Truck fire sparks small blaze, road closure

HAZARD: A truckfire on Toodyay Road, Red Hill, east of the city, is causing traffic problems. Source: PerthNow

FIREFIGHTERS have been called to a truck fire on Toodyay Road in Red Hill, in Perth's northeast.

The truck caught fire about 10.15am and six fire crews, including two volunteer crews, have worked to get the blaze under control by 10.40am.

The fire spread to nearby scrub before being brought under control and the truck possibly has a ruptured fuel tank.

Police have been called to help with traffic control in the area.

North Bannister: Truck loses trailer

At 11am another truck in North Bannister, about 100km southeast of Perth, lost its trailer on Albany Highway at the North Bannister and Wandering Road junction.

Debris is on the road but there are no reported injuries.
 

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Rayney murder appeal to be heard in August

Lloyd Rayney on the day he was found not guilty of murdering his wife Corryn. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

A DATE has been set for the appeal hearing in the case against Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney.

After Mr Rayney was sensationally cleared in Perth's "trial of the decade'' in November, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Lloyd Babb decided to appeal the not guilty verdict handed down by former Northern Territory chief justice Brian Martin in the judge-only trial.

All of the legal practitioners involved in the case were brought in from interstate because the Rayneys were so well known in Perth's legal circles.

WA Supreme Court officials revealed today that the appeal, due to last three days, would begin on August 6.

Ms Rayney, a former Supreme Court registrar and mother of two, went missing on August 7, 2007, after her weekly boot-scooting class in Bentley.

Her body was discovered on August 16 buried in Perth's King's Park.

In his verdict, Justice Martin found that while there was evidence which raised strong suspicion, the prosecution case against Mr Rayney had "critical gaps'' and was "beset by improbabilities and uncertainties''.

But the State of WA lodged an appeal against the decision within weeks.

The matter was expected to be heard in May but last month the Court of Appeal granted a request from the DPP for an extension.

The three-day appeal will now be heard on August 6.

As revealed by The Sunday Times earlier this year, Victoria Court of Appeal Justice Mark Weinberg has already been appointed to preside over the matter.

Two other appeal judges have yet to be chosen.

It is understood WA Chief Justice Wayne Martin will decide on the remaining two judges.

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WA man closer to learning fate in Malaysia

WA man Dominic Bird is facing a mandatory death penalty if he is found guilty of drug trafficking in Malaysia. Picture: Supplied. Source: PerthNow

A PERTH man facing a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia for alleged drug trafficking will be a step closer to learning his fate when his trial resumes in Kuala Lumpur today.

Dominic Bird was arrested in a police sting on March 1 last year at a cafe near his apartment in Kuala Lumpur as he allegedly handed a package containing 167 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer.

He faces a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

The prosecution will deliver its closing arguments at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

But the case resumes amid allegations of corruption against the prosecution's star witness.

Drug squad detective Inspector Luther Nurjib, who played a key role in Bird's arrest, has been accused of being involved in drug trafficking through his connections with another dealer.

Allegations have also been raised in court of more widespread corruption within the Dang Wangi drug squad, to which Insp Nurjib is assigned.

Lawyers for Bird say the prosecution has failed to prove the case against him.

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Giant croc shot, loaded into ute

BIG FELLA: A giant 4.8m crocodile is draped across the back of a Toyota ute after being shot dead in the Northern Territory. Source: Northern Territory News

RESIDENTS of a Northern Territory town have used a backhoe to load a giant croc into a ute after it was shot.

NT News reader Jacob Brant tipped us off with a Facebook message.

"4.8m croc caught at Palumpa yesterday," he wrote.

Senior Parks And Wildlife Ranger Tommy Nichols says police and council officers trapped and shot the croc in a billabong on the outskirts of Palumpa, about 240km south-west of Darwin.

"We had a report the other day that there was a large crocodile there that was menacing the kids," the ABC reported Mr Nichols as saying.

Read full story at ntnews.com.au
 

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More than 100 sharks spotted off Trigg

RARE SIGHT: The shark pack was spotted from the air by the Westpac Rescue helicopter. Source: PerthNow

SHARK PARK: More than 100 sharks have been sighted feeding off Trigg Point. Picture: Surf Life Saving WA (Rescue helicopter) Source: PerthNow

CLOSED: More than 100 sharks have been spotted off Trigg Beach, closing beaches in the area. Source: PerthNow

BEACHES have re-opened after a massive pack of more than 100 sharks was seen about 600m off popular Trigg Point earlier today.

The sharks were spotted about 12.25pm today by pilotson board the Surf Lifesaving Westpac Helicopter.

City of Stirling Beach services coordinator John Snook told ABC radio this afternoon the sharks were believed to be juvenile bronze whalers feeding on a school of baitfish.

He said the size of the school of sharks was "absolutely unusual."

Beaches 1km north and south of Trigg Point were closed for several hours with shark alarms going off to get people out of the water. They were reopened around 2pm.

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Geldof drinks to the return of the Rats

Singer Sir Bob Geldof joined patrons at the Irish Club in Subiaco to mark St Patrick's Day and the reunion tour of The Boomtown Rats. PICTURE: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Singer Sir Bob Geldof joined patrons at the Irish Club in Subiaco to mark St Patrick's Day and the reunion tour of The Boomtown Rats. PICTURE: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Singer Sir Bob Geldof joined patrons at the Irish Club in Subiaco to mark St Patrick's Day and the reunion tour of The Boomtown Rats. PICTURE: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Singer Sir Bob Geldof joined patrons at the Irish Club in Subiaco to mark St Patrick's Day and the reunion tour of The Boomtown Rats. PICTURE: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

St Patrick's Day was celebrated at Leederville Oval. Pictures: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Families turned out to celebrate St Patrick's Day in Leederville. Pictures: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

Singer Sir Bob Geldof joined patrons at the Irish Club in Subiaco to mark St Patrick's Day and the reunion tour of The Boomtown Rats. PICTURE: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

ROCK legend Bob Geldof brought a superstar touch to St Patrick's Day celebrations, sipping on Guinness and mingling with locals at the WA Irish Club today.

Geldof is in Perth to promote his World tour with his re-formed band The Boomtown Rats, who finish their Australian tour in Perth on May 28.

The music icon and humanitarian took time out today to join locals at the St Patrick's Day parade through Leederville while snacking on a bun and a pint.

"It was huge, I expected 10 people to turn up but it was packed,'' Geldof said.

"There were thousands of people; it was an absolutely brilliant atmosphere.

"In Dublin the same parade is a tiny thing. It's fun and it's cool.''

The Boomtown Rats last toured Australia in 1979 and are playing together for the first time since 1986.

Sipping on a Guinness and dressed in traditional Irish green, Geldof, who sprung to global prominence with his role in Band Aid to raise money for the Ethiopian famine, couldn't help but speak about Ireland's grim economic woes.

"The Rats came out of social and economic conditions,'' he said.

"It's a great treachery when a country can't provide for its people.

"I wrote my first number one hit while working in a slaughter house.''

Back to the music, and Geldof said the tour would feature all the band's hits during the two-hour concerts.

"Playing again with the Rats and doing those great songs again will be exciting," Geldof said.

"We were an amazing band and I just feel it's the right time to re-Rat, to go back to Boomtown for a visit.

"And to commence our world tour Down Under, where we enjoyed enormous chart success, could not be more appropriate."

* Supporting the Rats at VenuesWest in Perth is 1980s new wave rockers Mental As Anything.

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Pill popping antics a dangerous practice

WA's chief medical officer Gary Geelhoed. Source: The Sunday Times

WA faces a "potential catastrophe, worse than a terrorist attack" if people continue to take antibiotics unnecessarily, the state's top medical boss has warned.

Chief Medical Officer Gary Geelhoed urged healthy people not to take antibiotics for a simple case of the flu or face a future where an infection would be fatal and surgeries impossible.

The over-use of antibiotics has created a new wave of dangerous 'superbugs' that are resistant to every medication doctors throw at it.

In response to the threat, WA Health is currently forming a specialist committee to restrict the use of antibiotics.

England's Chief Medical Officer this week joined other health authorities voicing alarm about the issue, ranking it alongside terrorism as a risk to the United Kingdom.

Prof Geelhoed said the problem was worse in other countries but there had been an increase in superbugs detected in WA over the past decade.

"In the worst case scenario, when you look at terrorism and you count the number of people who die, it pales in comparison to how (antibiotic resistance) could affect a lot more people," Prof Geelhoed said.

"It's becoming more of a problem now because the choices we have of antibiotics is running out.

"There is more and more resistance and this means that now some people are getting infections that we literally don't have an antibiotic to cure it and we're falling back on techniques that haven't been exercised for half a century or more.

"We are seeing more (antibiotic resistant bacteria), slowly year by year, we find that antibiotics that are tried and tested don't work anymore."

Prof Geelhoed said WA hospitals had stringent protocols in place to prevent the spread of superbugs, but it was up to everyone in the community, including patients and doctors, to act responsibly.

"For most people who get the flu, there is no benefit from antibiotics," Prof Geelhoed said. "Viral infections aren't affected by antibiotics, but if there are complications such as with older people or asthmatics or a bacterial respiratory infection, then antibiotics might be needed."

Continued overuse of antibiotics could lead to a future where doctors could not perform surgery because of the risk of the patient developing an untreatable infection.

"It could well be catastrophic if more people die from infection than presently and we would have to change the way we do things," Prof Geelhoed said. "For example transplants and operations in the abdomen and bowel, which is full of bacteria, may become too unsafe.

Microbiology expert David Speers said that as well as increasing the risk to the community, people who unnecessarily took antibiotics could develop future health problems.

"If a person uses a lot of antibiotics, that will give a growth advantage to resistant (bacteria) and change the bacteria in their gut," Dr Speers said. "If that person later develops an infection, then it may already be resistant to antibiotics.

"After taking antibiotics, you may not realise that anything is wrong, but there could be negative consequences later down the track.

Dr Speers said the new wave of superbugs had appeared in the 1990s, but had really picked up pace in the past five years.

"In WA, we've seen small increases, but nothing like in other parts of the world."

However, the growing crisis in other countries still put WA at risk because of the ease and prevalence of international travel.

Australian Medical Association President Richard Choong said some patients used medications they were previously prescribed by a doctor, which could lead to the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

"Also, some people inappropriately hold off longer than they should or are reluctant to take antibiotics and it may have progressed from a chest infection to pneumonia before they present and that's more difficult to treat," he said.

"There's also a lot of self-prescribing – where a patient is given a script for something or someone else and later on when they get something else, they self-initiate treatment and can take unnecessary medication."

To contact the reporter: linda.cann@news.com.au

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New clue in Swanbourne murder mystery

The Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore station wagons that police believe will help them solve the murder of David Liam Johnson. Source: PerthNow

Relatives of David Liam Johnson hold a picture of him. Picture: Supplied. Source: PerthNow

MURDER victim David Liam Johnson was hit by a car moments before he was taken to a Swanbourne park and shot dead, police say.

A post-mortem on Mr Johnson's body revealed he had suffered injuries from being run down by a vehicle, but died from gunshot wounds to the head.

The Major Crime Squad has made a fresh plea for the public to help solve the murder of the "generous and kind'' 32-year-old.

Detectives are interested in identifying a dark-coloured station wagon they believe might have been involved.

A vehicle similar in appearance was believed to be driving in the Swanbourne area between 11pm and 11.30pm on the evening Mr Johnson's body was found.

Forensic evidence indicates that, after Mr Johnson was hit by the vehicle, he was taken to Lime Kiln Field where he was subsequently shot and killed.

"The evidence indicates that Mr Johnson was struck by a motor vehicle at an unknown location before being taken to Lime Kiln Field in Swanbourne where he was shot and killed,'' Det Sgt Graeme Johnson said.

"We're asking anyone that may have seen a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle or the sound of brakes or tyres screeching to please contact us.''

Mr Johnson's body was found in the park  on the corner of Clement St and Pine Crt  about 11.30pm after residents reported heading an "explosion''.

Others said they heard tyres screeching moments after the bang.

Tactical Response Group officers and a police chopper were called in to search for the gunman after a neighbour made the grim discovery.

Det Sgt Johnson would not say whether they had found a murder weapon during the investigation.

This week, Mr Johnson's sister Ele and aunty Jennifer pleaded with the public to come forward with information, saying they were "heartbroken'' over his death.

They described Mr Johnson as a "free spirit'' who often travelled between Mandurah and Fremantle, and couldn't understand why he would have been in Swanbourne. 

"He would never hurt anybody,'' Jennifer said.

"He was very kind-hearted and with that gorgeous big smile, you could not help but like him. We just want justice for David and we don't want any other family to have to go through this.''

Ele said her brother was a "larrikin'', who was "always up for an adventure''.

"He was a big family man, always focusing on his family and helping them as much as he could,'' she said.

Det Sgt Johnson said police had received good information from the public and would continue to trawl through CCTV vision captured by nearby homes.

He said police had struggled to find anyone with a motive to kill Mr Johnson, ruling out any links with bikie gangs.

"The indication from everyone we have spoken to is that he was a generous and kind person,'' he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
 

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Recounts to be held in two WA seats

THERE will be recounts in two tight West Australian electorates, after the state's Electoral Commission declared Labor winners in both seats by under a hundred votes.

After a marathon scrutineering session by the WA Electoral Commission (WAEC) on Saturday, a week after the polls closed, Labor candidates were declared narrow winners in three knife-edge seats - Collie-Preston, Kimberley and Midland.

In Collie-Preston, Labor member Mick Murray officially retained his seat by just 59 votes.

In Kimberley, despite a strong showing by the Greens, Labor candidate Josie Farrer came out on top by 1154 votes.

And in Midland, Labor powerbroker Michelle Roberts officially held onto her seat by the slimmest of margins - just 23 votes.

The WA Electoral Commission (WAEC) later confirmed recounts would be conducted for the seats of Midland and Collie-Preston, after the Liberal Party accepted offers for more scrutiny.

"Where the margin is less than 100 votes our returning officers automatically offer the candidates another full distribution of preferences before declaring the result," said Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately.

Collie-Preston's recount will start at 10am WST on Monday and Midland's will run from 10am Tuesday.

Final results should be known on Monday and Tuesday evening, respectively.

The commission continued finalising formal counts in more than a dozen remaining seats on Sunday, with the rest to follow during the week.

Meanwhile, 150 WAEC staff will continue working at the count centre over the weekend to finalise the Legislative Council tally.

Details of more than 1.2 million Upper House votes will be entered into the special count WA computer system.

Results in the Mining and Pastoral and Agricultural regions should be calculated by Tuesday, with winners in the remaining four regions expected to be announced by Wednesday.

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Hughes makes stand as Aussies flounder

Find out what happened on day four of the third Test between India and Australia in Mohali.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE Border-Gavaskar trophy is gone. Michael Clarke has stuffed his back. Australia's top-order is a shambles.

Now Phil Hughes is desperate not to become part of the collateral damage as he today bats for his career - and Ashes hopes - in the third Test against India.

The tourists enter the final day's play today on the ropes after Indian paceman B. Kumar removed David Warner (2), Ed Cowan (8) and Steve Smith (5) to leave Hughes (53no) fighting in the Mohali furnace.

At stumps yesterday, Australia (3-75) were teetering in their second innings, still trailing by 16 runs after braveheart Peter Siddle (5-71) helped restrict India to 499.

But the tourists' Mission Impossible task to save the third Test could hinge on the severity of Clarke's injury after the skipper left the field yesterday and was later unable to bat in Australia's top five.

The concern only amplified when tailender Nathan Lyon (4no) was sent to the crease after Warner, Cowan and Smith were exposed by a brilliant Kumar (3-25) spell.

Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris later allayed concerns Clarke was out of the Test. He underwent intensive treatment after play last night, with Siddle confident the skipper will don the pads today, most likely as next man in.

"I think he'll definitely bat," Siddle said. "It was very sore throughout the day, everyone knows he's had a bit of trouble with his back.

"He got some treatment after we came off the field and everything seems to be going along fine.

"Knowing Michael he'll do everything he can with Alex and be ready to go (in the) morning as soon as possible, no doubt.

"He'll want to get out there first-up. I think he'll be ready to go."

Kountouris added: "We'll see how it settles in the morning to determine when he's able to bat."

Even if Clarke soldiers on, the tourists look shot ducks. A loss here, effectively in four days given the rain washout on day one, would be the latest body blow on a tour fast morphing from A-grade Bollywood drama to B-grade horror flick.

Ironically, if the Test is to be saved, it could be Hughes who steps up as the leading man. The 24-year-old has had a forgettable maiden tour of India, managing scores of 6, 0, 19, 0 and 2 in his first five innings.

That's 27 runs at an average of 5.4. He appeared a dead-man walking on day two after his latest failure, but yesterday Hughes played with intent from ball one to make a statement that he is not yet six-feet under.

As stumps approached, he celebrated his half-century from 50 balls, crunching nine fours and a six along the way.

"He has been working so hard in the nets preparing to score runs and it just hasn't come about so it is great for him to get a few runs under his belt," Siddle said of Hughes.

"Let's see where he goes, hopefully he can go big."

Siddle's industry cannot be overstated. After having Ravindra Jadeja (8) caught behind, he had his 145th Test victim - leapfrogging spin legend Bill O'Reilly (144) into Australia's top 20 all-time Test wicket-takers.

"It was nice to be able to contribute," he said.

"Before the Test, I was disappointed with my performances and what I was lacking was building pressure and setting up good partnerships for the team. I think I went a bit better in this match with that side of things.

"There was still a loose ball and too many boundaries that I am picky with myself on.

"But it is nice to come away with the rewards, the bowling today from both ends, the partnerships and how we planned to go about getting the wickets, we did that today and I was the lucky one who got the results."

Despite the precarious position, Siddle is refusing to give up hope of saving the Test.

"We haven't spoken too much about it, we knew we had to knock off the (deficit) first," he said.

"They set us a few more than we would have liked to be chasing going back out there, but we have done pretty well.

"We lost more wickets than we would have liked, but that's what we have to do, we have to keep pushing along and see what position we can put ourselves in.

"We know that a draw doesn't help us at all, but we'll do everything we can to see where we can get.

"It will be hard for us to win, we know that, but we just have to see where we end up."

The skipper's dodgy back to the wall, it seems not even Clarke can work a miracle.

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