Canberra home value rises top nation's capitals

Canberra home value increases have bucked a national slowdown, rising by 4.1 per cent in the April quarter when the median sale cost was $511,200.

Figures issued by RP Data and Rismark today labelled Canberra the country's best performing capital city, with the 4.1 per cent rise in values the highest increase of Australia's capital cities.

Overall, the companies' hedonic index, which is unrelated to the median sale prices and looks at the value of the overall market, showed that after 16 months of strong rises in home values, there was virtually no capital gain in April, when values were

Evatt man, 35, dies in Higgins crash

A 35-year-old man from Evatt has died after losing control of his car and hitting a tree in Higgins late last night.

Police were called to the scene around 11.40pm and are calling for witnesses to the accident.

Their early investigations indicate the driver, travelling west-bound on Southern Cross Drive, lost control of his car and collided with a tree near the intersection with Kingsford Smith Drive.

The driver died at the scene, making the incident the 14th road fatality in the territory this year.

Police are urging drivers to take extra caution on the roads when driving in wet

Evatt man, 35, dies in Higgins crash

A 35-year-old man from Evatt has died after losing control of his car and hitting a tree in Higgins late last night.

Police were called to the scene around 11.40pm and are calling for witnesses to the accident.

Their early investigations indicate the driver, travelling west-bound on Southern Cross Drive, lost control of his car and collided with a tree near the intersection with Kingsford Smith Drive.

The driver died at the scene, making the incident the 14th road fatality in the territory this year.

Police are urging drivers to take extra caution on the roads when driving in wet

Supermarkets angry at Govt 'favouritism'

The ACT Government has been accused of ''picking winners'' and turning Supabarn into a third dominating supermarket force.

Heavyweights in the property and supermarket sectors yesterday accused the ACT Government of showing favouritism to the expanding grocery retailer.

Sites at Casey and Kingston were released to Supabarn under ''pre-commitment'' agreements in recent weeks as part of the the Government's new supermarket policy, created to increase competition by limiting the expansion of the two major players, Coles and Woolworths.

But the owners of four IGA stores in the ACT, the Krnc family, launched a campaign against the Government's supermarket policy

Hire car taken on 4000km crime spree

A DARWIN rental car has been taken on a 4000km crime spree by two people who were caught when they tried to sell the vehicle in Melbourne, Victoria.

They were busted when the prospective buyer noticed the hire company's sticker still on the car.

The 2005 Mitsubishi Magna was hired by a young couple from JJ's Car Hire in Darwin, the Northern Territory News said.

JJ's owner James de Dassell thought everything was going fine until he got a report from a motel in Tennant Creek, saying the couple had sped off without paying a $2000 bill.

The owner had noticed a JJ's sticker on the car.

"He said they'd headed south," Mr de Dassell said.

But since the 16-day hire had not expired, there was little

Another woman after Pratt's millions

A new combatant in the form of a mystery brunette has emerged in the increasingly crowded battle over the late billionaire Richard Pratt's fortune.

A Sydney woman named Madison Ashton, believed to be a model who also works in the adult entertainment industry, has made a claim against the Pratt estate in the NSW Supreme Court's Equity Division under Mercantile Law, Partnership Disputes.

Details of the claim will not be known until Friday when the lawyer representing the Pratt estate, Leon Zwier of Arnold Bloch Leibler in Melbourne, is due to file a defence with the court.

However, last night

Conroy hits out at Google

The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has accused Google of launching "the single greatest breach in the history of privacy".

The spray, during a Senate estimates hearing, is just the latest in a series of attacks by Senator Conroy on the search giant following Google's criticism of the government's forthcoming internet censorship regime.

The minister's critics have rounded on him this morning, calling last night's comments just another "petulant" and "hysterical" attempt to bad mouth people and companies critical of his policies.

Senator Conroy's comments refer to the recent privacy furore sparked by revelations that Google accidentally gathered 600GB worth of private data from open Wi-Fi networks while taking pictures for its Street View mapping service around the world.

The move

Australia expels Israeli envoy over fake passports

Australia's relations with Israel have hit a new low, with the Rudd Government expelling an Israeli diplomat over the fake passports affair.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, told Parliament today that inquiries by Australian intelligence agencies into the use of fake Australian passports in Dubai had concluded the fakes were the work of a state intelligence agency.

Mr Smith said this led to the conclusion there was no doubt Israel was responsible.

"No government can tolerate the abuse of its passports, especially by a foreign government," he said. "This represents a clear affront to the security of our

Raiders ravage decimated Dragons

This time last year Terry Campese was preparing to make his State of Origin debut for NSW.

Today he'll be recovering at home following his starring role in the Canberra Raiders' 22-14 win over St George Illawarra at Wollongong's WIN Stadium.

Campese displayed the masterful form that earned him last year's NSW cap, playing a role in each of the Raiders' four tries to help Canberra upset the ladder leaders.

Canberra's stand-in skipper ran the ball with authority, kicked with intent and directed his team with aplomb. If he'd played as well during the Raiders' nine previous games he probably

O'Dwyer burns for the Swans

A WHOPPING 67-possession game from Sydney Swans reserves midfielder Matt O'Dwyer helped his team to a 63-point win over Belconnen at Manuka Oval yesterday.

O'Dwyer was a key in Swans victory, racking up 53 disposals, 14 marks and a goal which should earn him a spot in the seniors team next week when Sydney take on Hawthorn at the MCG.

''I thought I worked really hard and I've been emergency the last two weeks, so hopefully I get the call-up,'' O'Dwyer said.

The Swans team bounced back from a 53-point beating handed to them by Tuggeranong last round to thump

Win an iPad tablet computer

They are the hottest new techno gadget people are lining up to get their hands on.

And now Quest Newspapers and Bookbee Ebooks have an Apple iPad tablet computer to give away.

One lucky person will win the computer and an Apple padded iPad case, total value $678.

The 16GB Wi-Fi iPad will allow the winner to read books, surf the web, check the news and carry their entire library with them.

The competition closes 9am on May 28 and the winner will be drawn at 10am.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

Source: whereilive

Elderly guard's knifepoint ordeal as 'dangerous' teens bust out of lock-up

Teenage thugs held a blade to the throat of a 71-year-old juvenile-justice officer, forcing him to free them from a youth detention centre in inner Melbourne last night.

The Age understands the six escaped teenagers - described as ''dangerous'' by one of Victoria's top police officers - lured the guard into a room at the Parkville Juvenile Justice Centre and overpowered him.

A ''shiv'', or makeshift knife, was held to the guard's throat and he was forced to the justice centre's entry, where the prisoners threatened to harm him unless they were freed. The guard complied, suffering a cut palm

Gun pointed at diner

Police are searching for a man who pointed a gun at a restaurant patron in Franklin Street, Manuka last night.

The man approached the exterior glass window of a restaurant about 8.10pm and pointed the gun at a patron seated inside while threatening him.

The offender was described as having tanned/olive skin, with a heavy build, dark hair and facial stubble. He was wearing a dark-coloured baseball cap, a dark-coloured T-shirt, long dark pants and white shoes.

The offender fled in a maroon coloured sedan. He did not discharge the firearm or harm anyone.

Police are urging anyone who may

Nurse-led walk-in centre opens

Australia's first nurse-led walk-in centre opened at 7am this morning in Canberra.

Health minister Katy Gallagher announced an amendment to ACT medicines legislation that will now allow the nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled medicines.

She said the amendments would extend the scope of practice for nurses in the ACT and bring the territory into line with other states.

"This amendment to the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 will enable suitably qualified nurse practitioners to provide their patients with a wider range of treatment options,'' Ms Gallagher said.

She said nurse practitioners would be required to comply with all

Study links phones to brain cancer

A major international study has been unable to rule out links between mobile phone use and brain tumours.

In the largest study of its kind, evidence was found that people who used their mobile phones for at least 30 minutes a day for 10 years faced an increased risk of developing brain cancers, but the results were inconclusive.

Overall, the World Health Organisation-backed study found no increased risk of tumours connected with mobile-phone use, but there were unexplained "suggestions" of a greater risk of brain cancers in some cases.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which conducted the $26.8 million Interphone study over the past 10 years, has recommended more research

Webber linked with prancing horses team

He's Formula One's in-form driver and now Australian Mark Webber is being linked with a move to Italian giant Ferrari.

Webber, who secured pole position for last night's Monaco Grand Prix less than a week after his victory in Spain, has been mentioned as Ferrari's potential replacement for the Brazilian Felipe Massa.

Both the Australian, who drives for Red Bull Racing, and Massa are off contract at the end of 2010.

Massa is widely expected to not be offered a new deal with Ferrari.

Renault's Polish driver Robert Kubica has long been linked as the man to replace Massa

Randy roo stalking Aussie women

A BRAWNY kangaroo that has been seeking love of late has focused his lust on the women of a Northern Territory town.

The well-endowed macropod has been hanging around the Honeymoon Ranges in Tennant Creek recently, making every effort to woo a woman.

One resident who walks along the bike track to the Mary Ann Dam regularly said she realised she was being followed early one morning, The Northern Territory News reported.

"I turned around and saw this big kangaroo behind me, so I hastened my steps," she said.

"It seemed a bit odd, but I continued walking and didn't think much about it.

"Then on the return walk he was there waiting for me," she said.

"With his male pride

Federal funds for black spots in Campsie and Condell Park

MORE traffic black spots will be fixed thanks to Federal Government funding.

Bankstown receives $154,000 for traffic signals at the intersection of Macauley Ave and Marshall St.

At Condell Park, $91,300 has been injected into installing a roundabout at the intersection of Market and Norman streets.

A total of $70,000 has been allocated to install a traffic calming device along Fifth Ave, Campsie.

All projects were recommended by a panel of independent road safety experts and will be delivered during the course of the coming financial year.

Source: whereilive

Woolly plan for homeless

Diane Hinds has been ''overwhelmed with beanies and scarves and I think I'm getting mittens and gloves and fingerless mittens''.

However, the brightly coloured (and warm) woollies are all for a good cause.

Hinds is one of the directors of the Old Bus Depot Markets and will be spending a night sleeping rough for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout on June 17, raising funds to combat homelessness.

Her charity efforts coincide with Wool Day at the markets this Sunday and to mark the event stallholders have donated a pile of warm, woolly items to Vinnies.

''A lot of [stallholders] handspin wool,

Banks face huge class action for overcharging

Australia's banks face the biggest class action in corporate history for overcharging their millions of customers some $5 billion in penalty and late fees over the past six years.

Leading litigation funder IMF Australia will pay for more than ten class actions against the banks, including the "Big Four": Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and National Australia, in an effort to claw back at least $400 million in what its lawyers will claim is a systematic gouge of banking customers.

Join the class action at the Financial Redress website

The action comes at a delicate time for the banks as politicians accuse them of exploiting their heightened market dominance - in the aftermath of the global financial crisis - to rachet up fees and charges to unreasonable levels.

Besides the "Big Four", another seven Australian banks are expected to be targeted for alleged wrongful

Cameron takes power

Conservative leader David Cameron has become Britain's youngest prime minister in almost 200 years, after Gordon Brown stepped down and ended 13 years of Labour government.

See Gordon Brown's resignation as prime minister on video here.

Mr Cameron, 43, visited Buckingham Palace on Tuesday and was asked to form a government by the Queen - less than an hour after Mr Brown tendered his resignation to the monarch.

Gordon Brown's resignation speech

Nick Clegg: kingmaker takes share of power

Mr Cameron beamed as he held hands with his pregnant wife, Samantha, outside the famous black door of 10 Downing Street.

Mr Cameron said he aimed to form a full coalition government between his Conseravtive party and the smaller Liberal Democratic party.

Cameron's Conservatives won the most seats and most votes in last Thursday's election but failed to secure an outright

Hitman strikes in Hughes

A lone gunman killed a man in a planned hit in a quiet Hughes street early yesterday, police say. And a gun located in a Deakin drain may hold the clues to the identity of the shooter.

The victim was seated with two others in a Hyundai Excel parked on Whittle Street when the gunman approached at about 12.30am yesterday, firing two shots at close range.

One hit the frame of the driver's side door. The other shattered the windscreen and hit the driver in the chest.

Neighbours reported hearing an argument before the shots, with a woman heard

Husband and wife both done for DUI

A WOMAN was allegedly caught drunk behind the wheel just 10 minutes before police nabbed her husband drink-driving in the same car early today.

The couple was charged for driving with a high range blood alcohol content and without licences, the Northern Territory News reports.

Their five-year-old son was also unrestrained in the car, police said.

Northern Territory police Duty Superintendent Dean Moloney said the incident was a tragedy waiting to happen.

"One person drink-driving and risking their own lives is one thing," he said.

"But having numerous people in the car, including your unrestrained child, is just senseless and asking for trouble."

Police said officers were patrolling the Karama area, in Darwin's northern suburbs, when they pulled over the 32-year-old woman on

Australia 'well placed' to withstand financial storm

Prime Minster Kevin Rudd is reassuring Australians the country is uniquely placed to weather any continuing economic turbulence after panic selling on world stock-markets sparked fresh fears of a resurgence of the global financial crisis.

After opening 3per cent lower, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 2per cent yesterday. The Australian dollar also lost almost 2c in the day's trading, finishing at $US88.25c.

The fall came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered fell almost 1000 points in a matter of minutes. It recovered 400 points to close almost 4per cent down.

The intra-day fall eclipsed even the crashes

Raiders extend McCrone's contract

The Canberra Raiders finally have a halfback on their books for next season, after extending the contract of 23-year-old Josh McCrone for a further two seasons this morning.

Halfback has been the most contentious position in the Raiders' lineup since Todd Carney was sacked midway through 2008.

Since then McCrone and fellow local junior Marc Herbert have battled to make Canberra's No7 jersey their own.

McCrone has been coach David Furner's first-choice halfback for the majority of this season, although he has missed the past two games with a groin injury.

He has played 14 NRL games since making his

Tenant keeps it simple and seals the deal

A $4 MILLION deal has been sealed and pallet company Keep it Simple Solutions will become a new tenant at Bankstown Airport later this year.

Consultant Augusta Properties clinched the deal which will see St Peters-based KISS move its 25 employees into the 7000sq m pallet recycling and storage facility.

KISS will establish itself in the site’s western area, to the west of Tower Rd and next to the boundary with the golf club.

Bankstown Airport chief executive officer Kim Ellis said the relocation of KISS confirmed its recent success in attracting industry and aviation businesses to the airport precinct.

Castle Hill couple’s love for each other still blooming

English rose and her captain: Val and Geoff Baskerville enjoy their surprise 50th wedding anniversary celebrations at Eurolounge.

THERE once was an English rose called Val who married her captain Geoff Baskerville.

Mr and Mrs Baskerville, of Castle Hill, celebrated 50 years of marriage last Wednesday.

The day before their official celebrations they received what they described as the best surprise when they arrived for a celebratory lunch with their friend Narelle Burns at Eurolounge. When they arrived there were up to 14 of their dearest friends waiting for them.

Mrs Burns said they were genuinely surprised and Mrs

We’re mobilising in the Hills

HILLS residents have earned a huge thumbs-up from Hills Council for their efforts and enthusiasm in the MobileMuster campaign, with 41kg of mobile phones collected in the last 10 months.

The council started the campaign in May 2009 by placing collection tubes in its customer service centre and libraries.

“We are delighted local residents have taken part in our mobile phone recycling program,” Mayor Peter Dimbrowsky said.

“We hope we can continue to deliver these outstanding recycling results and are calling on residents who haven’t yet cleaned out their drawers of unwanted mobile phones, batteries and accessories to do

Gamers lash out at violence fears

BRISBANE: Suggestions that violent video games may be a contributing factor to alcohol-fuelled violence have been angrily rejected by Brisbane gamers.

Last week, City News reported that State Parliament’s Law, Justice and Safety Committee report into alcohol-related violence recommended the Bligh Government investigate any possible impact of violent video games on youth violence. Readers responded strongly on the City News website, strenuously denying any link.

Kyle Reid said: “The people ... that declare games as causing violence are nothing more than ignorant ... “.

Brad In TSV said: “Guess what, violent crime existed before video games. I believe there’s

Have your say on Hills District future

NEW PLAN: Locals are being urged to have their say on the future of the Hills District.

THE future of the Hills District will take shape during Moreton Bay Regional Council’s community planning process later this year.

Division 10 councillor Brian Battersby said the plan being considered would allow residents to contribute to the future of their neighbourhood.

``I’m keen to see that the Moreton Bay region’s community plan truly reflects the values and aspirations of dynamic local communities such as the Hills District,’’ Cr Battersby said.

``And the best way to achieve that is to give