Aircraft dispatched in Australia floods...[ 2680 ]

Military aircraft dispatched in Australia floods

By the CNN Wire Staff

February 5, 2012 -- Updated 1006 GMT (1806 HKT)

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An aerial view of flood affected streets on Friday in Moree, Australia.

(CNN) -- Authorities were using military helicopters and a C-130 cargo plane Sunday to evacuate thousands of residents stranded by rising floodwaters in the eastern Australian state of Queensland, the government said.

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Heavy rains in recent weeks have swollen rivers beyond their banks, threatening a number of communities in Queensland and New South Wales.

Authorities were using the plane and helicopters to evacuate patients from a hospital in particularly hard-hit Queensland town of St. George, where officials were warning about 4,000 residents to get out of the path of what officials say will be a record-breaking flood.

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"This is a very serious situation and I urge people to cooperate,'' Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told CNN affiliate Nine Network.

The Balonne River is expected to crest Monday at 15 meters (49.2 feet), swamping the town of St. George.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said authorities were coordinating calls for assistance.

""Emergency Management Australia has liaison officers in flood-affected regions to ensure that requests for any further assistance can be actioned immediately," Gillard said in a statement.

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Food and medical supplies have been flown to isolated communities elsewhere in Queensland, authorities said.

Rescue workers on Sunday recovered the body of a woman who died trying to drive her pickup through floodwaters, authorities said.

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Jane Sheahan was swept away Friday in the Queensland town of Roma, authorities said.

Witnesses told CNN affiliate Nine Network that Sheahan managed to hand off her 7-year-old son, Darcy, to a would-be rescuer before she was swept away.

In the neighboring province of New South Wales, thousands of people remained isolated despite reports of receding floodwaters in some areas.

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Emergency officials lifted a number of evacuations ordered evacuations early Sunday, though they warned residents not to walk, drive or swim in the receding waters.

Flood waters have started to recede around North Moree after five days of major flooding, the New South Wales Emergency Services said, but many of the town's streets remain closed.

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Aerial assessments show some 300 homes and businesses have been inundated -- making it the worst flooding in nearly 60 years, CNN affiliate Seven Network reported.

Major flooding has also affected communities along the Namoi River, where the town of Wee Waa has been cut off, the New South Wales Emergency Services said. Major flooding is expected to continue there until the middle of this week.

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Other communities affected by the Namoi River include Boggoabri, Narrabri Bugilbone and Goangra, with flood waters closing roads and inundating some rural properties.

Siberian Huskies...[ 2679 ]

Siberian Huskies in Kamchatka Kennel

© RIA Novosti. Alexandr Piragis

 Eighty dogs of three working breeds –Kamchatka, Alaska, and Siberian Huskies– are kept at the Sibirsky Klyk sledge dog kennel. Siberian Huskies are known for their distinct facial coloring and blue eyes.

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An open day was held at Sibirsky Klyk (Siberian Fang) sledge dog kennel in the suburbs of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Visitors were taught to drive dog sleds.

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• More photos   1 / 2 / 3 / 

Occupy Oakland protest muted...[ 2678 ]

Occupy Oakland protest muted after last week's arrests

By the CNN Wire Staff

February 5, 2012 -- Updated 0921 GMT (1721 HKT)

(CNN) -- A week after the mass arrests of Occupy Oakland demonstrators following clashes with police, a more muted protest played out Saturday in the northern California city.
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Despite a call by a small faction of the Occupy Oakland group to conduct "militant action" against authorities, there was no repeat of last week's violence where protesters threw bottles and tossed pipes at police, who responded with tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bag bullets.

Authorities arrested more than 400 people in that incident.
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The Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee called last week's police response "police repression" and vowed to conduct "militant action.
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"If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protesters in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march," the committee warned in a statement on its website.
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"It is a militant action. It attracts anti-capitalists, anti-fascists and other comrades of a revolutionary bent. It is not a march intended for people who are not fully comfortable with diversity of tactics."

But Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan warned the city would not tolerate a repeat and said officers would arrest anyone "who engages in criminal activity or assaults against officers or community members."
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"This type of destructive and aggressive behavior is not welcome in our city," Jordan said.

By nightfall Saturday, about 150 protesters -- many dressed in black and some with their faces covered -- marched from a park outside Oakland's City Hall to the police department. Police maintained a large presence along the route.
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Last week's mass arrests, described by Oakland police as the largest in city history, came after protesters tried to take over a long-vacant auditorium to use as its hub.

When police blocked the group, clashes ensued.

Occupy Oakland is part of a larger movement that began last year on New York's Wall Street and quickly spread across the globe.
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While the protesters have highlighted a number of causes, the overarching theme remained the same: populist anger over what activists portray as an out-of-touch corporate, financial and political elite.

Oakland has been a flash point of the Occupy movement since October when police used tear gas to break up demonstrators who refused to leave downtown.
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One demonstrator, an Iraq war veteran, suffered a skull fracture after being hit with a police projectile, according to a veteran's group. Police said they acted after the crowd threw paint and other objects at officers.

The Oakland march Saturday followed a move hours earlier by U.S. Park Police in Washington to close an Occupy DC camp at McPherson Square.
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Park police in riot gear first entered at dawn Saturday, and said they were not there to evict protesters, but to check for compliance with "no camping" laws.

Still, at one point, there was a confrontation between protesters and riot police. At least eight people were arrested.

The move comes after a federal judge Tuesday rejected an Occupy DC request to keep park police from enforcing a ban on camping in McPherson park and nearby Freedom Plaza.
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Living in a public park as a means of protest is not protected by the First Amendment, Judge James Boasberg ruled.

CNN's Maria P. White and Greg Morrison contributed to this report.

Road congestion crisis...[ 2677 ]

Brace yourself, highways to hell coming

• by: Alex White
• From: Sunday Herald Sun
• February 05, 2012 12:00AM

Funds for the Princes Highway upgrade project will be held back to the 2013-14 financial year. Herald Sun

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MELBOURNE is on the road to a congestion crisis, with an extra 101,500 cars forecast to clog the city's freeways within five years. 
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VicRoads' official traffic projections, released exclusively to the Sunday Herald Sun, show an enormous influx of cars on five major Melbourne thoroughfares by 2016.

Traffic experts have warned the projections - which do not include trucks or motorbikes - exposed the growing threat of city-wide gridlock.

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RACV spokeswoman Thanuja Gunatillake said the State Government had no strategy in place to deal with the growing chaos on Melbourne's freeways and said the future was "dire" for motorists commuting to the city.

The Eastern Freeway, Western Ring Rd, Tullamarine Freeway, the West Gate Bridge and the Monash Freeway all would be flooded with thousands of extra cars every day by 2016, according to the VicRoads figures.

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The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal:

THE Monash Freeway between Forster Rd and Huntingdale Rd will be the worst affected with more than 37,000 extra cars per day.

UP to 1610 of the extra vehicles per hour will join the city-bound morning peak hour, causing further delays on the already packed route.

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THE West Gate Bridge, one of Melbourne's biggest traffic trouble spots, will be pushed to the limit with 18,469 extra cars crossing daily.

DRIVERS on the Tullamarine Freeway will jockey with 20,831 added cars per day.

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MOTORISTS on the already clogged Eastern Freeway between Springvale Rd and Blackburn Rd will battle an extra 500 cars in the morning rush.

THE Western Ring Rd between Princes Freeway West and Boundary Rd will increase by 12 per cent, reaching 134,400 cars per day with 5488 cars flooding the road during morning peak hour.

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The data was released by VicRoads under Freedom of Information laws after a four-month campaign by the Sunday Herald Sun. Statistics on trucks were not available for all roads, but the data indicated an extra 1223 trucks would use the West Gate Bridge, taking the daily freight traffic to almost 13,000.

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The RACV estimated congestion cost the Victorian economy $3 billion a year and would continue to sky-rocket as roads became more jammed.

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"The picture is pretty clear. We cannot waste any more time," Ms Gunatillake said.

"Congestion affects everyone. We tend to think of people in cars, but 85 per cent of the public transport system uses the same network," she said.

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"This shows a dire need for investment in transport."

Ms Gunatillake called on the Victorian Government to invest now in key projects including an 18km project that would incorporate a tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Rd with connections to the Tullamarine Freeway.

She also called for a better public transport strategy in Melbourne's growth suburbs.

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Minister for Roads Terry Mulder said the State Government had applied to Infrastructure Australia for $30 million to build the controversial East-West road link, which will require significant private investment.

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"The Coalition Government's new East-West Link is a once-in-a-generation project that will transform the way people move around Melbourne in a way not seen since CityLink and the city rail loop were built," Mr Mulder said.

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"The improved East-West Link will provide an alternative to the M1 corridor, remove traffic from Melbourne's inner arterial roads, particularly at Hoddle St where the Eastern Freeway ends abruptly, and link industry in Melbourne's north, east and west." No time line has been given for the project or state funds committed.

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Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen slammed the Government's strategy and said building more roads was not the answer.

"We have seen massive expansion on the freeways in the past decade and we still have chronic congestion," Mr Bowen said.

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"The Government is putting some money into the rail system but some suburbs will never have rail and it is inevitable they will drive cars. We need to expand the public transport network."

Drivers were also shocked about the potential delays.

Motorist Judy Guardiani feared longer waits meant more stress for many Melbourne drivers.

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"There are too many angry people on the road already, something needs to be done," she said.

VicRoads director of network and asset planning Robert Freemantle denied there would be congestion chaos in the future.

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"Melbourne's freeways have been designed to operate efficiently while carrying the bulk of the daily traffic volume and heavy vehicles, and they will continue to do so into the future," he said.

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"With increasing traffic volumes due to population growth, VicRoads continues to implement an ongoing program of road improvement projects designed to accommodate this trend."

Iran Launches Military Exercises...[ 2676 ]

Iran Launches New Military Exercises

Tensions Rise as Iran 'Flexes' Its Muscle

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran February 4, 2012 (AP)

Iran began ground military exercises Saturday and defiantly warned that it could cut off oil exports to "hostile" European nations as tensions rise over suggestions that military strikes are an increasing possibility if sanctions fail to rein in the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
 VIDEO

Tehran has stepped up its rhetoric as international pressure mounts over allegations that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons, a charge it denies.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued stern warnings against any possible U.S. or Israeli attacks against Tehran's nuclear facilities. Western forces also have boosted their naval presence in the Gulf led by the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

The new military maneuvers came weeks after Iran rolled out its troops and arsenals in an unprecedented display of military readiness, with 10 days of naval maneuvers that included the first threats to block Gulf oil tankers in early January. Ground forces also were sent on winter war games — against what a Tehran military spokesman called a "hypothetical enemy" — with U.S. forces just over the border in Afghanistan.

Plans for new Iranian naval games in the Persian Gulf off the country's southern coast have been in the works for weeks.

ABCNEWS.com

Israel Braces for Potential Attack From Iran 

Iran Says Attack From Israel Would 'Harm America' 

Iran Threat: Attack on U.S.? 
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Iranian state media reported the ground maneuvers of the elite Revolutionary Guard started Saturday near Jiroft, 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran. No more details were available, but it appeared that they were small-scale exercises and not linked to the planned major naval maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz, the route for one-fifth of the world's crude oil.

Iranian officials and lawmakers repeatedly have threatened to close the strait, which funnels down to a waterway no wider than 30 miles (50 kilometers) at the mouth of the Gulf, in retaliation for sanctions that affect Iran's oil exports. 
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But they have as yet made no attempts to disrupt shipping through the waterway, and the U.S. and other Western powers have warned they would respond swiftly to any attempts at a blockade.

Washington and its allies fear Iran could use its uranium enrichment labs — which make nuclear fuel — to eventually produce weapons-grade material. Tehran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.

So far, the West is relying primarily on the threat of economic sanctions to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.
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Tehran has claimed that the most recent move — EU sanctions approved on Jan. 23, which include an oil embargo and the freezing of central bank assets — will be ineffective, while members of Iran's parliament say they have drafted a bill which would cut off the flow to Europe early, before it can find alternative suppliers.

Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi also said Saturday the Islamic Republic would "definitely" cut off oil to "hostile" European countries, without specifying which ones they were.
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However, he said Iran is moving toward reducing reliance on oil revenues, a hint that Tehran is preparing for the worst. Oil sales account for about 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenues.
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Qassemi, the oil minister, reiterated Iran's argument that the EU oil embargo will not cripple Iran's economy, claiming that the country already has identified new customers to replace the loss in European sales that accounted for about 18 percent of Iran's exports.