AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 14

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2007
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 14


Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


US Wolfowitz (WASHINGTON)

Beleaguered World Bank boss PAUL WOLFOWITZ .. is facing mounting calls to resign over
a pay scandal .. but he's also won strong backing from the White House.

The former US deputy defence secretary is in the firing line .. as finance ministers
from the wealthy Group of Seven nations kick off high-level meetings in Washington.

Documents released by the World Bank's board show WOLFOWITZ personally directed his
Libyan-born girlfriend SHAHA RIZA be given massive raises.

Her annual pay package reached 240 thousand dollars Australian .. when she was reassigned
from the bank's press office to the US State Department.

But President GEORGE W BUSH is standing firm behind his old colleague WOLFOWITZ ..

who was one of the architects of the war in Iraq.



Burnley (MELBOURNE)

A truck driver talking on a mobile phone may have triggered the fatal chain of events
in Melbourne's Burnley tunnel last month .. that left three people dead.

News Limited says the phone call was allegedly received by the truck driver .. seconds
before his semi-trailer ploughed into three vehicles in the tunnel on March 23.

News Limited says the call's thought to have been made by the owner of the truck ..

and the distracted driver may have been unaware that a truck with a flat tyre had blocked
the tunnel's left lane .. reducing the speed limit from 80 kilometres an hour to 60.



Liberals Qld (BRISBANE)

A replacement will be found today .. to fill the vacancy left by disgraced Queensland
senator SANTO SANTORO.

Liberal party delegates are meeting in Brisbane this morning .. to vote on a field
of 10 candidates vying for the job.

Former Queensland Liberal leader BOB QUINN and businesswoman SUE BOYCE are believed
to be the preselection frontrunners .. with Mr QUINN said to be enjoying the support of
Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD.

However .. two other candidates .. Australian Republican Movement chairman TED O'BRIEN
and former army officer DAVID MOORE .. are believed to have made good ground during the
week.

The successful Senate replacement will be announced later today.



Weapons (ADELAIDE)

Customs officials in Adelaide have seized one of their largest-ever hauls of weapons
and counterfeit goods.

They say the Chinese shipment included nunchakus .. steel batons .. hundreds of BB
guns and more than two thousand counterfeit items.

A customs spokesman says a 38-year-old Rostrevor man was arrested yesterday over the

haul .. following raids on homes and business premises in suburban St Agnes .. Dernancourt
and Rostrevor.



League ElMasri (SYDNEY)

Police have denied allegations they harassed Bulldogs Rugby League player HAZEM EL
MASRI .. when they questioned him in Sydney's south west on Thursday night.

EL MASRI says he and his manager were surrounded by nine police officers .. after they
refused to show them identification .. in an incident they believe was racially motivated.

The pair plan to lodge a formal complaint.

But a police spokeswoman says there's no suggestion the officers acted inappropriately
.. when they questioned the two men .. who were sitting on a public bench near Regents
Park railway station about 11 pm .. in relation to robbery offences.

She says police will look into the allegations.



Bushwalker (SYDNEY)

A major search has resumed for a bushwalker .. missing for a week in Kanangra-Boyd
National Park near Oberon .. west of Sydney.

The 38-year-old man from Sydney's suburban Marsfield set out on a 45 kilometre trek
to Katoomba last Friday.

The ground and air search includes 60 police .. as well SES volunteers .. national
parks personnel .. polair .. police rescue and bushwalkers.

Another 60 people are expected to join the search.



AIDS Drug (PARIS)

A new category of drugs has shown promising results for HIV and AIDS patients who failed
to respond to other treatments .. according to a report in a British journal.

A study in The Lancet shows raltegravir dramatically reduces the presence of the HIV
virus .. and boosts immunity in clinical-trial patients .. especially when combined with
other medications.

It acts by targeting and disrupting an enzyme that helps the HIV virus enter the host's
cellular genome.

In clinical tests on 178 patients with advanced HIV infections .. who had proved resistant
to standard treatments .. raltegravir "showed unprecedented levels of virological efficiency".

AAP RTV rs/af


Mideast Shields (JERUSALEM)

The Israeli military's suspended the commander of an operation in the West Bank ..

in which troops ordered two Palestinian youths to stand in front of their vehicle .. to
protect it from stones being thrown by locals.

A foreign peace activist captured the incident in Nablus on video on Wednesday.

It's the latest piece of evidence suggesting the Israeli army continues to use human
shields .. in violation of international law and a landmark Israeli Supreme Court ruling
in 2005 .. barring the practice.



UK Party (LONDON)

A British teenager has apologized to her parents .. after a party advertised on the
MySpace website got out of control .. and left them with a bill for the equivalent of
nearly 50 thousand Australian dollars.

17-year-old RACHAEL BELL says her web page was hacked into by friends .. who posted
an invitation to a "trash the average-sized family house disco party".

Over 200 youths turned up .. some from as far as 450 kilometres away.

Her mother ELAINE .. who was on a caravanning holiday at the time .. says it's like
house rape .. and those responsible are worse than animals.

On her return she found her wedding dress had been urinated on .. and people had been
sick everywhere.



in Sport ..



GOLF PGA (ATLANTA)

Australia's STEPHEN LEANEY remains in the hunt .. however the second round of the US
PGA Tour Heritage Classic belongs to ERNIE ELS.

The world No.5 carded a six under 65 on the par 71 course at Hilton Head Island in
South Carolina to take a three-stroke lead from American JERRY KELLY, who faded after
his opening 63 with a one-under par second round.

LEANEY backed up his first round 66 with a three-under par 68, to hold down a share
of third with American FRED FUNK.



WC07 LANKA (ST GEORGE'S, Grenada)

Injured fast bowler LASITH MALINGA is doubtful for Sri Lanka's Super Eights match against
Australia on Monday.

MALINGA missed Sri Lanka's victory over New Zealand on Thursday with a torn ligament
in his left ankle.

Sri Lankan team manager says MICHAEL TESSERA says it still hadn't been decided whether
MALINGA would be risked against the title holders.



Australia have scored a thumping nine-wicket win over Ireland after GLENN MCGRATH and
SHAUN TAIT bowled the World Cup minnows out for 91 in their Super Eights match in Barbados.



Super Cheetahs (WELLINGTON)

Cheetahs prop JANNIE DU PLESSIS is scheduled to appear before the SANZAR judiciary
today charged with biting a Wellington Hurricanes player during last night's Super 14
rugby match in Wellington.

DU PLESSIS has been charged with biting Hurricanes fullback CORY JANE in the 55th minute
of the match.

The Hurricanes won 37-15.



Doping WADA (LISBON)

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) general manager DAVID HOWMAN is demanding tougher penalties
against dope cheats.

The New Zealander wants the sentence against first time offenders raised from a two-year
ban to four years for abusers of harder drugs such as steroids and EPO.



League Storm (MELBOURNE)

Storm sensation GREG INGLIS is likely to miss Australia's rugby league Test clash with
New Zealand with a knee injury.

The five-eighth is out of Melbourne's NRL meeting with St George Illawarra today after
succumbing to torn muscle behind his right knee.



Rugby Youth (BELFAST)

Australia has downed France 30-11 and stayed on course to retain the world under-19
rugby championship.

In Tuesday's semifinals, Australia will meet South Africa, and New Zealand faces Wales.



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