are less able to do so in unfamiliar settings, the study reports.

"The lack of association between social communication difficulties and facial emotion recognition in girls suggests girls might learn to compensate for facial emotion recognition difficulties," said Dr Radha Kothari, lead author of the study, which is published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

"This has important implications for current assessment of clinical ASD in girls.

"Gender-specific assessment of ASD traits and characteristics might be important in order to understand the causes of ASD, and individual treatment needs across gender."

Dr Kothari said the findings of the study suggested many girls may not be diagnosed with autism and could be missing out on the treatment they needed.

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Hospitals braced for schoolies boozefest

EDS: Not for use before 00.02am (AEDT) November 15.

By Miles Godfrey

SYDNEY, Nov 15 AAP - More than 500 schoolies will end up in hospital on the Gold Coast next week, with about 18 poisoned by drugs and a further 90 suffering alcohol-related mental or behavioural problems.

That's the stark prediction from new software developed by the CSIRO to help Queensland health bosses marshal resources during the annual end-of-term boozefest.

About 28,000 schoolies are forecast to descend on the Gold Coast from Saturday, with thousands of others heading to different Australian locations or overseas to let off steam.

In a bid to accurately gauge the health response, including staffing levels and bed vacancies, Queensland Health is using a new tool developed by Australian scientists to forecast exactly how many schoolies will need treatment.

The Patient Admission Prediction Tool (PAPT) uses historical data and inputs other things, including weather, time of day and population levels, to predict how many people will need help.

"We're using the latest data to build a model and that is used then to forecast how many people will rock up to the emergency room," said David Hansen, CEO of CSIRO's Australian E-Health Research Centre.

It's the first time PAPT has been been used for schoolies week and it paints a grim picture of what will unfold.

The CSIRO's modelling shows there will be 2700 presentations to Gold Coast Health's emergency rooms in the first week of schoolies, with around 20 per cent (540) of those students.

The modelling forecasts that about 90 people aged 17-19 will need treatment each week during schoolies for alcohol-related mental and behavioural problems.

A further 18 per week will need treatment for drug poisoning, 30 per week will need help for cuts and grazes to the head - and dozens of others will suffer cuts and grazes to other body parts, often from broken glass.

CSIRO data shows that the number schoolies needing treatment for alcohol intoxication tripled between 2011 and 2012.

Presentations related to alcohol intoxication increases by 40 times during Schoolies compared to other times of the year, CSIRO said.

"Having this information about admissions allows us to plan the staff, medical supplies and beds needed to care for those schoolies and manage waiting times for our other patients who are still arriving with other serious injuries," said Gold Coast Health's Dr James Lind.

The PAPT software may be rolled out to other hospitals, government services and business in future, Mr Hansen said.

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Activists to quiz company board at AGM

ENVIRONMENTAL activists will use proxies from shareholders to question the Lend Lease board at the company's AGM about its plans to build a coal port in Queensland.

Scientist Felicity Wishart, the Great Barrier Reef campaign manager for the Australian Maritime Conservation Society, said Lend Lease is considering whether to invest in a coal port at Abbot Point.

Building there would require dredging in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, she added.

Lend Lease would also construct "supporting rail infrastructure" under their plans.

"We're very concerned about this proposal," she told AAP.

"The reef is already under too much pressure, it's health is already fragile."

Ms Wishart and two activists from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition will attend the company's AGM in Sydney on Friday to ask questions of the board and to inform shareholders of the proposed port.

"Lend Lease has had a pretty good record in terms of commitments to sustainability," she told AAP on Thursday.

"We don't understand why then they would want to be involved in a project which... poses a great threat to the reef and additionally is about promulgating an increase in coal exports."

About 40 other activists will rally outside the AGM to highlight community concerns, Ms Wishart said.

She added that existing ports in the area are only operating at 30 per cent capacity.

"You could end up with these ports being developed, damaging the reef for no actual reason."

"It's a poor investment."

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Asylum seekers safe in Indonesia

INDONESIAN authorities say a group of about 50 asylum seekers are safe, after being rescued from a boat which had run into trouble in waters south of Java as it made its way to Australia.

An official with Indonesia's national search and rescue agency Basarnas said late on Wednesday evening that all of those who had been aboard the boat, including at least five children, had been brought to shore.

"We're still gathering information about where they are all from, but all are safe," the official said.

There had been earlier reports that at least some of the asylum seekers had entered the water as a rescue operation was mounted off the coast near the district of Bayah.

It's understood the boat issued a distress call at about 11.30am local time (3.30pm AEDT) after having engine and steering problems.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison late on Wednesday confirmed the incident, but added that no Australian authorities were involved in the rescue.

"We understand the incident occurred in close proximity to the Indonesian coast and Indonesian authorities are coordinating a search and rescue response," Mr Morrison said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

"We understand there are reportedly 50 people on board the vessel and reports indicate some people have entered the water and that local fishermen are and have been assisting."

The incident on Wednesday comes less than a week after another asylum-seeker boat was the subject of a search and rescue operation, and later a stand-off between Canberra and Jakarta about where the passengers should be offloaded.

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Drones may fly in to help SA farmers

UNMANNED aerial drones could soon be used in the early detection of pests and disease in South Australian crops.

Drones are among a number of new technologies being considered as options to reduce losses and safeguard the biosecurity of the state's grain crops.

Agriculture Minister Gail Gago says the state government will provide almost $1 million to a $5.5 million, five-year research project on the introduction of new technologies to the agriculture sector.

"The sophistication and development in sensor technologies is growing at an impressive rate," Ms Gago said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Near-infra-red, laser, acoustic and biosensor detection are being applied to a range of industries and agriculture, fisheries and environmental management are all set to gain."

She said the high-tech approach could improve farm productivity and counter the negative impacts of drought and weather extremes.

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5% emissions reduction possible: expert

THE government can achieve its target five per cent emissions reduction through its direct action scheme at a cost of $7-10 billion, an economist says.

Danny Price, managing director of Frontier Economics Australia, said on Tuesday the task would depend on the difficult issues of scheme penalties and baselines which the government had yet to announce.

Initially the coalition proposed a $10.5 billion direct action fund out to 2020 but has now revised that down to $2.55 billion to 2018.

Mr Price said there would certainly be funds beyond this initial four year forward estimates period, although he couldn't say just how much more would be needed.

"It will depend very much on where the government sets the baselines and the nature of the penalties that are applied, but in the order of $7-10 billion, but probably on the lower end of that range. That includes the $2.55 billion," he told ABC television.

Mr Price is one of a small group of economists who favour direct action rather than a carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions.

He said a couple of years ago the then opposition invited Frontier Economics to review costings and assess whether their proposed range of abatement measures were consistent with the literature.

"In both cases we concluded that the costs were reasonable and the level of abatement was very consistent, probably on the conservative side of the evidence available at the time," he said.

Mr Price said a carbon tax worked as a stick whereas direct action was a carrot.

But it also included penalties.

"Direct action comprises both a reward and also a penalty. So if any producer comes along and starts to emit at a much higher rate than they did before, that penalty could cut in," he said.

"Very much, the focus is on encouraging greater quantities of cleaner energy or cleaner forms of production."

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Industry calls for swift carbon tax repeal

AN alliance of industry groups is urging the Australian parliament not to stand in the way of the Abbott government quickly repealing the carbon tax.

The federal government on Wednesday will introduce its carbon tax repeal legislation to the House of Representatives, the first step in its long-standing pledge to do away with Labor's carbon pricing laws.

But while the government has the numbers to see the legislation through the lower house, it's likely to have less luck in the upper house given the makeup of the current Senate.

Labor and the Australian Greens are expected to block the repeal legislation in the upper house until July, when a less-hostile Senate takes over.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Industry Group, the Business Council of Australia and the Minerals Council of Australia claim any delay would achieve nothing for the environment and hurt businesses.

"That would be deeply unhelpful as we try to build a more competitive Australia with a better chance of keeping our manufacturing base onshore," said the groups in a statement.

The industry groups - all outspoken critics of the carbon tax - said the next step would be ensuring the government's Direct Action scheme reduces emissions cheaply and doesn't reduce business competitiveness.

If passed, the package of eight bills will not only repeal the carbon tax, but abolish the Climate Change Authority.

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Biometrics means world without passwords

YOU may never need to memorise another password. That's the goal of researchers at Purdue University's International Center for Biometrics Research.

Stephen Elliott is the director of international biometric research at Purdue University in Indiana. He says iris and fingerprint scans as well as facial and voice recognition are just a few of the tools that improve security while making lives easier.

His basement lab is a place where emerging biometric technologies are tested for weaknesses before they can go mainstream.

Biometrics is already in use at one local restaurant. Chris Smith, assistant manager of KFC in West Lafayette, Indiana, says workers punch in by putting their finger on a fingerprint scanner attached to their cash register.

The new iPhone 5S also uses fingerprint identification for security.

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Aust urged to help modernise Indon defence

AUSTRALIA is being urged to support modernisation of Indonesia's military so that its capability is shaped in a way that suits our interests.

In a new Australian Strategic Policy Institute study, ASPI analyst Benjamin Schreer says that could include improving Indonesian capability to safeguard its exclusive economic zone.

Maritime surveillance could be shared with Australia providing data from its Jindalee Operational Radar Network which can cover almost all of Indonesia.

The study says Indonesia could share data from its new maritime surveillance systems and Australia could share use of the Cocos Islands for maritime surveillance and patrol operations.

Dr Schreer said a democratic, militarily more-outward-looking Indonesia was in Australia's strategic interest.

"The Australian government should seek to shape Indonesia's defence capability in a way that suits out interests," he said.

Dr Schreer said Indonesia had expressed ambitions for an expanded defence force in the past but the military, known as TNI, was far from reaching its plans.

In its 2010 Strategic Defence Plan, Indonesia unveiled plans for a navy of 274 ships and 12 submarines, a modernised air force including 10 fighter squadrons and a more agile army with tanks and attack helicopters - all by 2024.

Indonesian defence spending is increasing but remains modest - US$7.74 billion in 2012 or just 0.86 per cent of gross domestic product.

Plans to lift defence spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2014 won't be realised.

Dr Schreer said bold declarations were made about procurement plans regardless of available funding, while equipment was acquired without the ability to keep it in service.

"Consequently for the forseeable future TNI will remain an imbalanced, mostly non-deployable force," he said.

Dr Schreer said Indonesia's air force plans were of particular interest, given Australia's strategic goal of maintaining RAAF superiority over regional air forces.

Over the next 20 years, Indonesia will incrementally improve capacity to patrol its airspace and provide transport within the archipelago.

"Yet, it's highly unlikely that the TNI-AU (air force) will pose any significant operational challenge for a state-of-the-art air force such as the RAAF any time soon," he said.

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Slack emails, ignored calls hurt business

ETIQUETTE queen June Dally-Watkins isn't the only one who's concerned about emails eroding that personal touch - business leaders awarding contracts feel the same way.

A failure to return phone calls, a poorly written email and not setting aside time to meet in person isn't just rude, it's also bad for business, a Galaxy Research survey commissioned by virtual office group Servcorp has found.

"Nothing says more clearly to a client or prospect that they are just another item on your to-do list than being too busy to return a voicemail or receiving a rushed typo-ridden email," Servcorp's chief operating officer Marcus Moufarrige says.

Some 78 per cent of the 457 business leaders surveyed say the failure to return calls can affect their decision on awarding a contract.

More than half (58 per cent) say poorly written emails with grammatical errors and typos may also affect their choice.

One-third of the leaders could hinge their decision on the failure to set aside time to meet in person.

Mr Moufarrige says it is worrying to see businesses prioritising their needs over those of their clients.

"Australian companies could be putting future growth prospects at risk by using technology in isolation," he said.

Ms Dally-Watkins, who is also a veteran business leader in the finishing school field, has long deplored the decline in face-to-face communication as technology compromises manners.

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Australia ranks 21st for organ donation

ORGAN donation in Australia is way behind the world leaders, according to international rankings that place the country at 21st.

Spain is the world leader, and France, the US, UK, Belgium and Norway are among the countries with higher proportions of donors than Australia.

The figures compiled by Sharelife Australia draw on international donor data published by the Council of Europe.

The data shows hundreds of Australians are missing out on life-saving transplants every year.

This is because a $151 million, four-year package announced by the federal government in 2008 has failed to achieve its goal of establishing Australia as a world leader.

There has been an improvement, says ShareLife spokesperson Sara Irvine, but Australia's progress is slower than many other countries.

Australia's rate of organ donation is half that of the leading countries, and 1000 more transplants could be performed a year if it reaches the level of the top five countries.

"We are still not in the top 20 nations and have long way to go," says ShareLife director Professor Allan Glanville, medical director of lung transplantation at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

"Organ donation saves lives, saves money and improves quality of life.

"You only need to talk to people who have been on kidney dialysis to see how well and productive they are after a kidney transplant.

"The Spanish model is very compassionate. It is supportive of families."

Family consent is needed, even if a person has opted in as a donor.

In Spain, skilled organ donation specialists speak to family members, which improves the chances of donation.

"They support families through what is an awful process."

Prof Glanville says there are good people doing good work in Australia.

"But we need to tweak the system so we are consistent from state to state."

He questions why South Australia and Victoria have 20 deceased organ donors per million of the population and NSW has 14.

"Australia needs to increase to 30 per million to be in line with the top four or five countries.

"Change takes time, but unless we improve we are failing in our duty of care to our patients.

"I have patients who are waiting for transplants and if they don't get a transplant they may well die."

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New trial sought for executed US 14yo

GEORGE Stinney has been dead since 1944, when as a 14-year-old black boy he became the youngest person executed in the United States in the past century, for killing two white girls. Now his supporters are taking the unheard-of step of asking for a new trial.

Stinney's case brings together two of the longest-running disputes in the American legal system - the death penalty and race.

Stinney was convicted on a shaky confession in a segregated society that wanted revenge for the beating deaths of two girls, aged 11 and 7, according to a lawsuit filed last month on Stinney's behalf in South Carolina.

He was electrocuted just 84 days after the girls were killed. Newspaper stories reported that witnesses said the straps to keep him in the electric chair didn't fit around his small frame.

The request for a new trial is largely symbolic, but Stinney's supporters say they would prefer exoneration to a pardon - which they've asked for as well.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

The judge may refuse to hear the request for a new trial, since the punishment has already been carried out.

The two girls were last seen looking for wildflowers in the racially divided mill town of Alcolu. Stinney's sister, who was 7 at the time, says in her new affidavit for the lawsuit that she and her brother were letting their cow graze when the girls asked them where they could find flowers called maypops. The sister, Amie Ruffner, said her brother told them he didn't know, and the girls left.

"It was strange to see them in our area, because white people stayed on their side of Alcolu and we knew our place," Ruffner wrote.

The girls never came home. They were found the next morning in a water-filled ditch, their heads beaten with a hard object, likely a railroad spike.

The request for a new trial includes sworn statements from two of Stinney's siblings who say he was with them the entire day the girls were killed.

Notes from Stinney's confession and most other information used to convict him in a one-day trial have disappeared, along with any transcript of the proceedings. Only a few pages of cryptic, hand-written notes remain, according to the motion.

"Why was George Stinney electrocuted? The state can't produce any paperwork to justify why he was," said George Frierson, a local school board member who grew up in Stinney's hometown hearing stories about the case and decided six years ago to start studying it and pushing for exoneration.

The request for a new trial points out that at just 43 kilograms it's unlikely Stinney could have killed the girls and dragged them to the ditch.

The motion also hints at community rumours of a deathbed confession from a white man several years ago and the possibility Stinney confessed because his family was threatened.

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Aussie cleared by Dubai court on fraud

AN Australian businessman's five-year legal nightmare in the Middle East appears over, with a Dubai court upholding his acquittal.

Marcus Lee, 44, was cleared on fraud-related charges in Dubai in May but the Dubai Public Prosecutor appealed his acquittal, dashing his and his wife Julie's hopes of returning home soon after.

But on Sunday, after more than 50 court hearings over almost five years, the Dubai Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

After the verdict, Mr Lee and Mrs Lee said the outcome was all they could ever have hoped for.

"This is the correct result and we thank the Dubai Appeal Court judges for their verdict," they said in a statement.

"We simply hope that we will now be allowed to return to our families in Australia and resume our lives after almost five years of constant anxiety, stress and hardship.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

"Julie and I desperately want to be able to see our families again."

The Lees feared that the lodging of the appeal meant they were likely to be trapped in the UAE for another year.

Mr Lee said he hopes Australian officials will now lobby on his behalf to ensure no further appeals are lodged.

Mr Lee and fellow Australian businessman Matthew Joyce were arrested in January 2009 over fraud allegations brought by Gold Coast property developer Sunland, after a land deal collapsed during the global financial crisis.

They spent nine months in prison, followed by more than three-and-a-half years under effective house arrest.

The court in May this year sentenced Mr Joyce to ten years in prison and a $25 million fine. It also convicted Melbourne businessman Angus Reed in absentia.

They were found guilty of duping Sunland into giving them $12 million, but both maintain their innocence.

But the court cleared Mr Lee of wrongdoing, and even Sunland itself believed Mr Lee did nothing wrong.

Mr Lee's Brisbane-based lawyer, John Sneddon, said any further appeals would be devastating and urged Dubai authorities to allow the Lees to come home.

"They are sick, they are tired and they have lost everything they ever owned," he said.

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Consumers warned of fake hotel reviews

CONSUMERS should be on the lookout for fake hotel reviews this holiday season, consumer group Choice says.

"The boom in hotel review sites has given rise to the practice of 'astroturfing' or the writing of fake reviews by companies to promote their own accommodation," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said .

"Second to friends, people place their trust in reviews before editorial content, ads, marketing, and government sponsored tourism websites.

"Yet US-based Trip Advisor, the world's biggest online travel review service, has no plans to improve its verification processes."

The warning comes after reports earlier this year that the general manager of communications for Accor hotels in the Asia-Pacific region was caught posting more than 100 positive reviews on TripAdvisor, Choice said.

Desperation as 10,000 feared dead

TORMENTED survivors of a typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.

Tyre King in farm feud

EXCLUSIVE: BOB Jane signed his multi-million dollar farm over to his wife to keep it from creditors including his estranged son, court documents allege.

In the US, the New York Attorney-General recently heavily fined 19 companies that wrote fake online reviews and created fake online profiles for businesses, Choice says.

Mr Godfrey said both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and NSW Fair Trading were looking at similar practices here.

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