AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 3

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2005
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, April 3
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


Pope (WRAP)

World leaders are mourning the death of Pope JOHN PAUL the Second, hailing him as a
central figure of the 20th century and a champion of freedom and peace.

The Vatican says the third-longest serving pontiff passed away in his private Vatican
apartment at 5.27am Australian time (AEST). He was 84.

British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR says the world has lost a religious leader revered
by Catholics and non-Catholics alike for his unflinching struggle for what he believed
was good and right.

US President GEORGE W BUSH says the Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world
has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been
called home.

In Australia, Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD says Pope JOHN PAUL the Second was not only
a great religious leader, but also a significant political leader.

And Opposition Leader KIM BEAZLEY says Pope JOHN PAUL the Second's legacy will endure
for years to come.

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal GEORGE PELL -- who's on his way to the Vatican,
where he'll vote in the conclave to elect a new Pope -- says the death of Pope JOHN PAUL
the Second marks the end of an era.



Chopper (WRAP)

Australian Defence Force chief PETER COSGROVE says nine Australian military personnel
have paid the ultimate price helping those in need.

General COSGROVE says the death of the nine -- when their Sea King helicopter crashed
on approach to Aman Draya village on the remote west coast of quake-stricken Nias Island
yesterday -- will be felt across the Defence Force.

Defence Force Chief PETER COSGROVE has confirmed that six of the victims were from
the Navy and three from the RAAF.

Lieutenant General COSGROVE has confirmed at a press conference the dead are seven
men and two women.

He says four were air crew and the rest were medical relief specialists.

Grief-stricken crew on board HMAS Kanimbla have been told their mercy mission to the
quake-shattered Indonesian island of Nias will go on, despite the loss of nine colleagues
in a helicopter crash.

The ship's captain, Commander GEORGE MCGUIRE, has told the ship's 300 crew that to
do otherwise would be disrespectful to their friends.

Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD has described the deaths as heartbreaking.



Units (PERTH)

A Perth unit block has been ripped apart by a gas explosion so strong it's shattered
windows and blown doors off buildings up to 50 metres away.

Two people have been taken to hospital.

A spokesman for Western Australia's Fire and Emergency Services Authority says the
blast all but destroyed the block of eight units in Raymond Street at suburban Yokine
about 6.25am (WST).

He says it's like a war zone.

He says the central units have been destroyed, and there are broken windows, doors
blown out and cars damaged by debris within a 50-metre radius of the units.



Body (BRISBANE)

Police have charged five men after the discovery of a man's body in bushland on Brisbane's
northside.

Police say the victim has been identified as 17-year-old MORGAN JAY SHEPERD, of no fixed address.

They say two men, aged 25 and 21, have been charged with murder and interfering with a corpse.

Another three men, aged 18, 19 and 21, have been charged with being an accessory after
the fact to murder and interfering with a corpse.

Mr SHEPERD'S body was found in a shallow grave by two farmers in bushland near Strong
Road at Dayboro on Friday afternoon.



Crash (SYDNEY)

Police have resumed the search for a man feared dead after two boats collided on Sydney's
Hawkesbury River yesterday afternoon.

One man in his 40s was killed in the collision near Ebenezer, on Sydney's north-western
outskirts, and another man in the same boat remains missing.

A third man, aged 47, was airlifted to Westmead Hospital with serious head injuries.

Two male witnesses in their 30s were treated for shock at Nepean Hospital.

Water Police and State Emergency Service volunteers are assisting local police in the search.



Bushfires Vic (MELBOURNE)

Fierce winds fuelled a large fire in a popular Victorian tourist spot overnight, and
the blaze now covers an area of 4,000 hectares.

Firefighters are using six aircraft to battle the blaze in Wilsons Promontory National
Park that broke out from a controlled burn on Friday night.

Hundreds of holiday makers were evacuated yesterday from the popular Tidal River camping
ground to a beach at Norman Bay, until emergency crews decided it was safe for them to
drive out under escort in their own cars.

A spokesman from the Department of Sustainability and Environment says the fire perimeter
is about 40 kilometres.

The park remains closed and the spokesman says there's no threat to private property.



IN BRIEF..............

A teenage boy has been hit and killed by a train on the New South Wales mid-north coast.




Up to 60 Iraqi insurgents have mounted a brazen assault on the US-run Abu Ghraib prison,
west of Baghdad.




Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER says Zimbabwe's elections were a fraud.




The body of Florida woman TERRI SCHIAVO has been cremated, as disagreements continue
between her husband and her parents.




An outback station owner has broken his silence over the death of a Canadian tourist,
who was accidentally set alight with aviation fuel on his Northern Territory property
a year ago.



AND IN SPORT.................



LEAGUE RAIDERS (CANBERRA)

The Raiders have inflicted the fourth straight loss on St George Illawarra, thrashing
the Dragons 42-22 in their NRL clash at Canberra Stadium last night.

The ladder leading Raiders built an 18-0 lead after just 11 minutes and didn't look back.

Canberra halfback LINCOLN WITHERS excelled against his former club, scoring two tries
and having a major hand in two others.



SUPER NSW (SYDNEY)

The Waratahs' five match Super 12 winning streak has come to an end at the hands of
the Crusaders with the New Zealanders scoring a 33-27 win at Aussie Stadium last night.

A dominant final half hour by the visitors saw NSW slip from a 20-12 lead to be out
of the contest at 33-20.



AFL PORT (ADELAIDE)

Premier Port Adelaide has survived a late Brisbane surge to escape with a two-point
AFL victory after the Lions stormed home with the final six goals last night.

The Power won 11.9 (75) to 11.7 (73) in a rematch of last year's grand final after
leading by 39 points some 10 minutes into the last quarter at AAMI Stadium.



AFL EAGLES (PERTH)

West Coast has remained undefeated in 2005 after continuing Geelong's road blues with
a 22-point AFL win at Subiaco Oval last night.

The Eagles pulled clear for a 12.12 (84) to 8.14 (62) victory.



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KEYWORD: MIDDAY ROUND-UP

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