China zoo with fake lion closes: media

A Chinese zoo under fire for disguising a hairy dog as a lion has closed for "rectification". Source: AAP

A CHINESE zoo ridiculed for disguising a dog as a lion has shut down temporarily for "rectification", media report.

The zoo's supposed "African lion" was exposed as a fraud when the dog used as a substitute - a Tibetan mastiff - started barking, the state-run Beijing Youth Daily had reported earlier.

The zoo, in central China's Henan province, has "altered several misnamed animal signs", the Beijing Times reported on Friday, adding that zoo officials have issued a public apology and "closed for rectification".

Three other species housed incorrectly in the zoo reportedly included: two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another dog in a wolf pen.

A photograph of a dog sitting in a cage in front of a sign reading "African lion" drew ridicule on Chinese social media services, with one user saying: "They should at least use a husky to pretend to be a wolf".

The Tibetan mastiff is a large and hairy dog breed.

Authorities in the park in the city of Luohe, where the zoo is located, said the facility had been contracted out to a private zookeeper since 1998.

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System failed NT woman, inquest hears

TWO families devastated by a killing that shocked Alice Springs are united in the sense of betrayal they feel towards the mental health system.

Gwvynyth Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt and Rocky Manu were flatmates for 18 months before the paranoid schizophrenic Manu killed her in November 2011.

Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt, 36, was found with multiple stab wounds in what Coroner Greg Cavanagh described as "a frenzied attack".

The flat was leased to the pair by the Mental Health Association of Central Australia (MHACA), but an inquest into the killing has heard that they were left completely unsupported by authorities when Manu, now 45, stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication four months before the tragedy.

There was confusion about who was responsible for following up Manu's treatment, and although several people knew he was relapsing, there were no proper channels for them to report it.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, said in her closing submissions on Friday that the systems of the Alice Springs Hospital and the Central Australian Mental Health Service (CAMHS) had been "deficient in the extreme".

She said Manu's committed and supportive family were led to believe doctors had his treatment under control, when they did not, and that the concerns they repeatedly expressed to Manu's psychiatrist, Dr Prosper Abusah, asking for more involved treatment should have been given more weight.

Dr Dwyer said Dr Abusah was ultimately responsible for allowing Manu's treatment to lapse.

Multiple witnesses testified that Manu had never been homicidal or suicidal, and that he had no history of violence.

But they also said he could be aggressive and intimidating when unwell.

They said his paranoia and suspicion resulted in increasingly controlling behaviour towards his housemate, such as forbidding her friends and family from visiting the unit, making her remove all technology from the house, banning her from speaking his name, and suspecting her of poisoning his food.

Mr Cavanagh said Manu could be difficult to manage.

"A man called Rocky: intelligent, manipulative, full well knowing after 20 years the mental health requirements for him and not liking them, could work the system to get what he wanted, and not what the community wanted," he said.

Manu wanted his own life and was resistant to having a case manager watching over him.

Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt was a peer worker with the MHACA, and her colleagues may have forgotten she was also vulnerable, and did not check on her regularly, Dr Dwyer said.

"Because she was such a competent, clever woman, it appeared on the surface things were going well."

But Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt didn't feel she could speak to authorities about concerns she had about Manu's behaviour, motivated by a desire to help him get well as she had.

The coroner will hand down his findings at a later date.

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Aftershocks rattle NZ after 6.6 quake

KIDS at a school in New Zealand's capital Wellington were learning what to do in an earthquake just as a magnitude 6.6 quake struck, while Marlborough's mayor asked churchgoers to pray as he sheltered with them under a table.

"How spooky was that?! We were still under the desks for our practice evacuation and the earth started shaking!" Clyde Quay School wrote on its Facebook page.

"But all is well."

And that is what everyone is saying.

Dubbed the Lake Grassmere earthquake, it struck at 2.31pm (1231 AEST) on Friday 10km southeast of the Marlborough town of Seddon at a depth of 8km, followed by a series of scary aftershocks.

Insurers reported only minor damage and hospitals treated a few people for minor injuries.

Marlborough district council mayor Alistair Sowman was meeting with members of churches on the top floor of the council building when the strongest quake he has ever felt struck.

"I suggested under the table they might like to say a few words," he told AAP.

"We thought we would have major damage, but there's not."

Goods fell off supermarket shelves, power was lost, chimneys were damaged and buildings are being checked again.

Two bridges on State Highway 1 in Marlborough were closed, and the road between Seddon and Kaikoura was closed after rockfalls.

At Riverlands Winery, 250,000 litres of wine was lost down the drain when a wine tank was damaged, according to RadioLive.

There were no reports of major damage to buildings in Wellington but police said some houses in Seddon had been damaged.

No tsunami was generated.

Dozens of aftershocks have since rattled the area with the biggest registering 6.0 striking three hours after the initial quake and a number of others registering more than 5.0.

Office workers in Wellington headed home early.

Cabinet minister Steven Joyce tweeted: "Lots of aftershocks. Beehive wobbling around like a jelly, but all ok".

Three grass fires in Seddon were sparked by fallen power lines. Near Ward, a house had slipped on its piles.

Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown said there were initial reports of some superficial damage to buildings in the CBD, but there have been no reports of any major damage, nor any serious injuries.

A spokesman for Centreport, which lost land into the sea in last month's quake, said there had been no serious damage, but most operations had been suspended while checks were carried out.

The Lake Grassmere quake is a strike-slip quake, as was the magnitude 6.5 in the region in July. These occur when faults are vertical or nearly vertical.

"We have now had two similarly sized earthquakes with the same sort of characteristics - they are termed a 'doublet'," said Kevin Fenaughty, GeoNet's data centre manager.

"This is not what we would usually expect."

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China zoo with fake lion closes: media

A Chinese zoo under fire for disguising a hairy dog as a lion has closed for "rectification". Source: AAP

A CHINESE zoo ridiculed for disguising a dog as a lion has shut down temporarily for "rectification", media report.

The zoo's supposed "African lion" was exposed as a fraud when the dog used as a substitute - a Tibetan mastiff - started barking, the state-run Beijing Youth Daily had reported earlier.

The zoo, in central China's Henan province, has "altered several misnamed animal signs", the Beijing Times reported on Friday, adding that zoo officials have issued a public apology and "closed for rectification".

Three other species housed incorrectly in the zoo reportedly included: two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another dog in a wolf pen.

A photograph of a dog sitting in a cage in front of a sign reading "African lion" drew ridicule on Chinese social media services, with one user saying: "They should at least use a husky to pretend to be a wolf".

The Tibetan mastiff is a large and hairy dog breed.

Authorities in the park in the city of Luohe, where the zoo is located, said the facility had been contracted out to a private zookeeper since 1998.

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System failed NT woman, inquest hears

TWO families devastated by a killing that shocked Alice Springs are united in the sense of betrayal they feel towards the mental health system.

Gwvynyth Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt and Rocky Manu were flatmates for 18 months before the paranoid schizophrenic Manu killed her in November 2011.

Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt, 36, was found with multiple stab wounds in what Coroner Greg Cavanagh described as "a frenzied attack".

The flat was leased to the pair by the Mental Health Association of Central Australia (MHACA), but an inquest into the killing has heard that they were left completely unsupported by authorities when Manu, now 45, stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication four months before the tragedy.

There was confusion about who was responsible for following up Manu's treatment, and although several people knew he was relapsing, there were no proper channels for them to report it.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, said in her closing submissions on Friday that the systems of the Alice Springs Hospital and the Central Australian Mental Health Service (CAMHS) had been "deficient in the extreme".

She said Manu's committed and supportive family were led to believe doctors had his treatment under control, when they did not, and that the concerns they repeatedly expressed to Manu's psychiatrist, Dr Prosper Abusah, asking for more involved treatment should have been given more weight.

Dr Dwyer said Dr Abusah was ultimately responsible for allowing Manu's treatment to lapse.

Multiple witnesses testified that Manu had never been homicidal or suicidal, and that he had no history of violence.

But they also said he could be aggressive and intimidating when unwell.

They said his paranoia and suspicion resulted in increasingly controlling behaviour towards his housemate, such as forbidding her friends and family from visiting the unit, making her remove all technology from the house, banning her from speaking his name, and suspecting her of poisoning his food.

Mr Cavanagh said Manu could be difficult to manage.

"A man called Rocky: intelligent, manipulative, full well knowing after 20 years the mental health requirements for him and not liking them, could work the system to get what he wanted, and not what the community wanted," he said.

Manu wanted his own life and was resistant to having a case manager watching over him.

Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt was a peer worker with the MHACA, and her colleagues may have forgotten she was also vulnerable, and did not check on her regularly, Dr Dwyer said.

"Because she was such a competent, clever woman, it appeared on the surface things were going well."

But Ms Cassiopeia-Roennfeldt didn't feel she could speak to authorities about concerns she had about Manu's behaviour, motivated by a desire to help him get well as she had.

The coroner will hand down his findings at a later date.

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aftershocks rattle NZ after 6.6 quake

KIDS at a school in New Zealand's capital Wellington were learning what to do in an earthquake just as a magnitude 6.6 quake struck, while Marlborough's mayor asked churchgoers to pray as he sheltered with them under a table.

"How spooky was that?! We were still under the desks for our practice evacuation and the earth started shaking!" Clyde Quay School wrote on its Facebook page.

"But all is well."

And that is what everyone is saying.

Dubbed the Lake Grassmere earthquake, it struck at 2.31pm (1231 AEST) on Friday 10km southeast of the Marlborough town of Seddon at a depth of 8km, followed by a series of scary aftershocks.

Insurers reported only minor damage and hospitals treated a few people for minor injuries.

Marlborough district council mayor Alistair Sowman was meeting with members of churches on the top floor of the council building when the strongest quake he has ever felt struck.

"I suggested under the table they might like to say a few words," he told AAP.

"We thought we would have major damage, but there's not."

Goods fell off supermarket shelves, power was lost, chimneys were damaged and buildings are being checked again.

Two bridges on State Highway 1 in Marlborough were closed, and the road between Seddon and Kaikoura was closed after rockfalls.

At Riverlands Winery, 250,000 litres of wine was lost down the drain when a wine tank was damaged, according to RadioLive.

There were no reports of major damage to buildings in Wellington but police said some houses in Seddon had been damaged.

No tsunami was generated.

Dozens of aftershocks have since rattled the area with the biggest registering 6.0 striking three hours after the initial quake and a number of others registering more than 5.0.

Office workers in Wellington headed home early.

Cabinet minister Steven Joyce tweeted: "Lots of aftershocks. Beehive wobbling around like a jelly, but all ok".

Three grass fires in Seddon were sparked by fallen power lines. Near Ward, a house had slipped on its piles.

Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown said there were initial reports of some superficial damage to buildings in the CBD, but there have been no reports of any major damage, nor any serious injuries.

A spokesman for Centreport, which lost land into the sea in last month's quake, said there had been no serious damage, but most operations had been suspended while checks were carried out.

The Lake Grassmere quake is a strike-slip quake, as was the magnitude 6.5 in the region in July. These occur when faults are vertical or nearly vertical.

"We have now had two similarly sized earthquakes with the same sort of characteristics - they are termed a 'doublet'," said Kevin Fenaughty, GeoNet's data centre manager.

"This is not what we would usually expect."

15.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japan PM skips reference to WWII remorse

JAPAN'S conservative prime minister has broken with two decades of tradition by omitting any expression of remorse over the country's past aggression in Asia on the anniversary of its World War II surrender.

Shinzo Abe's speech on Thursday - which came after nearly 100 MPs including two cabinet ministers visited a controversial war shrine - avoided typical words such as "profound remorse" and "sincere mourning" used by his predecessors to atone for those who suffered as the Imperial Japanese Army stormed across East Asia.

The omission was sure to anger China and South Korea, which have bristled at Abe's talk about overhauling Japan's pacifist constitution. They are also enraged by visits to the Yasukuni shrine which they view as a symbol of Tokyo's imperialist past.

China summoned Japan's envoy on Thursday, saying it "strongly opposed and strictly condemned" the shrine visits, while Seoul called on Tokyo to "face history" if it wants to mend frayed ties.

In Taipei, dozens of angry Taiwanese vented their anger outside Japan's de facto embassy in Taipei, burning a giant model of "Izumo", a helicopter carrier. Japan's biggest warship since World War II, the Izumo was unveiled early this month.

Chanting slogans such as "Down with Japanese militarism", the group accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of trying to expand Japan's military.

In a statement, Taiwan's foreign ministry urged "the Japanese government and some political figures to learn from the lessons of history and refrain from doing anything that hurt the feelings of people in the neighbouring countries".

The comments did not directly reference the speech by Japan's leader, who dropped another usual reference in the annual speech to uphold Tokyo's pledge not to wage war.

"I will never forget the fact that the peace and prosperity we are enjoying now was built based on the sacrifice of your precious lives," Abe said in a reference to the 2.5 million war dead honoured at the shrine.

Yasukuni enshrines citizens who died in World War II and other conflicts, including 14 top convicted war criminals such as General Hideki Tojo, who authorised the attack on Pearl Harbor which drew the United States into the war.

Visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians anger neighbouring nations, which view them as a painful reminder of Tokyo's aggression in the first half of the 20th century, including a brutal 35-year occupation of the Korean peninsula.

"It is hard to build trust without the willingness to face history and consider the wounds inflicted upon others," South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in a speech marking the day it was liberated from Japanese rule.

Abe was expected to stay away from the shrine on Thursday but he reportedly sent a ritual offering via an aide.

Security was tight with hundreds of police surrounding the leafy site in the heart of Tokyo, as right-wing nationalists carried flags calling on visitors to pray for Japan's "heroic war dead".

Police blocked a small group of visiting South Korean MPs from erecting an anti-Abe banner over fears of a clash with the conservative groups.

Early on Thursday morning, two ministers in Abe's cabinet visited the site, followed by about 90 other MPs later in the day.

"Consoling the souls of war dead is a purely domestic issue," one minister Keiji Furuya told reporters.

"This is not something that other countries are supposed to criticise or interfere with."

Yoshitaka Shindo, internal affairs and communications minister in Abe's cabinet, called his visit "a personal decision".

One 73-year-old man whose father in enshrined at Yasukuni took heart from Abe's comments Thursday.

"We've apologised too much," Shigenobu Hashiguchi, 73, told AFP.

"It's absurd for foreigners to think that Japan will return to its past imperialist military aggression. We should still pray for the war dead regardless of whatever China and South Korea say."

For many, walking down the shrine's stone paths lined with cherry trees and past imposing gates dedicated to Shinto - Japan's animist religion - is part of a ritual far removed from politics.

"My father held me only once before heading to the war zone knowing Japan would lose," said 69-year-old Sumiko Iida.

"I'm absolutely against wars."

There is significant amount of domestic opposition to Yasukuni, including among some relatives of those honoured there, who say it glorifies war and the darker chapters in Japan's history.

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Coles lifts Wesfarmers profit to $2.26b

Strong growth from Coles has helped Wesfarmers post a six per cent rise in annual profit. Source: AAP

THE head of Coles says Australians are still paying too much for groceries, even as it posted a $1.5 billion full year profit.

A 13 per cent rise in earnings from Coles helped its parent company Wesfarmers grow its annual profit by six per cent to $2.26 billion.

Coles and hardware chain Bunnings were the strongest contributors to Wesfarmers' profit, but Target suffered a heavy fall in earnings, as did the company's coal mining operations.

Still, Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder is optimistic about the year ahead, forecasting further growth in most of its retail chains.

"There are challenging conditions in Target ... it's difficult to foresee how the resources business will perform, but we expect to see continued strong growth in Coles, continued strong growth in Bunnings and other retail businesses," Mr Goyder told reporters.

Coles' earnings and sales growth reflected a higher number of transactions, overcoming price deflation, which is mainly the result of discounting.

The supermarket chain's chief executive Ian McLeod indicated more discounting was possible.

"I'm still convinced that people in Australia are paying too much for some products that can be bought for less in other countries," Mr McLeod said.

"There are still certainly lots more opportunities in cost-of-doing-business."

Overall profit growth for Wesfarmers was weaker than analysts had expected, and Wesfarmers shares closed 67 cents, or 1.6 per cent, lower at $41.26.

Mr Goyder acknowledged that Target needed to change its fashion range to compete with Zara, Top Shop, Gap and online stores.

Target's 44 per cent fall in earnings was caused by lower prices, excess stock and increased costs.

IG market analyst Evan Lucas said Target's performance was a major concern for Wesfarmers, as a new management team took charge.

"How effective they will be remains to be seen as global apparel players such as Zara, Top Shop and H&M bite into the brand," he said.

Wesfarmers' coal division is also a concern due to falling commodity prices, and questions about a possible sell-off may soon be raised, Mr Lucas said.

The will deliver a $579 million Christmas present to shareholders via a 50 cent per share capital return, which will be paid in addition to its final dividend for the 2012/13 financial year of $1.03 per share.

Mr Goyder said the one-off payment was a result of a series of property spinoffs.

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NSW suffering scandal withdrawal: premier

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has denied pushing through a Sydney Water deal for a company linked to Eddie Obeid, saying the state is suffering "scandal starvation" after years of Labor corruption.

He also said the corruption watchdog hadn't sought to interview him over the claims.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is reportedly set to investigate a $100 million dollar contract awarded by Sydney Water in 2012.

Mr O'Farrell and former finance minister Greg Pearce met in August 2011 with Nick Di Girolamo, a Liberal donor whose company, Australian Water Holdings, subsequently sealed a 25-year contract to build water infrastructure at Rouse Hill.

But Mr O'Farrell says the meeting was reported in February this year and that it was perfectly proper for him to meet with businessmen.

"My government ensured that we did not interfere with this process (of awarding the contract)," he told reporters.

"Australian Water were told it would be inappropriate for us to involve ourselves."

Former Labor powerbroker Mr Obeid, who was found guilty of corruption by the ICAC last month, held secret shares in Australian Water Holdings.

Labor used question time on Thursday to grill the premier.

Opposition leader John Robertson hinted at interference from people connected to Mr Pearce, the recently sacked finance minister.

"Can you explain why Sydney Water changed its previous position and awarded a $100 million contract to Australian Water Holdings within a month of Greg Pearce's mate Richard Fisher and Liberal party donor Bruce Morgan being appointed to the board of Sydney Water," he asked.

To which the premier replied: "There is no connection between the commercial decision made by Sydney Water and any meeting with the government."

Mr O'Farrell also said there was "no scandal here, no inappropriate action".

"What we do have here is scandal starvation," he said.

"They got so used to scandals by those opposite that they are always looking for them."

Meanwhile, Sydney Water managing director Kevin Young has confirmed the utility's chairman, Thomas Parry, received a letter from Liberal powerbroker Arthur Sinodinos when he was chairman of Australian Water.

It was reported on Thursday that the letter was sent in 2011 and copied to the premier.

"The NSW government position (was) that it was a matter to be dealt with solely by Sydney Water corporation and its board," Mr Young told a budget estimates hearing on Thursday.

Earlier, Mr O'Farrell told reporters he had no concerns about corruption in his own ranks and he didn't believe the ICAC held any such concerns.

The premier couldn't say whether he had attended Liberal party fundraisers at which Mr Di Girolamo was present but said he occasionally ran into him at the footy.

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Optus says improvement needed on network

Australian telco Optus has lifted its quarterly net profit by almost eight per cent. Source: AAP

OPTUS admits it needs to improve the quality of its network after seeing rival Telstra scoop up most of the 550,000 customers who this year abandoned struggling telco Vodafone.

The telco has watched its customer numbers virtually stagnate over the past 12 months while Telstra added 1.3 million new subscribers to its books.

Optus boss Kevin Russell admits network quality was the primary factor that drove the disaffected Vodafone customers into the arms of its rival.

"The experiences customers had at the Vodafone network were very difficult and that unquestionably sensitised a lot of Vodafone customers to network quality," he said.

"Unquestionably, Telstra has positioned itself very much as the leader in network, I think where the market has been is Optus has lead on customer, Vodafone has lead on price and Telstra has lead on network and it was uniquely positioned to capitalise on that."

Mr Russell says Optus is working to improve its network and restructure its business to better suit the needs of customers.

"I think we have to be very clear in terms of the things we have to do, which is strengthening our network to levels that are comparative with Telstra and to start to get a clearer brand position in the market place in terms of doing the right thing by customers."

He said the company is working to strengthen its 3G network and extend its 4G network to reach more than 70 per cent of Australia's metro population by 2014.

The telco recorded a net profit of $167 million for the three months to June 30, up nearly eight per cent compared to the same time last year.

That was despite a five per cent fall in quarterly revenue compared to a year ago, mostly from its mobile phone business.

But the drop in revenue was more than offset by savings from a cost-cutting drive.

Mr Russell said mobile revenue would continue to contract over the coming months and would remain weak for the next two years.

But he said the company was positioning itself to lift its earnings through the growing demand for data services.

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