Data leaked after ABC Wilders interview

The details of almost 50,000 internet users have been posted online after an ABC website was hacked. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S national broadcaster is reviewing its cyber security arrangements after one of its program websites 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 ABC said it has written to all 49,561 people affected and apologised.

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.

His details were published along with 49,560 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.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shark victim known to rescuers

A SHARK attack off the popular Muriwai Beach on Auckland's west coast has claimed the life of a filmmaker known to the surf lifesavers who tried to save him.

Television commercial director Adam Strange, 46, was swimming 200m offshore north from Maori Bay to Muriwai at about 1.30pm when he was attacked by a large shark.

He was dead by the time lifeguards and police, one of whom was firing shots at the shark, reached him.

His family said in a statement that they were in shock and requested privacy.

"The family are grieving the loss of a glorious and great father, husband and friend," the statement said.

Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service chairman Tim Jago said the man was well known to lifeguards who tried to save him, describing him as "a good water man".

He told media the lifeguards who went in inflatable boats to try to rescue him had been traumatised and were being offered support and counselling.

The shark that attacked the man was reportedly up to four metres long and believed to be a great white. Another shark was also seen by rescuers.

"They're not a common occurrence," Mr Jago told Radio New Zealand.

"We know they're there, we sometimes see smaller ones, but to see something this size, to see two of them at this beach pretty close in is pretty unprecedented."

Inspector Shawn Rutene of Auckland police said it was unclear whether the armed officer shot the shark, but said it had rolled off and disappeared.

He said the victim's family "are very upset and very distraught".

Fisherman Pio Mosie told Fairfax Media he saw the man out swimming before the attack.

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

"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 raising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water."

Mr Jago said all west Auckland beaches, including Muriwai, Karekare, Bethells Beach and Piha, have been closed as attempts are made to see if there are still sharks in the area.

Shark deaths are uncommon in New Zealand, with Wednesday's death the first confirmed shark attack fatality since 1976.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

French author Stephane Hessel dies

BEST-SELLING French writer, veteran diplomat and concentration camp survivor Stephane Hessel has died at the age of 95.

Hessel, whose 2010 work Time for Outrage inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York's financial district and spread worldwide, died overnight, Christiane Hessel-Chabry told AFP on Wednesday.

The German-born Hessel, who became a naturalised French citizen in 1939, was a prominent Resistance figure during World War II.

He was arrested by the Gestapo and later moved to the Buchenwald and Dora concentration camps.

After the end of the war, Hessel was involved in editing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

He also took up the cause of illegal immigrants and championed the rights of the downtrodden.

Time for Outrage sold more than 4.5 million copies in 35 countries.

His best-selling work argues that the French need to again become outraged like those who participated in the Resistance under General Charles De Gaulle during WWII.

His reasons for personal outrage included the growing chasm between the haves and have-nots, France's treatment of its illegal immigrants and the abuse of the environment.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Report slams defence audit delays

THE commonwealth auditor-general has criticised the defence department for taking too long to implement audit recommendations.

In a report released on Wednesday, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) said the issue was a "significant problem" for defence.

It points out that the average time taken by the department to complete audit recommendations was about 400 days - about 175 days longer than the department originally estimated it would take.

"By not implementing agreed audit recommendations in a timely manner, defence is foregoing opportunities to enhance its performance," the report said.

"This does not reflect well on those managers who have the responsibility to act on the agreed recommendations and deliver stronger outcomes for defence."

The ANAO recommended the defence department reinforce managers' responsibilities for implementing audit recommendations.

It also recommended the department's audit committee provide an annual report to the secretary and chief of the defence force about its operation and activities.

Responding to the report, the defence department said it would hold the officers responsible for the delays to account.

"Defence appreciates the value of the audit process and continually seeks opportunities for improvement," the department said.

It said it would implement both of the ANAO's recommendations.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ikea pulls meatballs from sale in Asia

SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea has expanded to 24 the number of countries where it has pulled its meatballs from sale over fears that the popular food could contain horsemeat.

The Ikea-label meatballs have now been pulled from stores in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Dominican Republic in addition to the host of European countries, Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson told AFP on Tuesday.

"It's an important product for us, so the measure is significant but we don't want our clients to worry," she said.

Magnusson said that a German laboratory was currently testing the meatballs for traces of horsemeat, with the first results expected on Thursday.

On Monday Ikea said that it had withdrawn the meatballs from sale in 16 European countries after Czech authorities found horsemeat in the product.

Ikea insisted that it had not found any horsemeat during in-house tests on its own range of food products, carried out two weeks ago.

One kilogram bags from the suspect batch of frozen meatballs had been pulled from the shelves in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland, the company said.

Stores in Sweden, Denmark, France and Romania withdrew meatballs from sale as a precautionary measure but Ikea said there was no horsemeat in the meatballs served in its stores in the United States.

Ikea is the latest group to become caught up in a Europe-wide scandal over the presence of horsemeat in ready-made dishes that erupted in January when horse DNA was detected in beefburgers in Britain and Ireland.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Prime takes a writedown on radio licences

THE economic effects of the Queensland floods have forced regional broadcaster Prime Media Group to write down the value of its radio licences by $15 million.

Prime Media chief executive Ian Audsley said the non-cash accounting charge reflected the uncertainty in the regional Queensland radio market due to the "lingering effects of three natural disasters in the past two years".

Mining job losses and the reduction in both federal and state government advertising were also factors that had been considered, Mr Audsley said in a statement.

"Combined with the fact that the full impact of recent significant flooding in central Queensland coastal markets is yet to be fully understood and the potential for further such occurrences in the future, the board believes the impairment is prudent," he said.

Mr Audsley said Prime's radio arm continued to battle difficult trading conditions in a weakened Queensland economy.

Prime Media, which also broadcasts television into regional Australia, reported on Tuesday a 71 per cent decline in first half profit to $4.6 million compared with the previous corresponding half, due to the writedowns.

Excluding the non-cash writedown, Prime Media reported a core net profit of $19.4 million, up 21 per cent over the prior corresponding six months to December 31.

Group revenue of $144.1 million grew by $5.4 million or 3.9 per cent on the prior period.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt urged to act after four Qld deaths

FOUR Aboriginal people suffering kidney disease have died in Townsville following cuts to health transport services for renal dialysis patients, the Senate has been told.

The Newman state government slashed a taxi subsidies program in May last year.

A community group stepped in and started a minibus transport service in Townsville so the mostly indigenous renal dialysis patients could get to their treatment appointments.

The volunteer program became unsustainable and ceased at the start of February this year, the Senate was told.

Queensland Liberal senator Ian Macdonald urged the federal government to intervene in what he described as a "matter of life and death".

"The cost of travelling by taxi to and from dialysis twice in a week can be as much as $300," Senator Macdonald told the senate.

Senator Macdonald said he had been told of four deaths of dialysis patients within 20 days after the bus service stopped.

In a letter obtained by AAP - to federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin and Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon - Senator Macdonald urged them to intervene.

He called on them to provide North Queensland Community Transport money to continue the service and pay the volunteer drivers for night shifts.

Senator Macdonald raised the issue during a Senate debate on an Act of Recognition of indigenous people.

He said he was disappointed a Labor backbencher had shouted at him "you wouldn't even know what an Aborigine looks like" and another accused him of being inappropriate.

"I would have thought everyone in this chamber would have agreed with me," he said.

Senator Macdonald said this behaviour was offensive to the people he was trying to help.

He said the ministers had not replied to his letter.

A spokeswoman from the federal Department of Health told AAP patient transport was a state responsibility.

"It is very concerning to see this situation arise which is clearly impacting on vulnerable people in Townsville," the spokeswoman said.

She said the department is looking at the issue and will take it up with Queensland Health as a matter of priority.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sembawang hints at new tilt for Macmahon

JILTED takeover suitor Sembawang has indicated it may make another tilt for Macmahon Holdings even though its construction arm is to be sold to Leighton Holdings.

Macmahon's shareholders on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a deal to sell the company's troubled construction business to Leighton.

However, the Singapore headquartered Sembawang issued a statement after the meeting, saying "We'll be back".

Macmahon shareholders voted 85 per cent in favour to approve the deal at an extraordinary meeting in Perth on Tuesday, thereby rejecting a takeover offer from Sembawang Australia.

Macmahon chairman Scott-Mackenzie said the result, issued to the Australian Securities Exchange after the close of sharemarket trading, was "a strong vote of confidence" for the company's new, mining-focused strategy.

"We now look forward to delivering consistent and sustainable returns for our shareholders as a dedicated mining business, Mr Scott-Mackenzie said in a statement.

Macmahon directors earlier on Tuesday said in a statement that "Sembawang has failed to provide Macmahon with a proposal capable of execution, in spite of the extended period in which they have had the opportunity to do so".

Sembawang, a wholly owned subsidiary of engineering and construction group Punj Lloyd, lodged a new offer, valuing Macmahon's construction business at $35 million.

Macmahon said the exit from the construction business would put the company in a position for more sustainable results in the future.

Sembawang issued a statement from its Singapore headquarters saying it believed that all the construction contracting problems at Macmahon "were a symptom of poor executive management".

"We now await the crystalisation of what MAH (Macmahon) said would come to account in calendar Q3 which is the tail of this deal.

"Sembawang could never make an offer to satisfy MAH's questions - as we were never allowed into the data room LEI (Leighton) were given access to."

"We wanted to take the construction business now for a reunification with the mining contracting business later on. We'll be back."

Shares in Macmahon rose one cent, or 3.03 per cent, to close at 34 cents on Tuesday.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Howard takes a swipe at independent MPs

FORMER prime minister John Howard hopes federal independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor will lose their seats at the next election.

The two MPs, who represent traditionally conservative electorates in regional NSW, sided with Labor after the 2010 election and effectively handed them power.

"I hope both Oakeshott and Windsor lose their seats, because the political predisposition of those two electorates was not to support the current government, but rather to support the opposition," Mr Howard told the Nine Network on Sunday.

"They didn't take any notice of that, and I'd like to see both of those seats come back to the National Party."

The former prime minister said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had "enormous ability".

If anybody other than Mr Abbott had been leading the Liberal Party in the past three years, Kevin Rudd would have remained leader of the Labor Party and would have won the last election with a comfortable majority, Mr Howard said.

"That, in my opinion, is why Abbott's position is so strong."

He also dismissed suggestions that Mr Abbott could be replaced by former leader Malcolm Turnbull.

"I don't believe for a moment that the Liberal Party will be led at the next election by anybody other than Tony Abbott," he said.

But Mr Howard said there was a "real possibility" that the Labor Party would replace Julia Gillard with Mr Rudd as its leader.

"In the end, leadership is determined by the laws of arithmetic," he said.

"Even the most popular leaders can be removed if people think they're going to do better under another one."

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh Islamists want bloggers killed

BANGLADESH police fired live rounds in clashes with Islamists demanding the execution of bloggers they accuse of blasphemy, killing at least three protesters and injuring dozens.

Eighteen of the injured suffered bullet wounds in the unrest at Singair in the central district of Manikganj, as the Muslim-majority nation was hit by an Islamist-enforced strike.

Khalilur Rahman, residential medical officer of Singair Hospital, told AFP three young men died of bullet wounds there.

"We've sent 18 other bullet-hit injured people for better treatment to Dhaka. The condition of three people is very critical," he added.

Mizanur Rahman, deputy police chief of Manikganj, said clashes broke out after up to 3,000 protesters, including students from religious schools known as madrassas and supporters of the main opposition party, barricaded a highway.

"They attacked us with machetes, sticks, bricks and firearms from three sides when we tried to clear the barricade. We fired back in self-defence," he told AFP, adding that at least 40 people were injured.

"The imam of the local mosque used a loudspeaker to rally the protesters. They were shouting slogans for the execution of the bloggers, accusing them of being non-believers and atheists," Rahman said.

The violence broke out as 12 small Islamic parties, backed by the largest Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, called a nationwide strike in protest at Friday's police action against Islamists.

Four people were killed, three in police shooting, and about 200 were injured during Friday's protests by tens of thousands of Islamists, demanding the hanging of bloggers whom they say blasphemed Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

Tensions have risen over allegedly anti-Islamic blog posts by Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death last week near his home in Dhaka.

In recent weeks Haider and fellow bloggers had launched massive protests demanding a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the execution of its leaders for alleged war crimes in the 1971 independence struggle against Pakistan.

Since Haider's death, Bangladeshi social media has been flooded with his alleged blog posts and with those by other bloggers mocking Islam, triggering protests by a number of Islamic groups and clerics.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

China enjoys traditional Lantern Festival

CHINA celebrated the traditional Lantern Festival on Sunday with fireworks and food, as millions of migrant workers flowed back to cities and smog blanketed a large part of the country.

The Lantern Festival formally marks the end of celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year period, 15 days after it began, and is celebrated by viewing lanterns and setting off fireworks, among other activities.

The Ministry of Railways estimated around 6.4 million people would make train journeys on Sunday.

Many of China's migrant workers from rural areas delay their return to their workplaces beyond the official public holiday, which lasts only a week.

Air pollution in the Chinese capital of Beijing spiked higher on Sunday as more traffic and firework blasts caused smog, China Central Television reported, as local officials urged people to limit the amount of fireworks they set off.

The government issued a smog alert on Sunday for central and eastern parts of China, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Heavy air pollution in recent weeks has been blamed on coal-burning and vehicle exhaust emissions.

In China's commercial hub of Shanghai, worshippers thronged the Jing'an Buddhist Temple, burning incense and tossing coins into a giant urn to make wishes for the coming year.

Shoppers snapped up dumplings made from glutinous rice with sweet or savoury fillings, called "tang yuan", traditionally eaten on the holiday.

"The pork ones sold out early. We can't make enough," said a clerk at a branch of the famous Shanghai dumpling chain Wang Jia Sha, who offered crab meat or sweet sesame paste alternatives.

Outside Beijing in Yuxian, a rural part of Hebei province, residents marked the festival by holding a parade with a dragon dance and releasing red paper lanterns like small hot-air balloons into the sky.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Centre-left are favourites as Italy votes

ITALIANS fed up with austerity went to the polls on Sunday in elections likely to be won by the centre-left, as Europe held its breath for signs of fresh instability in the eurozone's third largest economy.

The elections are Italy's first since billionaire tycoon Silvio Berlusconi was ousted in 2011 during a wave of financial market panic and replaced by former top European commissioner Mario Monti.

The most likely winner is the Democratic Party and its leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who says he will stick to reforms but also do more for growth as Italy endures its longest recession in 20 years.

"I am voting for the Democratic Party. I don't want us to end up like Greece," said Alessandro, a 63-year-old manager, as he cast his ballot in Milan.

But the scandal-tainted Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister who is also a defendant in two trials for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, could come a close second.

In third place, according to the polls, could be a new protest party led by comedian turned activist Beppe Grillo who has channelled growing social discontent and anger at traditional politicians.

"Italy votes in uncertainty," read a headline in La Stampa daily, while the Il Fatto Quotidiano said: "The undecided voters will decide it".

Polls will close at 2100 GMT on Sunday (0800 Monday AEDT) and open again for a second day of voting at 0600 GMT (1700 AEDT) on Monday, closing at 1400 GMT (0100 Tuesday AEDT).

Exit polls are expected immediately after the close and preliminary official results will begin trickling through later on Monday and perhaps into Tuesday.

Officials have called on Italians to vote, amid fears that general disenchantment with politics could mean a much lower turnout than usual.

Forty-seven million Italians are eligible to vote.

Opinion polls indicate the result may not give Bersani alone a strong enough majority to rule and he may have to seek an alliance with Monti, which could bring the economics professor back into government.

A coalition between Monti and Bersani would not be simple because of the differences between the free-marketeer Monti and a small far-left party that is already in coalition with Bersani.

Berlusconi will also continue to be a powerful force. He has risen sharply in the polls with a promise to reimburse an unpopular property tax.

He has also won votes by blaming a "hegemonic" Germany for Italy's woes.

Candidates were supposed to stay silent on Saturday on the eve of the vote but Berlusconi apparently broke the rules by speaking to journalists.

In an interview with Greek television that was reported by Italian media, Berlusconi said, "I contradicted the lords of austerity who are now trying to get rid of me."

He said Monti was "subservient and always on his knees in front of Mrs Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel) and now she does not want to lose him".

"I would give her a run for her money," he said.

Berlusconi was forced out in November 2011 after a parliamentary revolt, a myriad of sex scandals and a wave of panic on financial markets.

The sober Monti, a former economics professor, has brought the markets to heel and restored Italy's image as a key player in the eurozone debate.

Italy is the euro area's third largest economy after Germany and France and a major exporter.

While its debt is sky-high at around 120 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) - second only to Greece's - its public deficit is under control.

17.01 | 0 komentar | Read More