US sends six from Guantanamo to Uruguay

Six Guantanamo Bay prisoners were transferred to Uruguay for resettlement, the US government says. Source: AAP

SIX Guantanamo Bay prisoners have been transferred to Uruguay for resettlement, the US government says.

THE six - four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian - are the first prisoners transferred to South America from the US base in Cuba, part of a flurry of recent releases amid a renewed push by US President Barack Obama to close the prison.

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica agreed to accept the men as a humanitarian gesture and said they would be given help getting established in a country with a small Muslim population.All six were detained as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda in 2002 but were never charged. They have been cleared for release since at least 2010 but they could not be sent home and have languished as the US struggled to find countries willing to accept them."We are very grateful to Uruguay for this important humanitarian action, and to President Mujica for his strong leadership in providing a home for individuals who cannot return to their own countries," US State Department envoy Clifford Sloan said.Mujica had agreed to take the men in January. Obama administration officials have been frustrated the transfer took so long and blame outgoing Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel for not approving the move sooner. They said the deal sat for months on Hagel's desk, awaiting his signature as required by law, but the Pentagon didn't send the notification of the transfer to Congress until July.By then, the transfer had become an issue in Uruguay's political election and Uruguayan officials decided to postpone it until after the October 26 vote.The men's release brings the total number of prisoners at Guantanamo to 136 - the lowest number since the first month the prison opened in January 2002.Obama pledged to close the prison upon taking office but was blocked by Congress, which banned sending prisoners to the US for any reason.The restrictions on sending them overseas have been eased and the US has released 19 prisoners so far this year. Officials say several more are expected by the end of the year.

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Wesfarmers boss defends CEO pay packets

BUSINESS leader Richard Goyder says chief executives need to be paid well to prevent them being poached by overseas firms.

THE head of Coles owner Wesfarmers and chair of the B20 - the business arm of the G20 - said debate about multi-million dollar pay packets needed to be considered in a global context.

"People in the public company sphere also have the opportunity to go into private equity, they have the opportunity to go into professions, ultimately people in executive roles have the opportunity to go to different countries, so I think the market is actually dealing with these issues," Mr Goyder told reporters after Wesfarmers's annual general meeting earlier this month.He conceded that he was "conflicted" on the issue, as shareholders often raised concerns about excessive pay, but those concerns were being addressed.Mr Goyder's remuneration in 2013/14 totalled $9.4 million.Some shareholders at the Wesfarmers annual meeting told the board they were disappointed that their company compared its executive pay regime to other companies."You're chasing each other's back," one shareholder told Mr Goyder."You're not looking back and saying what is a fair wage to run the company."It's certainly not $9 million. No one deserves that."Another shareholder noted average wage earners were struggling to keep pace with inflation, and suggested Wesfarmers work out a multiple for its executives based on the average wage.But Chairman Bob Every did not support such a formula."I just don't think that's the way it operates," Dr Every said.Despite opposition to Wesfarmers' executive remuneration, shareholders overwhelmingly approved the measure.Many companies have not fared as well, Harvey Norman the most notable, with three-quarters of shareholder votes opposing its executive remuneration.Seven Group shareholders recently delivered a first strike - a no vote of at least 25 per cent - against its executive pay.Virgin Australia, Myer and Ten Network executives have all recorded significant shareholder votes against their pay packets, without recording a strike.

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3 officers suspected of sharing nude photo

A US police officer is accused of sending nude photos from the phone of women he had arrested. Source: AAP

A CALIFORNIA Highway Patrol officer suspected of stealing nude and racy photos from the mobile phones of women arrested on drunken driving charges sent the pictures to at least two fellow officers.

OFFICER Sean Harrington, 35, confessed to investigators that he sent such photos at least six times over several years to colleagues in Dublin, while working in Los Angeles, the Contra Costa Times reported on Friday.

Harrington has worked for the CHP for five years, and the newspaper reports that he is assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of the investigation.Contra Costa County prosecutors say they expect to announce if they will file criminal charges in the coming days.Officers Robert Hazelwood and Dion Simmons are named in a search warrant affidavit, suspected of receiving the photos and exchanging banter with Harrington.The investigation was sparked by a 23-year-old San Ramon woman arrested in August on suspicion of drunken driving, who had a blood alcohol content of .29, more than three times the legal limit.Court papers say that she later discovered nude photos of herself had been sent from her phone to an unfamiliar number. Drunken driving charges against the woman have been dismissed in light of the investigation of Harrington, the newspaper reported.The affidavit says Harrington also sent Hazelwood photos of a 19-year-old woman arrested following a suspected drunken driving crash in Livermore on August 7. The photos show her wearing a bikini, and Hazelwood responded in a text asking if there were any nude photos, court papers say.

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Protests out of control, says HK leader

PRO-DEMOCRACY protests in central Hong Kong are "out of control" and likely to end soon, city Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has said in an interview.

LEUNG told local television station TVB that the protests had become a "mass movement that has spun out of control," other Hong Kong media reported.

Hundreds of people continued the two-week protests on Sunday after many camped out overnight outside government offices and at least two other sites.The demonstrators are calling for open elections for the city's next chief executive in 2017, rejecting a ruling from Beijing that candidates must be approved by a government-backed election committee. They have also demanded Leung's resignation.In the interview, Leung said the protesters had "zero chance" of getting China's ruling Communist Party to change its plans for the 2017 election.Hong Kong police would continue efforts to persuade protesters to leave the streets but avoid the use of force if possible, Leung said, insisting that he would not resign.Radio station RTHK quoted student leader Lester Shum as saying an open letter to President Xi Jinping was intended to show that the protests were a "peaceful, democratic movement" rather than a revolutionary one.The protests could escalate again if the city government refuses to engage in talks on political reform, but organisers were currently encouraging people to limit their action to an extended sit-in outside municipal offices, Shum said.The letter published Saturday calls for the building of a "democratic system that affirms equal rights," and for "Hong Kong problems be settled in Hong Kong" without interference from Beijing."The Occupy movement today at Hong Kong is definitely not a colour revolution or its like, but rather a movement for democracy," it said.Chief Secretary Carrie Lam postponed the talks when protest leaders called for a rally to increase pressure during the meeting.On Saturday, RTHK quoted city executive councillor Regina Ip as saying talks could still take place this week."I've also heard from the chief secretary [Lam] that efforts are still underway, through intermediaries, to resume the talks, to reactivate the talks, so all is not lost," she was quoted as saying.

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Missing Queensland girl found safe

NAPLAN tests prompt rote return

NAPLAN has changed the way schools teach, with one top-performing school revealing it has sparked a return to rote learning.

Petrol an extra squeeze for family

RECENTLY unemployed, and with a partner on less than $70,000 a year, Nick Kuiper's one real concern about tomorrow's Budget is the rising cost of fuel.

09.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Flat open for Aust shares on budget eve

Obese mums blow out surgery lists

A HUGE increase in the number of obese women having caesarians is blowing out surgery times and placing pressure on the maternity system, anaesthetists warn.

NAPLAN tests prompt rote return

NAPLAN has changed the way schools teach, with one top-performing school revealing it has sparked a return to rote learning.

09.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dozens hurt in China protest

At least 29 police have been injured in China during a protest over a proposed waste incinerator. Source: AAP

A PROTEST in eastern China over a plan to build a waste incinerator has turned violent with state media reporting at least 10 demonstrators and 29 police injured in clashes.

State-run Xinhua News Agency says 30 vehicles were overturned as protesters on Saturday set two police cars on fire and blocked a highway linking Hanzhou with another city.

One protester and a policeman have been reported seriously injured.

An official in the city's Yuhan district government confirmed the incident on Sunday but would not offer details.

An online statement posted by the district government says construction on the incinerator would not begin until the project had won public support.

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Puffing Hockey silent on cigar tax

Treasurer Joe Hockey has avoided a question about a tobacco tax after being caught having a cigar. Source: AAP

JOE Hockey probably hoped he had got away without being questioned about having that sly cigar with his finance minister.

But in any interview there is always that last question.

Twitter has been abuzz since Friday ridiculing photographs of the treasurer and Senator Mathias Cormann having a cigar after putting together their first budget.

"There's nothing like the satisfying flavour of other people's dreams ... going up in smoke!" was one tweet.

Having a puff is not illegal, but having a celebratory drag on a fat cigar when you are about to impose the budget with the toughest impact on Australians in almost two decades isn't a particularly good look.

The latest ribbing came in a more traditional form.

In an interview on Channel Nine on Sunday, political stalwart Laurie Oakes just had to ask one last question after a 15-minute grilling that covered broken promises, infrastructure, rising petrol prices and a freeze on politicians pay.

"For some reason there has been speculation on Twitter about the impact for the budget from the price of cigars. Will tobacco excise go up?" Mr Oakes teased.

Mr Hockey declined to comment on that.

"But I do note that I think in the first budget in 1901 they had taxes on opium, so I can assure you that's certainly not in the budget. There is certainly nothing to tax there," he said.

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Militants kidnap, kill 20 Iraqi soldiers

Obese mums blow out surgery lists

A HUGE increase in the number of obese women having caesarians is blowing out surgery times and placing pressure on the maternity system, anaesthetists warn.

NAPLAN tests prompt rote return

NAPLAN has changed the way schools teach, with one top-performing school revealing it has sparked a return to rote learning.

09.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man stabbed by teen at NSW house party

NAPLAN tests prompt rote return

NAPLAN has changed the way schools teach, with one top-performing school revealing it has sparked a return to rote learning.

Petrol an extra squeeze for family

RECENTLY unemployed, and with a partner on less than $70,000 a year, Nick Kuiper's one real concern about tomorrow's Budget is the rising cost of fuel.

09.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thirteen migrants found dead in Sahara

NAPLAN tests prompt rote return

NAPLAN has changed the way schools teach, with one top-performing school revealing it has sparked a return to rote learning.

Petrol an extra squeeze for family

RECENTLY unemployed, and with a partner on less than $70,000 a year, Nick Kuiper's one real concern about tomorrow's Budget is the rising cost of fuel.

09.30 | 0 komentar | Read More