Alligator wins reptile death match over Burmese Python in the Everglades, Florida

A FLORIDA alligator is being hailed an environmental hero after being pictured devouring a Burmese python which are invading the Everglades. The photo, posted on the Everglades National Park website, showed the alligator had won the death match.
The Burmese python, which has no natural predators and can eat alligators, has been invading the Everglades in massive numbers because they can reproduce in large numbers.
Some believe there are now more than 100,000 of the pythons in the area.

Delaney Brown, 8, dies of leukaemia after 8000 carollers grant her wish by singing to her 

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl with leukaemia died on Christmas morning, just days after 8000 carollers granted her dying wish.

One of the last gifts Delaney Brown, nicknamed Laney, received was the support of thousands of strangers who on Saturday came to fulfill a wish of hers to hear carols sung on her front lawn.
The sad news came via her "Team Laney" Facebook page.
"My heart breaks right now. Our little angel on earth earned her pink glittery angel wings in heaven. She took her last breath at home in her bed at 3:10 surrounded by all her family and friends. I miss her so much already,' the latest update from about 5am on Christmas morning read (9pm AEDT).

Laney received her cancer diagnosis in May, a rare form of childhood cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia with monosomy 7.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas are desperately trying to salvage their marriage 

 CATHERINE Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas continue to work hard to fix their marital problems.

The pair, who admitted they went through a rough patch this summer, were spotted "laughing and enjoying each other's company" at lunch this past weekend at Ocean Grill on the Upper West Side. Spies tell us the couple, who separated in August after 13 years of marriage, were with their daughter, Carys, 10. Witnesses said they were "really focused on her" during the meal but were also "laughing together."
According to unconfirmed reports, Douglas has been going to Zeta-Jones' place for breakfast with his children (the couple also have one son, Dylan, 13) when he's in Manhattan and dropping by in the evening to watch TV with them.

Aussies urged to celebrate consumer rights

WHETHER you received a dud Christmas present from a distant aunt or you bought it yourself, consumers have the same rights to a refund, a consumer watchdog says.

"No refund" signs at post-Christmas sales are also illegal, consumer-rights group Choice says.
Under Australian consumer law, all consumers are entitled to a refund, replacement or repair if the product fails to do the job it was meant to.
Choice spokesperson Tom Godfrey says the person who bought the item does not have to be the returnee.

'All systems go' for Boxing Day sales 

VICTORIANS are expected to spend the most amount of money on Boxing Day sales, as retailers declare the post Christmas rush the best since the global financial crisis (GFC).

Australians are expected to spend $1.9 billion on sales on Thursday, up about 5.6 per cent from the year before, Australian National Retail Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond told reporters in Sydney.
"This is going to be a bumper Boxing Day," she said.
"(It) probably makes it just about the best we have seen since the GFC."
Victorians are expected to spend the most this year at $636.8 million, followed by NSW at $545.4 million and Queensland at $349.5 million.

Qld woman charged over Xmas stabbing 

A WOMAN has been charged over the Christmas Day stabbing of a man in a remote Queensland town.

Police say the woman, 47, and the man, 23, got into a fight at a home on Muttich St, Aurukun, in the far north of the state, about 9am (AEST) on Wednesday.
During the fight the man was stabbed in the chest.
He was taken to Cairns Base Hospital with non life-threatening injures.

US migrant stats 'can't be produced fast'

US prosecutors say they can't meet a judge's demands that they quickly deliver documents about thousands of immigrants who've been detained across the country for months or years as their immigration statuses are reviewed.

The office of US Attorney Preet Bharara laid out the government's position to US District Judge Richard M. Berman in a letter made public on Wednesday.

Vic journo appeals to Thai governor

AN Australian journalist, increasingly anxious over law suits brought against his Thai-based website by the Royal Thai Navy, has lodged an appeal with a provincial governor to try to persuade the navy to drop the charges.

Alan Morison, formerly of Melbourne and editor of online news website Phuketwan, based in southern Thai resort island of Phuket, and journalist, Chutima Sidasathiam, face up to seven years jail if convicted on charges of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Gaia space probe set for blast-off

A STG2 billion ($A3.72 billion) European probe that will map more than a billion stars in 3D is due to be launched into space.

British scientists and engineers have played key roles in the design and construction of the spacecraft, called Gaia.
The two-tonne robot is expected to blast into orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the European space port in French Guiana on Thursday.

Greenpeace fails in bid to stop Anadarko

GREENPEACE have lost their bid to stop oil giant Anadarko from drilling off the coast of New Zealand.

The environmental lobby group wanted a judicial review of the decision to let the company drill for oil but the Wellington High Court dismissed the application on Thursday.
Anadarko had not provided an adequate impact assessment to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and as a result their application to drill should not have been approved, Greenpeace said.