Monday, March 24, 2014

Warning over youth mental health 

MORE must be done to help parents and teachers spot signs of mental illness in children or thousands of youngsters could be at risk of alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm and even suicide, UK experts have warned.

A group of child health specialists have cautioned that many children are at risk of "slipping through the net" if awareness is not improved among adults.
The comments come as a new survey found that more than a third of adults are unsure about the signs of mental illness in a child.
And over half fear approaching the subject in case they are mistaken.
The poll of 2100 British adults found 38 per cent did not know the signs and symptoms of mental illness in youngsters and 51 per cent would be worried about raising the issue for fear of being wrong.

West cancels Russia's G8 summit 

US President Barack Obama and top economic powers have cancelled an upcoming G8 summit in Russia, seeking to deepen Moscow's isolation over its intervention in the Ukraine crisis.

After emergency talks called by Obama, it was announced that the G8 summit in Sochi in June would be replaced by a G7 meeting in Brussels, without Russian involvement.
The G7 also threatened tougher sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea, which has plunged relations between the West and Moscow to their lowest point since the Cold War.
The meeting in The Hague came as Ukraine ordered its outnumbered troops to withdraw from Crimea as yet another of its bases was stormed.

14 dead, 150 missing in US landslide 

THE death toll from a devastating landslide in the US state of Washington has risen to at least 14 with more than 150 more potentially missing, as the White House announced federal help.

The number of people unaccounted for after the killer mudslide, described as "like a small earthquake," rose to 176, although many of those could be double-counted, emergency managers said.
"I'm very disappointed to tell you that we didn't find any sign of any survivors," said Snohomish County fire chief Travis Hots, after six more bodies had been found, adding to the eight already confirmed dead.

Widow of Errol Flynn dies in Jamaica 

PATRICE Wymore Flynn, a Hollywood actress and cattle rancher who was the widow of Australia's swashbuckling screen legend Errol Flynn, has died at her seaside home in northeastern Jamaica. She was 87.

Family spokesman Robb Callahan said Wymore Flynn died on Saturday at her ranch in Jamaica's lush Portland parish after battling pulmonary disease for a year.
The US-born actress began her theatrical career in musicals, making her Broadway debut in 1948 in the production Hold It! She was soon signed by Warner Bros as a starlet and headed to Hollywood.
During her early film career, she worked alongside actors such as Doris Day, Kirk Douglas and Randolph Scott. In 1960, she played Frank Sinatra's girlfriend in the original version of Ocean's 11.
She met her future husband when she was cast as the female lead in the 1950 western Rocky

Austrian compares EU with 3rd Reich

AN Austrian far-right politician under fire for saying that Hitler's rule may have been more liberal than European Union regulations has acknowledged that he also disparaged blacks during a speech at a presentation of a book written by a fellow right-winger
Andreas Moelzer initially denied saying that Europe risked turning into a "conglomerate of Negroes ... where chaos multiplies (through) mass immigration".
He admitted doing so after a German newspaper posted a voice recording of his comments on the internet.
Earlier in the day, Jewish Community leader Oskar Deutsch and Eva Glawischnig, the head of Austria's Greens party, demanded that Moelzer withdraw his candidacy to the EU parliament for saying that the European Union is a dictatorship that makes the Third Reich look "possibly ... liberal".
Both comments were made last month but were reported only recently. Moelzer said he used the Third Reich comparison to point to EU over-regulation and that his anti-black comments were "inappropriate".
Moelzer is on the far-right fringe of his FPO party, which has made huge gains over recent years with a stridently Eurosceptic, anti-corruption and anti-foreigner message. It now regularly polls as the most popular of all Austrian parties.
source-www.news.com

Indian woman murdered by her parents 

A 26-YEAR-OLD Indian woman has been strangled by her parents, who opposed her recent marriage to a young man of another caste, police say.

The killing happened on Sunday in Andhra Pradesh in southern India after the parents of the woman convinced the couple that they had accepted the marriage by saying they wanted the rituals carried out to complete the union.
The couple, who worked together at a computer company, wed last Friday in the regional capital of Hyderabad, and when they arrived at the village on Saturday, the young woman went to stay with her parents and her husband checked into a hostel, a police spokesman told the PTI news agency on condition of anonymity.
"Kiran Kumar - the bridegroom - tried to call his bride, P Deepthi, by mobile phone Sunday morning, but getting no answer, he alerted the police who broke down the door to the house and found the murdered woman on the bed," the police spokesman said.
The parents, who fled after committing the crime, were arrested on Monday in a neighbouring town, police superintendent Gopinath Jatti told PTI, adding that "both confessed to the crime".
In India, particularly in rural areas, arranged marriages are common, and the parents, in case their sons and daughters want to choose their partners, normally reject candidates of a different religion or caste.
 
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Australia attends Jakarta maritime talks 

INDONESIAN immigration officers in the area where asylum seekers set off for Australia - and where the first orange lifeboat came back - say they are undermanned and overwhelmed, but still stopped almost 1000 people risking their lives last year.

Australia's Defence Minister David Johnston is visiting Jakarta on Wednesday as the difficult period in relations with Indonesia continues.
Defence co-operation was wound back late last year after reports of Australian intelligence monitoring the phones of Indonesia's leaders.
Then Australia apologised to Indonesia when it learned its vessels had breached its territory during operations to turn asylum seekers away.

Putin inks deal to incorporate Crimea 

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Crimea and its biggest city Sevastopol have signed a treaty making the two entities new members of the Russian Federation.

The treaty goes into force immediately, but stipulates an interim period until the end of the year to formalise the accession of the 84th and 85th members of the Russian Federation.
The signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Tuesday came after an almost hour-long address to MPs and governors, in which Putin defended the move that has triggered the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Market blast kills 17 in Afghanistan 

AT least 17 civilians have been killed and 46 others injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded market in northern Afghanistan.

"A pregnant woman and two children are also among the dead," said Abdul Sattar Barez, deputy governor for Faryab province.
"The bomber driving an explosive-filled auto rickshaw and wearing an explosive vest blew himself up in the crowded Maisara area in Maimana city."

New smoking link to breast cancer

SMOKING increases the risk of breast cancer in older women by almost a fifth, a study has found.

The discovery adds to a growing weight of evidence linking exposure to tobacco smoke with the disease.
US scientists who tracked the progress of around 186,000 women aged 50 to 71 found that those who smoked were 19 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer than never-smokers.
Women who once smoked but then kicked the habit were still 7 per cent more at risk.
The results held true even after accounting for alcohol consumption, which is a major breast cancer risk factor that is more common among smokers.

Fried food linked to obesity 

PEOPLE whose genes make them at risk of obesity could be more likely to pile on weight from fried foods than those with lower risk, a study suggests.

Eating fried food four times a week or more had twice as big an effect on weight for those with high genetic obesity scores compared to those with the lowest, Harvard researchers found.
Even eating the foods once or twice a week increased the risk of being overweight if people had a genetic predisposition to obesity.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Finance News Update, what you need to know

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is higher as US and European stock markets gain ground, despite Western nations imposing sanctions on Russia.
At 0630 AEDT on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 90.86 US cents, up from 90.58 cents on Monday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher, following the lead of international bourses with investors shrugging off concerns over Crimea's vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
At 0645 AEDT on Tuesday, the March share price index futures contract was up 17 points at 5,339.
ELSEWHERE:

Putin recognises  Crimea despite sanctions


RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has brushed off US and European sanctions by approving a decree recognising Crimea as an independent and sovereign state.
The decree is a technical but highly symbolic move that enables Moscow to accept Crimea without Ukraine's consent.

Tributes pour in for designer L'Wren Scott

TRIBUTES have poured in following the death of designer L'Wren Scott, the girlfriend of rocker Mick Jagger, as it emerged her British fashion company had been losing millions of pounds.
The 49-year-old model and designer, who had been dating the Rolling Stones frontman since 2001, was found dead at a New York apartment.
Her body was discovered on Monday morning at the property in Manhattan and it is understood that police do not suspect foul play.

Judicial inquiry tours Manus centre

A TEAM conducting a judicial inquiry into the treatment of asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island has entered the detention centre.
Justice David Cannings led a court-appointed party into the centre on Tuesday morning.
They are examining the conditions asylum seekers are living in as part of an investigation into whether their basic human rights are being catered to.





Research queries advice on 'unhealthy' fat

GUIDELINES urging people to eat less "unhealthy" fat may be too simplistic, new research suggests.
An international study found no overall association between saturated fat consumption and heart disease, contrary to current advice.
In addition, levels of "healthy"

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Iraq tries to legalise child marriage 

A CONTENTIOUS draft law being considered in Iraq could open the door to girls as young as nine getting married and would require wives to submit to sex on their husband's whim.

The measure, aimed at creating different laws for Iraq's majority Shi'ite population, could further fray the country's divisions amid some of the worst bloodshed since the sectarian fighting that nearly ripped the country apart after the US-led invasion.
It also comes as more and more children under 18 get married in the country.
"That law represents a crime against humanity and childhood," prominent Iraqi human rights activist Hana Adwar said.

Obama's Funny or Die skit gets 15m hits 

US President Barack Obama's appearance on the Between Two Ferns satirical online talk show this week has reached 15 million views - almost at Justin Bieber levels.

The website Funny or Die said on Friday that Obama's interview with Zach Galifianakis, posted on Tuesday, will likely beat Bieber's record of 17.8 million views for the show.
The pop singer's appearance was posted in September.
The president's appearance to persuade young people to sign up for health insurance is a key moment for the internet, much like Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats were for radio and the Kennedy-Nixon debate for television, says Dick Glover, CEO of the comic website started by Will Ferrell.

Retrial set for US man in loud music death

A MAN in the US state of Florida convicted of attempted murder in a confrontation over loud music with an unarmed black teen won't be sentenced until after his retrial on a murder charge.

A Duval County judge made that decision on Friday and also scheduled a new trial for Michael Dunn, who is white, for May 5. The case has stirred racial tensions.
Dunn had been scheduled this month to be sentenced for attempted murder and firing into a vehicle, but his lawyer was concerned that statements Dunn makes at a sentencing hearing could be used against him in his second trial.

US zoo performs rare C-section on gorilla 

VETERINARIANS at the San Diego Zoo have performed a rare caesarean section on an 18-year-old gorilla.

Zoo spokeswoman Christina Simmons said the female baby gorilla was in guarded condition Friday, having suffered complications from the birth Wednesday night at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
The full-term baby gorilla weighed two kilograms.

Evidence to convict terror suspect: Judge

 THERE is more than enough proof that would allow a jury to decide to convict Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and al-Qaeda spokesman of conspiring to kill Americans, a judge said as he turned down a defence request to dismiss the case.

"The government's evidence in (the count) of the conspiracy to murder Americans is dramatically more than merely sufficient," US District Judge Lewis A Kaplan said on Friday.
He added that he also saw evidence as "more than sufficient to warrant a conviction" on other charges concerning providing material support to terrorists.

Lusi batters Auckland beaches 

EMERGENCY services are warning people to stay away from Auckland's northern beaches where homes are threatened as high tide peaks and ex-Cyclone Lusi causes havoc.

Lusi hit Northland on Friday night, unleashing 91mm of rain near Whangarei over 27 hours and wind gusts of 139km/h at Cape Reinga.
A storm surge damaged a restaurant on Paihia's wharf and a seawall, several boats came ashore, Marsden Point was closed to all shipping and roofing iron lifted on a building in Mangawhai.
On Saturday, Auckland became the target.

Jet disappeared 'deliberately': Malaysia

THE missing Malaysian airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, stopping short of confirming a hijack as the "excruciating" jet drama moved into uncharted new territory.

Najib said on Saturday that investigators believed "with a high degree of certainty" that Malaysia Airlines flight 370's communications systems were manually switched off, and that the plane veered westward in a fashion "consistent with deliberate action" after dropping off primary radar.
But he told a highly-anticipated press conference watched around the world that he could not confirm rising suspicions that the plane had been forcibly taken over.

LA subway dig finds prehistoric fossils

 AN exploratory subway shaft dug just down the street from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has uncovered a treasure trove of fossils in the land where sabre-tooth cats and other early animals once roamed.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that the fossils included mollusks, asphalt-saturated sand dollars and possibly the mouth of a sea lion dating to two million years ago, a time when the Pacific Ocean extended several kilometres farther inland than it does today.
"Here on the Miracle Mile is where the best record of life from the last great ice age in the world is found," said paleontologist Kim Scott.

Parents of Japan abductee meet grandchild 

 HE parents of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1977 have met their Korean-born granddaughter for the first time.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that the elderly couple spent time with Kim Eun Gyong over several days last week in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
The meeting could be a small step toward resuming official government talks between Japan and North Korea.

Last words from jet after systems shutdown 

THE final words from the cockpit of a missing Malaysian jetliner gave no clue of anything wrong even though one of the plane's communications systems was disabled, officials say.

The finding, they say, adds to suspicions one or both of the pilots were involved in the disappearance.
As authorities examine a flight simulator confiscated from the home of one of the pilots and dig through the background of all 239 people on board and the ground crew that serviced the plane, they are also grappling with the enormity of the search ahead, warning that they need more data to narrow the hunt.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Nuclear dump fire preventable: US report 

THE truck that caught fire a half mile underground at a southeastern New Mexico nuclear waste dump was 29 years old, improperly maintained and operating without an automatic fire-suppression system, according to a report.

The report to be released Friday also will detail deficiencies in emergency training and responses at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) near Carlsbad.
"It was preventable," Ted Wyka, a Department of Energy official who led the investigation, told a community meeting on Thursday evening.

British WWI soldiers laid to rest 

THE remains of 20 British soldiers killed in action during the First World War will be laid to rest with full military honours, almost 100 years after they died.

The soldiers who died in the Battle of Loos in 1915 were found in 2010 during clearance work for new buildings near Vendin-le-Vieil, north of Arras, France.
Only one of the 20 troops discovered has been identified - Private William McAleer, of the 7th Battalion the Royal Scottish Fusiliers, part of the 45th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division.
Born in Leven, Fife, 22-year-old Pte McAleer died shortly after the battle began and he was identified due to his identity disc being found with his body.

Lusi hits Vanuatu: 3 dead, 6 missing 

THREE people have been killed and six are missing after a cyclone hit the Pacific island of Vanuatu, officials say.

Tropical Cyclone Lusi swept across the country this week and damage assessments were still coming in from remote areas, the National Disaster Management Office said on Friday.
Office director Shadrack Welegtabit said three deaths had been confirmed and a search was underway for six missing women and children.

Indon airport closed due to air pollution 

WORSENING haze from forest and brush fires on Indonesia's Sumatra island has forced the closure of an international airport, officials say.

Smog pollution reached hazardous levels in the island's Riau province in the past few days, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
Nugroho also said it has been linked to respiratory and skin problems in about 60,000 people.
The Sultan Syarif Kasim airport in Riau capital Pekanbaru has been closed until Saturday, he said. Sixteen local and regional airlines serve the airport.

Iraq tries to legalise child marriage 

A CONTENTIOUS draft law being considered in Iraq could open the door to girls as young as nine getting married and would require wives to submit to sex on their husband's whim.

The measure, aimed at creating different laws for Iraq's majority Shi'ite population, could further fray the country's divisions amid some of the worst bloodshed since the sectarian fighting that nearly ripped the country apart after the US-led invasion.
It also comes as more and more children under 18 get married in the country.
"That law represents a crime against humanity and childhood," prominent Iraqi human rights activist Hana Adwar said.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Internet troll loses NZ conviction appeal 

TEENAGE "internet troll" Tristan Barker's appeal against his conviction for assaulting Australian television journalist David Eccleston has been dismissed in a New Zealand court.

In a reserved decision, Justice Edwin Wylie found the Rotorua District Court judge who convicted and discharged the 18-year-old last September was correct in her sentencing stance.
Barker, son of former Split Enz drummer Michael Baker, had admitted the charge.
Appealing the decision in the High Court at Rotorua last month, Barker's lawyer Bill Lawson argued a conviction could prevent him taking up a basketball scholarship in the US in the future, travel to the US and some other countries, plus affect his future employment.

US student who sued parents returns home 

THE teenage US student who sued to get her parents to support her after she moved out of their home has reunited with them, and the family is now asking for privacy.

Rachel Canning's return does not involve any financial or other considerations, the lawyer for the 18-year-old's parents said on Wednesday.
Angelo Sarno said that the dispute had been settled "amicably," but refused to comment further on the litigation.

US man charged over dinosaur theft 

A US man has been indicted on federal charges of stealing a fossilised dinosaur footprint from the Jurassic period.

The US attorney's office in Utah announced on Wednesday that a grand jury returned the indictment against 35-year-old Jared Ehlers of Moab. He is facing up to 20 years in prison on the most serious of four counts.

Overseas TV network outdated: Bishop

JULIE Bishop has questioned whether any media outlet, let alone the ABC, should be contracted to run a government-funded overseas television broadcasting service.

The foreign minister has again raised concerns about the Australian Network at a Chatham House policy forum in London.
The former Labor government in 2011 controversially awarded the $223-million contract to run the overseas network to the ABC over Sky News.

Tiger triplets' births filmed in UK 

HIDDEN cameras have captured the birth of three tiger cubs at London Zoo.

Three of the world's rarest tigers were born to five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati on February 3 after a 106-day pregnancy.
The cubs arrived in the early hours, and all were born within an hour.
The entire birth process was monitored using remote camera technology. The zoo has yet to establish the sex of the cubs.

UK floods lead to STG446m in payouts 

THE severe winter floods in the UK are likely to result in more than STG446 million ($A829.92 million) being paid out to people whose homes, businesses and vehicles were damaged, according to updated figures from insurers.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that around STG276 million will to be paid to around 9000 home owners whose properties were flooded, STG149 million will go to businesses after 3100 claims were received from this sector, and STG22 million will be paid to vehicle owners, with 5400 claims for flooded vehicles received.

'Love hormone' hope for anorexics 

A HORMONE naturally released during sex, childbirth and breastfeeding could provide a new treatment for anorexia, research has shown.

Oxytocin - dubbed the "love hormone" or the "cuddle chemical" - has been shown to alter anorexics' tendencies to fixate on images of high calorie foods and larger body shapes, one study has shown. Research has also found the hormone changed anorexic patients' responses to images of angry and disgusted faces.

Manson Family member paroled 

A CALIFORNIA board has approved parole for former Charles Manson follower Bruce Davis, but Governor Jerry Brown - who vetoed parole for Davis just last year - can stop his release.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says parole was granted for the 71-year-old Davis after a hearing on Wednesday at the California Men's Colony.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

'Outstanding' UK union boss crow dies 

BRITIAN'S trade union movement is in shock after the sudden death of firebrand rail union leader Bob Crow at the age of 52.

The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union is believed to have suffered a heart attack at his home in east London.
The union announced the news "with the deepest regret" and said his death would leave a "massive gap".
Tributes poured in from unions, politicians and campaign groups, as well as business and industry leaders.

Man sought over NZ cocaine bust on the run

 A FIFTH Brazilian man allegedly involved in trying to import 2.5kg cocaine into New Zealand is on the run.

Four men have been arrested after a man was caught at Auckland Airport with two suitcases containing cocaine worth an estimated $NZ1 million ($A953,153) in Auckland on Friday.
Police say they're also looking for 43-year-old Rodrigo Gerlach Rila, a Brazilian national who once lived on Auckland's North Shore.

Intelligent people 'more trusting': study 

CLEVER people are more trusting than their less intelligent counterparts, researchers have claimed.

Those who are smarter than most may be better judges of character, they said. That group may also be more trusting of other people because they are better at weighing up situations, according to research from academics at Oxford University.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined data from an American social attitudes survey.

Facebook, BBC top British websites poll 

THE two websites Britain cannot live without are the BBC and social networking site Facebook, new research has found.

The top five websites were revealed to be Facebook (24 per cent), BBC (20 per cent), Amazon (nine per cent), Gmail (five per cent) and Yahoo (five per cent), in a poll for Nominet, the company that runs the .uk internet infrastructure.
Facebook was chosen by 32 per cent of women, while for men (26 per cent) the BBC website was in the number one position.

Tropical cyclone threatens to hit NZ 

A TROPICAL cyclone is expected to bring wet and stormy weather to much of New Zealand just in time for the weekend.

Cyclone Lusi is expected to hit the northern part of the country on Saturday or early Sunday and move south over central New Zealand, affecting people from Northland down to Canterbury.
People should prepare for a dangerous storm including heavy rain, gale force winds, large coastal waves and storm surges, the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management says.

Haiti cholera victims file suit against UN 

MORE than 1500 victims of a cholera outbreak in post-earthquake Haiti have filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to overturn the United Nations' immunity from liability for the epidemic that killed more than 9000 Haitians.

The suit, filed in a New York federal court on Tuesday, also is seeking compensation for the deaths and the 700,000 people made ill by the epidemic, and funding for sanitation and clean water in Haiti.
The lawsuit comes days after the US State Department asked a New York court to grant the UN immunity from legal action brought by another group of cholera victims.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Depth, distance reduce impact of US quake 

 ONE of the largest earthquakes to hit California in decades has rattled the state's northern coast, but its depth and distance from shore reduced the impact on land, with no reports of injuries or damage.

The magnitude-6.9 quake struck at 10:18pm on Sunday and was centred 80 kilometres west of Eureka and about 16 kilometres beneath the Pacific seabed, according to the US Geological Survey.
By late Monday morning, it had already produced 20 aftershocks of magnitude-3.5 or larger, and more were expected over the coming days, said Keith Knudsen, deputy director of the USGS's Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park, California.

Lawyer says Tsarnaev destroyed phone 

 BOSTON Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev destroyed his mobile phone before being arrested, a lawyer for one of Tsarnaev's friends has said in court.

The information was disclosed on Monday during a pre-trial hearing in US District Court as lawyers for three of Tsarnaev's friends asked a judge to order prosecutors to turn over a variety of records and documents to the defence.
The defence requested all communications between Tsarnaev and the three men, as well as all communications between Tsarnaev and other people.

Syrian health care on brink of collapse 

 SYRIA'S health care system is on the brink of collapse, with medics forced to engage in "brutal medical practices" in order to save lives: knocking out patients with metal bars because of lack of anaesthesia, or amputating infants' limbs for lack of other ways to treat their injuries.

International charity Save the Children in a report published on Monday said newborns die in hospital incubators during power outages, while millions of children have been exposed to deadly diseases, some of which are preventable with vaccinations and basic medical equipment.
The conflict has ravaged Syria for three years and has hit the country's health facilities and health providers hard. Hospitals have been bombed by government forces in rebel-held areas. Armed men with the opposition have forced their way into clinics to have their fighters treated. Many doctors have fled the country to escape harassment from the warring sides.

16 killed in Egypt highway crash 

OFFICIALS say a truck has collided with a bus on a highway in southern Egypt that was flooded after heavy rains, killing 16 people.

A security official in the city of Assiut said the bus driver lost control of the wheel on an inundated stretch of road, striking the truck and then overturning. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to reporters.

Key ditches NZ flag referendum in 2014 

NEW Zealanders won't get a chance to vote to change the nation's flag this year.

Prime Minister John Key says there won't be a referendum on changing New Zealand's flag at September's general election, but if National is re-elected the public will have their say in the next parliamentary term.
Mr Key raised the prospect of a referendum in January, saying he personally favoured changing the flag to a black one with a silver fern on it, but in a speech at Victoria University on Tuesday, he put it on hold.

Bieber can't remember coming to Australia 

 JUSTIN Bieber caused havoc during his recent visit to Australia with graffiti sprees, allegations of heavy-handed behaviour by his body guards and visits to strip clubs.

But the 20-year-old apparently can't even remember whether or not he was here.
During a court appearance in the US on Thursday over separate claims the singer instructed his bodyguards to assault photographer Jeffrey Binion, Bieber was quizzed about his past movements.
"Do you remember being in Australia ever?" the photographer's lawyer Mark DiCowden asks in video footage of the four-hour deposition.

Modern Family star a Vegemite convert 

MODERN Family star Ty Burrell is known for his comedic chops, but he also has a refined palate.

In what may be a first for an American, Burrell came away from Australia loving Vegemite.
While Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen and the rest of the Modern Family cast were not fans of Australia's favourite breakfast spread during their recent visit Down Under to shoot an episode of the hit sitcom, Burrell stashed a few jars in his luggage before flying back to the US.
"I love Vegemite," says Burrell, who plays bumbling dad Phil Dunphy.

Man hunts for wife on tsunami anniversary 

ON a chilly morning last weekend, a 57-year-old Japanese man adjusted his diving mask before heading out to sea from the tsunami-hit northeast coast.

Yasuo Takamatsu is learning to scuba dive in hopes of finding the remains of his wife.
As Japan marks the third anniversary of the 2011 tsunami on Tuesday, 2636 people remain missing, their bodies presumably swept out to sea. Another 15,884 have been confirmed dead.
Takamatsu's wife Yuko was at her office when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that spawned the tsunami struck offshore at 2.46pm.

Fatal Vision author Joe McGinniss dies 

JOE McGinniss, the adventurous and news-making author and reporter who skewered the marketing of Richard Nixon in The Selling of the President 1968 and tracked his personal journey from sympathiser to scourge of convicted killer Jeffrey MacDonald in the blockbuster Fatal Vision, has died aged 71.

McGinniss, who announced in 2013 that he had been diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer, died on Monday from complications related to his disease.
His lawyer and longtime friend Dennis Holahan said he died at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.