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100 movies to see before you die

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 Mei 2013 | 22.16

The incomparable Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, ranks highly in the Top 100 list. Source: Supplied

NEED a guaranteed conversation starter?

Ask anyone what's their favourite movie.

Some people know straight away, others can't narrow it down to less than 10.

The actors and directors News Ltd surveyed found it just as difficult as News Ltd movie reviewer Leigh Paatsch, who had 100 choices to play with for his '100 Must See Movies' list.

See Leigh's 100 movies in the interactive below - if you are using a mobile click here for the best experience - and then tell us which of the movies you like best by taking our MOVIE SURVEY. Keep reading below and send us your comments.

But that didn't make his task any easier.

''These selections took an age to decide. They're not exactly the 100 best movies of all-time. No-one could ever nail a list like that with total confidence,'' Paatsch said.

''But there is a good balance of the classic and the modern, as well as the highbrow and the lowbrow, that capture the endless possibilities of the movie medium.''

Top of his list was the ''simply untouchable'' Godfather (parts 1 and 2).

''The first two instalments of Coppola's Godfather trilogy make the film fan an offer that should never be refused,'' he wrote.

Other undisputed classics on the list included Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Schindler's List, but there was also room for some undisputed silliness.

Dumb & Dumber made the cut for being the movie that kick started the ''gross out'' genre.

Aussie films on the list include Gallipoli, Don's Party and Ten Canoes.

A quick survey of actors and directors revealed being in the industry didn't make it any easier to choose a favourite film.

Ewan McGregor just wouldn't commit.

''The list is so long I just can't pin it down to one. I can't choose,'' he said, although he did point out his own hit Moulin Rouge ''is a visual feast for the eyes. It's so rich and full of colour and life''.

Nepotism was also a characteristic of Matt Damon's choice.

''Am I allowed to say Argo?'' he said, of his best mate Ben Affleck's Oscar winner.

And young Jaden Smith, star of The Karate Kid and son of Will Smith chose one of his dad's blockbusters.

''I Am Legend, that movie is great, it's awesome. It's scary and it's very quiet. I love all the crazy things in it, all the animals, how they work ... It's a very thought-out movie,'' he said.

Aussie singer/actor Jessica Mauboy kept it local.

''My favourite films are all Australian films, including Mabo, Wish You Were Here and, of course, The Sapphires, but Strictly Ballroom is my all time favourite,'' she said.

Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic Alien was top of the list for directors Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) and Neill Blomkamp (District 9).

''It's a perfect movie; simple, beautifully designed and incredibly effective in creating an unforgettable cinematic experience,'' McLean said, while putting the finishing touches to Wolf Creek 2.

Fellow horror director Leigh Whannell (writer and actor in Saw) cites Trainspotting as his favourite.

''Some people may think that film is a product of its time - the nineties, Britpop etc - but I think it's timeless. The characters are so rich and the film is hilarious as well as tragic. The character of Begbie makes me laugh and is very quotable, but he's also terrifying. It's one of those films I can watch again and again because you feel like you know the characters,'' he said.


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Castro 'threatened ex over court case'

Triple kidnap suspect Ariel Castro shields his face after being confronted by reporters in the Cleveland police station where has taken for questioning. Source: Fox News

  • IN PICTURES: CLEVELAND'S HOUSE OF HORRORS  
  • Ariel Castro charged with four counts of kidnap, three of rape.
  • FBI investigators return to examine properties either side of Castro's house.  
  • Amanda Berry gave birth inside inflatable pool because of the 'mess'.

ARIEL Castro's former wife claimed she didn't testify about his violent behaviour after he paid her off with cash and a car before threatening her safety.

Puerto Rican-born Castro has been charged for the kidnap and rape of 27-year-old Amanda Berry, 23-year-old Gina DeJesus and 32-year-old Michele Knight, all of whom went missing separately not far from each other in Cleveland, Ohio. Castro also faces a count of kidnapping related to Berry's six-year-old daughter Jocelyn, who was born in captivity.

WHO IS THE THIRD VICTIM?

IS THE CLEVELAND HERO A FRAUD?

RESCUED WOMAN AND MUM YET TO SPEAK

An undated picture taken of Michele Knight before she was held in a house in Cleveland against her will with Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry. Picture: Fox News 8

CASTRO'S 'DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE' PERSONALITY

Grimilda Figueroa, who had three daughters and a son with Castro, died last year from a brain tumour and it is not clear if she and her estranged husband had ever formally divorced, though the pair lived separate lives. Both had other long-term partners and Ms Figueroa had a son with her partner Fernando Colon, whom she met in 1995.

In 1994 a grand jury was due to her testimony relating to allegations Ms Figueroa had made regarding the brutal violence she said she suffered at the hands of Castro following surgery in 1993.

In a sworn statement, she said she dropped the charges after her ex bought her silence with a car, cash and an open threat to her safety, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Aduio of police officers comments when responding to Cleveland house call

"You know what will happen to you if you do testify," Ms Figueroa said in the affidavit. "I knew that he would find me and assault me again. … I was unable to offer my testimony before the grand jury. I did not tell anyone about the threats."  

Ms Figueroa's partner, Fernando Colon, was questioned over the 2004 disappearance of Gina DeJesus as his stepdaughter was her close friend.  He said he told the FBI to look into Castro's activities. He was later convicted of sexually molesting both Arlene and Emily.  Mr Colon told Fox 8 News that has always denied the charges and thinks Castro orchestrated the case against him which included testifying to divert attention away from his own crimes.

"Actually, that was something brilliant because if you come to think about it, he's got these girls prisoner in there, and put an accusation as such to me, makes him look like an angel, like he is such a proud father, such a trustworthy person," Colon said.

"If people would have listened, when I told them to look into this individual, these girls would not have been missing so long," he added.   

Hope dangerous for grieving families

Members of the FBI evidence response team carry out the front screen door from a house where three women were held, in Cleveland. Three women who disappeared a decade ago were found safe Monday, and police arrested three brothers accused of holding the victims against their will. Picture: Tony Dejak

 Thousands of children are missing all across America. The longer they are gone, the smaller the chances they will be found alive. So when three women who had been missing for a decade or more emerged from the house where they had been held captive, it provided an extraordinarily rare happy ending.

"I would definitely say it was a miracle," said Kelly Murphy, who founded Project Jason after her own son vanished to help other such families.

Murphy had worked with two of the Cleveland families while their daughters were missing. After they were found, she heard from many others who are still searching.

"The general response is that it gives us all hope," Murphy said. "I'm in the situation too, with my son almost missing for 12 years without a trace and without clues. It definitely gives us hope that there is a chance. If it happened to those girls, it can happen to us."

Action News 19 reporter Ed Gallek confronts Ariel Castro in the Cleveland police station

"To have hope helps you get through each day, hope that there's a good answer instead of the answer that nobody wants. It just helps you keep going, because it's very difficult to have to live with ambiguous loss."

But how much does it help to hope for a miracle, which by definition is almost impossible?

Some, like Murphy, need to keep that spark alive, however small. Others, like Jody Himebaugh, need to protect their emotions.

Himebaugh knows about what happened in Cleveland, but has avoided the details. His son Mark disappeared in 1991, at age 11.

FBI agents search another Cleveland house close to where three women were held.

"Every time I watch this kind of stuff, it rekindles the last 23 years," he said. "All it does, it just gives us hope again."

For Himebaugh, hope hurts. Whether hope is more painful than saying a permanent goodbye - that's impossible to figure.

"For the past 23 years, I've been happy for the families over that time who have recovered their kids, dead or alive," he said. "At least they've got closure. My biggest fear is I'm going to go to my grave and never know what happened to Mark, and why."

Sherry Hamby, a psychology professor at Sewanee: The University of the South who studies the victimization of children, said some families can become frozen in time at the point their child disappeared.

Dashcam footage shows the kidnapping suspect being questioned by an officer in 2008. Courtesy Fox News Official 16

"At some point, after so many years have gone by, there's a lot to be said for closure," Hamby said. "It's just not a natural state of being for humans to be frozen in this time, waiting. We can't stay in that kind of limbo forever."

The most difficult decisions, Hamby said, can involve what seem like mundane details.

"Are you going to pack up that child's things? Are you going to convert that room to another use?" she said. "I think the need for psychological closure just is necessary because of the concrete limitations that we are facing. It's just hard to go through life trying to not make any changes."

Murphy, of Project Jason, knows families who have chosen to believe their missing child is dead, and she does not begrudge them that choice.

But Murphy holds onto hope, "because it keeps us focused on the future."

"It's just unfortunate that in our case," she said, "we don't know what the future holds."

Castro faces court in next few hours

The former US school bus driver charged with holding three young women in captivity and raping them in a decade-long horror, is due to appear in an Ohio court on Thursday local time, three days after their dramatic rescue.

Castro is due in court  in the next few hours for arraignment.

A photo of Ariel Castro released by the Cleveland Police Department following his arrest.

His two brothers are also scheduled to make a court appearance, but on misdemeanour charges unrelated to the kidnappings and rapes, authorities said.

Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said that a paternity test on Ariel Castro was being done to establish who fathered Berry's child. He reportedly made sure Joceyln didn't know the real names of either Knight or DeJesus in case she accidentally mentioned them when he took her on trips to the outside world.

The young girl was said to be home schooled and none of the women were ever visited by or went out to see a doctor or medical professional during their years in captivity.

The police chief refused to comment on reports that Castro had impregnated Knight at least five times and would punch her in the stomach until she miscarried.

Amanda Berry, left, and Gina DeJesus have been found alive after disappearing in the US city of Cleveland about a decade ago. Picture: AFP

Police Chief Michael McGrath earlier told NBC he was "absolutely" sure police did everything they could to find the women over the years.

He disputed claims by neighbours that officers had been called to the house before for suspicious circumstances.

Castro, a former school bus driver whose family hails from Puerto Rico, has been described as a friendly neighbour who raised few suspicions but who also kept to himself, rarely if ever allowing anyone inside his home.

"Ariel kept everybody at a distance," Tomba said. "He ran the show."

Castro 'marked captivity with cake'

Details have emerged of the horrific circumstance in which the 3 women were held in a US house for 10 years

Inside the Seymour Avenue house, the three women who last celebrated birthdays with their families about a decade ago saw year after year perversely marked by Castro's serving of a cake on the day each woman was abducted, according to one of DeJesus's cousins.

"He would celebrate their abduction day as their new birthday," the cousin said, adding that DeJesus had pleaded with family not to ask her about her years in captivity.
 

Technology helps thwart kidnappers: experts

Experts say the implementation of the amber alert system for a child abduction emergency which ensures saturation coverage on cable television and social media is helping them put pressure on abductors.

"When an Amber Alert goes out, there is so much public pressure on the abductor that they often release the child before they can get hurt," Robert G. Lowery Jr. from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children told The Washington Post. "The vast majority of children now escape death because of Amber Alert."

The system enacted means stories are quickly transmitted on 24 hour cable TV shows, CCTV vision is scrutinised by the police, known sex offenders are looked at, hotlines for tips are quickly set up, alerts are sent via Twitter and Facebook plus police study traffic images.  Lowery's non-profit group has also recently launched a service to send amber alert information to every mobile phone within range of the mobile phone tower where the child went missing.

The ability of computer programs to create realistic images of what a kidnapped child may look like years after they went missing is also vital.

Audio reveals moment of girls' rescue

A stunned police officer called "we found 'em, we found 'em" when three kidnap victims were rescued in Cleveland on Tuesday. Now they're not sure exactly how many were held at the house.

The three women were subjected to prolonged sexual and psychological abuse and suffered miscarriages, a city councilman briefed on the case said.

At the time of the rescue, Michele Knight told police she was unsure exactly how many women were detained inside the house, but that there may have been other victims.

A source has reportedly told The Mirror: "Police are unsure as to how many victims there may have been over the past 10 years but they are following up on every single lead they get."

FBI investigators have begun examining houses on either side of the Seymour Ave, Cleveland, property in which the three captives were kept locked in separate rooms. Fox News reports these properties had previously been owned by the Castro family.

Cleveland's safety director Marty Flask said human remains have not been found at the Castro home on Seymour Avenue. More than 200 items of evidence have so far been taken from the house in which the three were held.

Audio has been released of the frantic emergency call Amanda Berry made after escaping a kidnapping lasting ten years.

Meanwhile, Cleveland police have released the audio recording of the officers' point of view while responding to Amanda Berry's and Charles Ramsey's 911 calls.

Upon arriving at 5.55pm, the officers immediately realised the callers were not cranks.

"This might be for real," one of the officers said while asking for an ambulance.

"Georgina DeJesus might be in this house also," another said.

Audio released by the Cleveland Police Department captures Charles Ramsey's call to emergency services.

With the sound of a woman crying in the background, one officer calls: "We found em. We found em".

Later: "We also have a Michele Knight in the house. I don't know if you want to look that up in the radio, uh the system."

Police press conference

Police told media at a press conference this morning that the three captives never left the property and were only allowed outside twice.

The women were allowed to leave the home briefly, both times to go "into the garage in disguise,'' deputy police chief Ed Tomba told reporters.

"They were in that home. They don't believe they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years,'' he said.

"They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there.''

He refused to comment on reports that the women had become pregnant on several occasions and had lost the babies.

The house was found to be in "disarray" when investigators entered.

Monday was the first time Amanda, Gina or Michele tried to escape - ever,  Tomba said.

Councilman Brian Cummins said many details remained unclear, including the number of pregnancies and the conditions under which the miscarriages occurred.

He said the women were kept in the basement for some time without having access to the rest of the house.  Earlier, city police chief Michael McGrath had said the women were "bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall''.
 
"It sounds pretty gruesome,'' Cummins said.

Suspect 'needed help'

Sources told the local Cleveland news outlet that Ariel Castro "talks about a sex addiction and needing help" and that he "puts some blame on the victims for getting in the car with him."

WEWS-TV reports sources as saying Castro had offered Amanda Berry and Michele Knight rides home, but took them to his house instead.

Neighbors in the largely Puerto Rican neighborhood said he had taken part in the search for one of the missing women, performed music at a fundraiser for her and attended a candlelight vigil, where he comforted her mother.

The captives reportedly watched the vigils on television from their basement prison.

"When we went out to look for Gina, he helped pass out fliers,'' said Khalid Samad, a community activist who said Castro was friends with DeJesus' father.

Castro, just like everyone else in the tight-knit, mostly Puerto Rican neighbourhood, seemed shaken by the 2004 disappearance of Ms DeJesus.

Fox news reports the three Castro brothers are being held in separate cells under additional police protection as inmates - even though they are kept separate - are doing all they can to give the men "a hard time".

Prosecutors brought no charges against his brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, saying there was no evidence they had any part in the crime. Police said they were detained because they were with Ariel at the time of his arrest and have outstanding warrants.

"There is nothing that leads us to believe that they (the brothers) were involved or had any knowledge of this,'' Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said.

"We found no facts to link them to the crime.''

The police chief told the news conference that a paternity test on Ariel Castro was being done to establish who fathered Berry's now 6-year-old child.

As recently as 2005, Castro was accused of repeated acts of violence against his children's mother. A domestic-violence court filing at the time accused Ariel Castro of twice breaking the nose of his children's mother, knocking out a tooth, dislocating each shoulder and threatening to kill her and her daughters three or four times in a year.

Victims' families speak

Two of the women were welcomed home Wednesday by jubilant crowds. Neither Berry nor Gina DeJesus, about 23, spoke publicly, and their families pleaded for patience and time alone. The third captive, Michele Knight, 32, was reported in good condition at a local hospital.

Ms Berry was expected to front the media today to make a statement but instead her older sister, Beth Serrano, appeared outside her home overnight (about 2am AEST). 

Ms Serrano thanked everyone for their support over the years and requested privacy for the family.

"I want to thank the public and media for their support and courage over the years. At this time our family would request privacy so my sister and niece and I can have time to recover," she told a thicket of microphones and lenses.

"We appreciate all you have done for us throughout the past ten years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statements. And thank you," she added, before breaking down in tears.

Ms DeJesus also arrived home giving a thumbs up to those gathered outside her home but not speaking to reporters.

Her aunt Sandra Ruiz made a statement on behalf of the family in which she asked the community not to retaliate against the Castro family and to keep searching for another missing girl, Ashely Summers, who was 14 when she disappeared in 2007 from the same Cleveland neighbourhood.

Ms Ruiz described Amanda Berry and Michele Knight as "members of our family now."

"Thank you, again, for your prayers and support. There are not enough words to say or express the joy that we feel for the return of our family member Gina," she said. "Now we need to, as a whole, to rally together, to look next door, and bring our other family member that is missing, Ashley Summers, OK?"

"Be patient with us," she said.  "When we are ready ... we will talk to all of you."

Family members of Ms Knight said she remains in hospital but is doing well.  A cousin told CNN that she "has the mind of a child."

Life in house of horror

Details are emerging about the house that they were held captive in.  Police have confirmed that chains were found on the walls and that the women were only allowed outside for very brief periods of time.

WKYC reported that Ms Knight was forced to deliver Ms Berry's baby, Jocelyn, in an inflatable pool "so the mess was easier to clean up".

"Michele stated that Ariel told her that if the baby died, that he'd kill her," the police report states.

The report said Ms Knight put her mouth to the Jocelyn's mouth and "breathed for her" to keep them both alive.

NewsChannel5 reports Michele Knight was pregnant by Ariel Castro five times. They allege he forced an abortion each time by punching her in the stomach.

19 Action News says its reporter has been told Ariel Castro made a suicide note years ago detailing why he committed the kidnappings.

Police told media at a press conference this morning that the three captives had initially been chained in the building's basement. However, they were later allowed to live in separate rooms upstairs and were hidden in the attic when visitors came to the house.

"We have confirmation they were bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall," Michael McGrath, Cleveland's chief of police told the US Today show.

However, reports have suggested that six-year-old Jocelyn, who was born to Ms Berry while in captivity, was allowed out of the house to visit Ariel Castro's mother, Lillian Rodriguez, who she called 'grandmother'.  It is unconfirmed if Ariel Castro is the father of Ms Berry's child.

Neighbours say they reported seeing three women outside on leashes and a woman pounding on a window with a child in her hand's but that police did nothing.

Mr McGrath said that there had been no record of those calls coming into police over the past 10 years.  Asked if those calls could be made but that a recording was documented, Mr McGrath replied  "We have no record of those calls coming in over the past 10 years''.

CNN is reporting details about Amanda Berry's escape bid.

Castro had left the house without locking the main door. A lighter "storm door" was locked, however.

Castro had previously "tested" his captives by pretending to leave the house with the door unlocked. He would then return suddenly.

Amanda had "reached breaking point" before making her escape bid earlier this week.


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WA price pain: families slugged an extra $218

Struggling WA families have been dealt another blow with the state government announcing a raft of price hikes across utilities and transport

WEST Australians will be slugged an extra $218 a year come July 1 for household fees and charges, which include a 4 per cent hike in electricity fees.

Despite Premier Colin Barnett promising during the State Election that next financial year's electricity hikes would be kept at or around the inflation rate of 2.75 per cent, electricity charges will go up an extra $58 a year for families, bringing their average yearly electricity bill to $1510.

Ahead of the August 8 State Budget, Treasurer Troy Buswell also announced today that motor vehicle charges would increase an extra $25.24 a year, which includes a $3.80 hike for driver licence fees and $11.40 for motor vehicle licence fees.

He also revealed utility charges - which include electricity and water - would increase $137 a year, public transport $39 a year and the emergency services levy $16.


In total, the average family will pay $4987 in household fees and charges, up from $4769 last year.

And there was further bad news for WA households, with Mr Buswell warning electricity charges, which have already gone up 62 per cent since 2008, could rise a further 7 per cent next year.

The Treasurer said West Australians should brace themselves for a tough Budget and said the State Government was currently looking at savings in several areas to meet a drop in revenue.

He warned if the Government did not reign in spending and live within its means, then State debt could spiral beyond the estimated $25 billion in 2015.

"These increases are a sensible measure that will provide certainty for our State economy, while also supporting Western Australian families and individuals," he said.

"Last year, Western Australian households spent less on household government expenses than every other State and Territory.

Troy Buswell has delivered more bad news for West Australian households.

"We have worked hard again this year to ensure that State Government fees and charges will remain low in comparison to other States."

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said the news would be devastating to families already struggling with the cost of living.

"Once again Colin Barnett has attacked WA family budgets, simply because he is incapable of managing his Government's budget," Mr McGowan said.

"Under Mr Barnett's watch, the cost of electricity has now increased by close to 70 per cent and the cost of water by 63 per cent.

"During Mr Barnett's first term of office he increased household fees and charges by more than $1000. "

PERTHNOW READER REACTION

The reaction from many PerthNow readers to the news was swift and angry:

J: Its great everythings going up but we don't get no increases in wages. And centrelink cut our carers allowance. Our utilities are the lowest we can be. We don't have heating or anything else fancy. Just the basic like the dark ages. Thanks to everyone who voted this government in. Now we all pay.

Rachael of Seville Grove: How can they keep putting stuff up!! We don't get paid any more!! Where do they think the bloody money is coming from??

Jeffery of Midland: I sincerely hope all you liberal voters are bloody happy, because this is only the start of it. this government doesnt give a rams backside about any west australian, buswell doesnt care if the average working family are struggling at the momment , let alone these increases,he couldnt give a damn if many pensioners cant survive or keep warm this winter. this government knows that many pensioners will have to cut back on items of which is usually food to pay these bloody increases.

However, other readers saw the increases differently:

Common Sense: 1.75% = $218? A pittance in the grand scheme of things. If that small amount is going to make or break you, you're screwed anyways. It's not a matter of if, but when. Even if electricity didn't go up this time, something else will and eventually you'll be pushed over the edge. No sympathy for pensioners either. You've had an entire lifetime to save and if you haven't done it by now, that's too bad.

Brett: Wow, the people of Perth never change, wah wah wah! Most people can easily afford electricity bills. Listen to the rubbish about "scraping by" yet look around, everyone is driving new vehicles while trying to hold a conversation on their smartphone or listening to their iPod. Obviously the majority of us have it damn good. Stop whinging!


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Severe weather threat eases

Perth's wild weather is not over yet with several warnings in place for tonight

The Crawley Bay boatshed was all but underwater, framed under a stunning rainbow and a bruised sky early today. Reader Picture: Julien Flack Source: PerthNow

Thunderstorms lit up Perth and parts of the South West last night. Source: PerthNow

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

SEVERE weather affecting Perth and southern WA is set to ease overnight, although scattered showers and thunderstorms may persist in some areas.

The wintery weather will persist into tomorrow with isolated showers and winds up to 30km/h but the worst has passed, with severe weather warnings for the South-West now cancelled.

In Perth, sunshine is expected to return over the weekend and persist through next week, with no rain in the long-range forecast at this stage.

For the South-West, isolated thunderstorms will be around overnight and into tomorrow, with the chance of hail early on Friday morning.

Wild night leaves thousands without power

Destructive winds lashed Perth and the South West last night, leaving up to 6000 homes without power.

The intense low pressure system delivered brutal squally storms and thunderstorms to much of the South West of the state from late yesterday and last night.

Strong winds brought trees down on powerlines and blacked out about 6000 homes, mainly in the South West towns of Pemberton and Manjimup and the Perth Hills, although there were disruptions in some Perth suburbs.

Email or tweet your stormy weather pics to us

Western Power crews worked throughout the night and today to restore power to homes.

Rottnest was blasted by 106km/h wind gusts around 1pm yesterday and buffeted by strong winds for the rest of the day and throughout the night.

The SES received about 130 calls for help from residents across Perth and the South West, mainly for water damage and uprooted trees. 

Wet weather in the city. Picture: Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

The front brought significant falls to much of the Wheatbelt and agricultural areas, with rain pushing through to the eastern Wheatbelt areas and Goldfields.

In the previous 24 hours, a strong cold front dumped massive rainfall on many centres across Perth and the South West.

Perth recorded its heaviest rainfall since 2011 with almost 44mm to 9am yesterday and a further 23mm fell to 8am today, accompanied by regular wind gusts of more than 50km/h.

Chapman Hill, south of Busselton, topped the state's rain gauges on Wednesday with a 76mm deluge, while Rottnest had 61mm and Busselton collected 57mm, its heaviest fall since 2005.

Most suburbs across the metropolitan area had at least 40mm, with Swanbourne 56mm, Garden Island 53mm, Jandakot,  51mm. Mandurah missed the torrential downpour but received 26mm.

PERTH 7-DAY FORECAST

Friday 10 May - Min 12, Max 19. Partly cloudy. Isolated showers. Winds westerly 20 to 30 km/h turning southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day.

Saturday 11 May - Min 11, Max 20. Morning shower or two.
Sunday 12 May - Min 8, Max 21. Mostly sunny.
Monday 13 May - Min 9, Max 21. Mostly sunny.
Tuesday 14 May - Min 11, Max 21. Mostly sunny.
Wednesday 15 May - Min 10, Max 22. Sunny.
Thursday 16 May - Min 11, Max 25. Sunny.


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The battle that made Ben a war hero

Special Operations Task Group soldiers make their way to a waiting UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after a Shura in Sha Wali Kot. Picture: ADF Source: Supplied

"It was tense, hot and arduous ... it was kill or be killed."

For sniper team leader Sergeant Garry Robinson - a veteran on his third deployment to Afghanistan - it was the most intense fighting he had experienced.

The commandos were surrounded by more than 100 Taliban fighters and were pinned down by withering rocket propelled grenade and machinegun fire at one of the enemy's most secure fortresses in southern Afghanistan, the village of Chenartu in Shah Wali Kot.

The rate of fire raking the dangerously exposed Diggers shocked even the most hardened soldiers in their ranks.

Men like 2nd Commando Regiment sniper team leader Sergeant Robinson who occupied a high knoll as the "eyes and ears" of his boss the commander of Alpha Company, Major 'M' (his identity is protected).

The ADF has revealed further details surrounding its actions that won SOTG members 13 bravery awards.

"It was tense, hot and arduous," Sergeant Robinson said.

"It was kill or be killed. They were trying to kill me so I have no remorse at all," he said.

On more than one occasion Sergeant Robinson, who was severely wounded in a fatal chopper crash later in the operation, feared he would be overrun as heavy fire and rockets rained down from three sides as they sought cover on the sparse ground "digging holes with their eyelids".

It was June 10, 2010 and four days later a large Taliban force had been routed, several key leaders and dozens of fighters were dead, truck loads of enemy weapons had been seized and the local people were engaging with authorities for the first time in years.

Australian Special Operations Task Group troops and Afghan allies move towards a waiting CH-47 Chinook helicopter as part of the Shah Wali Kot Offensive. Picture: ADF

The Eastern Shah Wali Kot offensive that included the Battles of Chenartu and Tizak, will go down in the annals of Australian military history alongside Tobruk, Long Tan and Kapyong.

Almost three years after the most intense fighting of the war took place in Northern Kandahar Province, the army has finally released details of one of the most successful counter-insurgency operations of the entire campaign.

The two key combat elements were a 25-strong force from Number 2 SAS Squadron and about 100 troops from the 2nd Commando Regiment.

The SAS operators provided speed and stealth and the commandos the "sledgehammer" effect. In support were the Special Operations Engineer Regiment and the Logistics Squadron. Working with the Australians were Afghan Special Police and helicopters from the US 101st Airborne Division.

Afghan officers from the Provincial Police Response Company and Australian Special Operations Task Group troops lift off in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter as part of the Shah Wali Kot Offensive. Picture: ADF

The Australian force was honed to a fighting edge and was well motivated after two combat engineers, Sappers Jacob Moreland and Darren Smith had been killed just two days earlier by bombs built from components coming through the Shah Wali Kot area.

During the so-called "shaping phase" several Bushmaster vehicles were destroyed as the special forces operators prowled around country that had been impenetrable to coalition forces. It was so wild that in some isolated valleys the locals had not seen foreigners since the Russian war of the 1980s.

By June 6 the bait had been laid and the Diggers waited and watched before 120 commandos moved "into the lions' den".

On June 9 the trap was set and early the next morning the enemy unleashed their firepower.

A 500lb bomb strike an insurgent position during the Shah Wali Kot offensive. Picture: ADF

Sergeant Robinson and his sniper team had the honour of claiming the first Taliban kill and before long nine enemy lay dead and women and children were moving away from the village. That meant just one thing - big trouble.

At 10am every Australian position was exposed to a hail of gunfire and RPGs. The diggers counter attacked and drove the enemy out of the area.

The enemy mounted another huge counter-attack and Major `M' was forced to call in an American A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft to break up the hostile force. The enemy again withdrew to lick their wounds as night fell.

An expected attack the next morning did not eventuate and intelligence reports indicated that a senior Taliban commander was in the nearby village of Tizak planning a major attack to wipe out the diggers. 'E' troop from Number 2 Squadron SAS was launched on four Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache attack choppers on a "kill/capture" mission.

As the birds landed, they were engaged by withering small arms and RPG fire from a force three times their size. Two men were wounded and all four Blackhawks and one Apache were damaged.

Soon afterwards, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith and his team leader Sergeant 'P' took decisive action to eliminate the enemy machine guns that had most of the force pinned down. They ran across 40 metres of open ground and in a fierce fight took out three machine guns and killed more than a dozen enemy fighters.

"It was absolute valour and courage to achieve that," Colonel Burns said.

"These were well trained foreign fighters, not low-level fighters. They were very fanatical.

"The guys systematically broke down that position and destroyed every single enemy machine gun position and every enemy in that village."

Roberts-Smith was awarded a Victoria Cross and Sergeant `P' the Star of Gallantry for their extreme valour.

Luck had been with the Australians throughout the month-long mission and it stayed true until the very last raid of the operation on June 21 when a Blackhawk crashed killing commandos Ben Chuck, Scott Palmer and Timothy Aplin and gravely wounding Sergeant Robinson.

No prisoners were taken during the battles and the number of enemy dead and wounded was estimated at about 100.

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS FROM SHAH WALI KOT

1 Victoria Cross

1 Star of Gallantry

1 Medal for Gallantry

1 Commendation for Gallantry

1 Bar to Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

1 DSC

2 DSM (including Sergeant Robinson)

4 Commendations for Distinguished Service


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Run-down street 'perfect hiding place'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Mei 2013 | 22.16

Fox News reports that police are investigating the 911 dispatch handling of the Amanda Berry call as well as digging for evidence. Fox News

THE RUN-down houses and derelict buildings near Ariel Castro's house made it easier to hide a secret, his neighbours said.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight, who all went missing separately about a decade ago, were found on Monday in a home in Cleveland, Ohio.

Those who live near the modest home where the women were kept, say their neighbourhood has a dark side which may have helped the main suspect keep the three women from prying eyes.

"That was a perfect place for him because people couldn't hear any noise," community organiser Khalid Samad told NBC News.

Mr Samad said main suspect Ariel Castro had accompanied him on local searches for the missing women.

The 52-year-old's job as a bus driver also made him relatively well- off in a neighbourhood where many houses are boarded up and others have been foreclosed on in an area that has clearly seen better days.

"In terms of money he probably made more money than anyone else on the street when he was driving the bus," he said.

Neighbours and relatives say they didn't have a clue about Ariel Castro's suspected crimes, even as his own daughter was interviewed in 2005 on Americas Most Wanted. Fox News

Jennifer Faykus who knew Gina DeJesus' sister, moved from the area because she felt it had lost its sense of community.

"In this kind of neighbourhood you don't [pry] because you're afraid to talk to your neighbours," she said.

Did Castro target his daughter's friend?

Ariel "Anthony" Castro said he fears his father may have targeted the 14-year-old who went missing in April 2004 as she was such a close friend of his daughter Arlene. She was the last person to see Gina before she disappeared.

The 31-year-old told The Daily Mail he thinks it is "conceivable" that Gina got into his father's car instead of walking home as she recognised the elder Mr Castro as her best friend's father.

"That's one of the thoughts that went through my head because Gina disappeared in broad daylight on a very busy street. It's probably the busiest street on the west side of Cleveland," he said.

Fox News reports that the three brothers under arrest will be facing multiple charges for the ten year period of captivity and assault they subjected three young women to. Fox News

"It make you think how could she possibly disappeared without any trace. If she was abducted forcefully somebody would have seen it."

It is thought the teenager knew the person who took her and initially willing went with that individual on the day she disappeared.


Victims say they are fine

Close relatives of the three abducted women have told of how they're coping as more details emerge about their horrific life over the last decade.

Amanda Berry's grandmother Fern Gentry said Amanda told her that she's "fine" and that the six-year-old girl named Jocelyn also rescued from the Cleveland home is hers.

"I love you honey, thank God," her tearful grandmother said, in a call recorded by CNN affiliate WJHL. "... I've thought about you all this time. I never forgot about you."

The sister of 23-year-old Georgina "Gina" DeJesus said 'Gina' is in "good spirits."

Local police efforts are in question after calls were made by several neighbours over the past years, and was the suspect deliberately trawling for younger and younger girls? Fox News reports

Five pregnancies

As the world waits to see what will happen to Ariel Castro and his brothers Pedro and Onil who were arrested, relatives have told of their shock, painting Ariel Castro as a recluse and violent man at times.

Sources told WKYC that as many as five pregnancies occurred in the house. They were also told the captors would beat the pregnant girls and that the babies didn't survive.

Police in Cleveland have been reportedly searching a property for "possible aborted babies" after finding the three women who had been kidnapped and held as sex slaves.

According to local reporter Scott Taylor of 19 Action News, "investigators are looking for possible aborted babies in the backyard" of the residence where three brothers allegedly held three young women.

There are reports that the three women were also tied up with chains and tape and kept in separate rooms, The Daily Mirror reports.  One of the women is thought to have suffered three miscarriages due to malnutrition.

Police to gently quiz victims

Reluctant hero Charles Ramsey tells how he helped rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight ending the women's kidnapping ordeal. Courtesy WKYC3

Since the three women have found their freedom, questions have been raised about abductions in the local area, including whether 14-year-old Ashley Summers is the fourth victim of the kidnapping.

She vanished from the same Cleveland neighbourhood where Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight went missing.

FBI investigators have removed vehicles and items from the home where the women were held captive.

FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson said. An FBI child victim specialist has interviewed all three abducted women as well as Berry's 6-year-old daughter in a "comfortable setting."

The three brothers arrested in the abduction case will be interviewed tomorrow local time, likely by both federal and local law enforcement officers.
 

FBI forensic personels remove evidence from the house where three women were held captive for a decade, May 7, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

A photo of Ariel Castro released by the Cleveland Police Department following his arrest.

FBI forensic personnel remove evidence from the house where three women were held captive for a decade on May 7, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

Suspects' lives in spotlight

More photos and details of the suspects have also emerged as locals have come to show their support for the women.

Investigators removed a number of items from the Cleveland home of Ariel Castro, including an amplifier, a storm door and black trash bags full of items.

Young residents come to show their support near the house where three women were held captive for a decade, May 7, 2013 in Cleveland. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

 New photos of Ariel Castro have also surfaced.

This undated combination photo released by the Cleveland Police Department shows from left, Pedro Castro and Onil Castro.

 911 call reviewed

Cleveland officials are now reviewing the actions of the 911 dispatcher who took Amanda Berry's call.

The call-taker asked the name of Berry's captor, his age and ethnicity. But the dispatcher's repeatedly told her: "Talk to the police when they get there."

Cleveland Department of Public Safety Director Martin Flask said police were dispatched and on scene in the west side neighbourhood in less than 2 minutes.

"While the call-taker complied with policies and procedures which enabled a very fast response by police, we have noted some concerns which will be the focus of our review, including the call-taker's failure to remain on the line with Ms Berry until police arrived on scene," Flask said in a statement.

Audio has been released of the frantic emergency call Amanda Berry made after escaping a kidnapping lasting ten years.

Amanda Berry's family prepare a warm welcome. Picture: Twitter.

Locked house at centre of case

In another strange twist one of the brothers, Pedro Castro, was filmed by Fox News in July last year as excavating crews dug through an empty lot after a tip from an Ohio inmate that Ms Berry's body was buried there.

"That's a waste of money," Castro told Fox.

And even more bizarrely the son of suspect Ariel Castro, wrote a journalism piece in 2004 as a student on the disappearance of Ms DeJesus.  It is not believed that Ariel "Anthony" Castro knew she was locked up in his father's house.

Anthony Castro has also given an insight into the house where the three women were held captive.

"The house was always locked," he told The Daily Mail. "There were places we could never go. There were locks on the basement. Locks on the attic. Locks on the garage."

Amanda Berry, left, and Gina DeJesus have been found alive after disappearing in the US city of Cleveland about a decade ago. Picture: AFP

Amanda, Michelle and Gina according to sources were also gagged for years in the basement before moving to separate rooms.

WKYC says the windows had garbage bags over them so no one could see in or out.

Even more chillingly, Anthony Castro says he had a conversation two weeks ago in which his dad asked him if he thought the police would ever find Amanda Berry.

He responded that he assumed she was dead because she had been missing for a decade, to which his father responded "Really? You think so?"

'He doesn't deserve to have his own life anymore. He deserves to be behind bars for the rest of her life. I'm just thankful they're alive.'

Three brothers have been arrested in connection with three kidnapped US women found after being missing.

His account came as neighbours revealed they reported seeing a girl crawling on her hands and knees in a backyard but police did nothing.

Previous calls to the house

In a Tuesday morning media conference (midnight AEST) police said they had received no calls to the house other than a 911 call in March, 2000, after a fight broke out in the street, and again in January 2004, when child welfare authorities attended the home after Ariel Castro left a child on the school bus that he drove for work. Authorities deemed there was no case to answer and that the child had been left on the bus accidentally.

However, two neighbours said they were alarmed enough by what they saw at the house to call police on two occasions.

Elsie Cintron, who lives three houses away, said her daughter once saw a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees in the backyard several years ago and called police. "But they didn't take it seriously," she said.

A house where three women escaped is shown Tuesday, May 7, 2013, in Cleveland.

Other neighbours have reportedly seen naked women crawling in the backyard of his house on all fours with dog leashes around their necks and three men controlling them, The Daily Mail reports.

Another neighbour, Israel Lugo, said he heard pounding on some of the doors of Castro's house, in November 2011. Mr Lugo said officers knocked on the front door, but no one answered. "They walked to side of the house and then left," he said.

Neighbours also said they would see Castro sometimes walking a little girl to a neighbourhood playground. And Ms Cintron said she once saw a little girl looking out of the attic window of the house.

First taste of freedom

The three women have been enjoying their first day of freedom after being released from hospital at about 8am (10pm AEST).

Ms Berry was the one to raise the alarm, getting the attention of neighbour Charles Ramsey, and making a frantic call to 911 in which she told the dispatcher, "I'm free now."

Neighbour Charles Ramsey speaks to media near the home on the 2200 block of Seymour Avenue, where three missing women were rescued in Cleveland.

Heartwarming: Sisters reunited after a decade

Mr Ramsey, told WEWS-TV that he saw Berry, whom he didn't recognise, at a door that would open only enough to fit a hand through.

"I heard screaming," he said. "I'm eating my McDonald's. I come outside. I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house."

Anna Tejeda, who lives across the street, said Ms Berry was nervous, crying and appeared dressed in pajamas and old sandals after she kicked out the screen in a door to escape and call police. Ms Tejeda speaks Spanish, and a friend translated her comments to The Associated Press.

On a recorded 911 call Monday, Ms Berry declared, "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years."

"I'm free now." Amanda Berry, centre, with her sister and a young girl believed to be her daughter, told police she had been kidnapped and held for 10 years.

She said she had been taken by someone and begged for police officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland's west side before he returned.

"I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years," she told the dispatcher. "And I'm here. I'm free now."

Ms Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King. Ms DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later. They were found just a few kilometres from where they had gone missing.

Police said Ms Knight went missing in 2002 and is 32 now. They didn't provide current ages for Ms Berry or Ms DeJesus.

Police said Ariel Castro, 52, lived at the home, and Onil, 50, and Pedro, 54, lived elsewhere. Ms Berry also identified Ariel Castro by name in her 911 call.

Mr Ramsey, the neighbour, said he'd barbecued with Ariel Castro and never suspected something was amiss.

"There was nothing exciting about him - well, until today," he said.

Juan Perez, 27, who has lived two houses down from the home in question since he was 5, and has known the arrested man, Ariel Castro, since he was a child, he told US ABC News.

"My heart is feeling rough right now to know that this happened two houses from me and that none of us noticed anything," Mr Perez said. "I feel ashamed of myself and my community right now and this neighborhood that we didn't see anything."

Mr Perez said Castro was well known on the block as a "charismatic" guy who always wanted to take the neighbourhood kids on bike rides up and down the block.

Attempts to reach Ariel Castro in jail were unsuccessful. Messages to the sheriff's office and a jail spokesman went unanswered, and there was no public phone listing for the home, which was being searched by dozens of police officers and sheriff's deputies.

The uncle said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he was a former employee but wouldn't release details.

Charles Ramsey said he heard a girl screaming before helping her escape the house she was being held captive in. Courtesy Fox News

Loving families never gave up hope

The women's loved ones said they hadn't given up hope of seeing them again.

A childhood friend of DeJesus, Kayla Rogers, said she couldn't wait to hug her.

"I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever," Ms Rogers told The Plain Dealer newspaper.

Ms Berry's cousin Tasheena Mitchell told the newspaper she couldn't wait to have her in her arms.

"I'm going to hold her, and I'm going to squeeze her and I probably won't let her go," she said.

Ms Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, had been in hospital for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.

Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.

"She literally died of a broken heart," Ms Brady said.

Mayor Frank Jackson expressed gratitude that the three women were found alive. He said there are many unanswered questions in the ongoing investigation.

At Metro Health Medical Centre, Dr Gerald Maloney wouldn't discuss the women's conditions in detail but said they were being evaluated by appropriate specialists.

"This is really good, because this isn't the ending we usually hear in these stories," he said. "So, we're very happy."

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Ms Berry. A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.

Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Ms Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of Ms DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn't find her body during a search of the men's house.

One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.

In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for Ms DeJesus' body. Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.

No Amber Alert was issued the day Ms DeJesus failed to return home from school in April 2004 because no one witnessed her abduction. The lack of an Amber Alert angered her father, Felix DeJesus, who said in 2006 he believed the public will listen even if the alerts become routine.

"The Amber Alert should work for any missing child," Felix DeJesus said then. "It doesn't have to be an abduction. Whether it's an abduction or a runaway, a child needs to be found. We need to change this law."

Cleveland police said then that the alerts must be reserved for cases in which danger is imminent and the public can be of help in locating the suspect and child.


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Load of trouble sets cargo jet ablaze

At least one person was injured in the cargo accident. (AP Photo) Source: AP

IT looks like the aftermath of a plane crash, but the fire and smoke billowing from this wrecked jet is actually the result of a clumsy accident on the ground.

The British-made BAe 146 cargo plane caught fire while being unloaded at the airport in Wamena, Papua province, Indonesia.

An official said blaze started after a drum of oil fell from the aircraft and somehow ignited, injuring at least one airport worker.

Local police chief Lt. Col. Fernando Napitupulu said the fire quickly roared through the plane, sending black smoke billowing. It took two hours to extinguish.

Smoke billows from the cargo plane in Wamena, Papua province, Indonesia. (AP Photo)

Witnesses said they heard an explosion before the fire began.

An investigation into the incident is under way and at least seven people, including the pilot and co-pilot, will be questioned, Napitupulu said.

The plane belongs to Nusantara Air Charter and had regularly served cargo flights from the province's capital, Jayapura, to Wamena, capital of the mountainous district of Jayawijaya, Napitupulu said.

Air transportation is important in rugged Papua, the second-largest island in the vast Indonesian archipelago.


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Gatsby 'divisive and controversial'

Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan in a scene from Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. Picture: Warner Bros Source: Supplied

THE Great Gatsby is an essay in excess. So who better than Baz Luhrmann to put F Scott Fitzgerald's Roaring Twenties classic on screen, using all the firepower of 21st-century film-making?

The famously over-the-top director of 2001 musical Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, does not disappoint.

It's not just that his Gatsby is in eye-popping 3D and has a movie score produced by Jay-Z, the world's most famous rapper. It features spectacular parties, dazzling costumes, and, at times, there are so many coloured lights strung around the Gatsby estate that it resembles an enormous Christmas tree. You can certainly see where the $100million dollar budget went.

No one wants to watch a page-by-page re-creation of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel unless there's a hook to draw them in, and Luhrmann's production is certainly a visual feast. But does it work as a movie?

To a great extent, yes, and far more so than the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Even so, it's going to divide opinion right down the middle.

Leonardo DiCaprio with Carey Mulligan in Baz Lurhmann's The Great Gatsby.

To some, Fitzgerald's work is a literary landmark that you tamper with at your peril. Luhrmann has done some controversial things, particularly with the structure of the narrative. It didn't bother me, but a few of my American friends were livid.

There are some moments early on in the movie that I would question, too, and it's a little slow to get going. But Luhrmann has the fundamentals right, not least with the performances by the principal characters.

If the four-way story involving Jay Gatsby, narrator Nick Carraway, social supernova Daisy Buchanan and her fractious but fabulously wealthy husband Tom didn't click, then all would be lost. But Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby is superb – the best I've seen him on screen.

Gatsby doesn't want you to see him as a brute, but he is. He knew Daisy before Tom Buchanan did and he wants her back. "Tell him you never loved him," Gatsby tells Daisy, but to no avail.

Catherine Martin collaborated with Prada to create the stunning costumes for The Great Gatsby.

Carey Mulligan plays the object of Gatsby's obsessive love but her delicate performance signals that Daisy has no intention of giving up everything she's got to run away with him. She's happy to frolic and play but she ain't giving it all away. Mulligan looks very much the golden girl she's meant to portray. She captures Daisy's carefree insouciance well, too, as well as her sense of entitlement. I loved the moment when she turns up at Carraway's shack and her chauffeur places a rug on the muddy path so her shoes don't get dirty.

Tobey Maguire's Carraway is the author/narrator. He's introduced to us in the first frame as an alcoholic being treated in an institution. His physician urges him to write about what ails him, in the hope it may cure him. It's a clumsy way of getting into the film but Maguire's effortless acting helps.

Once they get going, Luhrmann's depiction of the revelry at Gatsby's estate are as sumptuous, glistening and enormous as Fitzgerald described. But I cared little for them – although I did like the observation made by sportswoman Jordan Baker, played beautifully by Elizabeth Debicki, that "large parties are so intimate, small ones aren't any good".

No, the test for me was whether Luhrmann would be able to scale it down to the intimate core of the story, and let us see the brutal and cruel truth of what these idle rich really represent. (I exclude Carraway because he's the only character in the story who cares a jot about anything.) Here, Luhrmann largely succeeds, bringing out the carelessness at the heart of Tom and Daisy, and conveying the essential message that riches rob us of our humanity. That message resonates as much today as it did in Fitzgerald's day.

Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in a scene from "The Great Gatsby". Picture: AP Photo/Warner Bros.

I suspect Luhrmann had to lure a younger audience in with 3D effects, but it is used well; it's never too intrusive. The music from the likes of US pop star Will.i.am, flame-haired Brit Florence + The Machine, former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry, Scot Emeli Sande and wife of Jay-Z, Beyonce, won't be to all tastes, but will no doubt help the soundtrack soar to the top of the charts as happened with Moulin Rouge and Romeo & Juliet, another Luhrmann film.

The Great Gatsby opens in the US on Friday, and so far the reviews have been good-to-mixed. Australian audiences will have to wait until May 30 – after a whopping European premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next Wednesday night.

I can see why the Cannes programmers picked it. What better home for a meditation on glamour? But as I say, it's going to be divisive and controversial.

And, 'old sport' – as Gatsby would say – that's all to the good.


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The next frontier for gas production?

Buru's well at Yulleroo, near Broome. Source: PerthNow

PREMIER Colin Barnett's gas ambitions have switched from the offshore Browse Basin to the onshore Canning Basin.

Still smarting from the decision of Woodside and its joint-venture partners to dump the Premier's grand plan for a onshore processing precinct at James Price Point on the Kimberley coastline for Browse gas, the WA Government is moving full steam ahead to exploit the shale gas riches in the Canning Basin.

Mr Barnett yesterday introduced a Bill into State Parliament that will ratify an agreement to develop the vast onshore Canning resource, which covers more than 530,000sqm across the Kimberley.

The Bill formalises an agreement signed by the State Government and joint venture partners Buru Energy and Mitsubishi Corporation last November. Buru Energy, which has the biggest acreage in the Canning Basin, was the best performing company on the ASX in the past financial year.


In February, The Sunday Times revealed the growing hype around the Canning Basin as the next frontier for gas production.

"This legislation will bring about the continued exploration for natural gas in the remote Canning Basin, the development of a gas pipeline to the Pilbara and ensure Western Australian consumers have first use of any gas discovered," Mr Barnett said.

The Premier said the US Energy Information Administration estimated the Canning Basin unconventional gas resources at about 229 trillion cubic feet - about one and a half times WA's currently identified offshore resources. 

The gas resources are located between two and four kilometres below the ground's surface.

CCI chief executive James Pearson said the agreement would help secure WA's future energy supply and was a positive for the economy.

"This is an important step in the development of the Kimberley region and potentially the supply of gas to WA consumers in the future," he said.

"Success would benefit the broader WA economy by providing flow on benefits to other industries and creating more jobs for West Australians."

Under the agreement, if the Joint Venture  finds commercially viable gas by mid-2016, it will need to submit a plan to build the domestic gas project, including a pipeline to connect the state's gas network to the Pilbara.

"Tapping this vast resource will guarantee Western Australia's domestic gas supplies well into the future," Mr Barnett said.

"Because this gas is located onshore, it is also entirely owned by the State Government.

"This agreement ensures gas discoveries are rapidly brought into production, and that gas is delivered to the State's domestic gas network, before any is exported."

Environmental groups are watching developments closely because extraction of the shale gas will require   hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking,which they claim causes dangerous water pollution.

Shale gas has been hailed as the saviour of the US economy, supplying cheap energy to its industries. WA mining officials are licking their lips at the potential shale gas riches here, as is the industry.

Though Buru is already in a joint venture with Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, other international gas players are looking to get involved.
 
Another local explorer, New Standard Energy, has a partnership with global oil and gas giant Conoco Phillips.

And in February, PetroChina also grabbed a piece of the Canning Basin pie.


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Gusty storms set to wreak more havoc on WA

Perth's wild weather is not over yet with several warnings in place for tonight

A twitter pic showing a cold front moving over Roebourne. PICTURE: Simon te Brinke (Twitter) Source: PerthNow

Heavy overnight rain caused minor in parts of Perth and the South West. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

Bureau of Meteorology satellite image shows the strong cold front and low pressure system moving across the state. Source: PerthNow

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

PERTH and WA's South-West is preparing for more bad weather overnight after being battered today by 100km/h winds and driving rain.

A strong cold front dumped massive rain on many centres over the last 24 hours and much of the lower half of the state is preparing for another storm later this evening, with the worst expected after 10pm.

Perth recorded its heaviest rainfall since 2011 with almost 44mm to 9am and a further 12mm fell before 7pm today, accompanied by regular wind gusts of more than 50km/h.

Email or tweet your stormy weather pics to us

A PerthNow reader emailed this image of damage to their patio, spa and garden at their Mandurah home. Source: PerthNow

Rottnest Island and Garden Island recorded gusts in excess of 100km/h today, while winds at Bickley and Ocean Reef peaked at 95km/h.

The weather caused havoc on the roads, with traffic along with Kwinana Freeway already banking up by 3pm.

A severe weather warning remains in place for much of southern WA tonight, including the Perth metro area, Bunbury, Mandurah, Busselton, Margaret River, Katanning and York.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts that the deep low could bring damaging winds of up to 100km/h, while isolated areas could cop gusts as high as 125km/h.

Thursday's forecast is for heavy and gusty showers, with isolated thunderstorms early in the morning and for a period in the afternoon.

This morning Chapman Hill, south of Busselton, topped the state's rain gauges with a 76mm deluge, while Rottnest had 61mm and Busselton itself collected 57mm, its heaviest fall since 2005.

Most suburbs across the metropolitan area had at least 40mm, with Swanbourne 56mm, Garden Island 53mm, Jandakot 51mm. Mandurah missed the torrential downpour but received 26mm.

The SES in Perth received 52 calls for help, mainly for water damage and minor flooding. More than 30 SES volunteers from 14 units - 11 in the metropolitan area and three in regional areas - were called to assist.

Wet weather in the city. Picture: Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

Power knocked out in Mullewa

About 300 people in Mullewa, 450km north-east of Perth, lost power during the storm but Western Power advise it should be restored today.

Main Roads reports several cases of flooded roads causing traffic disruption this morning and there has been a spate of minor accidents, including a break-down in the westbound lanes of the new three-lane Northbridge Tunnel, which is causing problems.

The intersection of Armadale Road and Waterworks Roads, Haynes, has been flooded due to heavy rain.

In Canning Vale, South Street (eastbound) the left lane just before Bannister Road is blocked due to flooding.

Heavy falls in South West

In the South West there were also heavy falls, but mainly on the coast, with Chapman Hill, just south of Busselton, topping the state with 76mm, Cape Leeuwin 60mm, Busselton and Cowaramup 57mm and Witchcliffe 47mm.

Some good falls reached the agricultural areas with Pingelly 31mm, Bannister 27mm, Cuballing 22mm, Wandering 17mm and Katanning 14mm, in the Great Southern.

In the Central Wheatbelt, Dalwallinu got 12mm, Northam 10mm and Cunderdin 5mm.

Further north, in the Central West, Geraldton and Dongara got 30mm, Kalbarri 26mm and Morawa 22mm.

The rain even reached as far north as Shark Bay, 830km north of Perth, which had 27mm.

The rain is great news for farmers who got some, but much of the eastern and northern Wheatbelt appears to have missed out so far. However more showers and possible thunderstorms are expected for the next 48 hours as the front and low pressure system continue to move east.

Perth radar: Watch the storm front hit

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should take precautions such as storing loose objects, prepare an emergency kit, secure boats, move vehicles undercover and make sure pets are in a safe area.

Drivers have been urged to take extra care on roads in Perth and southern WA, with heavy rain and strong winds to continue this evening and tomorrow morning that will make driving conditions dangerous.
 
WHAT TO DO:

DFES's State Emergency Service advises motorists to:
• Slow down, turn your lights on and keep a safe distance from other drivers
• If it is raining heavily and you cannot see, pull over and park with your hazard lights on until the rain clears
• Take care in areas that have been flooded and do not drive into water of unknown depth and current
• Be careful on gravel roads as surfaces will be slippery and muddy, and vehicles could become bogged.
 
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
• If your home has been badly damaged by a storm call the SES on 132 500
• In a life threatening situation call 000
• For information about road conditions contact Main Roads WA on 138 138
• For the latest weather information visit www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 213.
 
More information about what to do before, during or after a storm can be found at www.dfes.wa.gov.au 

*****************************

PERTH 7-DAY FORECAST

Thursday 9 May - Min 13, Max 21.
Cloudy. Showers, increasing for a period early afternoon, heavy and gusty at times. Isolated thunderstorms early in the morning and again for a period in the afternoon. Damaging winds possible early in the morning. Winds westerly 30 to 40 km/h.

Friday 10 May - Min 12, Max 18. Partly cloudy. Scattered showers. Winds west to southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h.
Saturday 11 May - Min 12, Max 21. Morning shower or two.
Sunday 12 May - Min 10, Max 22. Partly cloudy.
Monday 13 May - Min 11, Max 23. Partly cloudy.
Tuesday 14 May - Min 11, Max 23. Partly cloudy.
Wednesday 15 May - Min 12, Max 25. Sunny.


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The man who kidnapped three women

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 Mei 2013 | 22.16

Missing Cleveland woman Amanda Berry with her sister and unidentified girl after rescue. Picture: WOIO-TV/passantino/Twitter Source: Supplied

Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry, who have been found after being abducted separately as teenagers in 2003. Picture: FBI Source: Supplied

AS details emerge of the incredible rescue of abducted women Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight, focus moves to their alleged kidnappers and how they managed to keep them hidden for a decade.

Cleveland Police have confirmed three suspects, Hispanic males aged 50, 52 and 54, are under arrest.

Cleveland police officers have also begun an extensive search of the property.

"Hello? I need them [the police] now, before he gets back," an emotional Berry tells the 911 operator during her frantic neighbourhood rescue.

"Who's the guy that went out?" asks the operator.

"His name is Ariel Castro. He's 52. I'm Amanda Berry. I've been in the news for the last ten years."

So what do we know about Castro the man alleged to have abducted the women and kept them in his home for years.

The Cleveland Leader has reported that Castro lived in the house where the women were found since 1992. One year later according to NewsChannel5 he was arrested for domestic violence, although the victim of that apparent attack has not been identified.

The case was later dismissed  but during the same month he was arrested for disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty.

NewsChannel5 also reports that he was stopped six times by Cleveland Police between 1995 and 2008 for traffic violations.

A representative with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirmed that a man by the name of Ariel Castro used to work as a bus driver for the district.  However, spokesperson Roseann Canfora would not confirm it was the current suspect amid reports he was dismissed for doing an illegal U-turn while children were on the bus in 2012.

The district is expected to release a statement and have more information on Castro Tuesday morning US time.

Police are also said to be investigating a possible connection between Castro's daughter and Amanda Berry, who may have been classmates.

An article by a man called Ariel "Anthony" Castro – who said he was a journalism student - was published in community newspaper The Plain Press in 2004 surrounding the disappearance of Gina DeJesus. 

The editor of the paper told US Correspondent for the UK's Daily Telegraph he believes the author is the son of the Ariel Castro arrested today.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports he is now a journalist at an NBC affiliate station in Cleveland.

"The day 14-year-old Gina DeJesus was last seen on her way home from Wilbur Wright Middle School, neighbourhood residents have been taken by an overwhelming need for caution.

"One thing is for certain, however. Almost everyone feels a connection with the family, and Gina's disappearance has the whole area talking."

Chillingly, Castro quotes DeJesus' mother Nancy Ruiz.

"It's a shame that a tragedy had to happen for me to really know my neighbours. Bless their heart, they've been great.

"People are really looking out for my daughter."

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michele Knight went missing in 2003, 2004, and 2002, respectively.

Berry was abducted at age 16 in April 2003, DeJesus was taken at 14 in April 2004, and Knight was taken at age 21 in August 2002.

Berry, 27, DeJesus, 23, and Knight, 32, are being assessed and treated at MetroHealth Medical Centre.


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Teacher sacked for bikini shoot

A Florida high school teacher has been asked to resign after posing for a bikini model shoot. Picture via Olivia Sprauer Source: Supplied

A FLORIDA high school teacher was escorted off campus after her principal was shown pictures from a bikini modelling shoot.

Olivia Sprauer was a teacher at the Martin County High School when she was called to the principal's office on April 29.

She was shown a photo he had been sent by a member of the school community.

It was one of a set of photos featuring Spraur posing in bikinis and lingerie.

Sprauer said once she had confirmed the model was her, the principal asked for her resignation and had her escorted out of the school.

A Florida high school teacher has been asked to resign after posing for a bikini model shoot. Picture via Olivia Sprauer

Sprauer says she had planned to leave the school at the end of the year anyway.

She plans to continue her modelling career and attend graduate school.

A Florida high school teacher has been asked to resign after posing for a bikini model shoot. Picture via Olivia Spraur Source: Supplied


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Branson's $99 million gamble on FIFOs

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti at Perth Airport unveiling our newest regional airline. PICTURES: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti at Perth Airport unveiling our newest regional airline. PICTURES: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti at Perth Airport unveiling our newest regional airline. PICTURES: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti at Perth Airport unveiling our newest regional airline. PICTURES: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

SIR Richard Branson has jetted into Perth to unveil his newly-branded aircraft after the $99 million takeover of regional airline Skywest.

The shamelessly self-promoting English billionaire and Virgin chief executive John Borghetti waved WA flags as they embarked from a freshly badged Fokker 100.

It's the first time the Virgin boss has been to the country since 2011, when he came for the re-branding of Virgin Blue to Virgin Australia.

The purchase of Skywest, a regional airline in WA that has operated for nearly 50 years flying to 16 destinations, is said to firmly cement the airline's footprint in the regional market. It also adds another 32 planes to Virgin's fleet.

Virgin Australia is now emblazoned on the Skywest fleet, which will fly to 41 destinations around the nation including lucrative fly-in, fly-out hubs.


Mr Borghetti said there was finally "some real competition'' in WA's regional air travel market for the first time since the demise of Ansett in 2001.

While conditions are currently tough in aviation, the company is committed to expanding, including by adding new destinations, he said.

"This isn't purely a Western Australian play - this is an Australia-wide play,'' Mr Borghetti said.

He dodged a question about stalled talks for a third runway at Perth airport, saying he wasn't going to get involved in politics.

But the facility hasn't kept up with high traffic growth over the past few years, so it is important to keep investing in infrastructure, Mr Borghetti.

"If you're not ahead of the wave, it comes back to bite you,'' Mr Borghetti warned.

Sir Richard chipped in, saying the airport was doing well compared to London's Heathrow, which was not investing enough in infrastructure.


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More banks pass on rate cut in full

Business commentator Terry McCrann says the Reserve Bank was almost obliged to cut the official interest rate.

  • RBA cut rates by 25 points to record-low 2.75 per cent
  • NAB becomes the first bank to pass on the cut in full
  • Decision a win for homeowners if banks follow suit

THE NATIONAL Australia Bank this afternoon became the first of the big four to pass on the full 25 basis point rate cut to its customers.

The Reserve Bank earlier today cut the cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a record low of 2.75 per cent.

In a statement NAB said it would now slash its official home loan mortgage to 6.13 per cent per annum. The reduction will save customers $62.50 per month in interest on the average $300,000 home loan.

"We recognise that certainty is important for our customers, which is why we are pleased to be able to quickly pass on a 25 basis point reduction," Gavin Slater, Group Executive Personal Banking, said.

The new rate is effective for NAB customer from Monday 13 May.

Reserve Bank of Australia has surprised many by cutting interest rates. Picture: AFP/ Saeed Khan

Bankwest is reducing its standard variable rate home loan by 25 basis points to 6.14 per cent.

Bank of Queensland has also cut its variable home loan rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 6.26 per cent.

"Regional banks have not benefited from easing funding costs to anywhere near the same extent as the major banks," BoQ chief executive Stuart Grimshaw said in a statement.

"But we're working hard to offer competitive products that cater for our diverse customer base and deliver real everyday savings so were happy to pass on the cut in full."

The Commonwealth Bank has also said it will pass on the full 0.25 per cent rate cut to its customers. Westpac will also pass on the savings to customers.

 ING also passed on the savings in full to its customers, effective from Friday 17 May.

ANZ has yet to announce any move in home loan rates, though it deliberates on its rates on the second Friday of each month.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has praised the NAB and the Bank of Queensland for passing on the savings to customers and said the RBA's decision will help families struggling with the cost of living.

"There will be and continue to be savings flowing through to families and small businesses," he said.

The RBA said it hopes its decision will aid growth in areas of the economy not effected by the mining boom.

"With the peak in the level of resources sector investment likely to occur this year, there is scope for other areas of demand to grow more strongly over the next couple of years," said RBA governor Glenn Stevens.

"(The bank) judged that a further decline in the cash rate was appropriate to encourage sustainable growth in the economy, consistent with achieving the inflation target."

Stevens said inflation was currently running "lower than expected", with the exchange rate, on the other hand, "little changed at a historically high level over the past 18 months".

"(That) is unusual given the decline in export prices and interest rates during that time," he said.

"Moreover, the demand for credit remains, at this point, relatively subdued."

Analysts say the move is part of a "whatever it takes" approach to supporting the economy.

The rate cut comes as the Gillard government downgraded its annual revenue forecasts, warning income had plunged Aus$17 billion due to a China-driven commodity slowdown and pressures from the dollar.  

The decision had an immediate impact on the Australian dollar which fell below 102 US cents just after the announcement.

At 1434 AEST, the dollar was worth 101.88 US cents, down from 102.37 US cents shortly before the bank's decision was announced. The currency ended Monday's local session at 102.72 US cents.

Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said it appeared recent consumer price index (CPI) figures, which showed inflation remained benign, had prompted the RBA's decision to cut.

"It's hard to see much in the statement that suggests a change in views (on the economy) compared with last month," he said.

"It seems that confirmed low inflation has just allowed them to act on an easing bias and give the non-mining economy a further nudge along."

The decision will be welcomed by homeowners if all of the retail banks follow suit as mortgage rates should also fall. This would mean repayments on a $300,000 mortgage would drop by about $46 a month on average, if retail banks fully pass on the reduction.

If your mortgage is:

$100,000, the repayment will be $656.58, a decrease of $15.50

$150,000, the repayment will be $984.87, a decrease of $23.26

$200,000, the repayment will be $1313.16, a decrease of $31.01

$250,000, the repayment will be $1641.46, a decrease of $38.76

$300,000, the repayment will be $1969.75, a decrease of $46.51

$350,000, the repayment will be $2298.04, a decrease of $54.26

$400,000, the repayment will be $2626.33, a decrease of $62.02

$450,000, the repayment will be $2954.62, a decrease of $69.77

$500,000, the repayment will be $3282.91, a decrease of $77.52

This assumes 25-year standard variable rate loan at an average new interest rate of 6.2 per cent.

Last year the RBA cut the cash rate four times, but this is the first reduction this year.

RAMS CEO Melos Sulicich was tight-lipped ahead of today's announcement, but did predict rates would fall before the end of the year.

"The view of our economic advisors [is] there will be rate reductions," he said.


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Perth braces for first storm of the season

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

An intense low pressure system is set to deliver destructive winds and heavy rain to much of the southern half of WA.

PERTH and southern Western Australia is set to cop a battering tonight with wind gusts of more than 125km/h expected as part of a strong storm front.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for towns from Geraldton in the north to Walpole in the far south of  the state as the first strong winter storm is set to lash the coast tonight and early tomorrow morning, bringing potentially destructive winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) is urging people to drive safely and ensure their homes and families are prepared for dangerous weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting two severe weather systems over western and southern parts of Western Australia beginning on Tuesday evening.

The wild weather is the product of two separate severe weather systems over western and southern parts of Western Australia beginning tonight, which will impact the state over the next 48 hours. 

The storm warning for the southern half covers people south-west of a line from Geraldton to Northam to Walpole, including the Perth metro area, Augusta, Busselton, Bunbury and Mandurah.

A Severe Weather Warning for damaging winds and high tides has also been issued north of Perth for people in the Central West districts.

Perth radar: Watch the storm front hit

"The passage of the strong cold front Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning may cause localised dangerous gusts in excess of 125 kilometres per hour that could cause significant damage or destruction to homes or property," the Bureau warns.

"Thunderstorms and moderate to heavy falls are also possible. During Wednesday strong and squally winds are expected."

The southern capes, Leeuwin and Naturaliste are already being buffeted by strong gusty winds, up to 63km/h at Cape Leeuwin and 44km/h at Cape Naturaliste.

During Wednesday and Thursday a deep low will pass to the south of the state.

The low system is likely to produce the kind of weather that is only seen once or twice a year.

The weather expected today is typical for this time of the year but winds may cause localised damage to property and make road conditions hazardous.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should take precautions such as storing loose objects, prepare an emergency kit, secure boats, move vehicles undercover and make sure pets are in a safe area.

If your home or property has significant damage, such as a badly damaged roof or flooding, call the SES on 132 500.

Perth Forecast
Tuesday evening
Showers and a few storms.
Perth area - Cloudy. Showers. Scattered thunderstorms, possibly severe, in the northwest, extending throughout late this evening. Destructive winds possible. Winds northerly 20 to 25 km/h, increasing to 30 to 35 km/h in the late evening.

Wednesday

Summary - Min 16, Max 19. A few storms, heavy showers.
Cloudy. Heavy showers and scattered thunderstorms. Destructive winds possible early in the morning. Gusty winds during the day. Winds northerly 25 to 35 km/h decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h before dawn then increasing to 45 km/h before turning westerly 25 to 40 km/h during the day.

Thursday

Summary - Min 13, Max 21. Showers and chance of a storm.
Cloudy. Showers, easing for a period late morning to early afternoon. Isolated thunderstorms. Winds westerly 30 to 45 km/h.

Friday
Summary - Min 11, Max 18. Showers and chance of a storm.
Partly cloudy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Winds westerly 25 to 40 km/h turning southwesterly 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon.

Saturday
Min 11, Max 21. Shower or two clearing.
Partly cloudy. Scattered showers until late afternoon. Winds west to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h tending southeast to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning.

Sunday
Min 10, Max 21. Partly cloudy.
Partly cloudy. Winds east to southeasterly and light.

Monday
    Min 10
    Max 21
   Partly cloudy. Winds east to southeasterly and light.

Tuesday
    Min 10
    Max 23
   Partly cloudy. Winds easterly 15 to 20 km/h.


 


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Gai labels Singo a 'sham'

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 Mei 2013 | 22.16

Andrew Johns could face sanctions if he does not attend the stewards' inquiry over the 'More Joyous' affair.

GAI Waterhouse branded her lifelong friend John Singleton "old", "a drunk" and "an absolute sham" as their rift exploded spectacularly at yesterday's inquiry into the More Joyous affair.

After a marathon hearing lasting nearly six hours, Racing NSW stewards last night adjourned the hearing to give three key witness - former jockey Allan Robinson, Sydney brothel owner Eddie Hayson and NRL great Andrew

Johns - another chance to agree to be cross-examined. The trio face being warned off racecourses around the world unless they agree to be grilled by officials.

Waterhouse said Singleton should not have relied on information from unreliable sources: "The people involved are a trumped-up jockey, a brothel owner and a footballer, and that's what's got us sitting here today.

"It's an absolute disgrace - you're an absolute sham, John, you really are. They are the people who are discrediting my son, husband and me and they won't show their faces."

Racing NSW stewards learnt bookmaker Tom Waterhouse had a brief conversation about More Joyous with Andrew Johns on Anzac Day when the pair were working as part of Channel 9's NRL coverage. The following day Johns attended a Friday night NRL game where he allegedly told a number of people, including Mr Hayson, that More Joyous could not win the All Aged Stakes.

More Joyous opened as favourite, drifted in betting and finished seventh. Owner Singleton said in a private meeting Johns admitted he had been drinking the night before the All Aged Stakes and may have been "big-noting".

Johns told Singleton he was terrified he would be fired by the Nine network after he "embellished" what he'd been told by Tom Waterhouse.

John Singleton 'relaxed and comfortable' ahead of the More Joyous inquiry.

"He said, 'Mate, I'll be collateral damage'. He felt he let Tom down, let me down and let Gai down," Mr Singleton said. Tom Waterhouse has denied discussing More Joyous with anyone."The first I ever heard of it was when John Singleton had three beers and told everyone on live TV that More Joyous has problems and Gai's son is telling everyone. That was five minutes before the race," Tom Waterhouse said.

Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy asked Gai Waterhouse if she had relayed any information about the condition of the horse to her son.

"I'll happily swear on a Bible, the first time I made contact with my son was after the race when Mr Singleton screamed abuse at me," she said.

Mr Singleton told stewards he had not been aware there was any problem with More Joyous until race day. He accepted the advice of his racing manager, Duncan Grimley, and veterinarian Dr John Peatfield that his champion mare was fit to run but heeded Mr Grimley's advice "not to bet". Then Mr Singleton told stewards he received a phone call from Allan Robinson with some information about the condition of More Joyous and rang Johns to clarify.

"I had massive concerns when I heard Allan Robinson and Andrew Johns passed on information which Duncan Grimley said was a bit too close to the bone," he said.

The owner and trainer had a heated discussion about More Joyous's fitness earlier at the race meeting before clashing again in the mounting yard just prior to the race.

"I wasn't happy. I was what Andrew Johns would call 'agitated'," he said.

Following todays hearing Fox Sports News reporter Richard Bayliss caught up with News Limted racing writer Ray Thomas.

"I would say drunk," Gai Waterhouse interjected.

Mr Singleton replied: "I had two to three beers before (the race) and as much as I could after."

Just before the adjournment of the inquiry, Gai Waterhouse had a final crack: "If Mr Singleton shut his mouth we wouldn't be here."

"But the mare still came second last," Mr Singleton replied.

"She is a seven-year-old. She's old - just like you," Waterhouse said. The inquiry will resume at a date to be fixed.

Gai Waterhouse, Tom Waterhorse and John Singleton arrive at Racing NSW HQ for the eagerly awaited inquiry into the running of More Joyous in the All Aged Stakes.

More Joyous Inquiry racing Inquiry at Racing NSW Headquarters , Druitt St Sydney . More Joyous's owner John Singleton arrives for the hearing . Picture: Porteous Gregg

Gai Waterhouse arrives at Racing NSW HQ for the stewards inquiry. Note: Photo taken off back of camera Picture: Gregg Porteous

An angry Gai Waterhouse walks away from More Joyous owenr john Singleton following their altercation at Randwick. The inquiry into the incident begins today. Picture: Bronwen Healy


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