Massive media operation for Gallipoli

Some familiar Australian media personalities will be among the thousands at Gallipoli on Anzac Day. Source: AAP

SOME familiar Australian media personalities will be among the thousands at Gallipoli this Anzac Day with the 100th anniversary of the landings set to be an enormous event.

SEVEN'S Sunrise team of David Koch and Samantha Armytage, Triple M Network breakfast identities Mick Molloy and Eddie McGuire, and Nine Network presenter Cameron Williams are some of the 200 journalists and crew who will be in Turkey.

Just as members of the Australian public vied for just 8000 tickets in a ballot to attend the tightly controlled Dawn Service at Anzac Cove, media access is tight too, with just 80 journalists allowed in to cover the ceremony at the Australian Commemorative Site.Most of Australia's major news organisation will have people in Turkey and many are broadcasting from the region in the week leading up to April 25.While planning has gone on for many months for some organisations, head of the Triple M Network, Mike Fitzpatrick, said the FM broadcaster scrambled to organise its coverage in seven weeks after an invitation from Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson.Triple M will have a week of special broadcasts from Dubai, Istanbul and Gallipoli by its Melbourne breakfast team - comprising McGuire, Molloy and Luke Darcy.Broadcasting from the remote Gallipoli peninsula has its challenges - Triple M had to buy a satellite transmitter for the operation - but Mr Fitzpatrick said it was an honour to be asked."It's a hugely significant moment," he said.The Macquarie Radio Network - which operates 2UE in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne, 6PR in Perth and 4BC in Brisbane - is also sending a team to Gallipoli with 2UE's Justin Smith to broadcast back to Australia.The Dawn Service to mark the 100th anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli will start at 5.30am in Turkey, which is 12.30pm AEST - after Dawn Services have taken place across Australia.ABC is the host TV broadcaster and will be providing vision to all Australian networks.The Dawn Service will be watched not only by hundreds of thousands of viewers in Australia and New Zealand but also a huge Turkish audience, who will served by local journalists.

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Israel remembers 6m Jews killed in WWII

Israelis have observed two minutes of silent remembrance during the annual Holocaust Memorial Day. Source: AAP

ISRAELIS have observed two minutes of silence in remembrance of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust and 70 years since the liberation of the Nazi death camps.

SIRENS marked the start of a state wreath-laying service at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre in Jerusalem during Israel's annual Holocaust Memorial Day, which began after sunset on Wednesday and lasts until sunset on Thursday.

Ceremonies were also held at schools, colleges and universities throughout the country.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at an opening ceremony at Yad Vashem, said the world had not learned from World War II."Has the world really learned from the incomprehensible universal and Jewish tragedy of the previous century?" he asked."Democratic governments made a momentous mistake before World War II and we, along with many of our neighbours, are convinced that a bitter mistake has also been made now."Netanyahu also compared Iran's "aggression" in the Middle East to Hitler's Germany."As the Nazis sought to stamp out civilisation and to set the master race to rule across the earth ... while wiping out the Jewish people, so does Iran seek to control the region, spread outwards and destroy the Jewish state," he said.Netanyahu misses no opportunity to slam the emerging nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, which is to be finalised by June 30.Israel and the West suspect Iran's civilian nuclear program is a front for efforts to build a military capability, a charge Tehran denies.

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Accused Kiwi drug mule granted sick leave

A NEW Zealand man has been granted a week's leave from his Bali drug smuggling trial, after collapsing in a hearing last week.

ANTONY de Malmanche says he has a history of the heart condition angina, and wants to be thoroughly examined.

The 52-year-old could face the death penalty for smuggling 1.7kg of methamphetamine into Bali in December.Chief Judge Cening Budiana, who noticed the Kiwi was ailing last week and adjourned witness hearings, on Thursday granted him a week off.The judge asked the prosecutor to take de Malmanche for a fuller check with the prison's physician and bring the results to court next Thursday.De Malmanche's son Shaun was in court for the first time on Thursday.Lawyers for de Malmanche say their client was tricked into carrying the meth by a drug syndicate that snared him on a dating website, and made him believe he was coming to Bali to meet a woman named Jessie.

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UK man to be extradited to Aust

A MAN accused of dozens of sex offences against three women in Australia more than 30 years ago has lost an extradition appeal in the High Court in London.

COLIN Simpson Henderson is alleged to have carried out the attacks in Melbourne between 1981 and 1984 after answering advertisements for a lodger or tenant.

The 63-year-old, who left Australia in 1996, faces trial on 58 charges which relate to offences including rape and indecent assault.He was living in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, when arrested last June after after the cases were re-opened and a DNA sample matched. He has since been in custody.Henderson launched a bid to block his extradition, claiming it would be oppressive because of the passage of time that had elapsed and because of his physical condition, including a lung problem which could make it risky to fly.Lord Justice Aikens and Justice Kenneth Parker dismissed the appeal - which means Henderson will be extradited within 14 days.Lord Justice Aikens said Australian authorities were not to blame for the delay and there was ample protection for defendants in historic sex cases.The circumstances in Henderson's case fell very far short of amounting to oppression, he added."These alleged extradition offences are very serious," he said."It is very important that the UK's international obligations with regard to extradition are respected."The judge said it made sense to ensure Henderson arrived in Australia in as good a state of health as possible.

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US unemployment benefit numbers rise

THE number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose for the second straight week yet remained at a low level that is consistent with more hiring.

APPLICATIONS increased 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 294,000, the Labor Department said.

Despite the increase, other data on Thursday suggests the number of laid-off workers applying for benefits is still quite low.The four-week average, a less volatile measure, ticked up 250 to 282,750, just barely above the previous week's level, which was the lowest in nearly 15 years.With fewer Americans seeking aid, the number of people collecting benefits fell to 2.27 million, the lowest in more than 14 years. The benefit rolls have dropped because some unemployed have found jobs, while many others have used up all the benefits available.The US economy is stumbling through a period of slower growth, but when applications are below 300,000, that suggests employers haven't been spooked enough to cut many jobs.Hiring was sluggish last month. Employers added just 126,000 jobs in March, the fewest in 15 months and snapping a year-long streak of monthly gains above 200,000. The unemployment rate remained 5.5 per cent.

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Charges dropped for cop who kicked teen

Assault charges have been dropped against a NSW police officer who kicked a teen during an arrest. Source: AAP

A NSW police officer who forcefully kicked a teenage boy in the face during an arrest in Sydney's west will walk free from court after charges against him were dismissed.

SENIOR Constable Chad Owen Halliday, 37, was hugged by his jubilant family as Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge, herself a former NSW police officer, said the crown has failed to prove the assault occasioning actual bodily harm charge, in a hearing on Wednesday.

During an earlier hearing, Halliday told the court the kick to the face of Aaron Borthwick last May was a standard police tactic he used out of concern for his safety.Borthwick had been a passenger in a stolen Audi, and after police were led on a long chase he bailed from the car, hopped over three fences and tried to hide in a small hole under the patio of an Emu Plains home in early morning darkness.Borthwick, who was 17 at the time, and the others in the stolen car were determined to avoid arrest at all cost, Ms Milledge said.Several police officers present during the arrest gave varying versions of events with discrepancies in the locations of officers, how many torches were on and the state of Borthwick.Borthwick, Ms Milledge found, was hiding in the hole, which measured about one metre by one metre, for about five minutes before he heard voices.Halliday, a dog handler, told Borthwick to leave the hole and threatened to set his animal on the teen if he didn't comply.But as Borthwick was getting out of the hole he hesitated and Halliday saw him going for what he thought could be a weapon in his pants.He kicked the teen's face in what he said was a reasonable use of force."What Halliday did in the circumstances was understandable," Ms Milledge said.Halliday pleaded not guilty to the assault last August.After the charges were dismissed, Halliday indicated he would pursue the state for costs.

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Minister apologises to dad for FSH death

The WA health minister has apologised to the father of a man who died at Perth's new hospital. Source: AAP

HEALTH minister Kim Hames has apologised to the father of a man who died at Perth's new Fiona Stanley Hospital after he was given the wrong drug.

JARED Olsen, 41, went to the hospital with stomach pains that were suspected to be caused by Crohn's disease.

Mr Olsen was prescribed mercaptopurine - a strong drug usually used to treat leukaemia and sometimes Crohn's.He was also tested to see if he had the enzyme TPMT, which is needed to prevent the potentially life-threatening side effects of the drug.But Mr Olsen's father Phillip said the results of the test were never followed up and he found his son weeks later collapsed in the shower in a pool of his own blood and faeces.Mr Olsen was rushed to hospital but died on March 5 from suspected organ failure.It was revealed earlier this month that in a letter written in November, staff warned of "significant clinical and financial consequences" from cutbacks to the inflammatory bowel disease service, which used to be housed at Fremantle Hospital.The health minister had initially said the specialist service had been transferred completely across to FSH but later conceded that the advice he had received was wrong.Mr Olsen told Fairfax radio on Wednesday that Dr Hames had called him and his daughter to offer a personal apology for the treatment that caused his son's death."I have no reason to believe that he wasn't genuine about that apology," Mr Olsen said."He was fairly critical of those people advising him."One wonders if those advisers are still working for the minister."Mr Olsen said Dr Hames told him the service would be brought back to its original standard and that he had asked for a coronial inquest to be held into his son's death.

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Rock-throwing NT kids threatened with care

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

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

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

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Nokia to buy Alcatel-Lucent for $A21b

Finland's Nokia has confirmed it is acquiring French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent for $A21.64bn. Source: AAP

NOKIA has struck a 15.6 billion euro ($A21.64 billion) deal to buy its rival Alcatel-Lucent to create the world's biggest supplier of mobile phone network equipment.

THE Finnish telecom giant on Wednesday agreed to give shareholders in its Franco-American rival 0.55 shares in the new merged company for every one of their own.

The new group "will be uniquely positioned to create the foundation of seamless connectivity for people and things wherever they are," Nokia's statement said.It will go by the name Nokia, be based in Finland, and be run by Nokia's current management team, it said.The group is targeting savings of 900 million euros in costs by the end of 2019 without further job cuts following the restructuring, both companies said, adding the merger should save an additional 200 million euros in financial charges.Alcatel-Lucent boss Michel Combes, told French TV channel BFM Business the new group was committed to "increasing R&D activities in France by 25 per cent" by hiring 500 additional researchers, bringing the total research and development workforce in the country to 2,500."The new group's innovation and research capabilities on a global scale will be spearheaded in France," he said.The French government said on Tuesday it was concerned about jobs disappearing in France if the merger were to go through.Rumours have swirled since December of a possible deal between the two firms, with France's Les Echos reporting on Monday that executives had been in negotiations since January.Nokia was the world's biggest mobile phone maker for more than a decade until it was overtaken by South Korea's Samsung in 2012.Then in 2014, Nokia sold its mobile phone and tablet division to US software giant Microsoft, and the company now develops mobile and internet network infrastructures for operators.Nokia is now set for a significant boost in market share.The deal will also help Nokia bolster its mobile infrastructure business against Swedish arch-rival Ericsson and China's Huawei, profiting from Alcatel's position as a leading supplier of 4G and LTE mobile networks and related services.

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Ellis trial hears of Bali kitchen killing

THE violent details of an Australian businessman's murder in his own Bali villa have been aired in the trial of his wife, who is accused of ordering the hit.

NOOR Ellis faces charges of pre-meditated murder over the death of her husband of 25-years, Robert Ellis, whose body was found in a rice field last October.

Also known as Julaikah Noor Aini, Ellis could face the death penalty.In her defence she claims she only asked her maid's boyfriend to take care of her problems with her husband, not kill him.But the trial has already heard from the maid, and a second maid, that the order was given to kill Mr Ellis.On Wednesday, the man who cut Mr Ellis' throat, 23-year-old Urbanus Yohanes Ghoghi, told the court in graphic detail of the roles he and four other men played in the killing.Ellis had given one of the men, Martin, a towel and pillow, and the men first tried to suffocate him, Urbanus said.When their victim fought back, Martin handed him the kitchen knife he used to slash his throat.Afterwards, Ellis handed Martin the plastic to wrap her husband's body in, Urbanus' co-accused, Yohanes Sairokudu, said."That night, Mrs Noor gave Rp 50 million ($5000) to Martin. It was then split, Rp 10 million each," he said."Martin also said to us that tomorrow, there will be more."Yohanes was also asked about a meeting Ellis called prior to the murder, where other witnesses say she gave the order to kill her husband."Mrs Noor said that when killing Mr Bob, don't use a sharp weapon," he said."Close his nose and mouth with a pillow only."To be neat, basically."Ellis later took the stand as a witness in the trials of the two men, who are also charged with premeditated murder.Asked by Judge Beslin Sihombing where Mr Ellis was now, she replied: "In heaven".Asked who gave the order to have him murdered she said: "probably me".The judge replied: "Probably? Or did you order them?"She replied: "Because of the order from me. I asked Martin's help to teach a lesson".Judge Hadi Masruri asked Ellis why she gave the order."For a long time he hadn't given me sufficient (money), (he) even took the money for my kids' schooling," she replied."Because his attitude didn't change, I couldn't stand it anymore."Once I asked for divorce but he didn't want to."He said we should just go on, in our own way."The trial continues next week with Ellis' defence.

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Man kills armadillo, but shot hits in-law

A US man shot an armadillo, but ended up accidentally wounding his mother-in-law when the bullet ricocheted off the mammal known for its hard shell.

SHERIFF'S deputies have told WALB-TV that 54-year-old Larry McElroy fired his 9mm pistol at the armadillo in the state of Georgia.

Deputies say the bullet killed the armadillo, but bounced off the animal, hit a fence, travelled through the back door of the mother-in-law's mobile home and the recliner in which she was sitting, striking her in the back.McElroy's 74-year-old mother-in-law, Carol Johnson, suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening.McElroy was about 90 metres away from the home when he shot the armadillo.

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US retail sales rise in March

US retail sales rose in March as Americans increased their spending on cars, furniture, clothing and building materials, new figures show.

THE Commerce Department says retail sales jumped 0.9 per cent last month, after declining 0.5 per cent decline in February. The retail rise was the first in four months.

The rebound suggests US shoppers are returning after an unseasonably cold winter froze sales. Warmer weather fuelled a 2.7 per cent increase in auto sales and a 2.1 per cent boost in building materials, possible signs that the lagging manufacturing and construction sectors might also recover from a winter slump.Economists say sales should continue to climb because of the year-long hiring surge and lower petrol prices.

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Norway asks Indonesia to halt executions

NORWEGIAN Prime Minister Erna Solberg has reportedly asked Indonesia's President Joko Widodo to halt the executions of Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

MS Solberg visited Jakarta for bilateral talks on Tuesday and afterwards told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that she "asked explicitly not to implement the imminent death sentences".

She said Mr Joko had responded that it was part of Indonesia's legal system and that Indonesia faced a huge drug problem."My experience is that they are listening," Ms Solberg said."But it is important to mobilise internal support to liquidate the death penalty."We as politicians must always point this out to politicians from Indonesia, but I think it's just as important what civil society in Indonesia says."Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, await execution on a central Java island for their roles in the Bali Nine effort to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.The Norwegian newspaper on Tuesday splashed a story about Sukumaran, who worked with Norwegian academics and students to initiate rehabilitation programs in Kerobokan prison, where he spent most of the past decade.Student Espen Nordstrom has met Sukumaran around 20 times and told the newspaper the Australian regretted the choices he had made when he was younger."He always seemed incredibly quiet and had a big smile," he said.Sukumaran turns 34 on Friday, an occasion that is being marked in London with an exhibition of his paintings, held with the support of Amnesty International.The Australian pair and eight other drug offenders are next in line for the firing squad, but Jakarta has not set a date.Norway is firmly against capital punishment. It has strong ties with Indonesia in various areas, including conservation, climate change and energy.

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Over 7000 migrants rescued off Italy: EU

More than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from the Mediterranean since Friday, the EU says. Source: AAP

MORE than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from the Mediterranean since Friday as an unprecedented wave of people flee conflict and poverty seeking better lives in Europe.

OF those 7,000 EU migration spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said "over 3,500 are still on board rescue vessels and being taken to Italy and so far, 11 bodies were recovered."

More than 280,000 people entered the European Union illegally last year. Many came from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia and made the perilous sea journey from conflict-torn Libya.European coast guards have been overwhelmed by the numbers.The EU's top migration official Dimitris Avramopoulos told EU MPs on Tuesday that the influx "is unfortunately the new norm and we will need to adjust our responses accordingly."

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Cameron woos voters on homes, childcare

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has launched his Conservative Party's election manifesto with a pledge to allow up to 1.3 million more social housing tenants to buy their homes and to extend free childcare for under-5s.

CAMERON urged voters to let him "build on foundations" laid over the last five years of the Conservatives' coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, claiming he had "turned a great recession into a great recovery."

"At the heart of this manifesto is a simple proposition," he said."We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life."He promised to build 400,000 new homes and reduce income tax for low earners if the Conservatives continue in government after the May 7 election.The prime minister also pledged 30 hours a week of free childcare for three and four-year-olds "worth STG5,000 a year".Pro-Conservative media said Cameron's housing pledge revived the policy of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher and was an attempt to win working-class votes in next month's parliamentary elections."Maggie's right-to-buy dream is back," the Daily Express said in a front page headline, referring to Thatcher's policy of selling local authority housing in the 1980s.Conservative strategists believed the right-to-buy pledge would "win favour among working-class voters in marginal constituencies," The Times said.But Ruth Davison of the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations managing some 2.5 million homes, said the Conservatives' plan would not solve Britain's housing crisis.Tenants in social housing already have "good secure homes on some of the country's cheapest rents," Davison said."It won't help the millions of people in private rented homes who are desperate to buy but have no hope of doing so, nor the three million adult children living with their parents because they can't afford to rent or buy," she said.Opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband launched his party's manifesto on Monday, promising to cut the budget deficit, tackle low pay and job insecurity, improve the National Health Service, and expand controls on immigration.Opinion polls put Labour and the Conservatives roughly level with about 33 per cent support, followed by the right-wing UK Independence Party on 14 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on just under 10 per cent.

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Man killed at Walt Disney World attraction

A LAMBORGHINI that was part of an exotic car racing attraction at Walt Disney World has crashed into a guardrail, killing a passenger and injuring the driver.

THE Florida Highway Patrol says Tavon Watson, 24, lost control of the vehicle on Sunday afternoon, killing Gary Terry, 36.

Sergeant Kim Montes said in an incident report that Watson failed to manoeuvre the high-powered vehicle through the Exotic Driving Experience course. The vehicle's passenger side struck the guardrail. Terry died at the scene. Watson was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated and released.The attraction lets race car fans be drivers or passengers in luxurious cars such as Lamborghinis, Porsches or Ferraris. For between $US200 ($A260) and $US400 ($A521), customers can drive several laps with a professional driving instructor in the passenger seat. It is located south of the Magic Kingdom parking lots.A spokeswoman said Disney offers its "deepest sympathy to those involved" in the crash.The track is operated by Petty Holdings, which has other Exotic Driving Experience attractions at speedways in Atlanta, Daytona Beach, New Jersey, Kansas, New Hampshire and Texas.The Exotic Driving Experience, along with its sibling track, the Richard Petty Driving Experience, was slated to close this summer at Disney World for unrelated reasons.Montes said the crash remains under investigation.

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China women's activists 'to be freed'

A LAWYER says the families of three of five Chinese women's rights activists detained in Beijing have been informed that they will be freed.

LIANG Xiaojun said family members of the three were on Monday told they would be given a form of conditional release that still allows charges to be brought later.

Lawyers for the women, Wang Man, Zheng Churan and Wei Tingting, did not answer phone calls, and contacts for their family members were not immediately available. Calls to the Haidian District Detention Centre in western Beijing rang unanswered on Monday night.Liang said no such notice had been received for his client, Wu Rongrong, or for the fifth woman, Li Tingting, and it wasn't clear whether they would face charges.The five were detained last month as they prepared to distribute materials against domestic violence on International Women's Day on March 8. They were accused of creating a disturbance and, if convicted, could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Five others detained at the same time have since been released.Their case has brought international expressions of concern, including from US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, Britain's Foreign Office and the European Union.Beijing police have refused to comment on the case and China's Foreign Ministry has responded angrily to questions about it, demanding that critics "stop interfering in China's judicial sovereignty in such a manner".

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I'm ready to lead Britain, says Miliband

OPPOSITION leader Ed Miliband says he is ready to be Britain's next prime minister as he launched a manifesto designed to boost his party's reputation on the economy.

MILIBAND sought to reassure voters that his centre-left Labour party would manage the economy responsibly while handing more wealth to low and middle income families during a speech in Manchester, northwest England.

Labour has been virtually tied with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives in opinion polls for months in an election race which many experts predict will yield another coalition or minority government.But with 24 days to go until the May 7 general election, the economy remains one of the party's main weak spots and polling suggests voters trust Labour less on the issue than the Conservatives.Labour's record on the economy while in government between 1997 and 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is also frequently attacked by the Conservatives, who blame the party for running up a budget deficit of some STG90 billion ($A171.54 billion)."I'm ready. Ready to put an end to the tired old idea that as long as we look after the rich and powerful, we will all be OK," Miliband told activists on Monday."If you elect me as your prime minister in just over three weeks' time, I will work for that goal ... I know Britain can be better."In a bid to signal fiscal credibility, Labour is promising to cut the deficit every year until it is eradicated and detail how each manifesto pledge will be paid for, with no extra borrowing.It says its plans for reducing the debt would hurt ordinary, middle-income families less than those announced by Cameron's Conservatives, in power as senior partners in a coalition government since 2010.Instead, it intends to make wealthier taxpayers shoulder more of the burden by policies such as the "mansion tax" - a tax on homes worth STG2 million or more which would help fund the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and increasing income tax for those earning more than STG150,000 a year.But some business leaders warn that a Labour government could damage Britain's economic recovery.Earlier this month, over 100 signed an open letter backing the Conservatives, including some who had previously backed Labour under Blair and Brown, who took a more business-friendly approach.Commentators say Miliband - who has struggled with a geeky public image since defeating his brother David to become Labour leader in 2010 - has turned in some strong personal performances on the campaign trail.

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Duke of York returns after sex allegations

THE Duke of York has returned to official duties for the first time since sexual allegations against him were struck from US court records.

ANDREW visited the site of multinational paints firm AkzoNobel in Slough on Monday to highlight its support for a charity he has close associations with, the Outward Bound Trust.

The Duke looked relaxed during his trip to the headquarters of the company's best-known product range, Dulux paints.Claims that Andrew had sex with an underage teenager were removed from civil court records following a federal judge's ruling last week.The allegations made by Virginia Roberts - who claimed she was the sex slave of Andrew's former financier friend Jeffrey Epstein - were vehemently denied by the Duke.When asked if he was still happy to be associated with the Duke, Mr Pullen replied: "To be honest this is a long-standing engagement, he's the patron of the Outward Bound Trust, who we have a fantastic relationship with, and its great to have him here."The allegations were part of submissions made by lawyers acting for Ms Roberts who wanted to join an existing civil lawsuit.It was launched by two women, also alleged Epstein victims, against US federal prosecutors' handling of the financier's conviction for a sex offence.He was sentenced to 18 months in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution but lawyers for the women claim a secret plea deal he struck with prosecutors, granting him and any potential co-conspirators immunity from further prosecution, violated their clients' rights.US District Judge Kenneth Marra refused Ms Roberts permission to join the lawsuit, and said in his written judgment that the sex abuse details had no bearing on the lawsuit's goal of reopening the Epstein non-prosecution agreement.

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Interpol opens digital crime centre

INTERPOL'S first digital crime centre has been officially opened in Singapore.

COMPLEMENTING its headquarters in Lyon, the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (ICGI) will support international policing efforts against cybercrime, as well as research and capacity building in online security, the Straits Times reported.

The ICGI would target among others the bug known as Simda, which it described as a botnet used to "gain remote access to computers enabling the theft of personal details, including banking passwords, as well as to install and spread other malicious malware."According to Interpol, more than 770,000 computers worldwide have been affected by Simda. On 9 April, servers in the Netherlands, the United States, Russia, Luxembourg and Poland were hit by simultaneous attacks.Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Central Criminal Investigation Division of the Netherlands Police, said the new centre in Singapore "will help strengthen the fight against cybercrime worldwide."The ICGI first started operations in Singapore last November, and now has 110 officers from 50 countries.

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Brawl on Dutch coast for bachelor party

ABOUT 75 Germans have been arrested in the Dutch coastal town of Renesse after taking part in a mass brawl that saw two police officers hospitalised, police say.

THE group, which had travelled to the Dutch coast for a bachelor party from the German town of Gelsenkirchen, had been fighting with another group of men on Saturday night when police were forced to intervene.

The men then attacked the police, leaving six officers injured. One of them was hit over the head with a beer bottle, while the other suffered a concussion due to a blow to the head. Both had to be hospitalised.Fourteen of the Germans remain in custody.

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Townsville woman believed murdered

The husband of a missing Townsville woman has been arrested in connection to her suspected murder. Source: AAP

THE husband of missing Townsville woman Julie Hutchinson has been arrested in connection to her suspected murder.

MS Hutchinson, 48, was last seen at a home on Chelsea Drive in the Townsville suburb of Condon on March 7, but was only reported missing on Thursday.

Police believe she was murdered, and arrested her 47-year-old husband on Saturday afternoon.He has not been charged and is currently helping police with their inquiries."Information and evidence we identified suggested (Ms Hutchinson) is now deceased," Inspector David Nixon told reporters on Sunday."The exact details of that evidence are unable to be disclosed at this time because it would affect our investigation, but it has led us to arrest him."The couple's home has been cordoned off for forensic examination, and police are also concentrating part of their investigation on the nearby Herveys Range.Police also seized a vehicle for forensic examination.Investigators want to hear from anyone who may have seen Ms Hutchinson or the vehicle she may have been driving - a 2004 silver, Mazda6 sedan with Queensland registration 622-HZE.

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Police injured as large Sydney party shut

Two policemen have been injured while breaking up a large party in Sydney's east. Source: AAP

A POLICEMAN was hit and injured by a broken bottle and another was assaulted as officers battled to close down a large party in Sydney's east.

AT about 10.30pm on Saturday police were called to an abandoned industrial area on McPherson Street in Botany and for safety reasons attempted to close down a party there attended by around 1000 people.

Most were moved from the area without incident.But police say a number of people threw glass bottles at police and refused to move, forcing officers to use capsicum spray.One officer was hit by a broken bottle and sustained cuts to his head.He was treated at the scene before being taken to Prince of Wales Hospital.A 26-year-old woman was arrested at the scene after allegedly assaulting another officer and she is being interviewed by police.A number of partygoers were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics after being capsicum sprayed.

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Man charged after Gold Coast car crash

A MAN is facing multiple charges after a car flipped and burst into flames during a police chase on the Gold Coast, leaving a passenger with a broken neck.

OFFICERS were on the lookout for hoons at Yatala, south of Brisbane, on Saturday night, when they saw a car doing burnouts and tried to pull it over.

Police allege the Holden Commodore mounted a kerb to evade them and later swerved around an officer who was standing on the road ordering the driver to stop.The police helicopter Polair continued to monitor the car, which allegedly ran a red light and almost struck another vehicle before hitting a pole, flipping onto its roof and catching alight.A 19-year-old male passenger was taken to hospital with a broken neck, along with the male driver, 20, and a 17-year-old female passenger who suffered shock and bruising.On Sunday night police charged the driver with multiple hoon offences, as well as driving a defective, unregistered and uninsured vehicle, urinating in a public place and failing to stop.

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German woman, 65, pregnant with quads

A 65-YEAR-OLD woman from Berlin is pregnant with quadruplets, German private broadcaster RTL has reported.

THE woman, identified on Sunday only as Annegret R due to German data protection laws, conceived after receiving fertility treatment abroad.

The Russian and English teacher already has 13 children and seven grandchildren. She had her last child in 2005.When asked how she would respond to potential criticism for her unconventional decision, she said: "I think it is something that everyone has to decide for themselves."RTL reported that the woman has had no complications in her pregnancy thus far.

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