Gammy's mum may face Thai charges

Terror poses threat on home soil

AUSTRALIA has traditionally been thought of as the home of sun, surf, Foster's beer and kangaroos but we are increasingly becoming known for an uglier type of cultural export — angry young men.

Abbott unveils anti-Jihadist laws

NEW laws making it easier to arrest suspected terrorists, detain them without charge and revoke their passports are to go before Parliament in an overhaul of Australia's anti-terror laws.

Docs want docket booze ads banned

ALCOHOL ads on receipts should be banned and it is time for archaic communications between hospitals and GPs to be overhauled, say doctors.

Baby Gammy's dad's 'indecent' past

THE Australian husband in the Thailand surrogacy row involving baby Gammy has served a sentence in jail for indecently dealing with a child under 13, it has been claimed.

Ricky Muir sacks adviser over sick day

FURTHER turmoil has gripped the office of Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party Senator Ricky Muir, with a second adviser sacked and escorted from Parliament House by security guards.

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Hearing rescheduled in Justin Bieber case

A MIAMI-DADE County judge has postponed a hearing to determine whether Justin Bieber will be tried on charges of driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

THE judge on Tuesday postponed the hearing August 13 at the request of prosecutors and Bieber's attorney.

Bieber was arrested January 23 in Miami Beach after what police described as an illegal street race between Bieber and a friend.Alcohol breath tests found Bieber's level below the 0.02 limit for underage drivers, but urine tests showed the presence of marijuana and an anti-anxiety drug.Bieber also was charged with driving on an expired license.It's unknown whether Bieber will attend next week's hearing.

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Family payments under scrutiny in report

THE government must fix existing family payments instead of focusing on its expensive paid parental scheme if it wants to improve female workplace participation, a conservative think tank warns.

THE current system is complex, difficult for families to navigate and discourages parents to work, the Centre for Independent Studies says in a report to be released on Wednesday.

The report examined 10 different family payments - including family tax benefits A and B, the school kids bonus and single parent payments - and calls for an overhaul.It says the payments overlap, have different goals and create disincentives for people to work due to payment withdrawal as a result of earnings.And that's not helping the government reach its goal of improving workforce participation, particularly among women, it argues.But report author Trisha Jha says throwing money at the complex system, in the form of childcare subsidies or the government's proposed paid parental leave scheme, will not fix the problems.Instead, the government must reform family tax benefits to reduce the impact of high effective marginal tax rates, simplify the income test for family tax benefit A and frame child care as a workforce participation measure."Not only is child care in itself a massive impost on families but the combined effect is a system that sometimes pays for people not to work at capacity," she said.A recently released interim report on welfare reform proposes cutting payment categories from 20 to four: a tiered working-age payment, a disability support pension, an age pension and a child payment.The new child payment would replace Family Tax Benefit Part A, Youth Allowance, Abstudy and other payments.But Ms Jha says the interim report failed to recognise the problems of payment withdrawal when a parent starts working and the consequences for work incentives.The government has faced criticism over its proposed paid parental scheme which would pay up to $50,000 to mothers of newborn babies.The scheme is due to start in July next year.

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Target lowers forecast

TARGET has lowered its second-quarter forecast citing the promotional discounts it had to use to attract shoppers.

THE Minneapolis-based retailer also said on Tuesday it expects gross expenses tied to a massive data breach this past winter to come to $US148 million ($A160 million) in the period, which will be offset by $US38 million in insurance.

It also paid $US1 billion to retire $US725 million in debt.Target Corp has been reeling since it announced in December that hackers stole millions of customers' credit and debit-card records.The theft hurt the chain's reputation and profits and spawned dozens of legal actions.Target is facing troubles on a number of other fronts as well, including the perceptions that its prices are higher than those at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.The company's expansion into Canada, its first foray outside the US, has also been a disappointment, with analysts saying Target botched its expansion by moving too aggressively.For its second quarter, Target said it expects sales to be flat at established locations in the US, as "guests continue to spend cautiously and focus on value" and that promotional discounts are expected to hurt profit margins.Sales are expected to be "somewhat softer" at its stores in Canada as well.The company now expects to earn about 78 cents per share for the quarter, excluding one-time items, down from the 85 cents to $US1 per share it previously forecast.When factoring in the costs related to the data breach and the debt repayment, reported earnings per share are expected to be about 41 cent lower than that adjusted figure.

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US child dies after playground stabbing

US police say a nine-year-old boy has died after being stabbed repeatedly by another child at a playground in Michigan.

POLICE said in a statement that Michael Conner Verkerke ran to his home on Monday evening after being stabbed and collapsed on the porch.

An ambulance was called and he died after being taken to a hospital.Witnesses told police four children were playing when one of them, for an unknown reason, pulled a knife and stabbed the boy.Police say the child who stabbed him was taken to a hospital for evaluation before being taken to the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center, pending charges.Police didn't release details about the child, but local media have reported that he's a 12-year-old.

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Year-over-year US home prices show a slowi

Terror poses threat on home soil

AUSTRALIA has traditionally been thought of as the home of sun, surf, Foster's beer and kangaroos but we are increasingly becoming known for an uglier type of cultural export — angry young men.

Abbott unveils anti-Jihadist laws

NEW laws making it easier to arrest suspected terrorists, detain them without charge and revoke their passports are to go before Parliament in an overhaul of Australia's anti-terror laws.

Docs want docket booze ads banned

ALCOHOL ads on receipts should be banned and it is time for archaic communications between hospitals and GPs to be overhauled, say doctors.

Baby Gammy's dad's 'indecent' past

THE Australian husband in the Thailand surrogacy row involving baby Gammy has served a sentence in jail for indecently dealing with a child under 13, it has been claimed.

Ricky Muir sacks adviser over sick day

FURTHER turmoil has gripped the office of Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party Senator Ricky Muir, with a second adviser sacked and escorted from Parliament House by security guards.

09.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

US service-sector index jumps

US services firms grew at the fastest rate in more than eight years in July, the latest sign of an economy picking up speed in the second half of the year.

THE Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its service-sector index jumped to 58.7, up from 56 in June.

Any figure above 50 indicates expansion.June's reading is the highest since December 2005.A measure of sales soared to its highest level in more than three years, and a gauge of new orders jumped to its highest reading in nearly eight years.Faster growth in services should help accelerate growth and hiring.Manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in nearly three years in July, according to a separate ISM report released Friday.

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