AAP National News Wire Round Up for Breakfast, April 8

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2001
AAP National News Wire Round Up for Breakfast, April 8
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430

US Mars (CAPE CANAVERAL)

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft has rocketed away from Cape canaveral on a 460-million-kilometre
journey to the Red Planet.

It's the space agency's first launch to Mars since a pair of humiliating failures in 1999.

Everything appeared to go well as the Delta rocket lifted off carrying Odyssey toward
its destiny.

Mars Odyssey is named after ARTHUR C CLARKE'S science fiction novel and movie, 2001:
A Space Odyssey.

Its main goal is to search for water at or just beneath the Martian surface from a
400 km-high orbit.



Democrats Despoja (CANBERRA)

Australian Democrat NATASHA STOTT DESPOJA has emerged as the hero of her party, easily
winning a drawn-out leadership battle which pushed MEG LEES off her perch.

Senator STOTT DESPOJA now boasts another political milestone -- becoming the youngest
woman to lead a political party in Australia.

Just six years ago she entered the Senate as the youngest woman ever elected to a federal
parliament, at the age of 26.

On Friday night she toppled Senator LEES to win the top job, edging ahead of the party
elder by an estimated 70 per cent.

Senator STOTT DESPOJA'S new deputy, ADEN RIDGEWAY, also made history by being elected
as the first indigenous politician to lead a party.



Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD has congratulated Senator STOTT DESPOJA on her victory.

But he's given strong praise to former leader Senator LEES for helping the government's
tax reform through parliament.



Euthanasia (MELBOURNE)

A floating euthanasia clinic could be set up off the coast of Australia under a new
law expected to be passed in the Netherlands this week.

Australian euthanasia campaigner PHILIP NITSCHKE says if the Dutch senate passes the
law making mercy killing legal, he'll buy a Dutch registered ship and practise euthanasia
just outside Australian waters.

Dr NITSCHKE says if it's a Dutch registered vessel, it's legal to provide voluntary
euthanasia in international waters.

The Dutch upper house is expected to pass the controversial legislation next Tuesday.

If it approves the bill, the Netherlands will be the first country to make euthanasia legal.



US Kyoto EU (GOTHENBURG)

The European Union says it's willing to renegotiate the Kyoto Protocol on global warming
to suit the United States after Washington said it wouldn't support the agreement.

The EU says that if certain parts of the agreement are preventing the US from ratifying
it, they should renegotiate those parts rather than bury the entire accord.

US President GEORGE W BUSH stunned Europe and much of the rest of the world last month
when he announced he would not ratify the protocol, saying it could affect America's economic
performance.



China Plane (WASHINGTON)

US and Chinese diplomats are working to resolve the status of 24 detained Americans
from a downed spy plane.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration considered Beijing's renewed demand for an apology.

The 24 US crew members have been on the Chinese island of Hainan since a collision
over the South China Sea last Sunday between a US Navy reconnaissance plane and a Chinese
jet fighter.

The Chinese plane and its pilot haven't been recovered.

A White House spokeswoman says President GEORGE W BUSH is focused on continued diplomatic
efforts to gain the crew's release.



UK Disease Dutch (THE HAGUE)

The Dutch agriculture ministry has reported two new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease,
boosting the total number of cases to 17.

A ministry spokesman says the new sites are within a security perimeter set up around
previously infected farms.

The Netherlands is using selective vaccination of livestock to contain outbreaks, an
emergency procedure that was approved by the European Union for 115,000 animals.

The foot-and-mouth epidemic started in England seven weeks ago and is showing signs
of levelling off there.



Mdeast Arafat (JERUSALEM)

Palestinian leader YASSER ARAFAT called Israeli Prime Minister ARIEL SHARON for only
the second time in two months, to express his good wishes for the Jewish feast of the
Passover.

The two men, who generally trade bitter accusations, blaming each other for the deadly
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, last spoke directly when ARAFAT called SHARON to congratulate
him on his election win on February 6.

The Palestinian leader also called Foreign Minister SHIMON PERES ahead of the Passover
celebrations beginning late today.



Virgin (BRISBANE)

Australian discount airline Virgin Blue has stepped up its bid to lure domestic travellers
by offering one-way flights for $72 for 72-hour sale on flights.

For 72 hours the cheaper flights will apply between Brisbane and Melbourne and Brisbane
and Adelaide.

From now until midnight on Monday, seats are available on all flights for travel from
May 1 to June 21, 2001.



Garage (MELBOURNE)

The homicide squad is investigating the death of two men whose bodies were found in
a northern Melbourne garage.

Police say the pair, aged 24 and 22, had gunshot wounds, but the exact crircumstances
of their deaths aren't yet known.

They were found in the garage of a house in Epping.




The body of a man has been found in a river in the Queensland city of Bundaberg --
three days after he was chased into the waterway by police.




A man died when his ultralight plane clipped trees and crashed into a creek at Cessnock,
in the New South Wales Hunter Valley yesterday morning.




The environmental group Greenpeace says it's ended a sit-in protest against global
warming it mounted on an oil rig off the Scottish coast, after a British court order.




Horsham, a town between Melbourne and Adelaide has clinched the title of Australia's
tidiest town after 17 years of trying.



and in sport..........................



Tennis Davis Aust (FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil)

LLEYTON HEWITT and PAT RAFTER have put Australia 2-1 up in their Davis Cup tennis quarter-final
against Brazil with a stirring defeat of GUSTAVO KUERTEN and JAIME ONCINS in three tiebreak
sets.

With HEWITT leading the way, the Aussie pair had slightly too much for the Brazilians
in the big moments, winning 7-6 7-6 7-6, taking the tiebreaks 9-7 7-3 and 7-5.

After the first day's singles were split 1-1, the Australians now need to win only
one of Sunday's two reverse singles to advance to a semi-final against Sweden.

HEWITT, the world No.7, will attempt to sew up the tie in the fourth rubber against
No.2 KUERTEN, while eighth-ranked RAFTER is scheduled to play 95th-ranked FERNANDO MELIGENI
in the fifth and final rubber.



Golf Masters (AUGUSTA, Georgia)

Victorian ROBERT ALLENBY is plodding along nearly halfway through his third round at
the 65th Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

ALLENBY has dropped one shot in eight holes to slip to two over par in unseasonally
hot conditions at Augusta National.

Compatriot STUART APPLEBY tees off shortly at two under.

CHRIS DIMARCO will tee off later with a two-shot lead over fellow Americans TIGER WOODS
and PHIL MICKELSON.



Super Stormers (George, Sth Africa)

The Stormers kept their faint hopes of Super 12 glory alive with an undeserved 29-27
win over the Queensland Reds at Outeniqua Park.

Queensland felt the late loss of stand-in skipper DANIEL HERBERT, with Wallaby loose
forward TOUTAI KEFU joining his brother STEVE at centre.

The Stormers raced to a 16-0 lead before the Reds got on the board, closing the gap
to 19-10 at halftime.

But the second half was all Queensland with fullback CHRIS LATHAM starring.

They hit the front with seven minutes on the clock but a try by BOBBY SKINSTAD and
conversion by BRAAM VAN STRAATEN gave the home side a two point win.




ENDS BULLETIN

AAP RTV rt

KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP

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