Rock-throwing NT kids threatened with care

IF the parents of children responsible for attacking authorities and damaging property in Alice Springs can't control them they'll be taken into care, the NT chief minister has warned.

ADAM Giles says he won't tolerate a situation, which early on Tuesday escalated to a group of more than 50 youths throwing rocks at police, starting several fires and damaging property in the central Australian town.

Police say they are concerned they are being targeted.Over the past two weeks there have been other rock-throwing incidents, one resulting in a damaged ambulance being taken off the road.The government says many of the young people responsible are from outlying, predominantly indigenous communities.Over Easter, Alice Springs hosted a metal concert, a national bike race and the AFL's Lightning Cup Carnival, with many attendees staying on for the school holidays.But there have been numerous reports of property damage since."I'm giving the parents of the children responsible for this spate of violence a very clear message: get your kids off the streets, get them back to communities and back into school," Mr Giles said in a statement late on Wednesday."Otherwise, these children will be regarded as requiring protection and we will take immediate action. Parents should not doubt our resolve to do this."Any school-age child found on the streets during school hours will now be issued with a $298 fine by school attendance officers.Minister for Children and Families John Elferink said he had directed the department "to take strong action" and put children into care where legally possible."Normally the department would see this as a last resort and be willing to work with parents but these are not normal circumstances," he said."If parents don't want to see their children in care then they need to get off the grog and head back to their home community."The government will organise bus transport for families to get them home.Mr Giles said in light of the violence the government is reconsidering supporting the Lightning Cup Carnival next year."If the organisers want taxpayers support, they best think long and hard about how they conduct their event and how to reduce the impact it has created on the town in the subsequent days," he warned.

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Ex-Knox head told to report allegations

Knox Grammar's ex-headmaster has admitted to impeding a police investigation into teachers at Knox. Source: AAP

A FORMER Supreme Court judge says he told the headmaster of Knox Grammar to report an allegation to police that a teacher had been sleeping with a boy at the elite Sydney school for two years.

MORRIS "Dusty" Ireland, who was chairman of the Knox school council in the 1990s, has told the child abuse royal commission headmaster Ian Paterson told him in 1992 a student was threatening to sue the school and expose it "as a hotbed of homosexuality".

The student, known as ATJ, also alleged teacher Bob James had been having sex with a senior student, known as ATP, for two years.Justice Ireland said he could not now remember full details, but recalled advising Dr Paterson not to approach the student and telling him the James affair should be reported to police because it "might involve criminal conduct" depending on the student's age.He said he couldn't remember what became of his recommendation.Justice Ireland said news of the litigation threat was common knowledge at the time and he was sure he would have spoken to other school councillors about it.Earlier on Wednesday, Dr Paterson, headmaster at Knox from 1969 to 1998, admitted to the commission to impeding a police investigation in 1996 into a number of Knox teachers.When NSW police Inspector Beth Cullen of the child protection unit approached Dr Paterson about the teachers - Craig Treolar, Damien Vance, Christopher Fotis and Barrie Stewart - he referred her to his secretary to provide school records.When asked by counsel advising the commission David Lloyd if he knew the records wouldn't reveal any information, Dr Paterson answered: "Correct."Mr Lloyd asked him if he'd known that failing to tell Insp Cullen what he knew, including that three of the teachers were still at the school, "was likely to impede or hinder her investigation".Dr Paterson replied: "I accept that."The former headmaster went on to admit that multiple failures on his part put students at risk of sexual abuse.He had never reported to police or put in place any training for staff on mandatory reporting obligations.Dr Paterson also said he didn't have written policies on child protection and no systems in place for interviewing or conducting reference or criminal checks for people applying to be housemasters.In the case of ATJ, he said he had hoped the litigation would never proceed.The commission has been told there is a handwritten school note referring to the litigation noting that ATJ had died.In reply to Geoffrey Watson QC, representing Knox, Dr Paterson agreed the school was inextricably linked to his own reputation, but denied that he was giving false evidence to protect his own name.The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse hearing will resume on Thursday with Justice Ireland returning to the stand.Dr Paterson will then be recalled.

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Bendigo Bank to operate in Nauru

BENDIGO and Adelaide Bank is making its first step overseas with an agency agreement in Nauru.

IT will conduct banking services through an existing outlet in the small Pacific nation, returning banking services to the population of 10,000 after a 15 year absence.

In the past 12 months the bank has conducted several banking days to allow locals to open accounts, and it has 1,500 customers at present.

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Brawl after bride marries guest, not groom

TWO wedding guests were briefly detained in northern India after the bride reportedly rejected her groom in favour of another guest.

DURING one of the preliminary ceremonies of the Hindu wedding - the exchange of garlands - Jugal Kishore, 25, had an epileptic fit and fell to the floor at the wedding venue in the northern Indian town of Rampur, the Times of India newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Indira, the 23-year-old bride, apparently angered that she did not know about Kishore's condition, said she would instead marry a relative of her brother-in-law who was a guest at the wedding.The guest agreed and the garlanding ceremony continued. The marriage rituals were then completed, including a key section which involved the couple walking round a holy fire seven times, according to the report late on Tuesday.Kishore, who had been taken to a doctor, came back to find he no longer had a bride. The disagreement which followed reportedly turned violent, and police were called.A complaint was filed with the local police, but was later withdrawn after elders of both families intervened, the newspaper reported, quoting local police official RP Solanki."Both families have amicably resolved the matter," Solanki said.

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Jeffrey Archer settles phone-hacking case

BEST-SELLING author Jeffrey Archer, his wife Mary and their son James have settled their phone-hacking claims against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers.

ARCHER, his scientist wife and businessman son had decided to accept NGN's offer of substantial undisclosed damages, the payment of their legal costs and an unqualified apology, said Hugh Tomlinson QC at London's High Court.

He told Mr Justice Mann on Wednesday that they had brought proceedings against the publisher of the now-defunct News of the World for misuse of private information, breach of confidence and harassment.None of the Archers were in court.Tomlinson said that Archer was of long-term interest to NGN and was the subject of numerous articles in the News of the World over many years.His wife and son were of interest as a source of information about him."The defendant, over a considerable period, sought to obtain private information concerning the claimants by using the services of private investigators," Tomlinson said."The evidence has indicated that the claimants were of long term continuing interest to the defendant."In or around June 2011, the claimants were contacted by officers at Operation Weeting."They were shocked and distressed by the discovery that private and confidential information relating to them had been located within documents relating to the police investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World."He added that NGN had undertaken to the court not to access their voicemail messages, not to access or attempt to access their private information by unlawful means and not knowingly to publish information obtained by unlawfully accessing voicemail messages left for or by them.Antony White QC, for NGN, said it offered its sincere apologies for the damage and distress caused by accessing their voicemail, obtaining confidential information and having put Lord Archer under surveillance."The defendant acknowledges that the information should never have been obtained in the manner it was and that the defendant is liable for misuse of private information and breach of confidence."

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Man on run after NSW police station escape

A MAN is on the run after escaping a police station on the NSW north coast.

JOSHUA Mead, 27, slipped away from Murwillumbah police station on Wednesday afternoon after appearing in court on property offences.

He's decribed as being 180cm tall, of medium build with blue-grey eyes and heavily tattooed legs.

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Toxic leak forces ISS astronauts to move

A PART of the International Space Station (ISS) has been evacuated after a toxic substance leaked, the Russian Federal Space Agency says.

THE incident happened in the US-sponsored part of the ISS, and all astronauts were safely brought to the station's Russian section, the agency said.

"The crew's safety was ensured thanks to the quick actions of the astronauts and ground control in Moscow and Houston," the agency said.It added that NASA was analysing the situation.Russian news agencies reported that the substance was ammonia, which is used as a coolant on the station.Currently the ISS is staffed with an Italian, three Russian and two US astronauts.

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Trio sentenced for AFL player brawl

Abram Hothnyang and Emmanuel Golong (pic) have avoided jail over a brawl involving two AFL players. Source: AAP

THREE men have avoided jail over a brawl involving two AFL players.

MELBOURNE player Jeff Garlett and Brisbane Lions recruit Mitch Robinson became embroiled in the street fight last year after Garlett argued with two women over a taxi, a court has heard.

The scrimmage erupted after the women's male friends became involved, with Garlett struck and knocked unconscious by a traffic bollard and Robinson suffering a fractured eye socket and nerve damage.Emmanuel Golong, 27, Abram Hothnyang, 22, and Liep Kuel, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of affray and recklessly causing injury stemming from the early-morning Melbourne CBD brawl.They were issued 18-month community corrections orders in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, with convictions recorded.The orders include 300 hours of community service each.Magistrate Franz Holzer told them they had good prospects for the future but their offending was serious, and they would have been jailed immediately if they had not pleaded guilty."You made some very poor choices," he said."You got caught up in the moment ... you let it consume you."Garlett has also been charged with affray and is due to appear in court in March, but Robinson was not charged.The pair, both 25, were Carlton teammates at the time of the August 3 brawl but have since joined other clubs.Garlett's brother Gerald and another man were also involved in the brawl, the court heard.

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Guns down, ice rising: NSW crime report

Gun crimes in NSW are down over the last quarter for the first time, but ice use are still a worry. Source: AAP

GUN crimes in NSW are down over the last quarter for the first time, but new figures reinforce NSW is in grip of an ice epidemic.

ILLEGAL shootings and shootings without murderous intent both decreased in the three months to September, a NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report shows.

With drive-by shootings stable, along with an increased number of prohibited weapons being taken off the streets, it suggests a police crackdown on gun crime has so far been a success.A long-running spate of tit-for-tat shootings, many of which were gang-related, prompted Operation Talon and Strike Force Raptor to be formed in recent years."We will proactively go out after people involved in crime where they use a gun," NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said on Wednesday."That includes full use of firearms prohibition orders, through to search provisions and all legislative support we've received to make it really, really hard (for gun crime)."The BOCSAR report also shows robberies, thefts, break-and-enters, and non-domestic assaults have decreased.Across the 17 major crime categories, seven are down while the rest have remained stable."For the second consecutive quarter, crime is down in NSW - we've set a new a record," said Police and Emergency Services Minister Stuart Ayres.And while reported incidents of domestic assaults have increased, this may be a positive as as it shows victims are speaking up more often.Mr Scipione says domestic violence is grossly under reported in NSW and Australia."We actually set targets to see an increase in that crime category," he said."If we don't, we know we're not being effective in our communication."But he said the overall level of domestic violence was "horrific", with NSW police attending more than 120,000 domestic incidents last year.Mr Ayres said the national ice epidemic has taken hold in NSW, proven by a 26 per cent rise amphetamine detections."Please don't try it, don't even tempt yourself with it - it will destroy your life faster than any other drug," he said.NSW CRIME STATS SNAPSHOT* Unlawful shootings down 23.6 per cent* Shooting with intent other than murder down 35.7 per cent* Breaking and entering home down 8.7 per cent* Robbery without a weapon down 20.4 per cent* Retail theft down 9.1 per cent* Amphetamine detection up 26 per cent* Prohibited weapon detections up 22 per cent* Sexual, indecent assault stable* Fraud stable* Murders stable(Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research)

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'Number spoofing' scam hits UK consumers

BRITISH consumers are increasingly being targeted by a "number spoofing" scam in which criminal gangs fool telephones into displaying the numbers of legitimate organisations.

THE con works by fraudsters cloning the telephone number of a trusted organisation such as a bank and then making that number appear on the victim's caller ID display, according to Financial Fraud Action UK, the name under which the financial services industry co-ordinates its fraud prevention efforts.

They do this using technology, often employed by call centres, which can copy any number even if the one they are calling from is entirely different.The criminal will gain the victim's trust by drawing their attention to the number, claiming it is proof of their identity, before trying to defraud them.Banks have reported an increase in the scam, which is a new variation on telephone frauds where criminals cold-call people and pose as bank staff, police officers or other trusted organisations to persuade their victim to part with financial and personal details.Often, criminals pretend they are phoning to tell the victim that a fraud has been detected on their bank account.Once they have their victim's confidence, they will try to elicit information such as the victim's PIN details, online passwords or other sensitive information which will then be used to steal from their bank account.Some criminals will also trick victims into sending money to other accounts or to hand over cash or cards to a courier for "safe-keeping", whereas in reality the courier is delivering the card straight to the fraudster.The anti-fraud body's intelligence unit, the Financial Fraud Bureau, has seen evidence that the scam has become increasingly common in recent weeks, with organised criminal gangs making use of it.It warns people never to assume that someone is who they say they are just because their number matches that of an organisation.If someone tries to draw a consumer's attention to the number on their caller ID display, the consumer should immediately treat this as a warning sign of a scam.A bank or the police would never call someone and ask for their four-digit PIN, full online banking passwords or ask them to transfer or withdraw money or to hand their card over to a courier.

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