HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, April 20 = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2009
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, April 20 = 2

SYDNEY - MTV VJ Ruby Rose has knocked off Antonia Kidman as Australia's favourite female
pay TV personality. (ASTRA. With factbox. Eds: Strictly embargoed until 0001 AEST Monday)

SYDNEY - Legendary Australian film critic Bill Collins will be inducted into the Hall
of Fame at this year's Logie Awards. (Logies Collins)



PORT MORESBY - The Papua New Guinea government spent 3.2 million kina (A$1.6m) of public
money on a three day Australian Prime Minister's official visit to PNG last year. (PNG
Budget)



AUCKLAND - Fiji's regime has begun rebuilding its judiciary with military-approved
judges, a week after the bench was sacked amid political upheaval. (Fiji)



CANBERRA - Weaker demand for beef as a result of the global financial crisis is to
blame for a slight decrease in cattle numbers, new figures show. (Beef)

MELBOURNE - Australia must ramp up taxes on landfill to force the waste management
sector to look at alternatives, an international waste management expert says. (Waste)



SYDNEY - A fan heater has been recalled due to an internal connection which can cause
fires. (Heater)



CANBERRA - Australia needs a flexible strategy that can deal with China as both a benign,
responsible regime, and an aggressive and authoritarian superpower, a new study says.

(China ASPI)



CANBERRA - A special forces soldier seriously hurt by a bomb blast in Afghanistan earlier
this month has returned to Australia for further medical treatment. (Afghan Aust )



BRISBANE - Four people have been charged with stealing fallen branches from the Tree
of Knowledge at Barcaldine in central Queensland. (Knowledge)



CANBERRA - A tribunal is set to examine whether special forces soldiers deserve recognition
for counter-terrorism duties. (SASR )



CANBERRA - People over the age of 65 are being urged to visit their GP for a free vaccination
ahead of this year's flu season. (Flu)



SYDNEY - A Sydney teenager rang his mother a few hours before he went missing in NSW's
Blue Mountains, saying his bushwalk was going fine, an inquest has heard. (Iredale. Wrap
to come)



SYDNEY - A man accused of being a war criminal was a "Serbian hero" whose life was
ruined by an article in The Australian newspaper, a judge has been told. (Vasiljkovic.

Wrap to come)



MURWILLUMBAH - A suburban playground is still a high risk to children a year after
a toddler drowned in a nearby pond, an inquest has heard. (McCarron. Wrap to come)



SYDNEY - Police are continuing to search for the mother of a newborn baby girl left
outside an apartment building in western NSW, fearing for her health. (Baby. Wrap to come)



SYDNEY - An earthworks company reinvented itself as a security fencing specialist before
winning a $7.5 million contract with the NSW's electricity transmission network owner,
a corruption hearing in Sydney has heard. (ICAC TransGrid. Wrap to come)



SYDNEY - A man has been charged over the death of a pedestrian hit by two cars in southwest
Sydney. (Toll NSW. Wrap to come)

Toll NSW. Wrap to come.



MELBOURNE - Covarege of funeral for former anti-corruption royal commissioner Frank
Costigan. (Costigan to come)



MELBOURNE - The number of police walking the beat on Victoria's streets has decreased
dramatically while violent crime has soared, newly released figures show. (Patrol. With
factbox. Eds: Strictly embargoed until 0001 Tuesday)



MELBOURNE - A mother who murdered her two young sons was disadvantaged during her trial
because an eminent psychiatrist was not called, an appeals court has heard. (Fitchett.

Outseeking more)



MELBOURNE - One person is believed to have been killed after a helicopter crash in
remote country on the Victoria-South Australia border. (Helicopter. Outseeking more)



MELBOURNE - The family of dead backpacker Britt Lapthorne believes her body was dumped
in the sea and weighed down just hours after she disappeared from a Croatian nightclub.

(Lapthorne Update)



MELBOURNE - Half of Victorians and Tasmanians believe the great Australian dream of
owning a home is out of reach, a survey says. (Home)



BRISBANE - There are calls for the Queensland government to toughen up rules for four
wheel driving on Fraser Island, after a weekend crash which killed two people and injured
nine others. (Fraser. Wrap to come)



BRISBANE - A jury has been unable to find a verdict in the case of three Gold Coast
businessmen accused of hiding more than $3 million in offshore bank accounts to avoid
paying tax. (Hargraves)



BRISBANE - Queensland Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek says he will give up dentistry
to concentrate on being the alternative premier. (Langbroek. Wrap to come)



BRISBANE - Seven new state schools will be built in Queensland's southeast, generating
thousands of new jobs, Treasurer Andrew Fraser says. (Schools Qld Update)



ADELAIDE - South Australia's Road Safety Minister Tom Koutsantonis has quit the portfolio
after owning up to a shocking record of speeding and other traffic offences. (Koutsantonis)



ADELAIDE - More than 700 convicted offenders in South Australia are now being monitored
after having their details recorded on the Australian National Child Offender Register,
the state government says. (Offenders)



HOBART - Tasmania's suspended police commissioner has failed to have his trial on corruption
charges expedited. (Johnston)

AAP jlw

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

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