AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 19

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2006
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 19
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


SOLOMONS (CANBERRA)

The Australian army is preparing to go back to the Solomon Islands to restore order
.. as rioting continues on the streets of the capital .. Honiara.

The Australian Federal Police are seeking reinforcements .. after rioters injured 17
Australian and two New Zealand police officers .. and trashed parts of the capital.

Two AFP officers have had surgery and will be flown home for more treatment .. and
the other 15 have minor injuries.

Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER has told ABC radio an Australian army deployment
to Honiara is now likely.

He says units are on standby in Townsville .. and can be deployed quickly.





Protesters are accusing Chinese businessmen of bribing members of the government ..

and backing yesterday's election of new Prime Minister SNYDER RINI.

Overnight in Honiara .. more than a thousand protesters looted and set fire to property.

The rioting's cut power supplies to parts of the city .. many schools have been closed
.. and the city's newspaper .. The Solomon Star .. didn't publish today due to the blackouts.



AWB HOWARD (CANBERRA)

The prime minister's dismissed speculation Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER might
lose his job and force a reshuffle.

Mr DOWNER and Deputy Prime Minister MARK VAILE have been under pressure over their
evidence to the Cole inquiry .. that they didn't pick up warnings the wheat exporter AWB
was paying bribes to Iraqi dictator SADDAM HUSSEIN.

But JOHN HOWARD's told Macquarie Radio .. both men retain his confidence .. and clearly
didn't know the AWB was paying bribes.



MONICA LOCKHART (BRISBANE)

Residents of the Cape York indigenous community of Lockhart River have taken shelter
.. as Cyclone Monica approaches.

Queensland Counter Disaster and Rescue Service says around 400 people have moved out
of fibro and timber houses considered at risk of cyclone damage.

The cyclone's is due to make landfall around Lockhart River around noon (AEST) .. with
wind gusts up to 220 kilometres an hour.



INDON AMROZI (CILACAP)

Hundreds of police and military are on guard in South Java .. ahead of a courtroom
appearance by death-row Bali bomber AMROZI .. in support of radical cleric ABU BAKAR BASHIR.

AMROZI will appear in Cilacap court today to deny he ever knew BASHIR .. who's fighting
a jail term for involvement in the first Bali bombing in 2002 .. which killed 88 Australians.



DETENTION AGHA (CANBERRA)

An investigation's found the immigration department's repeated failure to take heed
of an elderly woman's medical condition .. caused her unnecessary stress before she died.

79-year-old AZIZA AGHA .. visiting from Lebanon .. died last August after a heart attack
.. two days after the Department of Immigration made her visit official doctors.

A report by Commonwealth Ombudsman JOHN MCMILLAN also found that deficiencies in the
way the department handled the case .. were systemic.



NUCLEAR IRAN (TEHRAN)

US President GEORGE W BUSH has refused to rule out nuclear strikes against Iran ..

if diplomacy fails to curb the Islamic Republic's atomic ambitions.

BUSH says all options are on the table .. but he says the US is working hard to resolve
the impasse diplomatically.



US CRUISE (LOS ANGELES)

Actors KATIE HOLMES and TOM CRUISE .. the high-profile pair dubbed TomKat by the media
.. have had a baby girl .. named SURI.

Baby SURI weighed in at 3.4 kilograms .. and measured 50.8 centimetres.

Publicist PAUL BLOCH says mother and child are doing well.

He says the name SURI has it origins in Hebrew .. meaning princess .. or in Persian
.. meaning red rose.



BRIEFLY:



Oil prices have settled at a new high above 71 US dollars a barrel .. as supply threats
overshadowed a new report from OPEC forecasting weakening global demand.




An opinion poll shows only one in seven Australians support a federal government push
to sell Medibank Private .. Australia's largest health insurer.




Firefighters are still at the scene of Melbourne's largest fire in a decade .. dealing
with flare ups .. but say the cause of the fire in the mattress factory .. won't be known
for several days.




US health officials say a case of bubonic plague has been reported in Los Angeles ..

for the first time in 22 years .. but they think it's unlikely the rare disease will spread.




Hollywood bad boy COLIN FARRELL and his ex-girlfriend have reportedly reached a settlement
in a bitter legal battle over a steamy sex tape they made together.



IN FINANCE:



At 1115 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was UP 45.1 points at 5293.7.

The all ordinaries index ROSE 42.0 points to 5242.3.

The Australian dollar was trading at 74.29 US cents UP from 73.93 at yesterday's close.

It was at 60.10 euro cents DOWN from 60.36 yesterday.

In Sydney, gold bullion was trading at $US622.40 an ounce, UP $US6.575 from yesterday's close.



AND IN SPORT:


TENNIS FED AUST (SYDNEY)

Australia has been named top seed for the Fed Cup tennis qualifying event starting
tomorrow and will face host nation and third seed Korea and Uzbekistan in Pool A.

The Australian team of SAMANTHA STOSUR, NICOLE PRATT, RENNAE STUBBS and rookie CASEY
DELLACQUA has been given the No.1 seeding, ahead of India, Korea and New Zealand for the
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I playoff.



SURFING WORLD (TORQUAY)

Australia's LUKE STEDMAN is the first surfer to reach the quarter-finals of the Rip
Curl Pro world men's event at Bells Beach.

STEDMAN has defeated Hawaiian PANCHO SULLIVAN in one metre waves in the Bowl section
of the world famous beach.

JOEL PARKINSON beat fellow Aussie DANIEL WILLS in the final heat of the third round
earlier this morning.



SOCCER WOMEN (ADELAIDE)

South Australia has secured the right to host the 2006 Asian Football Confederation
(AFC) women's championship in July.

It's a major event on the world's football calendar, with competing teams vying for
a place in the 2007 FIFA women's World Cup.



ENDS MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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