Dunia Diggi

I cornt believe Greig is gone

Written By Unknown on Senin, 31 Desember 2012 | 22.54

Comedian Billy Birmingham, better known as the 12th Man. Picture: Jeff Herbert Source: The Daily Telegraph

Tony Greig, right, will fellow cricket commentators Ian Chappell and Bill Lawry back in 1993. Source: News Limited

COMEDIAN Billy Birmingham remembers the "morvellous" man he famously sent up as The 12th Man.

I CORNT believe it.

Tony Greig, our cricketing giant, is no longer with us.

I too want to pass on my thoughts and prayers to his wife Vivian and family, and to the Channel 9 commentary team, who have been such a central part of so many lives every summer, especially mine.

I'm only new to Twitter but I was flooded with messages as the news broke on Saturday afternoon.

People were tweeting me saying they were sitting around having a few beers in honour of Greigy listening to their 12th Man CDs and sending me their favourite lines.

"Blow it out your orse Boll," was chief amongst them, capturing the essence of the rivalry between Tony and his old "sporring portner" Bill Lawry.

Or Tony to Richie when Max Walker was pestering everyone trying to get his job back: "For storters you can have the borsted bored from this port of the Broadcorst area."

One guy even tweeted me a photo of himself sticking his key in his driveway, recalling the ritual Tony went through for many years with his pitch reports.

We were all laughing through tears remembering one of the great cricket characters who graced our screens for more than 30 years.

I have been suitably chuffed by the connection a lot of people have felt to Greigy through me because Greigy more than any of the commentators, and more than a lot of other people from whom I have extracted the piss, really got the "12th Man joke".

Not long after my first album, Wired World of Sports, came out in 1989, Greigy rang and invited me to his office in "Pork St".

"If were really smort we can all make some money out of this," he said.

He'd always say, "We gave you a stort you borsted, why cornt we make some money out of you?"

It was hord to orgue with that.

Tony cottoned on pretty quickly to the old cliche that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

What a thrill it was to sit opposite the great man at his desk and study some of the finer points of ripping off his voice.

It was like a one-on-one lesson. I was listening to what he was saying but I was also listening intently to how he said it and trying to fine tune my piss-take.

Nothing ever came of that first meeting in a business sense but it was an invaluable education for the 12th Man and the "stort" of a great friendship.

And I know where all that unsold Channel 9 memorabilia that Greigy used to flog ended up. In his office! It went from a smattering in the late '80s to overflowing the last time I was there. You had to be careful where you sat in case you ended up with a Boonie Doll up your orse.

He saw the positive side of the whole 12th Man thing instantly, that Channel 9's cricket coverage had become an iconic broadcast and both the commentary team and the coverage were benefiting from this series of recordings this idiot was doing.

Tony cottoned on pretty quickly to the old cliche that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

People ask me how the whole 12th Man thing started. It was just me sitting in my loungeroom thinking, 'S---, I didn't know Richie Benaud sounded like that'.

And what about that fabulous South African accent of Tony Greig's: "The pitch is nice and flat, not much grorss on it. It should be hord and forst and there are quite a few cracks storting to open up."

He once phoned me about some appearance thing he was doing and asked me to remind him of some of the "Tony Greig-isms" I used.

"The cor pork's full and there is going to be plenty of cornage here today," I reminded him.

Thanks Greigy for a morvellous innings. You played it hord and forst and we cornt thank you enough for being such a lorge port of all our lives.

Rest in peace.

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School shooter to be buried in secret

An undated photo shows Adam Lanza, who opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children, before taking his own life. Source: AP

THE body of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people in a deadly rampage, will be buried in a secret location.

Connecticut State Medical Examiner Wayne H Carver II said that Lanza's body was claimed several days ago by a person who wished to remain anonymous, the Hartford Courant reports.

Lanza, 20, killed himself in a classroom after a shooting spree that left 26 people - including 20 children - dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14. It was the second-deadliest school shooting in United States history.

Lanza had earlier killed his mother Nancy at the home they shared.

Police block a road near the house of Nancy Lanza, the mother and first victim of shooter Adam Lanza. Picture: Don Emmert

Mr Carver has ordered toxicology tests to be performed before finalising his findings, although he has already ruled Lanza's death a suicide. Geneticists at the University of Connecticut will also examine Lanza's DNA to for any abnormalities that might explain his aberrant behaviour.

Mourners assemble outside Trinity Episcopal Church ahead of the funeral of one of the Sandy Hook victims, six-year-old Benjamin Andrew Wheeler. Picture: Julio Cortez

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Tributes flow for 'true horsewoman'

New Zealand jockey Ashlee Mundy formerly based on the Gold Coast, has died after a fall in her home country. Picture: Kate Czerny Source: News Limited

GOLD Coast-based jockey Ashlee Mundy was a tireless, hard worker who did things her way.

She was not a follower, she carved her own way in the world and did it without relying on others.

That's what made her so admired in the Queensland racing industry, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Gold Coast trackwork was "numb" yesterday as news broke the popular 26-year-old jockey had died in a Dunedin hospital shortly after 5am Queensland time.

Her boyfriend, Gold Coast trackwork rider Brad Frew, close friend and fellow jockey Laura Cheshire and her family were at her bedside.

Frew prayed his mercy dash across the Tasman would have a happy ending. Instead it was a trip to say goodbye.

Mundy sustained serious head injuries after a horror fall at the once-a-year Kurow Cup meeting in North Otago on Sunday.

She was airlifted to hospital, but there was little doctors could do.

Frew, speaking from Dunedin yesterday, said Mundy was doing what she loved most when her life was so tragically cut short.

"She will be sadly missed throughout the racing industry in both New Zealand and Australia and, mostly, by all her amazing friends. But, on a kind note, she died doing what she loved most," Frew said.

Kiwi-born Mundy rode more than 230 winners in a career that began in 2004. She first came to the Gold Coast in 2009.

She spent three months there before returning across the Tasman. But Mundy came back in 2011 and made Surfers Paradise her home.

Apprentice Tegan Harrison said Mundy's independence was admirable.

"She had her opinion on something and she didn't let people change her mind on things and she was a very strong person," Harrison said.

Leading trainer Bevan Laming, who was a father figure to Mundy in Australia, admired her hard work.

"She used to ride work at the Gold Coast and then would come out and ride work for me at Jacobs Well," Laming said.

"She was a very good worker, I never had a problem with her. She was the type of girl who had no enemies."

Cheshire said Mundy had a drive and determination possessed by only a few jockeys.

"She was a true horsewoman, but her riding talent was never truly showcased in Australia due to lack of opportunities," Cheshire said.

"Ashlee left the Gold Coast the only way she knew how, as a winner on the Gold Coast-trained Sand Biscuit."

Mundy rode sprinter Fintorro to victory at Timaru on Friday.

Young apprentice Rikki Jamieson said Mundy had been a mentor.

"She taught me a lot in my early days and she pretty well looked after me in the jockeys' room," she said.

Mundy's funeral will be held in Westport, New Zealand, at 4pm on Friday.

A service at the Clear Island Waters Catholic Church on the Gold Coast will be held to coincide with the funeral at 1pm before a wake at the Gold Coast Turf Club at 2pm.

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- Read more about this story at the Gold Coast Bulletin online

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Snap, crackle and pop'n into 2013

Watch the Sydney skyline light up as Australia rings in the new year.

Crowds surge into Sydney to watch fireworks spectacular
Large crowds gather in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide
Barbies sizzle, fireworks dazzle and bubbly flows to ring in 2013

THE new year is here. The smoke is clearing. The bubbly has flowed. The traffic queues are growing. But the memories will be spectacular.

City skylines exploded in gold, pink, green and blue around the nation as midnight ticked over.

That's what the crowds came for - as well as the barbies, the beer and the besties.

The party that starts the world's New Year celebrations didn't disappoint yet again.

As one of the first major cities in the world to welcome in 2013, Sydney has set the standard. Just ask the millions who watched the spectacular display both in person and on the television.

On a warm summer night, an estimated 1.5 million people poured into the city to watch the $6.6 million fireworks display light up the sky - twice - from the harbour foreshore, at Darling Harbour and other vantage points with the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge playing a major part.

Midnight fireworks on New Years Eve at the Opera House. PIcture Attila Szilvasi

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, the event's creative ambassador who chose the theme of Embrace for the celebrations, started the midnight show with the press of a button.

A giant set of red lips in the middle of the harbour bridge counted down to midnight, before the fireworks set off.

A one-of-a-kind sparkling semiquaver - to honour Kylie's 25 years in music - was one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations this year, including brand new koala, octopus and hand images up in lights.

Sydney's skyline exploded in gold, pink, green and blue first at 9pm for the family-oriented curtain raiser and again at midnight.

Colours streamed from four barges situated around the harbour, with gold flashes cascading like tinsel as a gold butterfly-like design lit up the bridge.

New Years Eve midnight fireworks at Dawes Point. Picture: Cameron. Mitch

Gallery: New Year's Eve around Australia.

Gallery: Melbourne's CBC celebrations.

Gallery: Sydney's New Year celebrations

Gallery: New Year's Eve around the world

Gallery: South Australia's Happy New Year.

New years eve fire works in Melbourne. Picture: Glenn Daniels

"It was all great, amazing," said Lee Whittaker, from Denistone, who brought her kids Mel and Leon with her.

Across the rest of the country, other major cities hosted their own fireworks displays and parties.

Melbourne reached out and grabbed 2013 with hands and feet, as fireworks shaped like digits lit up the skyline in the southern capital.

An estimated 550,000 flooded into the CBD to witness the fireworks display, a 10-minute spectacular that flooded the sky with colour, featuring some unique explosions in the shape of human hands and feet.

The city's tallest buildings were used as launch sites, lighting the entire skyline to the delight of crowds gathered at the Docklands, Federation Square and at Treasury and Flagstaff Gardens.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue started the midnight show in Sydney with the press of a button.

Earlier on New Year's Eve, the city's family-friendly display at Yarra Gardens played host to about 60,000 people as the imposing backdrop of the MCG was showered with silver, gold and red.

Organisers said those gathered were very well behaved.

Robyn Smith, of Gisborne, northwest of Melbourne, said she had brought her two children to the city for the past three years.

"We just love it - it's just such a great party atmosphere," she said.

"I think the fireworks bring out the little kid in everyone."

New Years Eve at Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Sydney Picture: Stephen Cooper

Irish sisters Emma and Sophie O'Dowd said they couldn't resist the lure of the New Year's lights and sounds, stopping at Yarra Park to see the fireworks on their way to a dance party.

"It's what it's all about. What a beautiful stage you've got here," Sophie, 22, said.

Surfers Paradise hosted one of Queensland's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks displays, with thousands catching a preview at the 9pm (AEST) show.

Organisers went with a superheroes theme for this year's family party, hoping to encourage children to attend as their favourite superhero and several little Spidermen and Supermen could be seen among the crowd.

In Brisbane, crowds were slightly down at South Bank, but there was still plenty of cheer as revellers waited to welcome in midnight.

Thousands took in the 9pm show, a precursor to the main event at midnight, with organisers opting for a superheroes theme.

Melbourne New Years Eve. Picture: Town Jay

We've been working on a few surprises," Skylighter Fireworks director Max Brunner told Brisbanetimes.com.

"All I can say is that this year will be the biggest display a Brisbane New Year's Eve has ever had."

Hobart hosted thousands in town for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and Tasmania's biggest event, The Taste Festival near Salamanca Place.

The event was one of several held up and down the Gold Coast while other centres in Queensland also lit up with their family-friendly displays.

The Sunshine Coast has seen its largest influx of tourists in seven years. More than 50,000 attended alcohol-free events at Mooloolaba and Caloundra's Kings Beach in the late afternoon.

The spectacular midnight fireworks display from Potts Point overlooking the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Picture: Toby Zerna

Thousands of revellers took in the 9pm (AEST) show, a precursor to the main event at midnight.

Gallery: Phillip Island Holiday Fun

Gallery: Lorne looks to New Year

Perth is partying through a heatwave, while Adelaide tried to encourage less alcohol and more family-friendly events.

South Australia's Moana and Christies beaches were closed late in the afternoon after a 2.5m shark was spotted in shallow waters and only 100m offshore. Families attending the Elder Park fireworks display in the city were treated to a more serene atmosphere.

City of Melbourne New Year's Eve celebrations. Stefan Anguerre,19, and Eden Gobel, 18, watch the fireworks for the first time. Picture: Walmsley Stuart

But Sydney's celebration remained the centre of attention for its spectacle and size.

Sydneysiders have paid homage to Australia's princess of pop as they ushered in the New Year with sparkle, glam and a little bit of cheek.

Sydney: Millions embrace Kylie's NYE.

Melbourne: Fireworks explode across the sky

Sydney: A ship-shape view of NYE fireworks

NEWS- Colour from the New Year's Eve celebrations at Broadbeach. Crowds gather on the beach to watch the fireworks. Picture: Luke Marsden

Adelaide: It's party time, and here's how.

Sydney: New Year's heartbreak on the harbour.

2012 was farewelled in a cascade of pink and gold as hit tunes from Kylie Minogue's 25 years in show business bounced around the packed harbour foreshore.

As the the event's creative ambassador, the diminutive pop star developed the theme Embrace and chose its colour scheme and soundtrack.

"It's just overwhelming, it was so beautiful," said Amanda Wormleaton from Belmore.

. Revellers wait on the outbound platform at Jolimont Station after the 9.30pm Yarra Park fireworks. Picture: Walmsley Stuart

"It was the best fireworks Sydney has ever had."

John Priest, who made the trip from Adelaide, agreed.

"It's the best I've seen," he said.

A musical-note firework pulsed on the bridge in Minogue's honour, one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations.

"It's been a huge year for me and the finish line is tonight," Minogue said, adding that her Spanish boyfriend was the first in line for a hug come midnight.

Fireworks at Southbank. Picture: Smithadam

"I love the concept of embrace. It can mean so many different things," she added.

Minogue, who wore a short Asian-inspired blue and white dress for the 9pm fireworks, said despite ups and downs her career had been "an amazing ride".

She later turned up at the lord mayor's party at the Opera House in a slinky long silver gown.

"How's everyone feeling," she asked, as she pressed a button to trigger the midnight display, which opened with a large pair of red lips making the official countdown on the bridge.

Other celebs who have headed Down Under to ring in the New Year include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Jonah Hill.

New Years Eve at Surfers Paradise. Photo of the 9pm fireworks. Picture: Gosling Richard

They will be joined at The Star casino's Marquee Nightclub by Gossip Girl heart throb Chace Crawford, Glee's Matthew Morrison and Arrow actor Colton Haynes.

The midnight fireworks kick off New Year's celebrations the world over.

Under balmy and clear skies, tens of thousands of revellers lined Darling Harbour and other viewing hotspots, including about 1.5 million along the harbour foreshore.

As streams of incandescent colour shot into the heavens, families on picnic blankets cheered and clapped along with others aboard luxury yachts.

"It's a much younger crowd than usual, a lot of backpackers rather than families like previous years," said Karla Davies from the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.

City of Melbourne New Year's Eve celebrations 2012. Tye, 8, and Erik, 8, check out the fireworks in Yarra Park. Picture: Walmsley Stuart

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said about 1.5 million spectators were expected to line Sydney Harbour to watch the fireworks.

Another two million Australians will catch the $6.6 million event on television, as will at least one billion people worldwide.

"This is really putting Australia on the map in terms of welcoming people to the new year," Ms Moore said.

Emil, 21, said he would return to his home country of Sweden a happy man.

"The huge lips on the bridge, that was worth the wait," he said from Lady Macquarie's Chair, where about 17,000 people gathered.

New Years Eve at Surfers Paradise. Photo of Kevin Griffiths, Billy Griffiths, 9. Picture: Gosling Richard

"I can go back to Sweden very happy. We just met some French girls three minutes ago so the night is getting even better."

Caroline, 24, from Melbourne, said it was worth the overnight camp to get the perfect vantage spot.

"We were here at midnight last night and stayed on the grass, I don't know whether that was legal," she said.

"But tonight I am going home with a friend, one night sleeping rough was enough."

Myanmar (Burma) will ring in the new year with its first public countdown and a grand fireworks display in a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.

It's the latest, and perhaps most colourful, example of the country's emergence from decades of isolation.

Thousands were expected to attend the event at a large field in Yangon (Rangoon) with a backdrop of the famed Shwedagon Pagoda, where the Myanmar public will get its chance to do what much of the world does every December 31.

Singers, celebrities, light shows and other festivities were planned for the public party, which would have been unthinkable under the former military regime that banned public gatherings.

Remember, New Year's is not enjoyed by all.

The RSPCA urged pet owners to ensure their pets are safe and secure because they startle easily by fireworks. Dogs and horses are the most at risk, but even cats, rabbits, birds and cattle can be harmed.

"Many of the calls that we receive come from people who are reporting animals that have escaped during fireworks displays or injured themselves trying to escape," RSPCA Chief Inspector David O'Shannessy said.

Owners should ensure their pets are kept indoors and are well exercised and fed before fireworks start.

Leaving TVs or radios on to mask the sound of fireworks can also help and owners should ensure their pets are wearing ID tags and their microchip details are up-to-date in case they do run away.

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Early detection saves Dan's life

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 Desember 2012 | 22.54

Dan Thomas and wife Julia Morris. Picture: Richard Dobson Source: The Daily Telegraph

HOUSE Husbands star and breast cancer campaigner Julia Morris's husband Dan Thomas has undergone a mastectomy to treat the disease.

The diagnosis - rare in men - came just four days before Christmas, with the actress saying early detection saved his life.

Morris, who donated her 2011 Celebrity Apprentice winnings to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, tweeted the news, urging other men to check themselves.

"Friends, Dan was diagnosed with breast cancer dec21 & had a mastectomy. He is recovering well. Love to his medical team ... North Gosford Private staff, Dr Whiteson, beloved Dr Cohen & love to anyone who checked thmslvs ths yr," she wrote, adding the cheeky hashtag #f ... offbreastcancer.

Thomas, an illustrator and comic, co-hosted the annual short film festival JMoFest with Morris as a fundraiser for NBCF research.

The couple, who celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary today, have two daughters, Ruby, 5 and Sophie, 3.

Breast cancer in men accounts for just 1 per cent of all breast cancer cases. An October 2012 government report on the disease found about 105 Australian men are diagnosed every year, with other research suggesting one in 688 men will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Men have breast tissue like women, meaning cancerous cells can also develop - typically behind the nipple. High oestrogen levels, a family history, some testicular disorders and ageing can be risk factors.

Morris tweeted: "We owe Dan's life to early detection. Check your breasts & don't f ... around if anything seems weird. Dan doesn't need chemo or radio (therapy). xj"

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India gang-rape victim was to marry

The body of a gang-rape victim has arrived back in New Delhi after her death sparked a wave of protests.

Six men face murder charges
Police chief calls for calm
Delhi city centre sealed off

THE victim of a gang-rape which triggered an outpouring of grief and anger across India has been cremated at a private ceremony in New Delhi as it emerged she was planning to get married in February.

The unidentified 23-year-old, the focus of nationwide protests since she was attacked on a bus in New Delhi two weeks ago, was cremated at a ceremony kept secret by authorities only hours after her body was repatriated from Singapore.

The funeral pyre was lit after traumatised relatives and friends said their final prayers at a ceremony in southwestern Delhi, according to mourners who revealed she had been due to wed a boyfriend who was injured in the same attack.

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi" for February, said Meena Rai, who was a close friend and neighbour.

India's treatment of women has been denounced as police charge the men accused of a gang-rape, with murder.

"I really loved this girl. She was the brightest of all."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the main ruling Congress party, were at Delhi airport to console her parents as they arrived home on a chartered plane with their daughter's body at around 4am local time.

After initial treatment in a Delhi hospital following the attack, she was flown to Singapore on Wednesday night where doctors were unable to prevent a multiple organ failure. She was pronounced dead in the early hours of Saturday.

Indians hold candles as they mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India, on Saturday. Picture: AP

Her killing has prompted government promises of better protection for women, and deep soul-searching in a nation where horrifying gang-rapes are commonplace and sexual harassment is routinely dismissed as "Eve-teasing".

Several thousand people massed again yesterday in the centre of the Indian capital - some to express sympathy for the victim who had been out to watch a film with her boyfriend, others to voice anger at the government.

Stringent security measures that have seen government offices and other public areas sealed off in New Delhi to prevent protests have been seized on by critics as further evidence of an out-of-touch government bungling its response.

Indian police patrol outside the cremation ground in New Delhi today. Picture: AFP

"We cannot understand the high-handedness of the police. This is our city, we should be free to move around and protest peacefully," said 21-year-old protester Mahima Anand, who works for a multinational company.

"She was not just one woman, she epitomises every Indian woman who has been wronged in some way or the other," she added from the Jantar Mantar area of Delhi, where protesters have been allowed to gather.

About a dozen protesters tried to break the barricades that riot police erected around the area, while a handful also threw stones and were immediately detained.

Indians shout slogans and march on a street as they mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India, on Saturday. Picture: AP

Waves of protests erupted across India after the attack on December 16 when the woman was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted with an iron bar, leaving her with terrible intestinal injuries.

Thousands took part in late-night candlelit vigils on Saturday after 80-year-old Mr Singh, criticised for reacting slowly to the crime, led appeals for calm to prevent a repeat of the sometimes violent protests.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also sent his condolences to the victim's parents and family.

An ambulance transporting the body of a gang-rape victim is seen outside her residence in New Delh.The woman's body was flown back to India after the 23-year-old died of her injuries ina Sinmgapore hospital. AFP /Sajjad Hussain

"Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated," Mr Ban's spokesperson said.

As police said the six accused of murdering the unnamed woman could face the death penalty, there was widespread determination that the killing should serve as a tipping point for how the nation deals with violence against women.

"We are aware that this is not the first case, nor will it be the last case of gang-rape in India, but it is clear that we will not tolerate sex crimes anymore," said Bela Rana, a lawyer who joined a rally in central Delhi.

Doctors say a young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital.

But Sunday's Hindustan Times said more than 20 women had been raped in New Delhi since December 16 and the Press Trust of India news agency reported another alleged murder and gang-rape yesterday in the state of West Bengal.

According to police and prosecutors, the ordeal suffered by the victim of the Delhi crime began when six men lured her and her boyfriend onto a bus that they thought would take them home.

Instead the group, who had been drinking heavily, launched a savage attack lasting some 40 minutes that ended when the victims were thrown off the bus.

An Indian police convoy escorts an ambulance transporting the body of an Indian gang-rape victim towards her residence in New Delhi after it arrived back in India from Singapore. AFP/Sajjad Hussain

Protesters and the Indian media have demanded that the government unveil measures to make the country safer for women, while introspecting on how to uproot deep prejudice and misogyny in Indian society.

Initial government proposals include a public register for sex offenders and forcing convicted rapists to undergo chemical castration - the use of drugs to suppress sexual urges.

The government has already promised to bring in tougher sentences for the most extreme sex crimes and speed up a notoriously slow justice system that often fails to deliver timely verdicts.

Funeral workers in Singapore unload the body of the young Indian woman who died after injuries from a brutal gang-rape on a bus.

Human Rights Watch called on the government to ban the use of the so-called "finger test" in which a doctor tests the laxity of a rape victim's vagina, apparently to determine if she is "habituated to sexual intercourse".

Such tests result in "unscientific and degrading findings" that often wrongly discredit complaints from women, the New York-based rights group said.

An Indian ties a black band as he arrives to attend a gathering to mourn the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim, in Mumbai. The incident has galvanised Indians to demand an end to sexual crimes against women.

A man attends a candlelight vigil in memory of the young woman who died after being gang-raped by six men on a bus in New Delhi.

Indians lie down on the ground mimicking dead bodies as they mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi.

An Indian woman protests against the brutal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi.

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Lucky escape as plane debris hits car

Cars hit by plane debris, wheel, hurtling onto motorway from runway crash that claims 4 lives in Russia.

HEART-stopping video has emerged of how close motorists came to becoming victims of the deadly Moscow plane crash.

The incredible video shows how a casual weekend drive could have resulted in catastrophic consequences when a passenger airliner careered off the runway at Russia's third-busiest airport while landing, broke into three pieces and caught fire, killing at least five people.

The driver's camera captures the moment the plane crashes into the highway, and you can even make out one of the plane's wheels hurtling into another vehicle in front.

The vehicles travel on the highway next to Vnukovo Airport, just seconds before the plane crashes.

After a screeching of brakes and loud impact noise, the driver casually brings the car to a halt by the side of the road.

State television news channel Vesti showed a photo of the wrecked plane's fuselage with the livery of the low-cost Russian Red Wings airline. Its nose, including the cockpit area, appeared sheared off.

The frightening moment when a large piece of debris from the doomed airliner strikes a car on a highway. Miraculously, nobody in the car was hurt.

Russian investigators have blamed a defective brake system for the crash that killed five crew members.

Rescue workers recovered the flight recorders from the four-year-old Tu-204 of tycoon Alexander Lebedev's Red Wings airline late Saturday as Russia began mourning its latest post-Soviet crash fatalities.

The car ploughs through a rain of debris as the plane crashes just metres away.

"The plane touched down in the proper landing area but for some reason was unable to stop on the strip," Federal Air Transport Agency chief Alexander Neradko said in televised remarks.

"According to preliminary data, the pilots used all the brake systems available on the plane," an unidentified investigator told the Interfax news agency.

The car ploughs through a rain of debris as the plane crashes just metres away.

"But for some reason, the aircraft failed to stop and continued moving" down the runway. "Most likely, the cause was defective reverse engines or brakes."

Red Wings said a flight attendant died of her injuries yesterday, bringing the toll to five. Three others were recovering in a stable condition.

The car comes to a halt, the driver and occupants lucky to be alive.

Greater loss of life was averted only because the 210-seat liner was empty except for the eight crew returning from a charter flight to the Czech Republic.

Mobile phone footage of the accident posted online showed chunks of debris hurtling over the highway and crashing into cars whose drivers had to swerve and make emergency stops.

Rescuers work at the site of a Red Wings Tu-204 plane that careered off the runway at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow.

The jet split into three pieces and required the temporary shutdown of both the Kiev Highway and Vnukovo - Moscow's third largest airport and the site of a special terminal for Kremlin officials.

Red Wings owner Alexander Lebedev - a billionaire famous for his critical view of the Kremlin and his ownership of the London Evening Standard and The Independent in Britain - said the jet had recently passed a meticulous check.

Moscow 24 TV airs dramatic footage of rescuers helping survivors after plane crash on highway.

"Plane number 47 had accumulated 8500 flight hours and underwent its last thorough check on November 23," Mr Lebedev said on his Twitter feed.

He also suggested that traffic controllers' initial refusal to authorise landing - requiring the plane to complete several circles over Vnukovo in bad weather - may have been a contributing factor.

A passenger jet has careered off a runway at Russia's third-busiest airport, killing at least four people.

"All machinery has its limits, even when it is new," Mr Lebedev wrote.

Russian media said the authorities had concerns about the Tu-204 jet's ability to stop in various weather conditions even before Saturday's crash landing.

Rescuers work at the site where a plane careered off the runway at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow.

They cited a letter sent by the state aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya to the jet's maker on Friday asking about an incident last week in which the engines failed to fire into reverse on landing.

The manoeuvre is required for the plane to slow down quickly upon touchdown.

The russianplanes.net aviation website said the very same jet had suffered an engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing in June 2009.

It said Mr Lebedev's airline had in fact decided not to order any more Tu-204 planes after the 2009 incident because of the engine problems.

Government officials believe the cause of the crash could be pilot error.

Witnesses said heavy gusts accompanying a light snowfall were swirling over the airport at the time the plane came in for landing on Saturday afternoon.

But on Sunday, a security source said investigators had brushed aside poor weather conditions or pilot error and were focusing on technical problems with the Tupolev as the most likely cause.

"According to preliminary information, the Vnukovo catastrophe may have been caused by problems with the plane, which became exposed in difficult weather conditions," the unnamed official told the Interfax news agency.

The Russian-made Tu-204 jet was flying in from Pardubice, in the Czech Republic after dropping off tourists and then returning to its home Moscow base with just crew on board.

Officials said there were eight people aboard the Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings that was flying back from the Czech Republic without passengers to its home at Vnukovo Airport.

Emergency officials said in a televised news conference that four people were killed and another four severely injured when the plane rolled off the runway into a snowy field and partly onto an adjacent highway, then disintegrated.

Russian medics on Sunday began identifying the bodies.

Rescue workers recovered the flight recorders from the four-year-old Tu-204 late on Saturday as Russia began mourning its latest post-Soviet crash.

"The plane touched down in the proper landing area but for some reason was unable to stop on the strip," Federal Air Transport Agency chief Alexander Neradko said in televised remarks.

The plane's impact with the highway embankment sent the severed nose sliding over the icy road while the rest of the jet rested just past the airport's fence - its tail linked to the rest of the body by only a tangle of wreckage.

The plane's cockpit area was sheared off from the fuselage and a large chunk gashed out near the tail.

Russian state television showed live footage of rescuers climbing into the wreck with search lights as night fell over Moscow with the plane still blocking traffic on the busy Kiev Highway.

''According to updated information, four people were killed and four more were injured,'' the interior ministry said in a statement.

A health ministry official said the four survivors were being treated for head injuries at various Moscow hospitals.

The Interfax news agency said both pilots were among the dead.

The crash occurred amid light snow and winds gusting up to 15 metres a second, but other details were not immediately known.

A spokesman for Russia's top investigative agency, Vladimir Markin, said initial indications were that pilot error was the cause.

But Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said all possible causes were being explored, including pilot error, the weather or a technical malfunction.

Several state media outlets speculated only hours after the incident that something might be wrong with the brake system of the Tu-204 planes.

The state news agency RIA Novosti cited an unidentified official at the Russian Aviation Agency as saying another Red Wings Tu-204 had gone off the runway at the international airport in Novosibirsk in Siberia on December 20.

The agency said that incident, in which no one was injured, was due to the failure of the plane's engines to go into reverse upon landing and that its brake system malfunctioned.

On Friday, the Aviation Agency sent a directive to the Tupolev company's president calling for it to take urgent preventive measures.

They cited a letter sent by the state aviation security watchdog Rosaviatsya to the jet's Tupolev maker on Friday expressing concern over last week's incident.

The manoeuvre is required for the plane to slow down quickly upon touchdown.

Czech officials stressed that the plane was in fine working order when it landed at an airport 100kmeast of Prague earlier in the day.

Vnukovo airport spokeswoman Yelena Krylova said it had enough personnel and equipment to keep the runway fully functional on Saturday.

The airport resumed receiving planes after a break of several hours.

Prior to Saturday's crash, there had been no fatal accidents reported for Tu-204s, which entered commercial service in 1995.

The plane is a twin-engine midrange jet with a capacity of about 210 passengers.

Vnukovo, on the southern outskirts of Moscow, is one of the Russian capital's three international airports.

Red Wings - which serves destinations in Russia and abroad as well as offering charter flights - is owned by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev whose assets also include the London Evening Standard and The Independent in Britain.

Red Wings owner Lebedev said the jet had passed a meticulous check in November.

"Plane number 47 had accumulated 8500 flight hours and underwent its last serious check on November 23," Lebedev tweeted.

He also suggested that traffic controllers' initial refusal to authorise landing - requiring the plane to complete several circles over Vnukovo - might have been a contributing factor.

"All machinery has its limits, even when it is new," Lebedev wrote.

Air safety in Russia is a major headache for the authorities following a severe deterioration in the quality of domestic services following the Soviet Union's collapse.

Officials blame most problems on pilot inexperience as well as poor maintenance by small and poorly regulated airlines that sprouted up across Russia in the past two decades.

The images of the stricken plane stranded on the motorway are a major embarrassment for Russia as it seeks to promote an image as a safe country ahead of its hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been personally informed about the accident while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered an investigation into its causes.

The incident also risks causing travel chaos as Russians depart from the capital in hordes for the country's lengthy New Year holidays.

Flights were diverted for several hours to Moscow's two other major airports after the crash.

The accident came days after all 27 people on board a Kazakh military jet were killed in a crash in the south of the former Soviet Central Asian state.

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Future of Tinkler's stable in serious doubt

The future of Nathan Tinkler's Patinack Farm horse training stud is in doubt. Picture: Nic Walker Source: Supplied

NATHAN Tinkler's Queensland racing dream could be over.

The former billionaire's Patinack Farm racing stable scratched every runner in Brisbane on Saturday, with racing industry insiders claiming the Newcastle Knights owner is set to place his Queensland operations on ice until his business empire bounces back from mounting debts.

More than 30 people are employed at Patinack's Canungra base in the Gold Coast hinterland and many are already reportedly looking for new jobs as speculation continues that Mr Tinkler's racing empire is on borrowed time.

The mogul has closed his Melbourne stables and speculation continues that Queensland will be next to go.

Patinack Farm has 15 horses listed for sale at next month's Magic Millions carnival after more than 300 were offloaded in a fire sale earlier this year.

Retail king Gerry Harvey has confirmed loaning Mr Tinkler millions of dollars.

A win to Ferment in NSW at the weekend was a rare bright spot for Patinack on the same day four horses were scratched at Doomben, sending the racing rumour mill into overdrive.

Nathan Tinkler's Patinack Farm base at Canungra.

No Patinack horse has won in Brisbane for 28 starts, placing further financial strain on the business.

Patinack Farm is easily the biggest employer at Canungra, but locals say many staff have had enough.

"It's already come out that a lot of them weren't getting their super and a lot of them are looking for new jobs," a Canungra trader said.

"They can see the writing on the wall and it's been the talk of the town."

Another trader said it would be a sad end to a sorry saga if Mr Tinkler closed Canungra's Patinack operations.

"It's sad because when he set up Patinack out here everyone thought of him as a saviour who was going to drive the economy for the whole town," he said.

"But he got a lot of people offside right from the start."

Some contractors and suppliers contacted by The Courier-Mail yesterday said they were paid up to date, but others have cut their losses.

Mr Tinkler bought his Canungra holdings three years ago for a reported $28 million, but real estate agents said he would be lucky to get close to $20 million for it now.

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End of the road for Mr Cricket

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 29 Desember 2012 | 22.54

Veteran batsman Mike Hussey announces he will retire from international cricket after the SCG Test to spend more time with his family.

Veteran batsman Mike Hussey is to retire from international cricket at the end of the Australian summer. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

MICHAEL Hussey has made the shock decision to retire from international cricket.

Hussey will play his final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3. He will also play the one-day international series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

The 37-year-old told Cricket Australia his desire to spend more time with his family was his primary motivation for announcing his retirement.

"I was quite excited to tell them (children) that I'm not going to go away and play for Australia any more," Hussey said.

"They were happy, but not as excited as I thought they were going to be. So it was a bit of a shock."

Hussey has scored 6183 runs at 51.52 from 78 Tests. He has also represented Australia in 185 one-day internationals and 38 Twenty20 internationals.

Usman Khawaja is likely to replace Hussey in the Test batting line-up.

Hussey was a central plank in Australia's plans for the forthcoming tour of India and the 10 Ashes Tests to be contested over the next 12 months.

His retirement means Australia will field a new-look top order that includes Phil Hughes, who replaced Ricky Ponting after he too retired after the third Test against South Africa earlier this summer.

Hussey said any Test match is a stressful experience, but admitted next week could be different.

"That's one thing about playing for Australia, there is always a lot of stress and pressure to perform," he said.

"I feel like I can come into this last Test match with no pressure whatsoever.

"I can just really go out there and enjoy it.

"It will be nice to be able to sit back when it's all finished and really reminisce over some fantastic memories and great wins for Australia."

Hussey refused to reveal who he had chosen as his replacement as the team song leader.

"I have made up my mind and I haven't told him officially yet, I want to keep it to myself until I have spoken to him," he said.

MIKE HUSSEY RETIRES

Age: 37
Born: Perth, Western Australia
Left-hand middle-order batsman, right-arm medium-pace bowler

TEST RECORD:
Matches: 78
Runs: 6183 runs (12th highest for Australia)
Average: 51.52
Hundreds: 19
Fifties: 29
Wickets: 7 42.71
Test debut: Australia v West Indies at Brisbane, November 3-6, 2005

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Tony Greig dies aged 66

Cricket legend Tony Greig has died following a suspected heart attack. Greig, 66, was battling lung cancer.

CRICKETING legend Tony Greig has died after a suspected heart attack.

Greig, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in October, was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital by ambulance from his Vaucluse home this morning between 10 and 11am.

A St Vincent's hospital spokesman, David Faktor, said Greig arrived at hospital in a "critical'' condition and died of cardiac arrest.

"The staff at the emergency department worked on Mr Greig to no avail and he passed away at a quarter to two this afternoon," he said.

He added: "I understand his family were with him when he passed away."

Legend: Tributes have been pouring in for cricketer Tony Greig who died today from a heart attack.

Vivian Greig confirmed her husband had passed away.

"Our family wants to extend our gratitude for the support and condolences we have received and would ask for privacy at this very sad time," she said in a statement released by the Nine Network.

David Gyngell, chief executive of Nine Entertainment, said Nine had lost part of its extensive cricketing DNA with the tragic passing of the legendary Greig.

"It's a deeply upsetting time for his family and for everyone associated with Tony at Nine, and indeed for many, many others who came to know and love the man,'' Mr Gyngell said in a statement released this afternoon.

Former Test cricketer Adam Gilchrist reacts to the passing of cricket legend Tony Greig

"Tony has been part of Nine's commentary team since 1979. He's not only been part of our family, but he's had a seat at the head of the table," he said.

Gallery: Life and times of Tony Greig

Mr Gyngell said the former England captain was "one of the terrific characters of the game both as a player and then a commentator".

He said Greig was "never short of an opinion but always a generous man with a big heart".

Tony Greig during the World Series cricket Supertest Grand Final match against Australia at the SCG.

"He will be sadly missed, and our special thoughts go out to Vivian, and Tony's daughters Samantha and Beau, and sons Mark and Tom," Mr Gyngell said.

The Nine Network will screen a special tribute to Greig tonight at 6.30pm.

Richie Benaud conveyed the sad news to Greig's fellow commentators, in particular his old sparring partner Bill Lawry, Mr Gyngell said.

Greig was a key figure in recruiting English and other international players for media tycoon Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket which was staged from 1977 to 1979 and sent shockwaves through the arch-conservative sport.

Arguably the two most influential figures of modern cricket, Tony Greig with Kerry Packer at London's Dorchester Hotel in 1977. Picture: UPI

Packer's rebel series was his response to the Australian Cricket Board's refusal to give Packer's Nine Network exclusive Test broadcast rights.

WSC helped improve remunerations for players and dragged the sport into the modern age of day-night matches.

In the 1980s, the South African-born Greig became a high-profile member of the Nine Network's cricket commentary team and continued in the role until ill health sidelined him only a couple of months ago.

James Packer today paid tribute to Greig, describing him as a larger-than-life figure who "played an absolutely pivotal role in the success of World Series Cricket, which changed the game forever for the better.''

Tony Greig and his wife Vivian. Picture: Tim Hunter

"Tony stood shoulder to shoulder with my father at times when it was not always fashionable'' Mr Packer said in a statement.

"And together with the backing of other key players and supporters they forged a brave new age for both cricketers and spectators alike. For that alone, every fan of the game is in Tony Greig's debt.

"But he was much more than that. Our cricket enemy turned our mate - his famous car keys stuck in the pitch to demonstrate its hardness, and his legendary but friendly on-air barneys with the great Bill Lawry. We shall miss him dearly."

Distraught family members gathered at the cricketer's home in Sydney's eastern suburbs earlier today after he was rushed to hospital.

Greig's son Mark told The Sunday Telegraph his father's cancer had progressed to "stage four''.

"He's in the best place and is getting the best possible care," Mark said earlier today.

It was only in October that Greig announced he was battling lung cancer.

In November he underwent an operation and chemotherapy to fight the condition.

Former Australian captain Bill Lawry said he was devastated at the loss of one of his closest friends.

"We are absolutely shattered that he is no longer with us," Lawry said.

"I have been fortunate to be his friend for 33 years.

"It's a sad moment for world cricket."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard called Greig a "wonderful example of someone who came to Australia from somewhere else in the world and embraced his adopted country as his own".

"As a superb all-rounder, ambitious national captain and authoritative commentator over the best part of half a century, Greig's standing in the game is matched by very few others," Ms Gillard said in a statement.

"Australia has lost one of the iconic voices of sport."

Ms Gillard said Greig's life in cricket "wasn't always without controversy, but no one could doubt his passion and commitment to the sport he loved".

Australian coach Mickey Arthur was among the many media and sporting personalities to pay tribute to Greig on social media sites

Satirist Billy Birmingham, who famously impersonated Greig, took to Twitter to express his sadness.

"Thanks to everyone tweeting their fave 12th Man /Tony Greig moments. His death has hit me hard and I'm smiling thru tears with you all a bit," he wrote.

FACT FILE: TONY GREIG ON THE CRICKET PITCH

Tests: 58
Runs: 3599
Average: 40.43
100s: Eight
Highest score: 148
Wickets: 141
Bowling average: 32.20
Best bowling: 8-86
Catches: 87

One Day Internationals: 22
Runs: 269
Average: 16.81
Highest score: 48
Wickets: 19
Bowling average: 32.57
Best bowling: 4-45
Catches: 7

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Nation mourns Tony Greig

Relive the highs, the lows and all the controversy from the colourful cricket career of Tony Greig, courtesy of this tribute from Sky Sports UK.

CRICKET great Tony Greig died yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest while fighting lung cancer.

Greig, 66, was diagnosed in October and was due to begin chemotherapy this week, Channel 9 sports director Steve Crawley said.

He was rushed to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital by ambulance from his Vaucluse home at 11am. He was pronounced dead at 1.45pm.

Greig - a champion all-rounder who played 58 Tests for England, 14 as captain - had taken time off from his Channel 9 broadcasting duties to fight the cancer, but had maintained his famously optimistic outlook.

On Christmas Day he had posted on Twitter: "Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you all. Would love to be at Test but son Tom and I will be tuned in."

Cricket legend Tony Greig has died following a suspected heart attack. Greig, 66, was battling lung cancer.

His wife Vivian said last night: "Our family wants to extend our gratitude for the support and condolences we have received, and ask for privacy at this very sad time."

As flags at the SCG were lowered to half-mast, his close friend David Gyngell led the tributes from around the world. The Channel 9 CEO said: "The network has lost part of its extensive cricketing DNA with his tragic passing.

"It is a deeply upsetting time for his family and for everyone associated with Tony at Nine, and indeed for many, many others who came to know and love the man."

James Packer described Greig as a "larger-than-life figure" who "played an absolutely pivotal role in the success of World Series Cricket, which changed the game forever for the better".

Legend: Tributes have been pouring in for cricketer Tony Greig who died today from a heart attack.

"Tony stood shoulder to shoulder with my father (Kerry) at times when it was not always fashionable.

"Together with the backing of other key players and supporters they forged a brave new age for both cricketers and spectators.

"For that alone, every fan is in Tony Greig's debt."

As a player Greig was renowned for his articulate wit on and off the field.

Former Test cricketer Adam Gilchrist reacts to the passing of cricket legend Tony Greig

The charismatic South African-born cricketer became one of the masterminds of the World Series Cricket in 1977 - convincing many of his English teammates, as well as West Indian and Pakistani cricketers, to defect.

He quickly became a great mate of media mogul Kerry Packer and that friendship continued until Packer died on Boxing Day in 2005.

It also resulted in Greig being offered a "job for life" at Channel 9 as a respected cricket commentator.

Every summer he could be seen jamming his key into the cricket pitch and often enjoyed fiery discussions with his fellow commentators, in particular his dear friend and old sparring partner Bill Lawry, and Ian Chappell.

Tony Greig during the World Series cricket Supertest Grand Final match against Australia at the SCG.

Richie Benaud had conveyed the sad news to Greig's fellow commentators.

Greig revealed his battle with cancer in The Sunday Telegraph in late October. He said: "I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one. Vivian (his wife) and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this like we've never fought anything."

Ian Chappell said last night: "We knew the news was bad but I didn't realise it was going to be this sudden.

"He was such a fighter on the field, and he showed the same optimism away from the field as well.

Arguably the two most influential figures of modern cricket, Tony Greig with Kerry Packer at London's Dorchester Hotel in 1977. Picture: UPI

"We had our run-ins on the cricket pitch, but he'd often come into the dressing rooms afterwards with a beer in his hand and we'd laugh about the silly things we said on the field.

"He was damn good company and always had a passion for the game."

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh said Greig had inspired him to play.

"As a young boy working the scoreboard at Bankstown Oval I eventually summoned up the courage to walk up to him and ask for his autograph as he sat waiting to bat next for Waverley," he said. "He was very gracious in his response and while it was only a brief exchange it certainly ignited my desire to one day be a professional cricketer."

Tony Greig and his wife Vivian. Picture: Tim Hunter

Greig and Vivian had a daughter Beau, 12, and son Tom, 10. Greig also has two adult children, daughter Sam, 39, and son Mark, 37, from his first marriage.

Plans are under way to honour Greig at the Australia v Sri Lanka Test match beginning at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

FACT FILE: TONY GREIG ON THE CRICKET PITCH

Tests: 58
Runs: 3599
Average: 40.43
100s: Eight
Highest score: 148
Wickets: 141
Bowling average: 32.20
Best bowling: 8-86
Catches: 87

One Day Internationals: 22
Runs: 269
Average: 16.81
Highest score: 48
Wickets: 19
Bowling average: 32.57
Best bowling: 4-45
Catches: 7

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'Dog' stars in owner's dunny ordeal

A Gladstone woman who spent several hours down a hole, dug as a long-drop toilet, is recovering in Bundaberg Base Hospital after she was rescued by emergency services. PIC: AGL Action Rescue Helicopter Source: Supplied

FOR three hours while Susan Saunders, 65, was trapped deep in an outdoor dunny hole, her loyal blue heeler refused to leave her side.

Simply named " Dog", the loyal 10-year-old stayed with his master, who was in agony in the narrow pit.

The Gladstone woman became stuck in the 2.5m deep rudimentary toilet pit on Friday afternoon.

She was alone on a rural property at Baffle Creek, north of Bundaberg, where she and her husband are building a house.

About mid-afternoon, the sky began threatening rain so Mrs Saunders climbed on to the boat trailer to cover it when she slipped.

"As she's stepped backwards, she's sort of over-balanced, taken another step and she's gone," husband Gary Saunders said yesterday.

"She's gone backwards straight into the hole."

Mrs Saunders' right leg was jammed at a right angle in front of her in the tight hole but the shin and foot were twisted up so her toes were in front of her eyes.

"She'd been in there two hours when I got back," Mr Saunders said.

"I couldn't see her, and Dog came rushing over and I said 'Where's Mum?' and he's gone straight down to where she was and I've thought, 'Oh Christ'."

Mrs Saunders was in unbearable pain but remained conscious and it took another hour before emergency crews could get her out.

"They placed her in a harness and pumped her full of drugs until she went limp and then unceremoniously popped her out of the hole," Mr Saunders said.

Meanwhile Dog refused to leave her company and trailed under the stretcher all the way to the waiting medical helicopter, which airlifted her to Bundaberg.

"He never left her," Mr Saunders said, choking back tears.

"He's a very loyal dog and smart.

"Poor Dog still does not know what's going on."

Mr Saunders said his wife had completely shattered her right knee, including tearing all ligaments and tendons, and she would probably require a full reconstruction and artificial knee.

He said the tough-as-nails woman did not want to create a fuss but praised the paramedics, firefighters and AGL Action Helicopter crew who attended her.

She is recovering in Bundaberg Base Hospital.

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Woman, 65, falls down long-drop toilet

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 28 Desember 2012 | 22.54

A WOMAN has been airlifted to hospital after becoming trapped in a long-drop outdoor toilet in central Queensland.

The woman, 65, was climbing off a trailer when she fell backwards into the 2.5-metre-deep open hole on a property at Wartburg, a spokeswoman for the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter said in a statement.

The Gladstone woman suffered a fractured leg in the tumble and spent a number of hours down the hole before being found by her husband.

Emergency services managed to get the woman out of the hole in what was described as a "very difficult extraction".

The woman was airlifted to Bundaberg Base Hospital in a stable condition.

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Celebrity chef Stone 'no sell-out'

Matt Preston, Curtis Stone and Marco Pierre White on the set of MasterChef: The Professionals. Picture: Channel Ten Source: Supplied

MASTERCHEF Professionals mentor Marco Pierre White has turned the blowtorch back on critics who have accused his protege Curtis Stone and other celebrity chefs of "selling out.''

The tempestuous chef turned restaurateur defended food TV personalities who promote products, arguing their public platforms were more powerful "than an individual who has three hats, serving 40 covers.''

White said Stone, a brand ambassador for Coles supermarkets and host of US TV series' like Top Chef Masters, should not be criticised for "making a living and securing his family's future.''

Stone's international career and lucrative endorsements have irritated food snobs here, chipping him about his small screen presence despite not manning the pans or owning his own restaurant.

White, who trained and made Stone head chef of his London restaurant, Quo Vadis, said the Aussie's accessibility made him more influential than a burners-bound chef.

First look at the upcoming Master Chef series which will feature international chef Marco Pierre White

"Look at how many lives he's touched, look at how many people he's inspired to come into the industry, how many mothers he's inspired to go shopping for better produce to feed their family. It enriches their lives, so how can you criticise a man for doing it? You can't.

Famed as the youngest chef to win three Michelin stars, the British cooking icon has himself come under fire for plugging products like jellied stock - a deal deemed beneath him by sneering food writers and some of his peers.

Since quitting full-time cooking at just 33, White has built a global food empire trading on his legendary skills and equally controversial temperament.

Australians will see him at his most feisty when Masterchef: The Professionals launches on Channel 10 January 20.

But White denied he was "trying to be controversial, just honest'' in rejecting the "sell-out tag'' levelled at him, Stone and other high-profile chefs.

"What Curtis does every week of his life is inspire people to cook. He enriches the lives of others, so how can these people criticise?'' White said.

"In my opinion, the vehicle he uses to share his knowledge is far greater than an individual who has three hats, serving 40 covers. So people should pull back and leave him alone ... applaud him, not pull him down.''

"We all get up and go to work in the morning, to earn a living, to create security for our families and hopefully we've got a little bit left over for a few luxuries in life. It's as simple as that. It's one thing that upsets me about the industry where people attack others. You know something? The trade should all pull the rope together,'' White said.

MasterChef: The Professionals premieres January 20 on Channel 10.

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Aussie towns hold key to long life

Port Pirie resident Maureen Bairstow takes her Jaguar for a spin. Picture: Simon Cross Source: News Limited

AUSTRALIANS enjoy a lifestyle envied around the world but there are some areas of the country where life is simply better than others.

A News Limited analysis of official data and published research has pinpointed the places where locals live longest, stay healthiest, are more likely to be married, give the most to charity and pay the lowest tax.

The research shows there could well be something in the water in Sandgate, on the outskirts of Newcastle, with locals enjoying the longest life of any suburb in the nation.

Almost 13 of every 100 people in the quiet waterside location are aged 90 and over.

Not far behind, further down the NSW coast, is Worrowing Heights where 11 in every 100 live to a grand old age.

Port Pirie in South Australia and Rowes Bay in Queensland also hold the secret to long life.

Thousands of kilometres across the country in Northam in Western Australia, the locals may not live as long but they could well be our healthiest inhabitants.

The area, which offers bush trails, hot air ballooning and white water rafting, has the lowest likelihood of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis and osteoporosis.

Goondiwindi in Queensland is the next best health hotspot.

But if marriage is the key to happiness then maybe those living way up the WA coast in North West Cape may lay claim to our best place to live.

Three-quarters of the adults in the isolated and relaxed area are hitched the highest rate in the country, ahead of Sydney suburb The Ponds.

Cabramatta, in Sydney's south-west, is number one when it comes to big families.

There are 64 locals there with 10 and more children, putting it ahead of Springvale (61) and Reservoir (60) in Victoria.

Professor Stewart Lockie, from the ANU, believes happier and healthier communities are ones with community spirit and economic and cultural diversity.

"Happy communities have a dynamic feel. People feel it is a place worth visiting and staying,'' he said.

Professor Brenda Happell, from Central Queensland University, said areas away from the hustle and bustle of big city life usually offered health and lifestyle advantages as they are less stressful, slower paced and friendlier.

When it comes to giving up your hard earned to the tax man, the SA suburbs of Davoren Park and Elizabeth Downs are the tops, paying a national low of $5,754 average per taxpayer.

Doveton and Frankston in Victoria were next lowest.

And the most charitable taxpayers in the nation reside in the well-to-do Sydney eastern suburbs of Darling Point and Edgecliff, donating an average of $6,859.45.

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Woman, 65, falls down long-drop toilet

A WOMAN has been airlifted to hospital after becoming trapped in a long-drop outdoor toilet in central Queensland.

The woman, 65, was climbing off a trailer when she fell backwards into the 2.5-metre-deep open hole on a property at Wartburg, a spokeswoman for the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter said in a statement.

The Gladstone woman suffered a fractured leg in the tumble and spent a number of hours down the hole before being found by her husband.

Emergency services managed to get the woman out of the hole in what was described as a "very difficult extraction".

The woman was airlifted to Bundaberg Base Hospital in a stable condition.

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Tourists flock to top-secret air base

OPERATION EXPOSED: The hangar of the former wartime US airbase near Charleville. Pic: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

IT was the top-secret air base so covert even the locals were sworn to silence.

The US Air Force base, outside Charleville in outback Queensland, was deserted after World War II and has sat forgotten in the desert for more than 60 years.

Until now.

A chance discovery by an amateur World War II historian uncovered ruined parts of the base three years ago.

Until then the land had been earmarked for an industrial estate by the local council.

Jane Morgan outside a disused bomb vault at the former WWII US Air base located just out of Charleville. Pic: Adam Head

It has now been converted into a tourist attraction run by the Charleville Cosmos Centre.

Relics are still being discovered as locals piece together the story of the top-secret operation, which doesn't even show up on many official US military records.

The base was camouflaged by mulga tree branches and chicken wire.

Even Australian civilians contracted to work on the base had to sign oaths to the US president pledging never to reveal the base's existence.

The remains of the mess hall at the former US Air base. Pic: Adam Head

Jane Morgan, manager of the Cosmos Centre, said the base was a fascinating chapter of Charleville's history.

"People suspected the Americans were out here, but they didn't know what they were doing," she said.

"Here is a whole chapter of the shire's history that had been completely forgotten.

"The story has just got bigger and bigger."

The base housed up to 160 aircraft, including B-17 bombers used to knock out supply lines for the Japanese army in the Pacific.

The old hangar is now used by the Royal Flying Doctors, but other fragments are still being uncovered with the help of old aerial photographs.