Tributes flow for dead abseiler

AN abseiler who fell to his death from a Blue Mountains cliff has been fondly remembered by friends as an enthusiastic sportsman who died doing something he loved.

Darren Bull, 34, died on Saturday morning, reportedly trying to reach his girlfriend, Katherine Donahue, who had become tangled in ropes on a descent at Malaita Point, a popular abseiling spot on the edge of the Jamison Valley near Katoomba.

An operation to retrieve Mr Bull's body was completed on Saturday evening.

Ms Donahue was winched to safety at about 1.30pm (AEDT) that day and wasn't injured.

Friends of Mr Bull on Sunday fondly remembered him in posted messages on social media sites.

On Facebook, Sisha Reynolds wrote: "So sad to hear the sad news of Darren Bull a beautiful man. RIP.... Not a surprise you passing away being a hero and nice that it was while you were doing something you love but still so very sad."

Mr Bull was a former player with the Macquarie University Australian Football Club and one message from a member read: "Some very sad news this morning. It appears former player Darren Bull ... "Big Daz" ... died".

The club will observe a minute's silence before the opening match of the 2014 season in Mr Bull's honour.

Another social media post read: "when you mess with the bull, you get the horns!" Rest in peace Darren, you will be missed".

Mr Bull for some years worked as a counsellor at the Southwoods summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.

On former colleague from the camp posted: "Difficult to even imagine but what a man! Glad I briefly got to know you mate, thoughts go out to the family."

Police are investigating how Mr Bull died and will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Fears for boy, 5, missing in Sydney river

AS darkness fell on Dolls Point and the police cars began to peel away, a distressed Sydney family knelt together to pray for a little boy.

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Amphetamine abuse growing: report

AMPHETAMINES have surged ahead of alcohol as the main substance addicted Australians seek treatment for, a report from a rehabilitation centre has found.

Odyssey House released its latest annual report on Monday.

It found addiction to amphetamines - including ice, speed or ecstasy - was the main substance of concern for a third of people seeking treatment, outstripping alcohol, cannabis and heroin for a second year.

Chief executive Jamie Pitts says the latest figures for amphetamine addiction are up 120 per cent on 2003 figures, while the figures for heroin addiction have fallen to their lowest point.

Ten years ago, Australia was in the grip of a serious heroin problem, he says, and 45 per cent of Odyssey House clients were admitted with opiate dependence.

That percentage has more than halved over the past decade.

"While this reduction is good news, it's due mainly to heroin supply issues," Mr Pitts said in a statement.

"People have turned instead to ice and speed because it's more readily available and affordable."

Booze remains a major problem for Australians, the report finds, with 28 per cent of those entering Odyssey House residential programs in the 2012-13 financial year reporting that alcohol was their main drug of concern.

"Seventy per cent of our clients list alcohol as one of their problem drugs, and it's the substance they're most likely to start misusing first, providing that slippery slope towards illicit drugs," Mr Pitts said.

More than half of those who sought help at Odyssey House had a co-existing mental illness.

The report also found people entering Odyssey House were more likely to have started using drugs at a younger age.

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Motorcyclist dies in north Brisbane

This little man needs a big gift

COOPER Watson's parent are hoping for just one thing this Christmas - that their son's dialysis machine will no longer be needed.

Fed express gets set to hit town

ROGER Federer will spend Christmas in the desert in preparation for a sticky summer of tennis, starting right here with the Brisbane International.

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CIA helped Colombia target rebels: report

A COVERT CIA program has helped Colombia's government kill at least two dozen leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the rebel insurgency also known as FARC, The Washington Post reports.

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Khodorkovsky says he won't enter politics

KREMLIN critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, unexpectedly pardoned and released from jail, says he will not enter Russian politics, or fund the country's opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

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Man survives 15m plunge in Blue Mountains

This little man needs a big gift

COOPER Watson's parent are hoping for just one thing this Christmas - that their son's dialysis machine will no longer be needed.

Fed express gets set to hit town

ROGER Federer will spend Christmas in the desert in preparation for a sticky summer of tennis, starting right here with the Brisbane International.

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Royal Commission begins in Sydney

BRUTAL bashings and the sexual abuse of children under the care of the Anglican church in NSW will be examined at the next round of public hearings in a national inquiry.

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Bold action needed for Aussie kids: report

AUSTRALIA needs bold action to improve the wellbeing of its young people, says a high-powered group concerned the country is underperforming compared with its peers.

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Cancer gene women unprotected: research

MANY Australian women are failing to protect themselves from breast and ovarian cancer despite knowing they carry a dangerous gene mutation, according to a new study.

About 20 per cent are likely to have their breasts removed, according to the study which tracked 325 women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations for up to 15 years.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows about 40 per cent have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

Apart from protecting against ovarian cancer, this procedure reduced the risk of breast cancer if done before menopause, said research leader Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

Three per cent of the women in the study participated in a clinical trial of Tamoxifen, a medication which Prof Phillips and her team recently showed helped halve the risk of breast cancer.

The next phase of the research would involve face-to-face interviews with women and their doctors to understand why some women did not use cancer prevention strategies.

"All the options have advantages and disadvantages. These are complex and personal decisions," said Prof Phillips.

Data collection for the study ended in May 2012, before actor Angelina Jolie went public about her double mastectomy.

An increase in genetic testing has been reported in Australia since then and Prof Phillips told AAP it was possible this had prompted more women to take preventative action.

But prevention during the research period was low compared with other countries, she said.

One reason could be that women were not aware of the latest options.

"The evidence for the different interventions has changed significantly over the past few years," she said.

"My advice is for women who know they have the gene mutation to talk to their specialist at regular intervals.

"Women who don't know if they have the mutation but are concerned about their family history should talk to their GP.

BRCA1 mutation carriers have a 65 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 39 per cent chance of ovarian cancer by the age of 70, according to the study.

BRCA2 mutation carriers have a 45 per cent chance of breast cancer and 11 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.

"There are things women can do that will dramatically reduce their risk," said Prof Phillips.

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SA man dies after boat capsizes

A SOUTH Australian man has died after the boat he was in capsized.

Police say they received reports of a dinghy containing two men upturned at Carpenter Rocks near Port MacDonnell, in the state's southeast, about 4.50pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

A 49-year-old Mount Gambier man died at the scene and another man managed to swim to shore.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Nobel-winning author Lessing dies

• by: Oliver Duggan
• From: AAP
• November 18, 2013 1:23AM

DORIS Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of The Golden Notebook, has died aged 94.

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Eddie Obeid to give evidence at ICAC

EDDIE Obeid will take the witness stand at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Monday as more than three weeks of public hearings into the corrupt former MP's conduct conclude.

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LAX gunman planned to kill many agents

Los Angeles International Airport is returning to normal operations after a gunman sparked chaos. Source: AAP

THE gunman who allegedly killed a security officer at Los Angeles airport carried a note saying he planned to murder "multiple" agents, prosecutors said as they announced charges against him.

A prosecutor told how Paul Ciancia allegedly opened fire at "point-blank range" on Gerardo Hernandez, the first Transportation Security Administration agent killed since the office was created following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The dead officer's widow, meanwhile, said she was "truly devastated" by his death.

"He was a joyful person, always smiling and took pride in his duty to the American public," Ana Hernandez said.

Ciancia, who used a Smith & Wesson assault rifle and a large stock of ammunition in the attack, faces a possible death penalty on charges of murdering a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport.

The gun rampage on Friday triggered chaos at LA International Airport (LAX), disrupting more than 1500 flights. The airport only fully reopened more than 24 hours later.

Describing how the shooting started, a prosecutor said Ciancia pulled a ".223-calibre M and P-15 assault rifle out of his bag and fired multiple rounds at point-blank range" at Hernandez, 39.

The shots wounded the unarmed TSA officer but did not kill him. The 23-year-old gunman, dressed in black and wearing a bullet-proof vest, then went up a nearby escalator and came back down to "shoot the wounded officer again," US attorney Andre Birotte said.

Ciancia then proceeded further into the terminal, shooting four more people, including two other TSA officers, before being detained following a gunfight with airport police.

The alleged gunman, who remains in hospital and has not yet answered questions from investigators, carried a note in his bag indicating that "he targeted especially TSA officers," for whom he felt "anger and malice".

The handwritten note showed he "made a conscious decision to kill multiple TSA employees", said David Bowdich, the head of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

"In the note that was handwritten by the defendant, that was signed by the defendant, we found a statement where he made a conscious decision to kill multiple TSA employees," Bowdich said.

"He addressed them at one point in the letter, and stated that he wanted to 'instil fear into their traitorous (sic) minds'."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Ciancia had a lot of ammunition when he was arrested.

During the shooting spree, which lasted less than 10 minutes, Ciancia approached a number of people cowering in the terminal and pointed his gun at them, asking if they "were TSA", according to the Los Angeles Times.

If they answered "no" he moved on, the Times reported, citing witnesses who said he cursed the TSA repeatedly.

While officials have not released details about the suspect's condition, the Times said he was hospitalised in a critical condition after being shot in the head and leg.

The FBI said Ciancia was a Los Angeles resident who was originally from the eastern state of New Jersey.

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Hawkesbury blaze under control

FIREFIGHTERS are expected to work through the night to mop up a bushfire that threatened about 50 properties at Lower Portland near the Hawkesbury River on Sunday afternoon.

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Southern Highlands bushfire under control

A BUSHFIRE that threatened rural properties in the Southern Highlands is now under control.

An emergency warning was issued for a fire at Alpine, between the Hume Highway and the Old Hume Highway, at about 5.30pm (AEDT).

The fire was brought under control after about two hours and downgraded to a watch and act warning.

Sweltering conditions and strong winds fanned several blazes across the state on Sunday, until a cool change arrived in the late afternoon.

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Volcanic eruption displaces 1300 villagers

CMC moving in on Finks-Mongols

THE state's corruption watchdog says new powers are helping it investigate the Finks bikie club partnership with the notoriously violent Mongols gang.

Reforms straining our jails

THE tough-on-crime Newman Government is considering releasing criminals from jail early because of a ­projected explosion in prisoner numbers.

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Huge WWII bomb forces mass evacuation

MORE than 20,000 people are being evacuated from their homes in the west German city of Dortmund as authorities prepare to defuse a massive bomb left over from World War II.

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Rural cancer more likely to kill: study

CMC moving in on Finks-Mongols

THE state's corruption watchdog says new powers are helping it investigate the Finks bikie club partnership with the notoriously violent Mongols gang.

Reforms straining our jails

THE tough-on-crime Newman Government is considering releasing criminals from jail early because of a ­projected explosion in prisoner numbers.

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Indians mark Diwali with fireworks

MILLIONS of Indians have begun setting off deafening fireworks displays to light up the sky for Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, which celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

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Mother, four children killed in NY home

Ex-Labor MP sings Bleijie praise

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jarrod Bleijie has done something right, according to one former minister of the Goss Labor government. Find out what it is.

Parents fail on truancy rates

WAGGING students will miss 4.2 million school days this year, new data shows. Find out which Queensland schools have the best and worst attendance rates.

Plan for payouts on fatal program

THE Abbott Government has opened the door to compensating hundreds of families and businesses left broken by the Rudd government's botched insulation program.

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Thousands protest about ETA ruling

Ex-Labor MP sings Bleijie praise

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jarrod Bleijie has done something right, according to one former minister of the Goss Labor government. Find out what it is.

Parents fail on truancy rates

WAGGING students will miss 4.2 million school days this year, new data shows. Find out which Queensland schools have the best and worst attendance rates.

Plan for payouts on fatal program

THE Abbott Government has opened the door to compensating hundreds of families and businesses left broken by the Rudd government's botched insulation program.

Coast clear as 'classic' bikies move on

A POLICE Gangs Squad has been set up on the Sunshine Coast but, with "older, classic bikies" retiring in the area, they may face little action.

Bikies told: Don't cross the border

A CRACK squad of NSW police is reinforcing the border at Tweed Heads to turn back Queensland bikies.

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Boy killed in SA playground accident

A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy has died in a playground accident in South Australia's mid-north.

Ambulance crews were called to Farrell Flat, about 20 kilometres west of Clare, after a metal slippery dip overturned and fell on the child about 5pm (CDT) on Sunday.

The boy, from Clare, was treated at the scene but died from his injuries.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and officers were preparing a report for the South Australian state coroner.

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Somali journalist dies after shooting

A SOMALI journalist has died after being shot six times by unidentified gunmen as he drove to work.

Mohamed Mohamud's death brings the number of journalists killed in Somalia this year to seven.

The 26-year-old died in hospital on Saturday night, fellow journalist Ahmed Nor Mohamed said on Sunday.

"We have lost a precious life once again. Doctors were not able to save our colleague," he said.

Mohamud was buried on Sunday.

Mohamud, who also was known as Tima'ade, had undergone surgery after being shot six times in the neck, chest and shoulder, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

Unidentified gunmen in a car shot at Mohamud as he drove to work early on Tuesday in the Wadajir district of the capital, Mogadishu, the journalists' group said, citing local reports.

Mohamud reported for the private UK-based Universal TV, which covers news for the Somali diaspora, said the CPJ.

Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for media workers.

At least 18 journalists were killed in Somalia last year.

It's not entirely clear who has been targeting journalists. But militants, criminals, and even state agents all could have reasons to want journalists killed in Somalia, according to the CPJ.

The killings often happen in the government-controlled areas that journalists generally consider safe.

The CPJ says reporters have to watch their backs for attacks from extremists and criminals as well as possible hostility from the government.

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Five killed opposition rally in India

Ex-Labor MP sings Bleijie praise

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jarrod Bleijie has done something right, according to one former minister of the Goss Labor government. Find out what it is.

Parents fail on truancy rates

WAGGING students will miss 4.2 million school days this year, new data shows. Find out which Queensland schools have the best and worst attendance rates.

Plan for payouts on fatal program

THE Abbott Government has opened the door to compensating hundreds of families and businesses left broken by the Rudd government's botched insulation program.

Coast clear as 'classic' bikies move on

A POLICE Gangs Squad has been set up on the Sunshine Coast but, with "older, classic bikies" retiring in the area, they may face little action.

Bikies told: Don't cross the border

A CRACK squad of NSW police is reinforcing the border at Tweed Heads to turn back Queensland bikies.

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Italy rescues 400 migrants off Sicily

Ex-Labor MP sings Bleijie praise

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jarrod Bleijie has done something right, according to one former minister of the Goss Labor government. Find out what it is.

Parents fail on truancy rates

WAGGING students will miss 4.2 million school days this year, new data shows. Find out which Queensland schools have the best and worst attendance rates.

Plan for payouts on fatal program

THE Abbott Government has opened the door to compensating hundreds of families and businesses left broken by the Rudd government's botched insulation program.

Coast clear as 'classic' bikies move on

A POLICE Gangs Squad has been set up on the Sunshine Coast but, with "older, classic bikies" retiring in the area, they may face little action.

Bikies told: Don't cross the border

A CRACK squad of NSW police is reinforcing the border at Tweed Heads to turn back Queensland bikies.

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Don't boycott UN rights meet, Israel told

GERMANY has warned Israel against boycotting a UN review of its human rights record scheduled for Tuesday if it wants to avert "severe diplomatic damage", an Israeli newspaper reports.

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Vic boy killed attempting to cross tracks

Cricket hit link to road death

THE FAMILY of a man killed in a car crash in central Queensland fear a cricket ball to the head may have contributed to the accident.

'Outlandish' compo claims targeted

THE State Government is promising to quash the ability for employees to make "outlandish" compo claims, as part of proposed changes being put forward to Cabinet.

Nowhere to run for bikie gangs

IN the first-ever national day of action against criminal motorcycle gangs, police around the country raided bikie haunts.

JRudd reveals cabinet 'fantasy'

KEVIN Rudd's daughter Jessica has confessed her dad's arch-nemesis, current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appears in her 'fantasy cabinet'.

Customer shock as discounts pulled

THE STATE'S power watchdog has slammed sneaky electricity retailers for using a loophole costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

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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

Cricket hit link to road death

THE FAMILY of a man killed in a car crash in central Queensland fear a cricket ball to the head may have contributed to the accident.

'Outlandish' compo claims targeted

THE State Government is promising to quash the ability for employees to make "outlandish" compo claims, as part of proposed changes being put forward to Cabinet.

Nowhere to run for bikie gangs

IN the first-ever national day of action against criminal motorcycle gangs, police around the country raided bikie haunts.

JRudd reveals cabinet 'fantasy'

KEVIN Rudd's daughter Jessica has confessed her dad's arch-nemesis, current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appears in her 'fantasy cabinet'.

Customer shock as discounts pulled

THE STATE'S power watchdog has slammed sneaky electricity retailers for using a loophole costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

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Iran to send another monkey into space

Cricket hit link to road death

THE FAMILY of a man killed in a car crash in central Queensland fear a cricket ball to the head may have contributed to the accident.

'Outlandish' compo claims targeted

THE State Government is promising to quash the ability for employees to make "outlandish" compo claims, as part of proposed changes being put forward to Cabinet.

Nowhere to run for bikie gangs

IN the first-ever national day of action against criminal motorcycle gangs, police around the country raided bikie haunts.

JRudd reveals cabinet 'fantasy'

KEVIN Rudd's daughter Jessica has confessed her dad's arch-nemesis, current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appears in her 'fantasy cabinet'.

Customer shock as discounts pulled

THE STATE'S power watchdog has slammed sneaky electricity retailers for using a loophole costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

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Israel finds tunnel under Gaza border

Cricket hit link to road death

THE FAMILY of a man killed in a car crash in central Queensland fear a cricket ball to the head may have contributed to the accident.

'Outlandish' compo claims targeted

THE State Government is promising to quash the ability for employees to make "outlandish" compo claims, as part of proposed changes being put forward to Cabinet.

Nowhere to run for bikie gangs

IN the first-ever national day of action against criminal motorcycle gangs, police around the country raided bikie haunts.

JRudd reveals cabinet 'fantasy'

KEVIN Rudd's daughter Jessica has confessed her dad's arch-nemesis, current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appears in her 'fantasy cabinet'.

Customer shock as discounts pulled

THE STATE'S power watchdog has slammed sneaky electricity retailers for using a loophole costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

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Boat capsizes on Amazon, 12 dead

Cricket hit link to road death

THE FAMILY of a man killed in a car crash in central Queensland fear a cricket ball to the head may have contributed to the accident.

'Outlandish' compo claims targeted

THE State Government is promising to quash the ability for employees to make "outlandish" compo claims, as part of proposed changes being put forward to Cabinet.

Nowhere to run for bikie gangs

IN the first-ever national day of action against criminal motorcycle gangs, police around the country raided bikie haunts.

JRudd reveals cabinet 'fantasy'

KEVIN Rudd's daughter Jessica has confessed her dad's arch-nemesis, current Prime Minister Tony Abbott, appears in her 'fantasy cabinet'.

Customer shock as discounts pulled

THE STATE'S power watchdog has slammed sneaky electricity retailers for using a loophole costing consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

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