Homeless man's $100K second chance

A U.S. homeless man gains international attention after he returns a diamond ring mistakenly given to him. Tara Cleary reports.

A HOMELESS man set to get $US145,000 for returning a woman's diamond engagement ring is uncomfortable at the attention he got and worries for a world shocked by his honesty.

Sarah Darling accidentally dropped her diamond engagement ring into Billy Ray Harris' coin cup in Kansas City and he kept it safe and gave it back to her when she returned to his patch a few days later. Her grateful fiance set up a website which has already raised $US145,000 ($A141,622) for Mr Harris, who frequently begs on Kansas City's Country Club Plaza.

Mr Harris, though grateful for the donations from strangers from around the world, is uncomfortable with all the attention his kind act has received but insists the ring simply wasn't his to keep.

Billy Ray Harris said he doesn't think he deserves all the attention he's getting.

"What I actually feel like is what is the world come to when a person returns something that don't belong to em and all this happens?," he said.

Speaking to a local TV crew, Mr Harris said he knew the ring had sentimental value.

This is the ring Sarah accidentally dropped into the coin cup.

"I could tell just how much it meant to you, the moment I held it up like that," he said to Ms Darling  re-enacting for the cameras her reaction when he showed her that her ring wasn't lost.

News of the story has also led to Mr Harris being reunited with his family. His sister Robin saw him on the local TV news at her home in Texas and contacted the reporter on the story to help arrange a reunion with all of  his siblings.

"Sixteen years later and we just now found out he's still living.  I want him to come home, but I can't make come home.  But I want him to know we love him and we miss him," Robin said.

Mr Harris described the upcoming reunion with his family as "a gift" and even though he hasn't seen them in years he insists his sister remain his best friends.

Mr Harris, who lives under a bridge, admits he doesn't think he deservea all the attention he's getting but he is now considering an offer to move in with his sister.  He doesn't want to be a burden and said he finds being a cause celebre stressful.

"It's more stressful than what I'm doing right now," he said. "Does Tom Cruise have to be all that? I could never be an actor."

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Tougher bans for Vic drivers using phones

VICTORIAN drivers caught using their mobile phones will soon be fined more than $400 to tackle the growing problem of people texting while driving.

Vicki Richardson's daughter Brooke, a 20-year-old hairdresser, died last December when her car ran off the road into a tree.

"That day Brooke made a decision that would be the last decision of her life," Ms Richardson said.

"Brooke's downfall on that day was to decide to drive and text."

Drivers caught out will lose four demerit points, up from three, and P-platers won't be allowed to use their phones at all, even hands-free, while driving.

Roads Minister Terry Mulder said 55,000 drivers were booked for using their mobile phones while behind the wheel last year.

Drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a collision if they used their phone while driving.

"This isn't rocket science, this is a real, real issue; the most serious issue we've faced since drink driving," Mr Mulder said at the launch of a new Transport Accident Commission campaign: Distractions lead to disaster.

"We had to come down hard on motorists. The message wasn't getting through."

Premier Ted Baillieu said a distracted driver was a dangerous driver.

"Any distraction can be deadly," he said.

VicRoads is also releasing an application for android phones that will allow users to switch on 'road mode'.

Calls during road mode will be silenced and the caller will be sent a message informing them the person they are trying to contact is driving and unable to take their call.

VicRoads is in negotiations with Apple so it can roll out the application on its devices as well.

Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said other behaviour such as eating or drinking while driving or applying make-up was already illegal under rules about failing to have proper control of your vehicle.

"So anyone that's coming to work along the Monash (Freeway) doing their make-up, they're putting themselves at risk but also they risk being pulled up by the police," he said.

The changes are in response to a government survey last September of more than 16,000 drivers. Almost nine in 10 respondents wanted tougher penalties for people who text and drive.

The government hopes to introduce legislation to effect the changes as soon as possible.

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'We saw the fin and next minute, boom'

A shark off Muriwaii beach thought to have been involved in today's fatal attack. Picture: Westpac Rescue/Twittert Source: Supplied

A MAN is dead after a Great White shark attack at Muriwai Beach, north of Auckland.

Emergency services rushed to Muriwai, a popular west coast surf beach just before 11.30am today following reports of a shark attack.

A student said a police officer fired 20 shots at the 3.7-4.3 metre long Great White Shark, which has not been retrieved from the sea, Stuff NZ reported.

Fisherman Pio Mosie told APNZ that he saw a man swimming nearby.

"All of a sudden ... we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him then blood every where on the water," he said.

Muriwa Beach, north of Auckland, New Zealand, where a 47-year-old man has been killed by a Great White Shark. Picture: Wikipedia

He called 111 while his mate ran to get help.

"He was still alive, he put his, head up, we called him to swim over the rock to where we were.

"He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.

"He came back up, his head was on the water ... then we notice he was already dead."

A man has died after a shark attack on a popular beach north of Auckland, New Zealand.

Stef McCallum, 18, of Wellington, said they were first aware something was wrong when a man ran across to the surf club to get help.

A woman told us a man had just been killed by a shark, she said.

"She said there was a big pool of blood in the water."

McCallum said they saw a police officer go out in a surf boat and shoot the shark.

"He fired about 20 shots."

Around 200 people were on the beach and people quickly ran.

"Everybody was evacuated from the water. Word of mouth, 'shark', and everybody left the water."

A witness told 3 News NZ that he spotted the lone swimmer while he was out fishing at the beach.

The distressed man signalled for help when he was attacked by a shark, before he was pulled underwater.

At this point, the witness said three or four other sharks appeared in the area.

The victim was aged 47, from Meriwai.

Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said the man had been swimming alone from Maori Bay to Muriwai Beach, several hundred metres from shore when he was attacked by a 4-metre shark, described as broad.

Insp Rutene said the man's wife and family were distraught. It took police and Muriwai lifeguards about 30 minutes to recover the body as two sharks circled, with police shooting at the sharks.

The three lifeguards recovering the body knew the victim.

It is understood the man was a local and his family have gathered at the scene. People have been seen embracing in the surf club car park and were being escorted into the club,

New Zealand Herald reported.

The beach and the park it lies in has been closed.

Earlier this week surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski posted on Facebook that there had been a "massive" shark spotted near surfers on Monday at Piha, 14 kilometres south of Muriwai.

He said that a local man ran out of the water "white faced and terrified".

"He was saying that a great white, a massive great white had just swum right beside him," Buiski said.

No one believed him, he said.

"As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in."
 

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Suicide bomber his Mali checkpoint

A SUICIDE bomber has killed at least four people after rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a checkpoint in the northern Malian city of Kidal, military sources say.

The attack on Tuesday struck a checkpoint manned by Tuareg separatists supporting the French-led military offensive against Islamist insurgents.

"The suicide attack targeted the checkpoint on the eastern side of Kidal which is manned by the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad)," a French military official told AFP in Gao, the main city in northern Mali.

Several other officials confirmed the blast was an attack following an initial report that it may have been a controlled explosion of ammunition seized from the Islamist insurgency.

The Islamic Movement for Azawad (MIA), another armed group, said its own fighters were also on duty at the targeted checkpoint and up to six of them might have been killed in the blast.

"An explosion at a military roadblock held by the MIA has left four to six dead in our ranks," Alghabass Ag Intalla, whose group is a moderate splinter of the Al-Qaeda-allied Ansar Dine group, told AFP.

"Suicide attackers did this. They are against us and against the French," he said.

A local government official speaking on condition of anonymity said the attack occurred on the road leading to Menaka and confirmed the death toll.

"There were at least four victims ... Everybody is afraid here in Kidal. The car bomb came from the centre of Kidal. That's scary, we don't know how many other car bombs are waiting in there," he said.

Kidal lies close to 1600km northeast of the Malian capital Bamako and the nearby Ifogha mountains has been a key hideout for Al Qaeda-linked fighters, who were forced out of cities in the weeks following France's January 11 intervention.

Overwhelmed by the superior fire-power of the French air force and special forces, Islamist hardliners have pulled out of the towns they ruthlessly ruled for nine months, imposing an extreme form of sharia.

They regrouped and reverted to guerrilla tactics, launching hit-and-run attacks against French or pro-government forces and resorting to suicide attacks.

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Pardoo set to face off with Rusty

TROPICAL Cyclone Rusty is squatting over the Pilbara, bringing extremely heavy rainfall and very dangerous winds to a vast swathe of the West Australian coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a cyclone warning for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream.

The State Emergency Service (SES) says communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland are on a Red Alert and people need to go to shelters immediately.

A Yellow alert has been extended inland to include Marble Bar as well as communities between Wallal and Pardoo.

At 5.00 pm (WST) Tropical Cyclone Rusty, a Category 3 storm, was estimated to be 125 kilometres north-northeast of Port Hedland and moving south-southwest at 4 kilometres per hour towards the coast.

The Bureau warns the slow motion and large size of Rusty means very destructive winds will hit the WA coast well before the eye of the storm.

Wind gusts of 120 kilometres per hour have already hit Port Hedland and gale force winds will rip along the coast between Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek, with the destructive winds extending from near Port Hedland to around Wallal.

The Bureau is warning of very destructive winds of up to 165 kph between Whim Creek and Pardoo during Wednesday.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a very dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre nears the coast.

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Red Alert as Rusty batters WA coast

MONSTER: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre. Source: PerthNow

TROPICAL Cyclone Rusty is sitting menacingly over the Pilbara, bringing extremely heavy rainfall and very dangerous winds to a vast swathe of the West Australian coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a cyclone warning for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream.

The State Emergency Service says communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland are on a red alert and people need to go to shelter immediately.

A yellow alert has been extended inland to include Marble Bar as well as communities between Wallal and Pardoo.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the system to intensify to a Category 4 system, equal to Cyclone Tracy which obliterated Darwin, in the next 24 hours before the eye of the storm crosses the coast tomorrow.

At 5.00 pm (WST) Rusty, currently a Category 3 storm, was estimated to be 125 kilometres north-northeast of Port Hedland and moving south-southwest at 4km/h towards the coast.

The Bureau warns the slow motion and large size of Rusty means very destructive winds will hit the WA coast well before the eye of the storm.

Wind gusts of 120km/h have already hit Port Hedland and gale force winds will rip along the coast between Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek, with the destructive winds extending from near Port Hedland to around Wallal.

The Bureau is warning of very destructive winds of up to 165 km/h between Whim Creek and Pardoo during Wednesday.

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a very dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre nears the coast.

NASA's Terra satellite has taken images from space of Rusty as it approaches the coast, with satellite data reporting the storm developing an eye 20 nautical miles wide.

While Port Hedland and South Hedland residents have been urged to leave their homes immediately, the shire's deputy mayor, George Daccache, is bunkering down in his security screen-clad home.

A Port Hedland resident of 40 years, Mr Daccache has seen his fair share of wet season wild weather, but expects this cyclone will be one of the worst the town has ever seen.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

“If something hits you at 150km/h, you’re going to feel it,” he said.

"This one's a bit of a beauty.''

With residents heeding warnings to stay safe, the streets are empty, as are supermarket shelves after a rush to prepare for Rusty's arrival.

"It's going to be a pain waiting for two to three days for this to come and go,'' Mr Daccache said.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast.

"We've just to hang in there hour by hour, and batten down the hatches.''

Mr Daccache said he was most concerned about an expected storm tide, which threatens to inundate the lower-lying western part of the town.

Many homes had lost power, but most residents were staying at emergency shelters.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

Cyclone Rusty is moving slowly southwards as it threatens to blast the Pilbara coast as it gathers strength.

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How I gave my girl the world's geekiest marriage proposal

Brendan McMonigal designed the world's geekiest marriage proposal for his girlfriend Christie Nelan. Source: Supplied

• Scientist develops world's geekiest marriage proposal
• Proposal involved a physics report, graphs and a tick box
• Luckily his geeky gamble paid off

THE Australian lovebirds at the heart of the world's geekiest marriage proposal have spoken to news.com.au about the story that got the online world talking.

An anonymous scientist made world headlines this week when she revealed online how her physicist boyfriend proposed to her with an academic report.
 
His marriage proposal was like any university paper - with an introduction, results, difficult lingo such as "principle bodies" and a graph. The graph plotted their future happiness if they spent the rest of their lives together (nawwww).
 
The quasar-crossed lovers, Christie Nelan and Brendan McMonigal, both 26, told news.com.au they met as first-year science students at the University of Sydney.
 
"We got to know each other pretty quickly since we had a lot of common classes, both doing Advanced Maths and Advanced Physics," Mr McMonigal said.

 
On their seventh anniversary, Ms Nelan returned from a work trip and the couple met up at the university, with plans to go out for dinner. Mr McMonigal had been planning to propose for some time. "But when I thought of this, I knew it would be perfect," he said.
 
He handed her a scientific report which he had 'forgotten' to give her to read on the trip.  
 
Ms Nelan didn't notice that he had gone down on bended knee when he handed her the report and she went to put it away to read after dinner.
 
"I hesitated because it was only one page, which is very short for your average physics paper, and then I realised Brendan was giving me a very odd look," Ms Nelan said. "So I looked at the paper more carefully and realised Brendan was the author."
 
The report, Two Body Interactions: A Longitudinal Study, examined the couple's attraction over an extended period of time, including their love for hydrometeors, the effects of a two-week break up and homemade cooking.

"Like any good physics student I read the abstract and the conclusion first, which means it was a proposal before reading the whole thing," she said.

The conclusion "projected happiness with high confidence" if Ms Nelan accepted his proposal that the "study" continue indefinitely. Read the unusual proposal here.

Just like a uni science proposal, she was required to tick a "yes" or "no" box to accept. And god, did she tick the affirmative.
 
"I had to go back and concentrate and read the whole thing properly because I just wanted to say yes," she said.
 
Both are passionate about the sciences - Ms Nelan works as a science communicator at Questacon, the Canberran science museum and school-trip favourite, while Mr McMonigal is doing a PhD on galactic haloes as part of an astronomy survey.
 
"I think our love for physics is made greater by our love for each other, and vice verca," Mr McMonigal said.
 
The couple were blown away by the response to the proposal – the paper was viewed more than a million times after it was uploaded onto social media site Reddit. "People seem genuinely happy for us," Ms Nelan told news.com.au.
 
The two will tie the knot next month, eight years to the day they met, and will celebrate with a picnic reception.

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Fire burning near homes in west Sydney

FIREFIGHTERS are battling a slow-moving grass fire burning close to homes in the city's west.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) on Wednesday afternoon said that crews were fighting the blaze at a reserve near Starleaf Way and Ebony Place, at Macquarie Fields.

A FRNSW spokesman said a grass area of 200 metres by 200 metres was alight, but no properties were being directly threatened.

He said the "slow-moving" fire was "burning slowly" behind some houses.

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Reprieved barra bring bad karma

THE state government has again warned religious groups against releasing exotic fish into NSW waterways as part of ancient rituals after a large barramundi was caught in a mid-north coast lake.

A commercial fisherman caught the 102cm barramundi in Wallis Lake near Forster - 1000km south of its nearest natural habitat in central Queensland - this month.

Dozens of smaller barramundi, about 40cm long, have been caught or seen in Sydney Harbour and surrounds.

The "plate-sized" Harbour barramundi are believed to have been bought by religious groups - particularly Buddhists - from restaurants and suppliers then released to gain good karma.

Buddhists carry out an ancient practice called Tsethar, saving the lives of animals doomed to be killed. It is said to increase lifespan, protect from illnesses and remove life obstacles.

Senior fisheries manager Cameron Westaway said the barramundi, and silver perch also being released, posed a serious environmental threat outside their natural habitats.

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Junk food labelling to combat obesity crisis

This video from Western Australia is the sort of message the Queensland government hopes to send through its new anti-obesity campaign.

GRAPHIC images of fat on junk food labels, similar to anti-smoking shock tactics, could be resorted to in a desperate bid to curb the state's obesity crisis.

Almost a third of Queensland adults were measured as obese in 2011-12, making Queensland the obesity capital of the nation.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said such a campaign could mirror the successful anti-smoking labelling and advertising tactics of recent years.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said measures used to slow the rate of tobacco use should be examined to see how it could be applied to the alarming growth in obesity rates in Queensland.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg stopped short of any immediate move to introduce shock labelling but has threatened to step in with tough regulations around the sale of junk food should a new public health campaign and industry self-regulation fail to cut Queensland waistlines.

The Newman Government has launched a new $7.5 million ad campaign using images of fat as it appears around vital body organs.

But in an exclusive interview, Dr Young said there was a case for the graphic images to appear on junk food packaging.

Dr Young, who has also launched a free help hotline for the obese and overweight, said advertising of junk food aimed at children also needed to be looked at as she believed it was setting Queenslanders up with poor eating habits for life.

And while graphic images on junk food packaging could be a future option, she said stronger health messages about the risks of being overweight needed time to work first.

Mr Springborg has put manufacturers on notice to improve their food nutrition or face government stepping in. The fitness-conscious minister said major retailers and manufacturers also had to improve their promotion of healthy food over high energy snacks.

"I am anti-nanny state because I think people have been regulated to death," he said. "But there are some things where government cannot dismiss stepping in and this is one of those."

Mr Springborg said any move to regulate junk food would need to have a national approach.

However, Dr Young said there was a precedent set for the states initially introducing their own restrictions around the sale and advertising of cigarettes.

Obesity Policy Coalition executive manager Jane Martin said Australia's largely self-regulated approach to junk food advertising was flawed.

"It is time government did step in," she said. "Why should we allow the processed food industry to continue to target them (children) in this way?"

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Data leaked after ABC Wilders interview

AUSTRALIA'S national broadcaster is reviewing its cyber security arrangements after its website was hacked and the personal details of almost 50,000 users were posted online.

The attack on a sub-domain of the ABC's site, abc.net.au, was carried out by a European-based activist who was aggrieved with the corporation's recent interview with far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

The hacker struck during the early hours of Wednesday morning on a section of the ABC's site about a 2010 program called Making Australia Happy, a reality-style documentary featuring eight Sydney residents.

Soon afterwards, the passwords, usernames, email addresses, location and postcodes of almost 50,000 people who'd made comments or registered on the site were posted online.

The data was posted in 10 separate 'pastebins' which can be accessed online.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the data was still visible.

The hacker, believed to be associated with the online activist group Anonymous, wrote on Twitter: "ABC hacked for giving a platform to Geert Wilders to spread hatred #OpWilders - database leaked!"

The ABC interviewed Wilders on its current affairs Lateline program on February 13.

The Dutch politician, who is the leader of the Party for Freedom - which holds the balance of power in the Dutch parliament - was speaking ahead of a national tour of Australia and told the program that "Islam and freedom are incompatible".

The ABC acknowledged the attack and a source within the corporation said the broadcaster's cyber security was being reviewed.

"We do know that it has exposed the name, username and a hashed version of the password that audience members used to register on the program website," an ABC spokesman told AAP.

"As soon as the ABC was made aware of this activity the site was shut down.

"This breach originated at an overseas location and an activist has claimed responsibility for it.

"The ABC will be in contact with audience members who have been directly affected."

Online commentators praised the ABC for its fast and open disclosure of the breach.

NSW resident Tim Gresham told News Ltd he was horrified to learn his personal details had been exposed.

The details were published along with 49,561 other ABC website users' data, on a website linked to Anonymous.

"This hacker has probably got a lot of information about me, intimate information about me, having an idea of what that website asked me in terms of my relationships and personal life," Mr Gresham said.

It comes after several large news and social media companies have admitted being hacked.

Twitter, Facebook, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have all suffered recent cyber attacks, with the two American newspapers blaming Chinese activists.

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Red Alert as Rusty batters WA coast

TROPICAL Cyclone Rusty is sitting menacingly over the Pilbara, bringing extremely heavy rainfall and very dangerous winds to a vast swathe of the West Australian coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a red alert cyclone warning for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream.

The red alert means people should go to shelter immediately.

The Bureau of Meteorology says people in Pilbara region towns between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland, should remain indoors.

Wind gusts of more than 165km/h are predicted in the area as the cyclone approaches the coast, the bureau says.

At 2am (WST) this morning, the category 3 storm was barely moving, loitering some 125km north-northeast of Port Hedland and 285km northeast of Karratha.

The Bureau warns the slow motion and large size of Rusty means very destructive winds will hit the WA coast well before the eye of the storm.

Port Hedland has already experienced gusts up to 120km/h per hour, with conditions set to worsen slowly throughout Wednesday.

Gale force winds will rip along the coast between Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek, with the destructive winds extending from near Port Hedland to around Wallal.

The Bureau is warning of very destructive winds of up to 165 km/h between Whim Creek and Pardoo.

Those in communities between Wallal and Pardoo, extending inland to Marble Bar, are on yellow alert, with a warning to take action and prepare to shelter.

Rusty's massive size and slow movement is also set to unleash rain causing major flooding in the De Grey catchment and significant flooding in the Fortescue catchment as well as in Pilbara coastal streams.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the system to intensify to a Category 4 system, equal to Cyclone Tracy which obliterated Darwin, witn the next 24 hours before the eye of the storm crosses the coast today.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a very dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre nears the coast.

NASA's Terra satellite has taken images from space of Rusty as it approaches the coast, with satellite data reporting the storm developing an eye 20 nautical miles wide.

While Port Hedland and South Hedland residents have been urged to leave their homes, the shire's deputy mayor, George Daccache, is bunkering down in his security screen-clad home.

A Port Hedland resident of 40 years, Mr Daccache has seen his fair share of wet season wild weather, but expects this cyclone will be one of the worst the town has ever seen.

“If something hits you at 150km/h, you’re going to feel it,” he said.

"This one's a bit of a beauty.''

With residents heeding warnings to stay safe, the streets are empty, as are supermarket shelves after a rush to prepare for Rusty's arrival.

"It's going to be a pain waiting for two to three days for this to come and go,'' Mr Daccache said.

"We've just to hang in there hour by hour, and batten down the hatches.''

Mr Daccache said he was most concerned about an expected storm tide, which threatens to inundate the lower-lying western part of the town.

Many homes had lost power, but most residents were staying at emergency shelters.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

Cyclone Rusty is moving slowly southwards as it threatens to blast the Pilbara coast as it gathers strength.

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Beer fans sue over 'watery' brew

Beer drinkers have launched a class action lawsuit against brewer Anheuser-Busch over claims that Budweiser beer has been watered down.  Picture: Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg News   Source: Bloomberg

THE BREWERS of Budweiser faced accusations that they have watered down the popular American lager in search of higher profits, in a class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco.

The beer-drinking plaintiffs alleged that Anheuser-Busch is violating consumer protection laws in California and Missouri by "falsely representing the alcohol content of the products it sells."

The lawsuit, which demands unspecified "compensatory damages" for anyone in the United States who has bought Budweiser products in the past five years, was filed in US District Court in San Francisco on Friday.

"I think it's wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers," said one of the plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli, in a press release Tuesday from the Mills Law Firm, one of two firms involved in the lawsuit.

"I really feel cheated. No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels."

There was no immediate comment from Anheuser-Busch's head office in Saint Louis, Missouri. The company is an icon of American brewing and a core unit of ABInBev, the globe-girdling Belgian-Brazilian brewing conglomerate.

The lawsuit alleges that, by watering down its beer, Anheuser-Busch can produce "a significantly higher number of units of beer from the same starting batch of ingredients."

"As a result, Anheuser-Busch's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and Anheuser-Busch is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell," it claims.

Besides Budweiser, which is marketed as "the King of Beers" with five percent alcohol by volume, the lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch waters down nine other brands including Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum and Michelob.

Over the weekend, the distillers of Maker's Mark abandoned plans to reduce the alcohol content of its popular bourbon by three percentage points to 42 percent in response to an outcry from whiskey tipplers on social media.

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Psychic called to find 'afterlife' plant

LEAF THIEF: Carole Waller says one stolen bonsai contains the ashes of a client's friends Source: The Courier-Mail

A PROFESSIONAL psychic has been called in to help find a bonsai plant containing human ashes stolen from a Gold Coast nursery.

The valuable Queensland small leaf fig tree was stolen from a Mudgeeraba nursery last week along with several other bonsais.

Nursery owner Carole Waller discovered the theft on Saturday morning. Some of the bonsais were more than 40 years old, including one nurtured by her late husband for more than 20 years.

However, it is the small leaf fig, containing the ashes of a client's best friends, that hurt most.

He had brought the plant to Mrs Waller for maintenance.

"I was just devastated," she said.

"I knew it had ashes in there and how important it was to my client."

The man wanted to remain anonymous, but Mrs Waller said she was so desperate to find the plant, she had engaged a psychic.

"Police are investigating, but I've also spoken to a leading psychic," she said. "You probably think I'm mad, but I thought there's a link to the afterworld in that plant so it was worth asking for some help."

She appealed to the thieves' consciences to return the plant.

"They don't have to turn themselves in," she said. "They can just put the plant back on the property and we would leave it at that. We'd be so grateful."

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Ex-husband gets cash and house

A PROPERTY developer who met her younger African husband on the internet has been told to give him a house and $54,000 cash.

He was 23 and she was 41 when they started their long-distance relationship in 2000 before he moved to Australia and they married in 2003.

But the marriage ended in 2008 and the woman, now 54, has lost her appeal before the Full Bench of the Family Court - which said the husband had been more than just a "bystander" - and now has to pay both their legal costs.

He arrived here needing English lessons and owning no property. When their marriage ended the couple had a gross property portfolio worth $3,364,000. But the woman claimed she only needed to give him 4.11 per cent of their assets, including money in the bank.

She argued the Family Court was "plainly wrong" in finding that both of them had contributed equally to the marriage. She said that she contributed more than 95 per cent financially and her estranged husband, who earned $70,000 a year in Australia, had contributed less than 5 per cent.

"These parties acquired properties in joint names as part of the marriage partnership," the Full Bench said.

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Huge support for ill newsman

Peter Harvey talks candidly about being diagnosed with cancer in October last year.

VETERAN journalist Peter Harvey has received a surge of support as he battles cancer in hospital.

The plight of the trusted newsman, well known in the nation's lounge rooms for decades and famous for his "Canberra" tagline, has been trending on Twitter as he and his family are sent well wishes by friends and fans.

His daughter, journalist Claire Harvey, tweeted a thank-you for people's thoughts and said her father was receiving great care in hospital.

Harvey, 68, announced in October that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Harvey has been with the Nine Network since 1975, and recently has presented the mailbag segment on 60 Minutes as well as being a reporter on Nine News and a regular contributor on Today.

Harvey studied his journalism cadetship with the The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, winning a Walkley Award in 1964.

He later worked with London's The Guardian newspaper (where he received the British Reporter of the Year Award) and with the American Newsweek magazine as a reporter in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Peter Harvey hosts the 60 Minutes Mailbag segment.

Harvey was Nine's news director in Canberra for many years, covering countless historical events, including the Whitlam dismissal of 1975.

Twitter users can pass on their support to Harvey and his family by using the hashtag #weloveharves.

His Twitter account is @harves60

Tweets have included:

Sonia Kruger @SoniaKruger

Thinking of you @harves60. Get better soon. #weloveharves

Kieran Gilbert @Kieran-Gilbert

The best writer of a TV yarn, the best voice and an absolute gentleman #weloveharves

Claire Harvey @chmharvey

Thank you to everyone for your amazingly kind messages to Dad. He is getting great care in hospital. @harves60 @BenFordham

amanda meade @meadea

@tomsteinfort @harves60 Everyone loves him! #weloveharves

A Current Affair @ACurrentAffair9

@harves60 legend #WeLoveHarves

Luke McIlveen @mcilveenl

Truly great journo and father to two other great journos.#weloveharves

Luke Dufficy @luke-dufficy

Sending my best wishes to@harves60. An icon of Australian#journalism.#weloveharves

Melissa Hoyer @melissahoyer

Respect. A true gentleman. Thinking of you @harves60 #weloveharves
 

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Homeless man's $100K reward

A U.S. homeless man gains international attention after he returns a diamond ring mistakenly given to him. Tara Cleary reports.

A HOMELESS man set to get $US145,000 for returning a woman's diamond engagement ring is uncomfortable at the attention he got and worries for a world shocked by his honesty.

Sarah Darling accidentally dropped her diamond engagement ring into Billy Ray Harris' coin cup in Kansas City and he kept it safe and gave it back to her when she returned to his patch a few days later. Her grateful fiance set up a website which has already raised $US145,000 ($A141,622) for Mr Harris, who frequently begs on Kansas City's Country Club Plaza.

Mr Harris, though grateful for the donations from strangers from around the world, is uncomfortable with all the attention his kind act has received but insists the ring simply wasn't his to keep.

Billy Ray Harris said he doesn't think he deserves all the attention he's getting.

"What I actually feel like is what is the world come to when a person returns something that don't belong to em and all this happens?," he said.

Speaking to a local TV crew, Mr Harris said he knew the ring had sentimental value.

This is the ring Sarah accidentally dropped into the coin cup.

"I could tell just how much it meant to you, the moment I held it up like that," he said to Ms Darling  re-enacting for the cameras her reaction when he showed her that her ring wasn't lost.

News of the story has also led to Mr Harris being reunited with his family. His sister Robin saw him on the local TV news at her home in Texas and contacted the reporter on the story to help arrange a reunion with all of  his siblings.

"Sixteen years later and we just now found out he's still living.  I want him to come home, but I can't make come home.  But I want him to know we love him and we miss him," Robin said.

Mr Harris described the upcoming reunion with his family as "a gift" and even though he hasn't seen them in years he insists he and his sisters remain his best friends.

Mr Harris, who lives under a bridge, admits he doesn't think he deserve all the attention he's getting but he is now considering an offer to move in with his sister.  He doesn't want to be a burden and said he finds being a cause celebre stressful.

"It's more stressful than what I'm doing right now," he said. "Does Tom Cruise have to be all that? I could never be an actor."

View the original article here

Reeva's last text: Tired, I'll stay here

Reeva Steenkamp sent her defacto family a text message hours before she died saying she was too tired to drive hom from Oscar Pistorius's house and would stay the night. Source: AP

• Reeva was too tired to drive home the night she was shot
• Her 'Joburg dad', Cecil Myers, had to identify body
• 'Can you imagine how terrified she was?'
• Oscar's private memorial for Reeva

REEVA Steenkamp never intended to stay the night at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she was shot dead but changed her mind because it was too late to drive home safely.

In her final text message, she told the man who thought of her as his own daughter: "Hi guys, I’m too tired. It’s too far to drive. I’m sleeping at Oscar’s tonight. See you tomorrow."

Five hours later she was dead, shot three times as she sat in the bathroom of Pistorius's Pretoria home.

The Olympic sprinter is out on bail awaiting trial for Steenkamp's murder.

The prosecution says he shot her in a jealous rage. Pistorius claims he mistook the 29-year-old model for an intruder.

Cecil Myers is the father of one of Reeva's best friends, Gina. He was Reeva’s "Joburg dad" while she was living in the city - she had been staying with the family since September - and had known her for more than six years.

In his first interview, Mr Myers told South Africa's City Press newspaper he was one of the last people to communicate with Reeva the night she died.

A relative of Reeva Steenkamp holds the order of service for her funeral in Port Elizabeth. The model is being farewelled as Oscar Pistorius, who has been charged with her murder, faces a bail hearing.

It was late on Wednesday night, just hours before her death.

"I’ve got this thing with all three (Reeva, and his daughters, Kim and Gina), if they don’t come home at night, they must text me. Then Reeva sent the (SMS) message: ‘Hi guys, I’m too tired. It’s too far to drive. I’m sleeping at Oscar’s tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow never dawned for her ... I have nightmares at night thinking how frightened she must have been. Can you imagine how terrified she was?

"That was the last SMS from her phone, probably about ten, ten thirty – the time they usually SMS."

Early in the morning they got the news. “Gina was hysterical. She started screaming in her room: ‘Reeva is dead!’"

Haunting: the last image of Reeva Steenkamp, shown on CCTV arriving at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she died. Photo: Carte Blanche

Reeva's parents live 1100km away in Port Elizabeth. It was Mr Myers who identified Reeva's body.

"Luckily my son was there for me, because I broke down. The way she looked ... that will remain with me forever," he told the paper.

"It was terrible, I couldn’t drive myself back home."

Mr Myers said he met Reeva’s father Barry, a horse trainer, for the first time at her funeral in Port Elizabeth last Tuesday.

"Her father introduced me to friends as ‘Reeva’s Joburg father’,” Mr Myers said. “He kept thanking me for being so kind to his daughter in Johannesburg, for looking after her.

"But how well did I look after her? She was shot."

Oscar Pistorius posing last month with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he is accused of shooting dead at his home. Picture: AFP

Prosecutors are keen to track Steenkamp's final moments using her mobile phone.

They hope her phone records, as well as the location tracker, will shed some light onto her movements on Valentine's Day night.

The information though could take some time to be released, as it has to be approved by a magistrate or high court judge.

Earlier Mr Myers' daughter Gina described a ''perfect day'' she spent with her friend last week and praised the model’s sense of humour and love of life.

“Last week, Reeva and I took a blanket into our garden. Lay there for the day and decided it was something we’d do all the time. It was a perfect day,’’ said Ms Myers.

Ms Myers said she had a nickname for her friend, ‘Alfi’, so-called because of the little pieces of hair that would stick up by her forehead.

Meanwhile, Reeva's mother has told of the moment police came to tell her of her daughter's death.

June Steenkamp told South African TV show Carte Blanche: "I had a phone call about half past seven that morning and the man said to me: 'What's your name?' And I said: 'It's June'.

"He said: 'Do you have a daughter?' And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'Reeva? 'And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'There's been an accident and she's been shot'.

"I said: 'All I want to know is if she is alive or if she's dead'.

"The man said: 'I'm sorry to have to tell you, but I don't want you to go up and read in the paper, that she's dead'."

Barry Steenkamp said Pistorius will suffer for any lies he has told about the shooting.

"There are only two people who really know what happened and it's Oscar Pistorius and the Lord," he told Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld in his first extended interview.

"It does not matter how much money he has and how good his legal team is, he must live with his conscience if he allows his legal team to lie on his behalf.

"But if he speaks the truth, I can perhaps some day forgive him.

"If it did not happen as he has told it, he must suffer.

"And he will suffer ... only he knows."
 

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Iconic sculptor Flugelman dead at 90

Sculptor Bert Flugelman. Source: adelaidenow

THE distinguished Australian sculptor Bert Flugelman has died at the age of 90 at his Bowral home.

One of Flugelman's best-known works is Pyramid Tower, 1979, which is located in Spring Street, Sydney.

Flugelman was honoured with an Emeritus Award by the Australia Council for the Arts. The then Premier Nathan Rees inducted him as a Fellow of the National Art School.

A portrait of Flugelman by artist Guy Warren won the Archibald Prize in 1985.

Close friend and fellow sculptor Ron Robertson-Swann lunched with Flugelman several weeks ago and had a feeling it was goodbye.

"It was kind of a nice farewell," Robertson-Swann said.

The lunch was at the Southern Highlands home of Justice John Griffiths of the Federal Court, owner of Flugelman's sculpture Tetrapus which was seen by thousands in Sculpture by the Sea in 2007.

"It looks absolutely stunning [in Justice Griffiths' garden] overlooking the valley towards the sea," Robertson-Swann said.

Robertson-Swann, who is head of sculpture at the NAS, said Flugelman ``operated without malice in the art world, which is an unusual thing''.

Sculpture by the Sea founder David Handley said he had walked past Pyramid Tower every day on his way to school and "loved it from an early age". At that time the sculpture was located in Martin Place.

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Light plane crashes near school

A PILOT and his passenger have escaped serious injury after their light plane crashed into a primary school south of Ballarat.

The two-engine Cessna clipped power lines before crashing into a field at Cape Clear Primary School, Cape Clear, about 1.50pm.

The two men, believed to be in their 60s, were being treated by paramedics. Their injuries are not thought to be serious.

No students were hurt in the smash, 150km west of Melbourne.

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"The plane had clipped the power lines near the school and landed on the school grounds," said CFA duty officer Archie Conroy

"Both occupants are out of the plane and being treated by paramedics.

"There are no other injuries."

Did you witness the accident? Contact our news desk on (03) 9292 1226. Photos can be uploaded here

The crash happened as the primary students were being taught inside classrooms.

Principal Christian Brown said no children were in the playground when the Cessna crashed.

"They hit the power line and they got out alive," he said.

"The plane didn't break up, so they were very, very fortunate."

The school and a nearby pub have been left without electricity after the fallen power lines cut off supply.

Cape Clear pub owner Lorraine Cameron said she had seen the plane flying low.

"We had seen it buzzing around and were wondering what it was doing. Obviously looking for a paddock to land," she said.

"It clipped the power line and now it means we have no electricity.

"The children were in the classrooms. They would have got a good view of the landing."

Ms Cameron said she believed the men were from Western Australia and had come to Victoria for an air show.

More to come

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Teenage 'Bonnie and Clyde' laugh at courts

BONNIE AND CLYDE: Hannah Feasey and Dylan McDonald are interviewed by Today Tonight about their crime spree. Source: Supplied

A TEENAGE couple who went on an eight-month crime spree of police chases, fraud and theft - committing more than 100 offences - have laughed at Queensland's "joke" of a justice system.

Dylan McDonald, 18, and Hannah Feasey, 17, told Today Tonight they went on a rampage of stealing cars and computer games last year and got next to no penalty when they fronted court in January.

They described taunting police into chases, hitting speeds of 230km/h. "I stole like 15 cars and I'm not even in jail," Dylan told the program said. "That's pretty weird."

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Hannah Feasey and Dylan McDonald are interviewed by Today Tonight about their crime spree. Pic: Today Tonight

"You get through the boot, rip the ignition off and yeah put a screw driver in the barrel and just turn it. And it starts - done."

About the six police chases he has been involved in, Dylan said: "It's thrilling. It's not really scary. They (police) pull off pretty quick."

Hannah also told of taunting police from stolen cars.

"They were going real fast next to us and we're like, yeah, we'll race them," she said.

The teenager described using a secret pocket in her bag to sneak games out of JB Hi-fi - making up to $200 a day selling them on.

"I just steal games, put them in my handbag and go sell them," she said.

The pair was sentenced in January, with Dylan given a six-month suspended prison term and a $2000 fine, and Hannah put on 18 months probation with 100 hours of community service.

"Court's like pretty much a joke," Dylan said.

"I've got away with so much shit already."

Hannah agreed. "He's gotten away with so much, it's not funny," she said.

"He should be in jail right now."

View the original article here

Reeva's last text: Tired, I'll stay here

Reeva Steenkamp sent her defacto family a text message hours before she died saying she was too tired to drive hom from Oscar Pistorius's house and would stay the night. Source: AP

• Reeva was too tired to drive home the night she was shot
• Her 'Joburg dad', Cecil Myers, had to identify body
• 'Can you imagine how terrified she was?'
• Oscar's private memorial for Reeva

REEVA Steenkamp never intended to stay the night at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she was shot dead but changed her mind because it was too late to drive home safely.

In her final text message, she told the man who thought of her as his own daughter: "Hi guys, I’m too tired. It’s too far to drive. I’m sleeping at Oscar’s tonight. See you tomorrow."

Five hours later she was dead, shot three times as she sat in the bathroom of Pistorius's Pretoria home.

The Olympic sprinter is out on bail awaiting trial for Steenkamp's murder.

The prosecution says he shot her in a jealous rage. Pistorius claims he mistook the 29-year-old model for an intruder.

Cecil Myers is the father of one of Reeva's best friends, Gina. He was Reeva’s "Joburg dad" while she was living in the city - she had been staying with the family since September - and had known her for more than six years.

In his first interview, Mr Myers told South Africa's City Press newspaper he was one of the last people to communicate with Reeva the night she died.

A relative of Reeva Steenkamp holds the order of service for her funeral in Port Elizabeth. The model is being farewelled as Oscar Pistorius, who has been charged with her murder, faces a bail hearing.

It was late on Wednesday night, just hours before her death.

"I’ve got this thing with all three (Reeva, and his daughters, Kim and Gina), if they don’t come home at night, they must text me. Then Reeva sent the (SMS) message: ‘Hi guys, I’m too tired. It’s too far to drive. I’m sleeping at Oscar’s tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow never dawned for her ... I have nightmares at night thinking how frightened she must have been. Can you imagine how terrified she was?

"That was the last SMS from her phone, probably about ten, ten thirty – the time they usually SMS."

Early in the morning they got the news. “Gina was hysterical. She started screaming in her room: ‘Reeva is dead!’"

Haunting: the last image of Reeva Steenkamp, shown on CCTV arriving at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she died. Photo: Carte Blanche

Reeva's parents live 1100km away in Port Elizabeth. It was Mr Myers who identified Reeva's body.

"Luckily my son was there for me, because I broke down. The way she looked ... that will remain with me forever," he told the paper.

"It was terrible, I couldn’t drive myself back home."

Mr Myers said he met Reeva’s father Barry, a horse trainer, for the first time at her funeral in Port Elizabeth last Tuesday.

"Her father introduced me to friends as ‘Reeva’s Joburg father’,” Mr Myers said. “He kept thanking me for being so kind to his daughter in Johannesburg, for looking after her.

"But how well did I look after her? She was shot."

Oscar Pistorius posing last month with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he is accused of shooting dead at his home. Picture: AFP

Prosecutors are keen to track Steenkamp's final moments using her mobile phone.

They hope her phone records, as well as the location tracker, will shed some light onto her movements on Valentine's Day night.

The information though could take some time to be released, as it has to be approved by a magistrate or high court judge.

Earlier Mr Myers' daughter Gina described a ''perfect day'' she spent with her friend last week and praised the model’s sense of humour and love of life.

“Last week, Reeva and I took a blanket into our garden. Lay there for the day and decided it was something we’d do all the time. It was a perfect day,’’ said Ms Myers.

Ms Myers said she had a nickname for her friend, ‘Alfi’, so-called because of the little pieces of hair that would stick up by her forehead.

Meanwhile, Reeva's mother has told of the moment police came to tell her of her daughter's death.

June Steenkamp told South African TV show Carte Blanche: "I had a phone call about half past seven that morning and the man said to me: 'What's your name?' And I said: 'It's June'.

"He said: 'Do you have a daughter?' And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'Reeva? 'And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'There's been an accident and she's been shot'.

"I said: 'All I want to know is if she is alive or if she's dead'.

"The man said: 'I'm sorry to have to tell you, but I don't want you to go up and read in the paper, that she's dead'."

Barry Steenkamp said Pistorius will suffer for any lies he has told about the shooting.

"There are only two people who really know what happened and it's Oscar Pistorius and the Lord," he told Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld in his first extended interview.

"It does not matter how much money he has and how good his legal team is, he must live with his conscience if he allows his legal team to lie on his behalf.

"But if he speaks the truth, I can perhaps some day forgive him.

"If it did not happen as he has told it, he must suffer.

"And he will suffer ... only he knows."
 

View the original article here