Parliamentary Inquiry into Christmas Island tragedy

Parliamentary Inquiry into Christmas Island tragedyThe government will move to set up the inquiry into the disaster when Parliament resumes. An internal customs review has found officials acted appropriately and the agency did not have any intelligence about the boat before it smashed into rocks, killing up to 50 asylum seekers.

But the opposition's immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says a full policy review is needed. "Like with any matter such as this, I think we need to keep an open book on what needs to be done," he said. "There'll be the coroner's inquiry and other inquiries that look specifically into the matters of that specific period but the more broader policy questions are the ones the government needs to take up.

Christmas Island's emergency management committee says the early detection of boats is the key to avoiding a repeat of last month's asylum seeker tragedy. The government announced yesterday it had accepted all eight recommendations from the customs review, including the installation of a new surveillance system.

Christmas Island administrator and chairman of the local emergency management committee Brian Lacy says the radar system will be crucial to preventing another tragedy. "I don't think you could prevent an incident of that type in the absence of earlier detection," he said. The committee is in the process of compiling a list for the government of extra resources it needs to deal with a similar incident.
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Beninati: Crashing the island

The Nassau Coliseum treats the Caps with kindness no matter how many times the visitors crash the party. Bruce Boudreau insisted that his team would be more aggressive tonight and they did not disappoint him. The game plan was forecheck more ambitiously and drive to the net with greater determination. We saw that pay dividends in the first five minutes.

Nicklas Backstrom made a beautiful move to clear a defender at his own blue line and took the puck into space where Alex Ovechkin would join the rush and find Jason Chimera right on top of the crease for an easy tap-in.

Braden Holtby was very solid in goal in the opening twenty minutes. He received the surprise starting assignment when Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov both complained of muscle soreness following the Flyers game Tuesday. Holtby challenged shooters well tonight and he played with a comfort level we did not see when he last worked in the NHL back in November.

The Caps gave the 21-year-old goalie a lead to protect in the second frame. Ovechkin roared in on Islander goalie Rick DiPietro and shoveled the backhand into his pads that sat a foot from the goal line. Backstrom pounced on the rebound and deposited his first goal since December 1.

The relief on Nic's face was priceless. But that smile was gone less than two minutes later. The Islanders celebrated a pretty goal from speedy winger Michael Grabner, who turned a defender and roofed a backhand shot over Holtby's glove. So many of the games with the Islanders turn out to be one goal decisions. And this one would join the long list.

The Caps tightened up defensively in the third and strangled the life out of New York. The Islanders had been hot on the power play prior to tonight, but Washington's penalty killers were a perfect 6-for-6 and that ultimately led to the victory this evening.
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Flooding, slips in South Island

Areas of the South Island are experiencing surface flooding and slips as heavy rain lashes areas, especially on the West Coast. The Fox River has broken its banks between West Port and Greymouth and has flooded at least one house.

The house on the north side of the river has been inundated with water, while a car has had to be towed out of a carpark in the Paparoa National Park because of the rising river levels. The tramper had parked his car next to an historic trestle bridge and gone for a walk. A Greymouth police spokesman says the man was not in his car at the time and is uninjured.

Meanwhile, the road between Runanga and Greymouth remains closed because of flooding and motorists are urged to take care. There are also slips in the Grey Valley and flooding is expected at Stillwater. However, serious flooding in the area has been avoided.

The Grey River was being watched closely when it peaked between four and five this morning, but low-tide meant it did not reach levels to cause problems. Yesterday afternoon the West Coast's Fox River burst its banks today, forcing some residents to evacuate. On the other side of the island, the old Waimakariri bridge in Canterbury is closed because of flooding.

High river levels have caused the closure and signs are in place to warn motorists. There is no damage to the bridge and southern communications police say no detours are in place because the main highway can be used and that is the route most motorists take.
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Norfolk Island prepares for Cyclone Zelia

Norfolk Island is bracing for the impact of its second cyclone in a week. Tropical Cyclone Zelia is expected to either directly hit the island or pass by it very closely some time early tomorrow morning.The Australian territory was last week affected by Cyclone Vania. Norfolk Island's Chief Minister, David Buffett, says the community has been alerted to prepared for high winds and torrential rain.

"There could be flooded areas on the Island, but we have just seen on the television throughout Australia what has happened in Brisbane," he said. "There are no low lying heaviliy populated areas places such as those in Norfolk Island. And at this stage, we have not had a lot of rain anyhow. And the projected arrangements for rain, is that we may receive torrential rain."
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Shelter Island digs out from under heavy snow

Shelter Island is digging out after a major snow storm dumped at least a foot of heavy snow on most parts of the Island. Snowfall began around 9 p.m. Tuesday night and started as an icy mix. By Wednesday morning, about 8 to 10 inches had fallen in the Center and despite weather reports that the storm would soon move east, snow lingered and was still falling as this story was posted.

A few trees were knocked down by snow and wind and one isolated call of a power outage on West Neck Road was reported early in the day, according to the Shelter Island Police Department. Other than that, no major problems occurred during the storm.

Shelter Island was often on the edge of the snow/ice boundary of the storm, making for a wet snow that could not be easily swept away, and icy patches under snow-packed roadways. Front-end loaders and trucks with snow plow blades worked Wednesday to keep roads clear that continued to receive more snow throughout the day. Roads were slick — a hazard for drivers and walkers alike. The Shelter Island School, Shelter Island Public Library and Town Hall were closed Wednesday.
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Snow winds down with just a couple inches across Staten Island

Snow winds down with just a couple inches across Staten IslandIt paled in comparison with last week's blizzard and was likely welcome news for a Sanitation Department on high alert.Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised that the response to today's storm would be much better than last week's -- but it's hard to tell how borough roads would have looked if we had anywhere close to the 20-plus inches that fell Dec. 26 and 27.

Between 1 and 2 inches fell in the borough this morning and afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, giving a fresh coat to the dirty piles of snow and ice leftover from the blizzard.

After snow or snow showers are possible tomorrow, a real test could come Tuesday, when AccuWeather.com is forecasting another major snow storm could impact the area. Bloomberg and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty took a lot of heat for the city's snow removal efforts last week. They promised to do better this time.
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Two Million Fish Found Dead In Maryland

Two Million Fish Found Dead In MarylandAround two million fish have died in the Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland, just days after two similar incidents elsewhere in the US baffled scientists.Officials are now trying to find out what happened.

Maryland Department of the Environment spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus told Sky News Online that at the moment it does not look like pollution is to blame. She said: "The dead fish are mainly juvenile spot fish, and they can't survive very cold water temperatures. Typically they should have left the bay by now. "Our working theory, that looks pretty strong, is that it's been caused by cold water stress.

This mass "fish kill", as it is called, happened after water temperatures plunged to near record lows in the area in late December, but scientists have yet to prove conclusively that this was the cause. Just days ago, an estimated 500 small birds, mostly blackbirds, fell out of the sky in Louisiana.

On New Year's Eve in Arkansas, thousands of the same species were found, followed by the discovery of around 100,000 dead fish in a river about a hundred miles away.

Officials think that power lines may be to blame for the Louisiana deaths, and fireworks or lightning could have been responsible for what happened in Arkansas. The events are not being linked, but similar scenarios across the world are adding to the mystery.

Officials reported around 50 jackdaws had been found dead on a street in Sweden, and other unexplained mass fish deaths have occurred recently in Brazil and New Zealand. Large fish kills have happened before in Chesapeake Bay, most notably in 1976 and 1980. Officials acknowledged that the most recent incident is the biggest since those events.
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Snow warnings issued for parts of Vancouver Island

Snow warnings were issued for several parts of Vancouver Island and coastal B.C. with snow expected to land on the north coast this evening and spreading southwards on Tuesday.

Environment Canada issued the warnings and cited a moist Pacific frontal system approaching the coast of B.C. where it will encounter cold Arctic air entrenched over the province. Snowfall was expected to be the result in coastal communities.

Victoria and southern Vancouver Island, however, escaped the warning. But about two to three centimetres of snow mixed with rain was still predicted for Tuesday giving way to rain on Wednesday.

Victoria high temperatures are expected to reach 3 C and as low as -3 C on Tuesday. Those temperatures are expected to rise on Wednesday to a high of 6 C and a low of 2 C.

Meanwhile, warnings were put in place for the east coast and the interior portions of Vancouver Island.

Beginning Tuesday morning, five centimetres of snow was predicted for Campbell River down through Nanaimo. High temperatures were predicted of 1 C with lows of -3 C.

These conditions were expected to hold until Wednesday when temperatures were predicted to rise to as much as 8 C and the snow was expected to give way to rain.
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When a town becomes an island

The residents of St George, in south-western Queensland, know what it's like to await a wall of water headed their way. It was less than a year ago that the Balonne River reached a peak of 13.9m, as floodwater roared through the town, 500km west of Brisbane.

So while they're not being complacent, they know what to expect, with the river expected to hit 13m this Thursday as floodwaters continue to flow down stream and catchments. Balonne Shire Mayor Donna Stewart said an evacuation centre had been established, while the Andrew Nixon bridge was closed on Saturday night, and a shuttle boat service was being operated to people west of the town.

Town supplies are well stocked and helicopters have already transported supplies to homesteads already isolated. “We’re certainly not being complacent, this is different to the flood we had earlier, but we know what’s ahead,” Cr Stewart said. Cr Stewart said Dirranbandi was cut off to the south but it was still possible to get to the town from St George.

However once Dirranbandi was isolated, she expected it would remain so for up to a month. “We have advised people there who are not comfortable with being isolated … I gather they have made arrangements,” she said.

Ralph Benz, owner of Hebel Store and Caravan Park, near the New South Wales border, said the road from Hebel to Dirranbandi was under nine metres of water and the locals were “watching and waiting.”

“It’s rising all the time,” he said.

He said the town’s residents were expecting to be isolated for weeks so most people had stocked up on essentials.

“It’s only going to get worse,” he said.

“But compared to every other bugger around the place up north, we’re not too bad.”

Mr Benz said since the road north to the rest of Queensland had been cut off, Hebel was being bypassed by trucks and travellers. “There’s literally no one coming,” he said. He said the effect on business was shattering. The floods of early 2010 cost him “thousands” in lost revenue, he said.

“We got no help from the government. It really hit hard,” he said. Dirranbandi could be isolated by Sunday as Senior Constable Wade Hastie said as long as the town’s levy – built after last year’s floods – held back floodwaters, the town would be safe. “If it holds we will be on our own little island for a while, but we’ve had a lot of time to prepare,” he said.

When residents fled the town during last year’s floods some empty homes were broken into but this time most people were staying put, he said. "Everyone is aware of the situation,” he said.
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Vancouver Island legend Howie Meeker named to the Order of Canada

Golly gee willikers, he didn't expect it but Howie Meeker is deeply honoured. Meeker was among 54 appointments to the Order of Canada announced Thursday, joining the likes of Trevor Linden and actor Eric Peterson of TV's Corner Gas. "What a wonderful surprise," the 87-year-old French Creek resident said, adding he's delighted to be joining the elite group of nation builders.

The retired war veteran, hockey player, coach, broadcaster, MP, author, teacher and benefactor to various charities has lived on Vancouver Island since 1973. According to the Order of Canada website, he's officially being cited for "his contributions to hockey as a broadcaster and coach to players across the nation.

Meeker learned of the award Thursday morning when his daughter Jane phoned from Newfoundland, where her father ran a hockey school for 20 years. The cheerful and personable Meeker also taught hockey for 25 years in the Parksville area, and one of the rinks at Oceanside Place is named in his honour.

He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame years ago, after a 30-year career on TV, but Meeker's contributions go deeper.

In the early years of the B.C. Guide Dog Services, which has trained 93 dogs for blind people since 1996, Meeker and his wife Leah played a key role in fundraising.

Meeker lent his name to a fundraising golf tournament at Fairwinds which was only supposed to go one year, recalls Bill Thornton, founder and CEO of B.C. Guide Dog Services. It ran for four years and, because of his and Leah's efforts, was very successful.

"Through his celebrity and prestige, the tournament netted about $350,000 for us," said Thornton.

Meeker has also been heavily involved in Special Olympics in Campbell River for 25 years, and assists the Salvation Army, but downplays his role.

"I just open the doors," he said. "That's all I've ever done, mainly."

Leah, he noted, has canvassed for the group.

"It makes you feel good," Meeker said about the Order of Canada. "It's totally unexpected. I'm delighted to join such an elite group of people."

Then he remembered the phone call he got about a month ago, from a woman in Ottawa. He almost hung up, but then she told him he'd been nominated for the Order, and would he accept if it went through?

"Holy jumpin' gee willikers," he thought, "this must be April Fool's Day."

Of course it wasn't, and among those pleased by the news is Michael Warmington, who began working four years ago to make the nomination a reality.

The retired Edmonton native, who winters in Oceanside, said he's delighted that Meeker is being recognized by not only the nation but by "millions of people across Canada who not only admire him but benefited from his coaching skills."

In the Second World War, Meeker was wounded in training when a live grenade was tossed over a wall, but he recovered enough to serve until 1944.

He then joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1946-47 season, when he won the Calder Trophy as the year's top rookie, beating out Gordie Howe. He played in three all-star games and won three Stanley Cups with the Leafs.
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