Nine broke rules in program on Neil Brooks

THE broadcast watchdog has found the Nine Network's A Current Affair broke rules on accuracy, privacy and complaints handling in a 2012 program on Olympic gold medallist Neil Brooks.

Nine's program accused Neil Brooks and his wife Linda of scams in Australia, the US and France.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said on Thursday the program aired on March 5, 2012, did not have enough evidence to support a claim that police in these three countries were investigating allegations of fraud against the former swimmer and his wife.

ACMA said Nine had also breached privacy provisions, but it did not say what they were.

It also said Nine had committed a technical breach of the complaints handling process by not providing a substantive response to a complaint from Mr Brooks.

The code says licensees don't have to respond to complaints that are the subject of legal proceedings and Brooks had issued a concerns notice under the defamation act.

But ACMA says the broadcaster should have provided a response because the court action had not commenced.

It said Nine had accepted its findings and would acknowledge that on its website.

"It has conducted training on its complaints-handling obligations," ACMA said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Brooks won gold as part of the men's medley relay team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was a former high-profile presenter on the Seven Network.

He left Australia with his wife and daughter Brooke in 2010. He first lived in France before moving to the United Kingdom.

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European stocks drop after technical rally

EUROPE'S main stock markets are falling as dealers book profits a day after a technical spike for equities, while Vodafone shares are sliding after US telecoms operator Verizon denied it was preparing a bid to buy out the British mobile phone giant.

European equities had rallied on Tuesday in thin trading, with Frankfurt and Paris closing up almost 2.0 per cent each, as dealers began returning to their desks after the Easter holiday weekend to digest developments over the Cyprus debt crisis.

In late morning trade on Wednesday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies was down 0.35 per cent at 6,467.90 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 dipped 0.09 per cent to 7,936.37 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.14 per cent to 3,800.16.

"Yesterday's gains came in spite of a slew of poor economic data," said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG trading group.

"In a neat reversal, today we are seeing a modest pullback."

Vodafone's share price dropped 2.16 per cent to 187.85 pence after Verizon distanced itself from press speculation regarding a potential merger with the British group.

"As Verizon has said many times, it would be a willing purchaser of the 45 per cent stake that Vodafone holds in Verizon Wireless," the US company said in a statement.

"It does not, however, currently have any intention to merge with or make an offer for Vodafone, whether alone or in conjunction with others," Verizon said in a statement filed on Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Various media reports had said Verizon was mulling a joint attack with AT&T that would see the pair divide up Vodafone assets.

Market focus also remained firmly on Cyprus, with the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday agreeing to provide approximately one billion euros to the 10-billion-euro rescue plan for the cash-strapped eurozone nation.

This would be through a three-year 891-million-euro Special Drawing Rights loan, announced IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.

The European Central Bank (ECB) will meanwhile hold off from cutting rates or announcing any other policy moves at its meeting on Thursday so as to keep up pressure on governments to solve the eurozone's crisis, analysts said.

Also on Thursday, the Bank of England is expected to vote to maintain both its record-low interest rate and level of cash stimulus as investors wait to see whether Britain's economy has re-entered a period of recession.

In foreign exchange trade on Wednesday, the euro rose to $1.2830 from $1.2813 late in New York on Tuesday. Gold prices dropped to $1,569.94 an ounce from $1,583.50.

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Cyprus will implement bailout terms: govt

CASH-STRAPPED Cyprus will fully implement the terms of a 10 billion euros ($A12.36 billion) EU-IMF bailout, new Finance Minister Haris Georgiades said.

"First of all we shall implement the MoU (memorandum of understanding) fully without any derogation; we shall meet all timeframes and meet all targets," he said as he took up his new post.

Georgiades said "we do need assistance today but we shall do whatever it takes to fix our public finances and put our economy back on track for growth.

"Even though today's circumstances might be bleak, the medium and long-term prospects remain excellent."

"We have received a blow but I'm absolutely confident we shall overcome."

Under the terms of the bailout, Cyprus will drastically reduce the size of its bloated banking sector, raise taxes, downsize the public sector workforce and privatise some state-owned firms.

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WWII bomb in central Berlin defused

GERMAN sappers successfully defused a World War II bomb unearthed near Berlin's main train station in a delicate operation that snarled rail and road traffic for several hours.

The 100-kilogramme explosive was dropped by an Allied plane during the Second World War and discovered Tuesday, a police spokesman told AFP, adding that experts believed it was a Soviet-made bomb.

"The operation to defuse the device took about half an hour," the spokesman said.

"Everything went according to plan."

The bomb was found about 1.5 kilometres north of the main station and the rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, said up to 50 regional and long-distance trains had to be re-directed to other hubs for nearly four hours.

More than six decades after the war, authorities believe there are still some 3,000 bombs buried beneath Berlin alone, and unexploded devices are regularly discovered in construction work.

In June 2010, a 500-kilo Allied bomb, thought to be British, exploded and killed three German sappers, and seriously injured two others in the central city of Goettingen as they prepared to defuse it.

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Preschool children suffer puberty blues

CHILDREN with early onset puberty start suffering emotional and social issues from preschool age, several years before the first physical indications are visible, a major Australian research project shows.

The study, which followed almost 3,500 children from the age of four through to 11, found boys with an onset of puberty by eight to nine years had greater behavioural difficulties and poorer emotional and social adjustment from four to five years of age.

This pattern continued through to early adolescence.

Girls with early puberty had more emotional and social issues from early childhood, but not the behavioural problems found in boys.

Across the world, the age at which children start puberty has dropped significantly since reliable records began.

In 2012, a large US study showed the average age of puberty onset was 10 among caucasian and Hispanic boys.

A study from 2010 suggested the average age of breast-budding among caucasian girls was 9.9 years.

In 1860, the average age for caucasian girls was 16.6 years.

According to the Australian study, conducted by researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, 16 per cent of girls and six per cent of boys start puberty early.

Lead researcher Dr Fiona Mensah says the study provides new evidence of pre-existing and persistent early childhood issues among children who experience early puberty.

"There is a heightened risk for behaviour and emotional problems during puberty; and children who reach puberty earlier than their peers have more of these difficulties in adolescence," she said.

"We think the association between early onset puberty and poorer adolescent mental health is due to developmental processes that start well before the onset of puberty and continue into adolescence."

The study, published on Wednesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health, used the Longitudinal Study of Australian children, in which parents completed questionnaires at four times.

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Climate change increases weather extremes

THIS sunburnt country will become a land of worse droughts and more frequent flooding rains as climate change continues.

A new report from the Climate Commission says climate change is already increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather.

And there's a high risk that heatwaves, fires, cyclones, heavy rainfall and drought will become even more intense and frequent in the coming decades.

The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather, released on Wednesday, says the global climate system is warmer and moister than 50 years ago, with the extra heat making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.

This has resulted in the extreme bushfires and floods that have engulfed Australian communities in recent years.

The past summer was Australia's hottest, capped by the longest and most extreme heatwave on record.

The southern part of the country - including key food-growing regions - is becoming more drought-prone while the northwest is getting wetter.

"Records are broken from time to time, but record-breaking weather is becoming more common as the climate shifts," chief climate commissioner Tim Flannery said.

The effects of extreme weather have a corresponding dramatic impact on communities and infrastructure, with the economic cost often running to billions of dollars.

The Climate Commission says communities, emergency services and health services need to prepare for increased severity and frequency of extreme weather.

It warns action taken in the next decade will be crucial.

"Stabilising the climate is like turning around a battleship - it cannot be done immediately given its momentum," its report states.

"When danger is ahead you must start turning the wheel now.

"Only strong preventative action now and in the coming years can stabilise the climate and halt the trend of increasing extreme weather for our children and grandchildren."

The independent commission's report draws on the latest research and observations from bodies including the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and Australian and international universities.

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Small business 'ignoring social media'

NEARLY three quarters of small and medium businesses in Australia are failing to use social media as a marketing tool, research conducted by Telstra shows.

The report reveals only 24 per cent of the 1000 small and medium businesses surveyed have embraced social media.

A further 12 per cent also believed social media actually dampened business success.

Telstra Business group managing director Will Irving said with 62 per cent of adults worldwide now using social media, businesses ignoring this powerful tool were missing out.

"In a digital age where smartphones and tablets are used on a daily basis, we know customers expect a company to have a social media presence," he said.

"Successful Australian businesses are having a two-way conversation with customers online, allowing them to connect and engage on a personal level, either by providing real-time customer service or highlighting relevant new products."

Mr Irving has urged businesses to use a mix of online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Google to engage customers and drive interest in their products.

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European stocks climb after Easter break

EUROPEAN stock markets have rallied as traders returned to their desks after the Easter holiday to digest the latest developments on the Cyprus debt crisis, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies jumped 1.15 per cent to 6485.46 points in early on Tuesday afternoon deals in the British capital.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 1.19 per cent to 7888.95 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.95 per cent to 3766.95. Madrid grew 0.65 per cent and Milan climbed 0.84 per cent.

In foreign exchange trade, the euro eased to $US1.2838 from $US1.2847 late in New York on Monday. Gold prices edged down to $US1597.75 an ounce from $US1598.25.

All major European markets were closed on Friday and Monday for the long holiday weekend.

Trade was buoyant despite the resignation of Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris who cited his tenure as chairman of Laiki Bank - whose failure was a major contributor to the island's near financial meltdown - as a reason.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government launched a judicial probe into how the island was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy before having to agree a crippling eurozone bailout.

But in more positive news, the central bank announced that it was raising the limit on business transactions from 5000 euros ($A6200) to 25,000 and was allowing people to issue cheques of up to 9000 euros.

In addition, the troika - the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - indicated readiness to give Cyprus more time to bring its budget into surplus, according to a draft loan agreement obtained by AFP.

The draft sets 2017 instead of 2016 as the target year for Cyprus to achieve a 4.0 per cent primary budget surplus.

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Afghan teenager fatally stabs US soldier

AN Afghan teenager has killed an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan by stabbing him in the neck while he played with a group of local children, officials say.

The killing comes as the monthly US death toll rose sharply in March to 14 with the start of the spring fighting season when the Taliban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks.

Sergeant Michael Cable, 26, was guarding Afghan and US officials meeting in a province near the border with Pakistan when the stabbing occurred last Wednesday, two senior US officials said on Monday.

The attack occurred after the soldiers had secured the area for the meeting, but one of the US officials said the youth was not believed to have been a member of the Afghan security forces or in uniform so it was not being classified as an insider attack.

The official said the attacker was thought to be about 16 years old, but the age couldn't be verified.

The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the US military.

The soldier was playing with a group of children outside when the attacker came from behind and stabbed him in the neck with a large knife, Khan said, adding the young man had escaped to nearby Pakistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the young man was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had joined the Islamic militant movement since fleeing the scene.

At least 14 US soldiers died in March, compared with four in the previous two months, according to an Associated Press tally.

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Qld cops see double over drink drivers

QUEENSLAND police have pulled over the same car four times in one afternoon, resulting in drink driving charges for a man and woman who took turns in the driver's seat.

Officers first stopped the vehicle on North Stradbroke Island, southeast of Brisbane, at lunchtime on Monday, and breath tested a Redbank Plains woman behind the wheel.

The 27-year-old allegedly recorded a reading of 0.126 and was charged with drink driving.

A short time later, the woman's male passenger had taken the wheel when police pulled the vehicle over again.

The 34-year-old Redbank Plains man recorded a breath test reading of 0.110, and was also charged with drink driving.

The pair were released, but police say a short time later they saw the man back behind the wheel.

He recorded another positive breath test and was charged with drink driving for a second time as well as driving while suspended.

Not to be deterred, his partner allegedly got behind the wheel yet again.

She was again charged with drink driving, as well as driving while suspended.

Both are due to appear in the Cleveland Magistrates Court on May 14.

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