AAP General News (Australia)
02-02-2011
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Feb 2
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430
Yasi Wrap (BRISBANE)
Tens of thousands of people will relocate as Cyclone Yasi moves closer to the far north
Queensland coast.
The storm is bearing down on Cairns .. with communities far to the north, south and
west of the northern Queensland tourist centre also braced for its fury.
The latest modelling suggests Cyclone Yasi is on track to hit Cairns between 10pm tonight
and 1am tomorrow morning .. as a highly destructive category four storm with wind gusts
above 260 kilometres an hour.
Premier ANNA BLIGH
says by five (AEST) this evening the breadth and the strength of
Yasi will be more accurately known.
Meanwhile about 300 schools in Queensland's far north .. north and central regions
will be closed from today as Yasi approaches.
Education and Training Minister GEOFF WILSON
says the safety of students and school
staff is the top priority.
He
says once the threat of Cyclone Yasi has passed .. an assessment will be made on
a case-by-case basis when each school can safely re-open.
And six evacuation centres will open in and around Cairns early today .. to take in
people ahead of the cyclone's arrival.
Egypt (CAIRO)
Massive tides of protesters have flooded Cairo and Egypt's second city Alexandria ..
for the biggest outpouring of anger yet in their relentless drive to oust President HOSNI
MUBARAK'S regime.
Several hundred thousand demonstrators have massed in Cairo's Tahrir square protest
epicentre .. while similar numbers have turned out in Alexandria.
Foreign governments .. including Australia's .. are scrambling to evacuate their nationals
.. while the Egyptian opposition
says it won't negotiate with MUBARAK.
The angry revolt in Egypt .. in which an estimated 300 people have died .. has sent
jitters through the region .. with Jordan's king ABDULLAH sacking the government after
weeks of opposition protests demanding change.
Egypt Aust (SYDNEY)
The Australian Government has organised a second Qantas emergency flight to help its
citizens leave Egypt .. after 400 people registered for the first one.
The second charter flight will depart Cairo on Thursday for Frankfurt.
Foreign minister KEVIN RUDD
says Australians who've registered for evacuation assistance
.. but who haven't been confirmed on the first flight .. will be given priority for the
second flight.
Bushfires Vic (MELBOURNE)
Firefighters are making inroads in bringing a large bushfire in Victoria's southeast
under control thanks to cooler weather overnight.
The cooler conditions have prompted authorities to downgrade the emergency warnings
for a number of small towns in East Gippsland to a "watch and act" status.
The seven thousand 500-hectare fire had been burning out of control throughout yesterday
evening .. but about midnight the Country Fire Authority said it was being controlled.
The bushfire's burning in the Tostaree-Princes Highway area .. east of Nowa Nowa near
Orbost .. and travelling in an east north-easterly direction.
A spokeswoman from the incident control centre in Bairnsdale
says spot fires have diminished
.. and there aren't expected to be any flare-ups overnight.
Heat NSW (SYDNEY)
NSW should brace itself for another scorcher .. after temperatures caused a spate of
bushfires and smashed the state's all-time energy record yesterday.
The mercury hit a scorching 42.5 degrees near Newcastle in the afternoon .. with half
a dozen Sydney's suburbs well in the forties.
Though slightly milder .. today is expected to be another hot one with temperatures
to reach the high 30s in the state.
Newcastle is set to hit up to 37 degrees .. Tamworth is predicted to have a high of
38 degrees .. while Sydney-siders should brace for a maximum of 33 degrees.
Floods Levy (CANBERRA)
The Australian Greens say we don't need the flood levy .. if planned tax cuts for big
business are delayed for one year.
The suggestion has come from Greens MP ADAM BANDT.
His vote and that of other cross-benchers will be crucial for the one-point-eight billion
dollar tax .. after the coalition vowed to oppose it.
Timor Aust (CANBERRA)
Up to four thousand asylum seekers could be processed in East Timor under a plan being
considered by Australia.
ABC television reports the government's given East Timor a 23-page document suggesting
how asylum seekers could be housed in a regional processing centre.
Options to house one thousand and two thousand asylum seekers are also outlined.
Immigration Minister CHRIS BOWEN
says the document's been given to East Timor as the
basis for continuing discussion.
Sun (CANBERRA)
The federal government
says it will implement its prisoner transfer treaty with China
as soon as possible.
The promise comes in the wake of revelations an Australian man has spent the last five
years in a Beijing prison after being convicted of spying for Taiwan.
JAMES SUN was arrested in 2006 .. but his case only came to light this week when his
wife went to the media.
Australia signed a prisoner repatriation treaty with China in 2007 .. but still has
not backed it up with the necessary domestic
laws.
Briefly in other news ..
Rip (SYDNEY)
Water Police will continue the search for a man feared drowned at a south Sydney beach
when light breaks.
Murray (CANBERRA)
Environmentalists have calculated a healthy Murray-Darling Basin is worth just under
10 billion dollars to Australia.
Women (SYDNEY)
The New South Wales government
says women will make up half the new appointments to
government boards and committees by the end of next year.
in Sport ..
Swim Thorpe (SYDNEY)
Australia's greatest Olympian IAN THORPE is set to announce a comeback to competitive
swimming today.
THORPE'S manager DAVE FLASKAS
says the five-time Olympic gold medallist will hold a
press conference about his future in Sydney at noon .. 18 months out from the London Olympics.
THORPE retired in 2006 but the rumour mill has been in overdrive in recent months since
the 28-year-old was spotted training in a Sydney pool.
Cricket Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia will choose between reserve gloveman TIM PAINE and the newly called-up CALLUM
FERGUSON to replace the injured SHAUN MARSH in the one day match against England at the
SCG today.
While Australia has already claimed the series by taking an unbeatable 4-1 lead ..
the match remains an important stepping stone on the road to the World Cup.
Fast bowler SHAUN TAIT is a chance to be recalled after proving he has recovered from
a muscle strain with a series of sharp spells in the nets.
AFL Saints (Melbourne)
St Kilda has given the AFL a report after punishing four players for various indiscretions
during last week's pre-season camp in New Zealand.
The Saints suspended ZAC DAWSON, JACK STEVEN, RHYS STANLEY and PAUL CAHILL for six
weeks and also fined each player $5000.
The misdemeanours included mixing alcohol with sleep medication.
ENDS BREAKFAST ROUND-UP
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