AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 8

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2008
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Aug 8
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630


Oly08 (BEIJING)

China is putting the final touches on what promises to be a spectacular Olympic opening
ceremony tonight .. under gloomy skies and tight security.

The three-hour extravaganza at Beijing's iconic Bird's Nest stadium will feature more
than 15 thousand performers showcasing China's ancient history and its rise as a modern
power.

The ceremony begins at 8:08 pm (2208 AEST) .. on the eighth day of the eight month
of 2008 .. the number eight being deemed lucky by the Chinese because it represents prosperity.

Unfortunately bad luck looms .. with the thousands of athletes who'll march through
the national stadium waking today to a haze across Beijing and a forecast of rain.

Meantime more than 100 thousand security personnel are patrolling Beijing .. anti-missile
barriers have been set up near the Olympic venue .. and the military and police are on
guard around the country for any signs of trouble.



Ecstasy Wrap (SYDNEY)

The federal Attorney General says the massive seizure of more than four tonnes of ecstasy
sends a warning to international drug syndicates that Australia is not a soft target.

16 people across the country have been arrested today following the world's single
largest seizure of ecstasy.

Federal Police discovered pills with an estimated street value of 440 million dollars
in a shipping container from Italy following a 12 month investigation.

ROBERT McCLELLAND has praised the AFP for the record drug bust and says any belief
Australia is a soft target for drug smuggling has been well and truly smashed.

And AFP Commissioner MICK KEELTY says the seizure has caused a major disruption to
organised crime in Australia and overseas.

Mr KEELTY says the operation involving 400 officers .. 10 thousand hours of surveillance
and 185 thousand telephone intercepts .. was the largest the AFP's ever undertaken.



Ferguson Decision (Brisbane)

Queensland Attorney-General KERRY SHINE has applauded today's court decision .. which
gives convicted paedophile DENNIS FERGUSON until next Tuesday to surrender to police and
face trial on child sex charges.

The Queensland Court of Appeal has set aside a decision by a Brisbane judge to throw
out a case against FERGUSON .. who will now go to trial for allegedly sexually assaulting
a five-year-old girl at her home at Dalby west of Brisbane .. in November 2005.

Mr SHINE says police know where FERGUSON is staying and once he's in custody he'll
be held in a watchhouse until his appearance in court.



PollNT (DARWIN)

Northern Territory political leaders are talking up their credentials and policies
in a final bid to woo voters ahead of tomorrow's election.

As the world's attention turns to the Olympics .. Labor's chasing its third term in government.

Speculation the party will lose between four and five of its 19 seats is being rubbished
by former chief minister CLARE MARTIN .. who resigned in November citing the bruising
impact of the federal intervention into Aboriginal communities.

Current Chief Minister PAUL HENDERSON says the small size of the territory's electorates
and the impact of the recent redistribution of electoral boundaries means a handful of
votes will determine the outcome.



PollWA Carpenter (PERTH)

The West Australian government has stolen another march on the opposition by announcing
its first round of election sweeteners .. even before the Liberal party unveils its shadow
cabinet.

Premier ALAN CARPENTER has announced free public transport for seniors and the disabled
.. less than 24 hours after the Liberal party recalled COLIN BARNETT to the leadership.

The free travel would apply between 10am and 3pm on weekdays and all weekend .. at
a cost of 50 million dollars over four years.

Mr CARPENTER has also promised a doubling of the seniors' spectacles allowance from
50 to 100 dollars and says his government will lobby the federal government for an increase
in the aged pension.



Yacht Finding (TOWNSVILLE)

The Queensland coroner has found a freak accident caused the deaths of three men on
a yacht last year.

56 year-old DES BATTEN and brothers PETER and JOHN TUNSTEAD aged 69 and 63 .. had embarked
on a six-to-eight week journey around the north of Australia to Perth when they vanished
from their 9.8 metre catamaran .. the Kaz II .. on April 15 last year.

Despite a massive search operation .. no trace of the men was ever found.

Coroner MICHAEL BARNES has today found the deaths were caused by a freak accident.

He says one of the TUNSTEAD brothers had attempted to free a fishing line from the
yacht's propeller and fell in the ocean.



Briefly in other news ..



The Australian Conservation Foundation's called on governments to buy large water-hoarding
properties in the Murray-Darling Basin .. so the 300 gigalitres of water they're holding
can flow to the downstream lower lakes.



A Queensland woman will spend a year behind bars after being found guilty of the manslaughter
of her husband .. who died during a kinky bondage session.



Former tennis star PAM SHRIVER has filed for divorce from former James Bond star .. Australian
GEORGE LAZENBY .. citing irreconcilable differences for the end of the couple's six-year
marriage.



in Finance ..



Rates Economists (SYDNEY)

Three of Australia's big four banks now expect a cut in official interest rates in
September followed by more rate relief by Christmas.

Interest rates were left on hold at a 12-year high 7.25 per cent this month for the
fifth successive month .. but Reserve Bank governor GLENN STEVENS said demand was likely
to be subdued as economic growth slowed.

ANZ .. National Australia Bank and Westpac have all now forecast a rate cut in September
followed by another easing in the December quarter and more relief in 2009.



in Sport ..



AFL Demons (MELBOURNE)

The return of Geelong star GARY ABLETT is set to provide a serious headache for Melbourne
in tonight's AFL clash at the MCG.

ABLETT has been absent for the past three games with an ankle injury but the Brownlow
Medal favourite has been ruled fit to resume.



AFL Threats (ADELAIDE)

Adelaide and North Melbourne have confirmed receiving letters threatening stars ANDREW
MCLEOD and NATHAN THOMPSON earlier this year.

MCLEOD .. THOMPSON and Sydney Swans ace ADAM GOODES are among the five AFL players
believed to have been targeted by the threats .. which were sent out in the lead-up to
the Victoria-Dream Team Hall of Fame tribute match in May.



LEAGUE PREVIEW (SYDNEY)

NRL heavyweights Manly and Melbourne go toe to toe in one of the most highly-anticipated
games of the NRL season at Brookvale Oval tonight.

A win for Manly would maintain their buffer at the top of the table .. while the Storm
can go level on points if they win.

In Wollongong .. St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers clash in a match crucial to both
sides' hopes of staying in touch with a finals spot.



League Williams (SYDNEY)

Today's court win for The Bulldogs and the NRL against SONNY BILL WILLIAMS means he'll
be in contempt of court if he proceeds to play in a friendly match for Toulon .. which
kicks off early Saturday morning Sydney time.

The injunction was granted in Sydney today despite the fact WILLIAMS wasn't represented
even though he'd been served court documents at a training session.



ENDS EVENING ROUND-UP

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