World Travel News

Australia rethinks shark defences

Sarah Whiley suffered unimaginable pain when she was killed by a pack of sharks off the eastern Australian coast last weekend.

The 21-year-old university student was savaged in shallow water on North Stradbroke Island, east of Brisbane.

Her death has sparked a fresh debate in Australia about shark safety programmes.

Fatal shark attacks are extremely rare, with only 10 recorded deaths in the past five years.

But concerned authorities are now looking at ways to make swimmers feel more secure.

Around 50 beaches in and around Sydney are protected by nets or tracts of meshing designed to keep the predators away. Since the scheme began almost 70 years ago, there has been just one fatal shark attack.

More: news.bbc.co.uk

Update 1: Andy Roddick Now No. 2 Seed in Australia

Andy Roddick was seeded second at the Australian Open on Thursday, avoiding heavy favorite Roger Federer unless both make the final.

With No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal sidelined because of a foot injury, most interest focused on which man would be seeded second and assured of playing on the opposite side of the draw from Federer. Roddick is ranked No. 3 and moved up a spot in the seeding.

Organizers for the season’s first Grand Slam tournament listed the seeded men and women in the same order as their rankings.

Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who lost in the final season, was seeded third, followed by Masters Cup winner David Nalbandian and Nikolay Davydenko.

Defending champion Marat Safin withdrew because of a left knee problem and four-time winner Andre Agassi is out with an ankle problem.

More: forbes.com

Paradorn hurt on eve of Australia Open

Paradorn Srichaphan had to drop out of the $1.02 million Sydney International tennis tournament today at the quarter final stage.

Paradorn, Asia’s No. 1 player, said he strained his thigh in India last week during the Chennai Open. He was forced to stop his match with Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who advanced to play American James Blake on the walkover.

“Less than a week before Melbourne, so I will try to do my best here and just try to recover for next week,” said Paradorn.

In a huge upset at the tournament, Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi slugged a rusty Lleyton Hewitt with his first defeat since 1999 at the $1.02-million touranment Thursday, twice fighting back as the Australian served for victory.

Seppi, the world number 60, aged 21, showed class as he stunned the top seed, who had won 22 consecutive matches at the tournament, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

More: bangkokpost.com

Australia Condemns Iran’s Latest Nuclear Steps

I am extremely disappointed by Iran’s removal yesterday of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seals at its Natanz uranium enrichment research facility, and by Iran’s stated intention to undertake uranium enrichment research.

Uranium enrichment is a key technology for producing nuclear fuel but also nuclear weapons. We see no need for Iran to undertake this research.

This is the second time in five months that Iran has broken IAEA seals at sensitive nuclear facilities.

It is yet another instance of Iran’s breaking its commitment to suspend all enrichment and enrichment-related activities, and its defiance of the international community’s expectations that Iran maintain that suspension.

Australia has been extremely concerned about Iran’s nuclear activities because of Iran’s record of concealment over nearly two decades.

Despite nearly three years of investigations, the IAEA has still not been able to conclude that these activities are for exclusively peaceful purposes.

More: scoop.co.nz

US and Australia pledge $128m for climate accord

The meeting of six Asia-Pacific countries planning to tackle climate change independently of the United Nations-brokered Kyoto protocol ended on Thursday with only a small financial commitment on the part of the developed nations involved.

The US and Australia agreed to spend a combined US$127m over several years to support new low-carbon projects within the partnership. The sum – comprising Aus$100m over five years from the Australian government and US$52m in 2007 – was greeted with derision by environmental groups. However, government ministers said they also expected many private sector companies to participate in the partnership.

By contrast, the Kyoto protocol is expected to result in a flow of up to €10bn ($12bn) by 2012 from richer to poorer countries to fund low-carbon development projects.

The US had presented the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which brings together the US, Australia, China, Japan, India and South Korea in a pact to share technology, as the centrepiece of its efforts to combat climate change. Australia and the US are the only developed countries to have rejected the Kyoto protocol, which requires countries to reduce their greenhouse gas output relative to 1990 levels by 2012.

More: news.ft.com