Happy Feet the penguin set to head home

The emperor penguin named "Happy Feet" in his container aboard the research vessel Tangaroa in Wellington, New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

FIGHTING fit and cheeky as ever, the world's most famous emperor penguin is set to leave Kiwi captivity for his Antarctic home this afternoon.

peHappy Feet captured the world's attention in June when he washed up on a beach north of Wellington, more than 3000km from home.

Bedraggled, confused and loaded up with 3kg of ingested sand, the sick penguin was lucky enough to be spotted and taken in by Wellington Zoo, where vets performed four operations to save his life.

His unexpected appearance on Peka Peka Beach shocked wildlife experts, who says he is only the second emperor penguin to ever set foot in New Zealand.

Every detail of his recovery, from the daily reports of weight gain and his dietary preference for "fish milkshakes" have been eagerly awaited by animal lovers everywhere.

And more than 120,000 people track his progress via a webcam set up in his small, ice-filled room at the zoo.

But after more than two months of five star service, the time has come for Happy Feet to return home.

He leaves Wellington Zoo for the freezing temperatures of the sub-Antarctic aboard a New Zealand research vessel later today.

Vets have given him a clean bill of health ahead of his four-day voyage and considerably longer swim, fitting him with a satellite device so the public can continue to track his every move.

Hundreds of fans packed the zoo over the weekend to say goodbye and sign a huge farewell card with "sweet" messages.

They could view the operating theatre in five-minute blocks to take photos of the heavily-sedated bird.

The zoo's veterinary science manager Lisa Argilla, credited with saving the penguin, said she'd be sad to see him go but the time had come.

"I'm pretty confident we've got him back to a good level of fitness, and he's ready to go out there and try and survive in the wild," Ms Argilla said.

She said she would try not to cry over his departure, but many of his younger fans have already shed tears.

Authorities have decided to release Happy Feet at the northern point of where other juvenile emperor penguins would be at this time of year.

He could then follow sea currents and return to Antarctica with the others.

Once released, he has the same survival chances of any other emperor penguin making the seasonal journey home, experts said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newscomaumostpopularworldndm/~3/jkoXnkcIsIc/story-e6frfkyi-1226124600524

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'Red Shirt' to run for Thai government

A THAI protest leader accused of terrorism was released from prison briefly to apply to run in a by-election seen as a key test of the opposition's prospects of success in nationwide polls.

Kokaew Pikulthong, a senior "Red Shirt" involved in the mass rally in Bangkok that ended last month, will stand against incumbent Panich Vikitsreth of the ruling Democrat Party in the July 25 vote in the capital.

A Thai court last week granted permission for Kokaew, the candidate of the main opposition Puea Thai Party, to be released temporarily from Bangkok Remand Prison to register to challenge Panich, a vice foreign minister.

Mr Kokaew, who has not been convicted of any crimes relating to his role in the two-month-long street protest, was later returned to detention, but is expected to seek permission to be released again to campaign for votes.

The Red Shirts' rally, which at its peak attracted up to about 100,000 people demanding immediate elections, sparked outbreaks of violence that left 90 people dead, mostly civilians, and nearly 1900 injured.

Enraged protesters set fire to dozens of major buildings after the army crushed the demonstration by the mostly poor and working class Reds with an assault on their vast fortified encampment in central Bangkok on May 19.

The Red Shirts were campaigning for elections they hoped would oust the government, which they view as undemocratic because it came to power with the backing of the army after a court ruling threw out the previous administration.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proposed November polls in a bid to end the crippling protests, but shelved the plan because the Reds -- many of whom seek the return of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- refused to disperse.

Mr Abhisit, whose government was elected by parliamentary vote in 2008 and enjoys support among the Bangkok-based elite, must call nationwide elections by the end of next year at the latest.

Many of the Red Shirt leaders are in jail facing terrorism charges for their roles in the unrest. The government has rejected the opposition's call for a state of emergency to be lifted in the capital for the by-election.
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Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/red-shirt-to-run-for-thai-government/story-e6frfku0-1225885303084?from=public_rss

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I did nothing wrong - Choppergate victim

Nine News Brisbane are at the centre of a scandal after it was revealed that they have faked news crosses to the Daniel Morcombe search site. Vision supplied.

News director Lee Anderson (main image), journalist Melissa Mallet (top right), producer Aaron Wakely (centre right), and journalist Cameron Price (bottom right). Source: The Courier-Mail

Melissa Mallet believes she is blameless over the Choppergate scandal that cost her her job. Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

• Staff sacked over Channel Nine bungle
• Claims of "live cross" blown by rivals
• Sacked reporter says she did nothing wrong

AXED reporter Melissa Mallet says she was "let down" in the Choppergate scandal that cost the rising star her dream job.

Speaking about the affair for the first time, Mallet insisted that she was not responsible for a fake claim made in her Channel 9 news report last weekend.

"I do feel let down. The viewer puts their trust in us and we certainly do put our trust in other people as well behind the scenes," she told The Sunday Mail.

But while firmly believing she did nothing wrong, she has ruled out legal action for unfair dismissal in a bid to stay in the industry.

"The job was never about the money and no amount of it will bring it back," she said.

"The legal advice I had was pretty positive and reassuring that there was a case, but I obviously had to weigh up some options.

"While I don't for a minute agree with the decision to take the job away from me and I do feel it is unfair, I've decided to accept it and just look towards the future and hope I do get to do the job again."

Turning 26 this week, Mallet's career was shattered in the blink of an eye following a report on the Daniel Morcombe murder investigation last Saturday.

While hovering above Brisbane in a helicopter for a live cross about the case, an on-screen caption falsely stated she was "near Beerwah".

Channel 7 picked up on the deception and caught Channel 9 pulling a similar stunt again in a report on the Morcombe case on Sunday, delivering a sensational blow to their ratings rival.

In the second instance, reporter Cameron Price, who has also been fired, was sitting on 9's Mt Coot-tha helipad when weekend presenter Eva Milic declared he was near the search site. Producer Aaron Wakeley, who was working on both shifts, was also sacked and veteran news director Lee Anderson resigned despite being on leave at the time.

Mallet says she had been leaving Nine's Mt Coot-tha studios on Saturday when police confirmed a second shoe had been found at the Beerwah search site.

With no one else in the office she scrambled to get to the site but the search was over when she arrived.

Transmission problems forced her to head back towards Brisbane for a live cross to the 6pm news bulletin, she said.

Those on board the chopper joked that the network would say they were still at Beerwah but "never for a minute" thought they actually would.

Mallet made it clear in her report that her images were taken half an hour earlier.

"I still truly believe I didn't deceive the public at all," she said.

It is understood that sacked Brisbane journalist Cameron Price has since visited the Morcombe family to explain his version of events.

A colleague of the 25-year-old said he had wanted to "explain the situation to the family".

"Cameron explained his side of events, namely that he was instructed by a producer to go-ahead with the false cross from the helipad. "

Mallet and Price were farewelled by about 60 colleagues at the Paddington Tavern on Friday night.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/i-did-nothing-wrong-choppergate-victim/story-e6frfmyi-1226123689719?from=public_rss

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Tom Jones in hospital after heart scare

LEGENDARY Welsh singer Tom Jones was forced to cancel a concert in Monte Carlo after being admitted to hospital with "a heart scare", the concert's producer says.

Jones, 71, had been set to appear at Monte Carlo venue The Sporting Club on Saturday night as part of a summer-long festival.

Around midnight local time, producer David King tweeted, "Tom Jones not well. Tonights concert, at the Sporting Club, Monte Carlo, cancelled as Tom Jones admitted to hospital with a heart scare."

Earlier he had tweeted, "We have Tom jones this weekend in Monaco, so its gonna be great, with the one and only Mr. Jones. His show is a powerhouse! Excited!!"

Jones' website and Twitter account made no mention of the cancellation or his illness.

Staff at Monte Carlo's Princess Grace Hospital said they could not confirm whether the singer had been admitted, the Daily Mail reported.

It also quoted a Sporting Club spokesman as saying, "I received a call at 8:10pm informing me that the event had been canceled because Tom Jones had been taken to the hospital."

Read more about Tom Jones in hospital with a heart scare at the Daily Mail.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tom-jones-in-hospital-after-heart-scare/story-e6frfn09-1226123835584?from=public_rss

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FBI helping hunt for woman missing in Nepal

THE FBI says it's helping the US State Department in the investigation of a Colorado woman who disappeared while trekking alone in Nepal.

Denver FBI spokesman Dave Joly said today the agency was also working with Nepalese authorities on the disappearance of 23-year-old Aubrey Sacco of Greeley.

Ms Sacco�has not�been heard from since April 20, when she e-mailed her parents from Nepal. She planned to finish her trip around April 30.

Her father, Paul Sacco, told the Greeley Tribune that FBI agents had made two or three visits to his home.

Paul Sacco went to Nepal in May to look for his daughter.

He said he recovered her laptop computer and journal from a hotel.

Aubrey Sacco graduated from the University of Colorado last year.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/fbi-helping-hunt-for-woman-missing-in-nepal/story-e6frfku0-1225885132162?from=public_rss

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Tropical storm Alex returns to kill 10

THE first major storm of the Atlantic season was entering the Gulf of Mexico today after unleashing landslides and floods that killed at least 10 people in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Overnight, Alex, which had been downgraded earlier to a tropical depression, strengthened and regained its tropical storm status.

At� noon (AEST), Alex, which packed sustained winds of 75km/h, was entering the Gulf of Mexico some 100km west southwest of Campeche, Mexico, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

"Additional strengthening is forecast - and Alex could become a hurricane within the next 48 hours," the NHC said.

Although it was not due to directly hit the massive BP oil spill off the southern US state of Louisiana, the storm could still generate waves that would hamper clean-up and containment efforts.

Officials in Nicaragua told AFP the bodies of six people had been found in or around the northern city of Esteli, swept to their deaths by torrents from the swollen San Lucas river.

In eastern El Salvador, on Central America's Pacific coast, two people drowned when they were carried away by strong currents near San Miguel, while more than 500 people were evacuated to shelters from high-risk areas.

In western Guatemala, two farmers working on a road improvement project were buried and killed by a rain-triggered landslide, the national emergency agency Conred reported.

Forecasters said the storm was expected to dump a total of 10-20cm of rain over the Yucatan Peninsula, southern Mexico and Guatemala by�this afternoon.

Up to 38cm of rain were possible in mountainous areas and forecasters warned of "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides".

Central America was slammed last month by Tropical Storm Agatha, which roared ashore into Guatemala from the Pacific, unleashing heavy rains and floods that left some 275 people dead or missing.

The NHC's long-term forecast has the storm heading over the Gulf of Mexico in the direction of the US-Mexico border, but with a possibility of waves and winds generated by the storm affecting the site of the huge oil slick unleashed by the April 20 explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig.

But a forecaster at the NHC downplayed a direct hit on the oil cleanup area.

"The storm is not an issue for the spill," said NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/tropical-storm-alex-returns-to-kill-10/story-e6frfku0-1225885199885?from=public_rss

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10 years jail for sexting? You can't be srs!

Generic sexting image. Picture: News Limited Source: News Limited

• Experts back 'sexting' penalty review��
• Teens ending up on sex offender list�
• More: Technology news and reviews�

SHOULD teens who take pictures and videos of themselves in sexual situations be treated the same way as pedophiles? Are the penalties for "sexting" too harsh?

The Federal Government says it's up to the states to answer these questions ? and one in particular is leading the way in doing so.

Victoria this week announced an inquiry into whether the punishments for sexting ? which can include 10 years in jail and registration as a sex offender ? are too harsh.

Spokespeople for both the NSW and South Australian attorneys-general's departments told news.com.au they had no current plans for a similar inquiry, but would watch the Victorian investigation closely.

The inquiry, by Victoria's Law Reform Committee, has been welcomed by experts who say it is "well overdue".

"What we're seeing at the moment is a course of conduct that's being applied to legislation for which it was not written," said cyber-bullying expert Susan McLean.

"But the thing we need to be mindful of is the pointless one state operating alone.

"It's great that the Victorian Government are taking the lead, absolutely fabulous, but once the inquiry's done and whatever conclusions are drawn, we have to maintain consistency throughout Australia."

Social commentator and researcher Nina Funnell, who is currently working on a book about sexting, said that under the current system the consequences for sexting far outweighed the crime.

"Teenagers have been put on the sex offender register in relation to sexting incidents," she told news.com.au.

"It will have a devastating impact on the lives of these teenagers.

"It will have an impact on them professionally, in terms of the types of jobs that they are able to apply for.

"But it's more than that, it's the social stigma of being a registered sex offender, and knowing that in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of society you are viewed in a particular way and you have been grouped in with convicted pedophiles."

As well as the impact on teenagers placed on the list, Funnell said the current system made the list itself less powerful as a deterrent to criminals.

"It actually waters down the power and effectiveness of the sex offenders register and I think we need to be preserving the integrity of that sex offender register so it's meaningful," she said.

"I don?t think teenage kids who are filled with hormones who photograph their own bodies ? they're exploring their sexuality, they're not aware of the risks that they?re taking.

"I don't think these teenagers represent a threat to society. Certainly not in the same way a convicted pedophile might."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/technology/years-jail-for-sexting-you-can039t-be-srs/story-e6frfro0-1226122171777?from=public_rss

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