Renegade Mali soldiers seize presidential palace

The soldiers staged a mutiny against the government's handling of a rebellion in the country's north, which has displaced thousands of people.


Dozens of troops stormed the offices of the state radio and television broadcaster in the capital Bamako, firing off rounds inside the building.


Programs went off air after around 10 minutes of automatic gunfire, but returned within a few hours.


Crowds of youths, some cheering and burning tyres, gathered nearby.


"We now know it is a coup d'etat that they are attempting," a defence ministry official said, asking not to be named.


Calls for calm poured in from abroad as the United Nations, France and United States expressed alarm at the events unfolding.


Sustained gunfire rang out at the palace late on Wednesday (local time) and one of the mutineers told AFP the situation was "largely to our advantage on the ground at the palace".


Elite paratroopers known as the Red Berets had taken up positions around government buildings late in the afternoon, but were called back to defend the presidency, where an advisor to president Amadou Toumani Toure said earlier that the head of state was holed up.


Meanwhile, an independent source said President Amadou Toumani Toure, earlier holed up in the palace as shots were traded outside between the renegade soldiers and loyal guards, had managed to leave the premises.


On Wednesday, an adviser to Toure told AFP that the president was holed up inside the palace, under protection of his elite paratroopers unit known as "Red Berets," who took up position outside government buildings.


Also on Wednesday, renegade soldiers seized the state broadcasting station. Anger had erupted among the soldiers who say they are fed up with a lack of resources and proper weapons as they battle Tuareg insurgents waging a two-month-old war in the north of the country.


The Tuareg rebellion is part of a decades-old bid for independence, and this offensive, the first since 2009, was boosted by the recent return of heavily armed men who fought in Libya for slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi.


France and the US expressed alarm at the unfolding events and urged a peaceful resolution.


"The situation is currently unclear and unfolding quickly," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, urging US citizens to stay indoors.

Video speed trap lurks in new iPad

You'll love the blistering data speeds on the new iPad models with 4G wireless. What you may not love is how fast you could exhaust your monthly data allotment, or the cost of using that data when the preferred method of connecting, Wi-Fi, is unavailable.


Less than 24 hours after purchasing the Verizon Wireless version of the iPad + 4G — and choosing a $30, 2GB monthly data plan from Verizon — I was shocked by the notification on my iPad's screen: "There is no data remaining on your current plan."
My remaining options for the month included changing to a $50 5GB data plan or an $80 10GB plan. (AT&T offers a 250MB plan for $14.99; 3GB for $30; and 5GB for $50.)




The iPad's new high-resolution screen and fast connection are specifically designed to spur greater use of online video -- a long-stated goal for phone companies as well as technology purveyors such as Apple and Google.


Telecom companies in particular are banking on mobile video to drum up demand for their new, fourth-generation networks and create new revenue streams as they adjust to the smartphone age.


That means something has to give: either consumers will have to get used to paying more or wireless carriers will come under pressure to change their pricing models.


Verizon declined to comment on its pricing strategy, but said customers can pick higher-use plans or they can go easier on their data allotments by shifting to WiFi networks when they are available.


Those alternatives don't always line up well with what consumers want.


Albert Park, a 24-year-old working at a start-up in Austin, Texas, tapped into the WiFi network at a local cafe on Sunday to watch some YouTube videos on his iPad. The network turned out to be too slow for an uninterrupted stream, so Mr Park switched to the high-speed mobile network operated by his service provider, AT&T.


For the next hour, Mr Park watched concert videos and other clips and browsed social-media sites. On Tuesday, five days after getting the new iPad, he found he was already two-thirds of the way through his monthly allotment of 3 gigabytes of wireless data.


"I'll probably avoid watching videos outside my home," Mr Park concluded.


Such decisions set up a quandary for wireless carriers, which are rolling out multibillion-dollar high-speed networks that use a technology called LTE. The technology promises to boost mobile download speeds by 10 times compared with third-generation networks, making it almost purpose-built for mobile video.


Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, has the nation's biggest LTE network, covering an area with more than 200 million people. AT&T's LTE network covers 74 million people. Both carriers' LTE networks are still growing, and Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA -- which don't currently carry the iPad -- also have plans to build LTE networks.

FCC paves the way for a Dish 4G LTE network

Rather than connecting directly to telco networks via 3G-enabled tablets, users are avoiding the heavy price tag of these tablets and falling back on Wi-Fi models that make use of ubiquitous coverage in their area. According to research firm IDC's "A/NZ Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker" report, Wi-Fi-only tablets outdid Wi-Fi/3G tablets in the fourth quarter of last year in terms of the number of shipments.


Telstra appears to be betting on this trend to continue in the 4G space, with its 4G wireless hotspot that will launch next Tuesday for consumers. The hotspot provides users with the means to bring their Wi-Fi-only devices to the LTE network.


It is one of the only ways that owners of the new iPad will be able to connect to the faster LTE network, since the iPad doesn't currently support LTE out of the box due to a difference in spectrum bands across the globe.


IDC's report further pointed to the lack of low-priced tablets in the market as a reason for why people are purchasing Wi-Fi-only models.


Even though all the wireless operators who bought spectrum in the 700 MHz auction are using spectrum from the same band, they each use different pieces of it. Rural carriers tend to hold licenses in the lower half of the block, and AT&T also owns some of this spectrum thanks to its bandwidth deal with Qualcomm.
There are all kinds of potential interference issues in this lower portion of the spectrum. But regional carriers want the FCC to make sure that the chipsets for their services are compatible with chipsets for AT&T's service. Otherwise, these smaller carriers say they won't have the volume necessary for handset makers to make devices for their networks. It also means that their customers wouldn't be able to roam onto AT&T's network unless their devices had additional radio technology included.
AT&T has argued in the past that the interference issues are too great and that devices cannot be forced to use the same exact radio technology that will operate across the entire lower portion of the 700 MHz band of spectrum.
So the FCC is looking into whether there's a solution that settles AT&T's interference concerns while also ensuring that smaller carriers can offer competitive handsets and roaming.
AT&T said in a statement after the vote that it "welcomes this proceeding to the extent that it offers an opportunity to find real solutions to the real interference and deployment challenges in the band." But the carrier still claims that a mandatory interoperability requirement would be a mistake.
"Such mandates would be an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into a carrier's right to manage network and device deployment in a manner best suited to serve its customers," Joan Marsh, a vice president of regulatory affairs at AT&T, said in a statement.
Finally, the FCC took up a notice of inquiry from the NTIA, which is proposing to reallocate spectrum at 1695-1710 MHz from government to commercial use. This proceeding will help the FCC determine how it can best use this spectrum.

Jason Akermanis attacks 'nasty man' Jim Stynes, saying he was treated like a 'demigod'

In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time Premiership-winning player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, was "overkill.''


Stynes has been lauded as an inspirational player on and off the field, recognised for his youth work with the Reach Foundation.


He is expected to be honoured at a State funeral in Melbourne on Tuesday, before his ashes are returned to his home town in Ireland.


But Akermanis is unlikely to be among mourners, after telling breakfast hosts Mark Darin and Caroline Hutchinson Stynes "was a nasty man in his day. He had a nice turn of phrase and he made sure you knew how he felt.


In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time premiership player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, was "overkill.''


Stynes has been lauded as an inspirational player on and off the field, recognised for his youth work with the Reach Foundation.


He will be honoured at a state funeral in Melbourne on Tuesday, before his ashes are returned to Ireland.


But Akermanis is unlikely to be among mourners after telling breakfast hosts Mark Darin and Caroline Hutchinson that Stynes "was a nasty man in his day. He had a nice turn of phrase and he made sure you knew how he felt".


"What amazes me is yes, he was a legend of the game and did a great job and wonderful things with kids, but you know there are a bunch of people who have done just as much who don't get any recognition. I just think it's a bit out of kilter.


"He got a state funeral - do all football players get a state funeral? There's something about it all that just made me feel uncomfortable. Jim's good but is he that good?''

Man jailed for brutal bashing death of hairdresser

 David Patrick Clifford, 30, was on parole and on bail when he killed Elsa Corp in a South Melbourne hotel room on February 1, 2010.


Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth told a packed public gallery in the Supreme Court that Clifford inflicted horrific injuries while subjecting Ms Corp to a “prolonged, vicious attack, going on for perhaps an hour or so”.


More than 50 members, friends and supporters of the Corp family were in court to hear Justice Hollingworth sentence Clifford to a maximum of 23 years with a non-parole period of 19 years.




Most cheered and clapped when the judge announced the maximum term, but Ms Corp’s parents, Andy and Gilly, said outside court later they thought the sentence was “not enough”.


Mr Corp, a former UK policeman, said he “felt sick in the guts to hear exactly what happened, and so disappointed that a human being could sink to that level”.


The pair had been on a blind date when the hairdresser was brutally beaten to death before the hotel room was set on fire.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said Clifford's horrific attack on Ms Corp was severe and extended.
"The noises heard by witnesses, the nature and extent of the horrific injuries inflicted upon Ms Corp and the state of disarray of the hotel room all indicate that it was a prolonged, vicious attack, going on for perhaps an hour or so," Justice Hollingworth said.
After the sentence was read out, about 40 of Ms Corp's family and friends clapped and smiled, with calls of "scum bag" and "dog" directed at Clifford.

Charred human remains found at Traralgon house

Human remains have been found in a historic home that burnt down in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley this morning.
The 150-year-old house in Hickox Street, Traralgon was completely destroyed by the blaze, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
She said the Country Fire Authority had contacted police just before 4.30am to notify them that a body may be in the burning house.
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A CFA spokeswoman said it had taken firefighters about 10 minutes to control the blaze and initially firefighters believed the homestead was unoccupied.


Fire crews were called to the 150-year-old homestead, about 18km east of Morwell, about 2.15am to find it engulfed in flames.


The house was gutted by the fire, which investigators suspect was deliberately lit.


Investigators are attempting to identify the remains and are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Jason Akermanis attacks late Jim Stynes

In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time premiership player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, was "overkill.''


Stynes has been lauded as an inspirational player on and off the field, recognised for his youth work with the Reach Foundation.


He will be honoured at a state funeral in Melbourne on Tuesday, before his ashes are returned to Ireland.


Melbourne’s Brad Green tweeted "Aker, you are a tosser!!! Show respect", Carlton’s  Brock McLean said "Jason Akermanis... Show some respect. Regardless of how you feel, never speak ill of the dead.


Lowest of lows." Richmond legend Matthew Richardson said "I think Aker may have finally done his dash. #low"


Stunned by the reaction Akermanis told Melbourne’s Herald Sun that he had been taken out of context.


"People die all the time,” he said.


"I saw my mum die of cancer in the exact same way and she was as human as anybody else. Jimmy dying is sad, but give me a break. My mum was great lady too but she wasn't pure.


"Jim was a human being like anybody else full of good things and bad things.”


"I'm not bagging the guy, I'm just saying he was a human being.”


 Akermanis said he admired Stynes competitiveness as a player.


"When I knew him he was competitive and nasty and brutal. He wanted to win and would do anything to do it.

Naden charged with murder

Ms Scholes, 24, was found dead in a bedroom of a house in Bumblegumbie Road, Dubbo, on June 23, 2005.


Naden has been charged with her murder, as well as two counts of aggravated indecent assault of person under 16 over an incident involving a 15-year-old girl at Dubbo in 2004; and shoot with intent to murder over the incident involving police officer at Nowendoc on 7 December 2011.


He's been refused bail to appear in Taree Local Court shortly.


This morning the 38-year-old left Manning Base Hospital, in Port Macquarie, northeast NSW, surrounded by police in riot gear with his ankles shackled and a bandage around his lower left leg.


With a blue-hooded forensic services jacket covering his face, he was taken to a waiting police transport van and driven away ahead of an expected appearance in Taree Local Court later today.


He also faces two counts of aggravated indecent assault over an alleged attack on a 15-year-old girl, also at Dubbo in 2004.
An attempted murder charge was laid over the shooting of a police officer in December.
He remains in custody after a brief court appearance in Taree.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has defended the length of the search.
"This man is a master bushman. He has been in this area for a number of years," he said.
"He knows it better than the back of his hand. The conditions that we encountered were atrocious, and the terrain was second to none when it came to difficulty.
"When you put all of that together, this is going to take time. I'd suggest though that those officers that have given of their time have done an outstanding job."