AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Feb 21

AAP General News (Australia)
02-21-2009
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Midday, Feb 21
Midday Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1130


Rau Dfat (CANBERRA)

CORNELIA RAU .. who was wrongfully detained by Australian immigration officials four
years ago .. is believed to be back in detention .. this time in the Middle East.

Australian consular officials in Jordan say they've have met a 43-year-old South Australian
woman .. who was detained this week.

Ms RAU's reportedly been wandering the Middle East for months without taking her psychosis
medication .. causing her to behave erratically.

Last year .. the …

GOLDMAN SACHS TO MAINTAIN A "SELL" RATING ON SHANDA

AsiaInfo Services
06-03-2011
Goldman Sachs to Maintain a "Sell" Rating on Shanda

BEIJING, Jun 03, 2011 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs released its investment report on June 2, which shows that it will maintain a "sell" rating on Shanda Games Limited (NASDAQ: GAME), and has adjusted up the target share price from USD 38 to USD 41 within 12 months.

Based upon the GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Principles), in the first quarter of 2011, diluted earning per share of Shanda Games was USD 0.36, slipping by 23% over last quarter, and dropping by 40% year on year; operating revenue was CNY 1.63 billion, increasing by 7% over the previous quarter, and growing by 25%, year on year.

First-quarter performance of Shanda is higher than the expected actually. Operating revenue of Shanda Online was CNY 301 million, a quarter on quarter growth of 12%, and year on year growth of 19%. Gross profit margin of Shanda dropped by 2.2 percentage points from the previous quarter to 58.3% during the reporting quarter; and the operating profit margin was 12%, based upon the GAAP.

Source: www.sina.com.cn (June 03, 2011)

KEYWORD: BEIJING INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Internet & Online Services & Media SUBJECT CODE: Internet & Online Services
Portal Software
SinoCast China Business Daily news
Investment report
GAAP
diluted earning per share
rating

Copyright 2011 AsiaInfo Services (via Comtex). All rights reserved

NSW:Jeffrey Gilham may get retrial

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
NSW:Jeffrey Gilham may get retrial

SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - Jeffrey Gilham, who is serving life for the 1993 murder of his
parents, may be granted a retrial and released on bail on Friday.

After a three-day hearing in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, Justice Peter McClellan
on Thursday asked whether a bail application would be made if it was decided there should
be a new trial.

Gilham's barrister, Clive Steirn, SC, replied yes, while Lloyd Babb, SC, for the crown,
said it would not be opposed.

In March 2009, Gilham, then 39, was jailed for life after being convicted of murdering
his parents, Helen, 55, and Steven, 58, at the family home on Woronora, in Sydney's south,
in 1993.

Their eldest son Christopher, 25, was stabbed fatally in the same incident.

Jeffrey Gilham was placed on a five-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty
to his brother's manslaughter in 1995.

He claimed he had been provoked into stabbing him after Christopher confessed to killing
their parents and then setting Helen's body alight in a fire which spread.

But at his trial in 2008, the crown alleged Gilham killed all three family members
before trying to cover his tracks.

Mr Steirn put forward numerous grounds of appeal, including the finding - after the
trial - of an apparent blood-stained fingermark on an intercom.

Gilham had said from the outset that he was summonsed from the boatshed to the family
home via an intercom, as his mother called out for help.

Mr Steirn said the finding of the fingermark corroborated his client's account.

Other grounds related to the crown's claimed timing of the deaths and the fire.

An expert, who carried out the 1993 autopsies, told the appeal he now had a different
view relating to findings of carbon monoxide in the bloodstreams of the parents and Christopher.

Dr Christopher Lawrence said he now accepted they all may have been alive when the
fire started, which contradicted the crown case.

At the conclusion of the appeal on Thursday, Justice McClellan - sitting with Justices
Elizabeth Fullerton and Peter Garling - said they had not made up their minds "about everything".

But if they came to the view that there should at least be a new trial, they hoped
to announce it on Friday.

They could then consider whether there should ultimately be an acquittal.

But Justice McClellan said it was possible they would not be able to make their decision
overnight.

AAP mss/af/jnb/de

KEYWORD: LEGAL: GILHAM

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

CHINA MOVIE THEATRE OPERATORS TO FIGHT FOR IMPORTED PRODUCTS

AsiaInfo Services
03-16-2011
China Movie Theatre Operators to Fight for Imported Products

BEIJING, Mar 16, 2011 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Movie theatre operators in China are likely to start a fight for imported products as the country makes the entertainment product market open to players abroad, predicted market observers in the country.

As a contracting state of the World Trade Organization (WTO), China will put an end to the imported movie quota policy this year, nodding to movies abroad from March 19.

The termination will make the world's most populous movie market more tempting to overseas players, said Huang Yaling, an analyst at Bohai Securities Co., Ltd., adding that a group of investors out of the country are looking to make an investment in movie and media market in China.

The year 2010 witness box office revenue hit CNY 10.172 billion in China, up 63.9% from the previous year, faster than the robust growth of 42.96% in 2009. Of all the revenue, 56.3% or CNY 5.734 billion were contributed by movies made in China.

Foreign companies need to work with local movie theatre operators if they want to make a success in the imported-movie issuance in the country, said one of the market observers, noting that foreign-invested companies are still left out of the movie theatre market in China at the moment.

"Statistics show that a total of 313 movie theatres were set up in the entire 2010, when 1,533 new screens were launched," pointed out the market observer, "that is to say, an average 4.2 new screens were rolled out each day in the year, pushing the number of screens in the movie theatres throughout the country up to more than 6,200."

Huayi Brothers Media Group, one of the most renowned movie makers in China, is speeding up business expansion by opening its own movie theatres across the country.

Letv.com, an online video-sharing site based in Beijing, has spent more than CNY 50 million for the online broadcasting right of some products from Huayi Brothers, disclosed Ms. Huang, noting that movie watchers in the country will have an access to the imported products on video-sharing platforms like Letv.com.

The estimated expansion of imported products in the country will possibly intensify the already-fierce competition and pose a threat to their likes made in China, said some market observers, noting that Huayi Brothers, one of the outstanding movie makers in the country, will see a long-lasting fight for a bigger share of the market with its rivals abroad.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.57)

Source: www.yicai.com (March 16, 2011)

KEYWORD: BEIJING INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Internet & Online Services & Media SUBJECT CODE: Media
Motion Pictures/Sound Recording
SinoCast China Business Daily news
SinoCast China IT Watch
movie
expansion
policy
quota
movie theatre
competition
box office
fight

Copyright 2011 AsiaInfo Services (via Comtex). All rights reserved

QLD:Bligh may revisit gun laws

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2010
QLD:Bligh may revisit gun laws

Queensland Premier ANNA BLIGH says she won't hesitate to revisit the state's gun laws
if police find there's a need.

Ms BLIGH says she's shocked by three shooting incidents and an armed home invasion
on the Gold Coast over the past few days.

Police have set up a taskforce to investigate .. but say there's no evidence so far
that the incidents are linked.

Ms BLIGH says Queensland has some of the toughest gun laws in Australia.

But .. she's told the ABC .. if the investigation finds anything that suggests the
government should be revisiting them .. then it won't hesitate.

AAP RTV tnf/crh/jen/

KEYWORD: DRIVEBY BLIGH (BRISBANE)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Angry insulation workers take complaints to parliament

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2010
Fed: Angry insulation workers take complaints to parliament

Angry insulation workers have accused Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD of lying and destroying
their businesses.

Two company owners have taken their complaints to parliament house today .. calling
for the government to pay its bills .. plus compensation.

The government planned to insulate the roofs of two million homes .. but the botched
scheme was suspended in February ahead of being reintroduced in June.

However last week the scheme was scrapped.

RICK PALFERY .. who owns insulation manufacturer Rite-Temp .. says he's had to close
his business and would probably have to sell the family home to pay off debt.

KELLIE JACKSON's from United Entity says the debacle has shown that Mr RUDD doesn't
care about small business.

AAP RTV ca/sb/sw/

KEYWORD: INSULATION PROTEST (CANBERRA)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Events Diary Thursday, December 17, 2009

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2009
Events Diary Thursday, December 17, 2009
EVENTS LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND LOCAL TIME UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED:


ADELAIDE


No items listed.


BRISBANE


0950 - Media call with Japanese lifesavers at Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah.

Contact: Kylie Wilkings 5436 2120.

1000 - Federal Court native title consent determination hearing. Djarragun School, Gordonvale.

Contact: Nicolette Kormendy 0417 944 809.


CANBERRA


0900 - Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee. Matters relating to the
Torres Strait region. 2S1 Parliament House Canberra. Contact: Kathleen Dermody 6277 3538.

1100 - Release of Inquiry Report into the death of Private Benjamin Ranaudo. R1 Theatrette,
Russell Offices. Contact: 6127 1999.


MELBOURNE


No items listed.


PERTH


No items listed.


SYDNEY


0800 - Protester to hand out lumps of coal as Christmas presents to NSW Labor politicians.

Outside NSW Parliament, Macquarie St, Sydney. Contact: Moira Williams 0420 504 411.

0930 - Australian businessman John Singleton and President of the Gut Foundation Professor
Terry Bolin will launch a national bowel cancer awareness campaign. Art Gallery of NSW,
Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney. Contact: Prof Terry Bolin 0417 715 684.

1700 - An emergency rally on the second to last day of the Copenhagen negotiations demanding
immediate and decisive action against climate change. Martin Place, Sydney. Contact: Sophie
Trevitt 0431 843 095.


SPORT


CRICKET - Test series - to December 20
3rd test - to December 20
Australia v West Indies, WACA
BASKETBALL - NBL - to February 14
Rnd 13 - to December 20
1700 (AEDT) - NZ Breakers v Townsville Crocodiles, North Shore Events Cnt
HANDBALL (Women's) - World C'ships - to December 20
China
SOCCER - FIFA Club World Cup - to December 19
Abu Dhabi, UAE
BOBSLEIGH/SKELETON - World Cup - to December 20
Altenberg, Germany
BIATHLON - World Cup - to December 20
Osrblie, Slokavia
SNOWBOARD - World Cup - to December 19
Telluride, Colorado, USA
SURFING (Men's) - ASP World Tour - to December 20
Billabong Pipeline Masters, Banzai Pipeline, Oahu-Hawaii
SURFING (Women's) - ASP World Tour - to December 20
Billabong Pro, Honolua Bay, Maui-Hawaii
GALLOPS -
Canterbury
Kyneton
Rockhampton
Queanbeyan
Mt Barker
New Zealand
Sth Africa
UK
TROTS -
Penrith
Cranbourne
Gold Coast
Newcastle
GREYHOUNDS -
Dapto
Sandown
Albion Park
Angle Park
Bendigo
Maitland
Mandurah
Hobart
New Zealand



AAP RTV bm/evt/wz/ajw/

KEYWORD: DIARY EVENTS THURSDAY DECEMBER 17, 2009

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Stimulus to continue despite upbeat growth forecasts: Swan

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2009
Fed: Stimulus to continue despite upbeat growth forecasts: Swan

The federal government's determined to maintain its stimulus programs .. despite the
central bank indicating for the second time an interest rate rise is looking more likely.

The Reserve Bank's left the cash rate on hold this month at three per cent .. for the
fourth month in a row.

RBA governor GLENN STEVENS said the risk of a recession has abated .. and economic
conditions have improved.

But Treasurer WAYNE SWAN says what the Reserve Bank is saying is there'll be a modest
recovery if the economic stimulus is fully implemented.

AAP RTV saj/wz/rt

KEYWORD: ECONOMY (CANBERRA)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Emergency chopper on rescue mission to isolated property

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2009
Qld: Emergency chopper on rescue mission to isolated property

An emergency helicopter's been sent to a central Queensland property to rescue a patient
who's suffering an allergic reaction.

The property .. about 50 kilometres west of St Lawrence .. has been isolated by floods
.. and the only way in or out is by chopper.

AAP RTV bart/pjo/af

KEYWORD: FLOODS RESCUE (BRISBANE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: About 180 Fairfax journalists to be made redundant

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2008
NSW: About 180 Fairfax journalists to be made redundant

SYDNEY, Aug 26 AAP - About 180 Fairfax journalists will be made redundant after the
company decided to cut about 550 jobs as part of a cost saving strategy, the media union
says.

Fairfax Media Ltd has announced it will cut five per cent of its workforce under a
new business improvement program.

The cuts will affect editorial, printing, maintenance, paper and fitting staff in Australia
and New Zealand.

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) federal secretary Chris Warren said the
union would meet Fairfax management at lunchtime today and organise a meeting with staff
later today or tomorrow to decide what to do.

The standard redundancy payout formula for editorial staff was four weeks pay for every
year of service, Mr Warren said.

"We estimate that about 550 staff across Australia and New Zealand will lose their
jobs," Mr Warren told AAP.

"About a third will be editorial and about two thirds will be other parts of the company
not specified.

"It's one of the most significant job losses in Australia this year and it's obviously
going to have a serious impact on the ongoing quality of the company's papers, magazines
and websites in Australia and New Zealand."

Fairfax had been talking about a general cost-cutting approach for some time, he said.

The company says it will book a one-off charge of about $50 million for redundancy
and associated costs, but about $25 million in savings from the job cuts will flow into
its 2008/09 annual result.

AAP krc/wjf/nf

KEYWORD: FAIRFAX MEAA

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

National Newslist for Monday, April 21, 2008

AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2008
National Newslist for Monday, April 21, 2008
Good Morning News Editors and Chiefs of Staff
AAP's National Newslist for today (not for publication):
This is a guide only and stories are subject to change.

AAP's news editors Joanne Williamson and Nalita Ferraz can be contacted on 02 93228611/8610.

NATIONAL:
SUMMIT
- Kevin Rudd says the hard work now begins of deciding which ideas from the 2020 summit
will be implemented and which will be discarded; says "healthbook" idea is practical but
needs to be foolproof.

- Co-chair Glyn Davis says ignoring new ideas from the summit would be politically risky for govt.

- Summiteer, actor Rhys Muldoon, says critics should reserve comment until Rudd has had
time to review the ideas.

- Monarchists say summit was stacked with pro-republicans, liken republic vote to Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe elections.

OLY08 FLAME
- Route for the Canberra leg of the torch relay unveiled; will go within 100m of Chinese
embassy but not directly past it.

- Rudd unsure whether Chinese Olympic personnel will run alongside the torch in Canberra,
but says they won't be playing a security role.

- Gill Hicks, who lost both legs in the 2005 London bombings, will carry the Olympic torch
in Canberra.

ECONOMY
- ABS Producer Price Index for March quarter.

OTHERS
- Fuel giant Exxon Mobil tells Garnaut review that petrol prices could rise by 17 cents
a litre and gas by 30 per cent under emissions trading scheme.

- South Korea resumes imports of US beef - what does this mean for Australian farmers?

- National health policy roundtable, 1330.

- Peter Garrett and GetUp executive director Brett Solomon to launch new single inspired
by apology to stolen generations.

- Former US assistant secretary of state James A Kelly at ANU seminar.

- Unions call for reassurance over job security and asbestos compensation amid speculation
James Hardie will close its Australian operations.

ENTERTAINMENT:
- SBS to present new-look brand across all platforms (1230 AEST).

- ASTRA Awards and red carpet in Sydney (from 1845)

COURTS:
SYDNEY - Swimmer Nick D'Arcy to face court over assault of Simon Cowley.

SYDNEY - Trial of Robert Farmer for attempted murder of Lauren Huxley continues.

SYDNEY - Sentence of Michael Ibrahim for manslaughter of brother of Fat Pizza actor.

MELBOURNE - Supreme Court trial continues for Evangelos Goussis, charged with the murder
of Lewis Moran in the Brunswick Club in 2004.

MELBOURNE - Supreme court trial of 12 men accused facing various terrorism related charges
continues.

MELBOURNE - Man arrested over shooting incident last night to face court.

CANBERRA - HIV-positive male prostitute Hector Scott in court.

SYDNEY:
- Morris Iemma and Andrew Scipione announcement on air safety.

- World Youth Day events in July will reportedly cost NSW taxpayers $86 million in transport,
accommodation, traffic management, security and emergency medical workers; Lee Rhiannon
media conference at 1100 AEST.

- Two-year-old boy in pyjamas found wandering through foyer of inner-Sydney hotel.

- Up to 60 taxis will ferry war veterans in a VIP motorcade to the CBD on Anzac Day, with
a 100-year-old digger in the lead car.

- Head-on car crash that killed female police officer and left her policeman fiance in
hospital with spinal fractures happened the day after the couple were engaged.

MELBOURNE:
- Dredging of Melbourne's Yarra River to start today as part of controversial $1 billion
Port Phillip Bay channel deepening project.

- Vic govt considers aligning Catholic and state school systems.

- Govt to make announcement on taxis.

- New website set up for Melbourne residents to check how long it takes ambulances to
respond to incidents in their suburbs.

- Police investigate death of man in an underground carpark.

- Geoff Polites, US-based chief executive of Jaguar and Land Rover, dies in Melbourne
during visit to his hometown for the birth of his first grandchild.

BRISBANE:
- State cabinet to meet. Expect press conference this afternoon.

- Teachers union to discuss stop-work campaign over remote accommodation.

- Military inquiry resumes into death of Private Ashley Baker in East Timor.

- Unions to meet with Fisher and Paykel over factory closure.

- Unions seeking meeting with government over private involvement in running public schools.

ADELAIDE:
- SA govt says it's gaining traction with campaign to lure Brits to move to Adelaide.

PERTH:
- Alan Carpenter will lead state trade and investment delegation to Russia.

- Cyclone watch issued for Christmas Island as tropical low heads towards it.

FINANCE:
ECONOMICS NEWS:
SYDNEY - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Producer Price Indexes data for March quarter.

SYDNEY - ABS sales of New Motor Vehicles for March.

SYDNEY - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) report on Reform of Australia's Payments System:
Preliminary Conclusions of the 2007/08 Review.

SYDNEY - Australian Office of Financial Management announces details of Treasury bond tender.

EQUITIES NEWS:
SYDNEY - Australia's second biggest supermarket owner Wesfarmers Ltd plans to raise $2.5
billion in an equity to help refinance a bridging facility set up to acquire retailer
Coles Group.

SYDNEY - Qantas Airways is to form an engine maintenance joint venture with repair organisation
Lufthansa Technik AG in an effort to increase its access to international customers.

MELBOURNE - Beconwood Securities vs ANZ Banking Group in Federal Court of Australia.

ROUTINERS:
Stocks, Dollar, Credit.

SPORT:
SWIMMING
SYDNEY - Nick D'Arcy in Downing Centre Local Court on assault charge, 0930.

AFL
MELBOURNE - Wrap of AFL news
MELBOURNE - Tribunal and injury updates

LEAGUE
SYDNEY - Wrap of NRL news
SYDNEY - Judiciary and injury updates
NRL round 6 match:
CANBERRA - Canberra Raider v Melbourne Storm, Canberra Stadium, 1900.

RUGBY
SYDNEY - Wrap of Super 14 news

NETBALL
BRISBANE - Qld Firebirds v Auckland Mystics, Brisbane Convention Centre, 1900.

CHRISTCHURCH - Canterbury Flames v Otago Southern Steel, Westpac Centre, 1700 AEST.

SOCCER
SYDNEY - Olyroos coach Graham Arnold teleconference on Olympic soccer draw, 1100.

BASKETBALL
BEIJING - Aust v Cuba women's Olympic Test event, 2200 AEST.

MOTORSPORT
LONG BEACH, California - Australian driver Will Power won the final race of the Champ
Car World Series on the streets of Long Beach.

RACING
SYDNEY - Looking ahead to Derby-Doncaster day at Randwick on Saturday
MELBOURNE - Looking ahead to Friday's VRC St Leger at Flemington

AAP nf

KEYWORD: NATIONAL NEWSLIST

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Escaped pair to be extradited back to Victoria

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2007
Vic: Escaped pair to be extradited back to Victoria

Victoria Police have begun extradition proceedings for two Melbourne escapees who made
it to Adelaide.

26-year-old convicted rapist TROY LOWE and GREGORY CAULFIELD .. who's 30 .. kicked
their way out of a prison van while being transferred between jails last Friday.

They were arrested at the Adelaide railway station just after 11.30am (AEDT) today.

Police will want to know how the men travelled more than 800 kilometres to Adelaide
.. despite a full alert and tight security on airports and train stations in Melbourne.

AAP RTV jxt/gfr/jmt

KEYWORD: PRISONERS FOUND (MELBOURNE)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Australian researchers develop life saving heart treatment

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2007
Fed: Australian researchers develop life saving heart treatment

BRISBANE, Aug 5 AAP - Australian heart specialists have developed a revolutionary treatment
they hope could save the lives of millions of cardio-vascular disease sufferers worldwide.

The treatment, developed by the Victor Chang Research Institute in Sydney, uses adult
stem cells from patients to generate new blood vessels and repair dead heart tissue, News
Ltd newspapers report.

In the first stage of the study patients from St Vincent's Hospital were injected with
a hormone, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), which releases stem cells from
bone marrow into the blood stream.

The hormones are then fast-tracked to the heart with cardio-vascular exercise.

The GCSF hormones have passed safety tests and the second stage of human trials began last week.

More than 3.5 million Australians suffer from heart disease, with 50,000 dying every
year, accounting for 35 per cent of all deaths.

Sydney retiree Raymond Schofield, 64, says the treatment saved his life.

After suffering a heart attack in 2003 a cardiologist told Mr Schofield he had only
weeks left to live.

"He said to me: `You'd better put your affairs in order because you're not here for
long,'" Mr Schofield told AAP.

However, one of his doctors put him in touch with the institute and he was given the
chance to take part in the study.

Mr Schofield said the treatment had significantly improved his day to day living.

The only thing it hadn't done was improve his golf swing, he joked.

AAP ews/jt/mn

KEYWORD: HEART

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Aust political pressure on NZ to continue kayaker search

AAP General News (Australia)
02-12-2007
Fed: Aust political pressure on NZ to continue kayaker search

Australia's consul-general in New Zealand is urging rescue authorities to continue
their search for missing trans-Tasman kayaker ANDREW McAULEY.

The Rescue Coordination Centre of NZ is in a meeting now .. to review the search for
Mr McAULEY off the coast of the South Island.

The Australian adventurer's upturned kayak was found about 75 kilometres off Milford
Sound on Saturday.

He was due to arrive at Milford Sound yesterday .. after a month-long journey to become
the first person to cross the Tasman Sea in a kayak.





Family spokeswoman JEN PEEDOM has told the Seven Network .. the New Zealand rescuers
are doing an amazing job .. but the decision about the search is being made in Wellington.

She says the Australian Consul-General is putting political pressure on authorities
to try to keep the search going.

Ms PEEDOM says Mr McAULEY's family examined the kayak yesterday .. but still doesn't
understand what happened after he'd come through heavy waves and ridiculous weather ..

to relative calm as he neared the shore.

She says it appears he was hit by a wave and was separated from his boat.

AAP RTV nr/jmt

KEYWORD: NZ KAYAK (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Police reopen old assault case after witness comes forward

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2006
Vic: Police reopen old assault case after witness comes forward

By Shelley Markham

MELBOURNE, Aug 25 AAP - Three years after a man was brutally bashed and left brain-damaged
in a stolen car in Melbourne, police have reopened the hunt for his attackers, armed with
new information.

Passers-by discovered a badly beaten and unconscious Maurice Nugnes, then aged 34,
in the back seat of a car in Lewis Street at Flemington about 10am on October 25, 2003.

Mr Nugnes, from Broadmeadows in Melbourne's north, was so badly beaten that he has
been left with permanent brain damage and has to be cared for by a relative.

Mr Nugnes had no recollection of the attack and had been unable to provide police with a motive.

Detective Sergeant Mick Flanagan from Moonee Ponds Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) said
a witness had contacted police in the past week and provided important information about
the case.

He said the witness had given them a detailed description of a man they believe drove
the car in which Mr Nugnes was left.

"We've had a witness come forward who was in the vicinity of the vehicle when it was
left at that location," Det Sgt Flanagan said.

"That person has provided us with a very good face image of a male person who was with
that vehicle and we believe drove that vehicle to that location," he said.

"We're hoping members of the public will know that person.

"We're also hopeful that the image will also lead us to the location of where this
(attack) occurred and allow us to locate the crime scene."

Det Sgt Flanagan said police believed Mr Nugnes was bashed with a blunt object at another
location and shoved inside the car, a 1978 yellow Valiant, before being driven to Flemington.

The car had been stolen from Dandenong the day before.

Mr Nugnes remained in the Royal Melbourne Hospital for several months after the attack
and has been unable to work.

"There was certainly an intention to kill him, from the viciousness of the assault,"

Det Sgt Flanagan said.

Police said they did not know why the witness had taken three years to come forward.

"It would have been very handy to have that person three years ago, whilst the case
was current," Det Sgt Flanagan said.

"A lot of things happen over people's lives and there may have been some issue at the
time that meant he didn't come forward."

The man police are looking for is caucasian, 180cm tall, with a solid build, brown
hair, olive skin and aged between 35 and 40.

AAP sam/ce/jt/bwl

KEYWORD: NUGNES (PIX AVAILABLE)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: ANU to help build world's most powerful telescope

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2006
Fed: ANU to help build world's most powerful telescope

CANBERRA, April 19 AAP - The Australian National University (ANU) has signed a deal
to help build the world's most powerful telescope.

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is to be designed and built by a consortium of American
research institutions in Chile.

The ANU said the GMT is in the preliminary planning stage and is likely to be one of
the first of a small number of next-generation, Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) due
to come online in the next two decades.

The GMT will detect and study planets around other suns, probe the dark matter and
dark energy that controls the expansion and development of the cosmos, and unlock the
secrets of star and planet formation.

Other US institutions involved in the project include the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona,
the University of Michigan, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Texas at Austin
and the Texas A&M University.

ANU vice-chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said involvement in the project was an important
initiative for the university.

"The Giant Magellan is one of several international projects ANU will be conducting
with overseas partners to solve some of the biggest questions facing humankind," he said
in a statement.

"We're pleased to be part of this visionary project, which captures the forward strategic
plan for the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and that of the ANU more generally."

The school is based at Mt Stromlo outside Canberra. Its director is Professor Penny
Sackett, who signed the memorandum of understanding for the project in Texas at the weekend.

"Stromlo has always been at the forefront of astronomy and its instrumentation," she said.

"This partnership is a giant step toward the astronomy of the next decade and will
ensure that ANU and Australia remains at the cutting edge of scientific research into
our universe."

The telescope's conceptual design anticipates a moving mass of 1,000 metric tonnes
and a cylindrical enclosing dome towering 65 metres - about 18 storeys - high.

Based on a superb observing site in northern Chile, the telescope is expected to see
first light in 2015 and come into routine operation one year later.

The first mirror of the huge assembly has already been cast in Tucson, Arizona, and
is being prepared for polishing.

Over the next three years, the GMT partnership will engage in an intense, detailed
design phase, in which contracts could flow to Australia before building begins in 2010.

The primary mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope will be composed of six segments,
each 8.4 metres in diameter surrounding a seventh central mirror of the same size.

The total light gathering power will be nearly seven times that of the international
Gemini telescopes, the largest telescopes to which Australian astronomers now have access.

AAP dep/sw/jas/de

KEYWORD: TELESCOPE

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Administrator appointed to Federation Health fund

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2004
Fed: Administrator appointed to Federation Health fund

The private health insurance watchdog has sacked the board of Victoria-based medical
fund Federation Health and replaced it with an administrator.

After an 18-month investigation of the fund, the Private Health Insurance Administration
Council has appointed administrator PETER HEDGE for three months.

Earlier this year, financial difficulties forced the fund to sell off its chain of
pharmacies in regional Victoria.

Council chief GAYLE GINNANE says Federation Health isn't in breach of its solvency
requirement and its claims will be paid as usual.

AAP RTV kbw/sb/wjf/lm 8

KEYWORD: FEDERATION (CANBERRA)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Celsius

Celsius, Celsius scale The centigrade thermometer has two constant degrees, a freezing point of water, namely 0°, and its boiling point, 100°. It is sometimes called the Celsius scale in honor of the person who simplified the Fahrenheit scale, which has a freezing point of 32° and a boiling point of 212°.

The centigrade temperature scale (its name was changed to Celsius in 1948 by a world conference on weights and measures) was an invention of Anders Celsius (1701–1744), born in Uppsala, Sweden. The son of an astronomy professor, young Celsius, after teaching mathematics, followed in his father's footsteps: He became a professor of astronomy at the University of Uppsala, where he devised the scale that bears his name. Celsius published a collection of 316 observations of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, and in 1744 built the Uppsala Observatory. He subsequently was able to verify through the measurement of a meridian in Lapland that Newton's hypothesis that the poles were somewhat flattened was correct.

Celsius first described the Celsius scale in a paper he read before the Swedish Academy of Science in 1742. Today the mercury thermometer patterned on this thermometric scale is the favored method in Europe of determining meterological temperature as well as the temperature of human beings.

Centigrade temperature can be converted to Fahrenheit by multiplying the centigrade reading by 1.8 and adding 32 to the result.

City of Montreal Implements Real-Time Financial Reporting With Information Builders; Online Reporting Portal Saves City Time, Money, and Enables Better Decisions.

NEW YORK -- NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Builders, a leader in enterprise business intelligence (BI) and real-time Web reporting, today announced that the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada has launched an online environment for maintaining municipal finances and managing receipts. The city used Information Builders' WebFOCUS software to create the financial reporting portal and the iWay Enterprise Integration Suite to access data from its mainframe-based tax system. "Our users are saving time, minimizing development costs, and leveraging financial data more than ever before," said Herve Caparros, a programmer/analyst in the city's finance department.

   (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020619/IBLOGO          http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020904/IWAYLOGO ) 

For many years, the City of Montreal has depended on a central tax system called OASIS, hosted on a mainframe computer. Following the merger of 27 suburban municipalities into one government entity last year, this system doubled in size from 200,000 to 400,000 accounts, representing about $2.5 billion (Can.) in receipts.

"The city had a great influx of new employees who needed self-service access to our data warehouse," reported Samuel Kairy, head of IT for the city's finance department. "Expanding OASIS and supporting new users was placing intense resource demands on our IT staff."

Government institutions often rely on diverse information systems to conduct planning, service delivery, and internal evaluation and administration. These systems have evolved independently over decades, making them difficult to integrate with modern Internet technologies. "Information Builders brings its mature data access and reporting software to bear on the problem," said Gerald Cohen, president of Information Builders. "WebFOCUS includes analytic tools for creating reports, graphs, and bar charts, as well as features such as matrix reporting, ranking, color-coding, drill-downs, and font customization. It works in conjunction with data integration technology from iWay Software to stage data to and from just about any type of data source."

Kairy and his team, comprised of Caparros and two other programmers, developed the new WebFOCUS self-service application in less than two months, including a unique Web portal page giving access to all the reports through dynamic HTML menus and more. They installed WebFOCUS software on a Microsoft Windows NT server and built an Oracle data warehouse on a UNIX server. iWay Enterprise Integration Suite works behind the scenes to transfer financial data from the OASIS environment to the Oracle data warehouse. "The iWay Enterprise Integration Suite works as the middleware layer, transferring financial data from the Oracle data warehouse to the users in PDF or in Excel format files," explained Caparros.

Now that this advanced business intelligence infrastructure is in place, authorized city employees can easily execute both predefined and custom reports on demand. About 300 city employees have access to the self-service application. On average, the site gets between 50 and 100 visits every day.

Some users prefer alert-based reporting, meaning they only want to see a report when something changes. Others want to receive periodic summaries, yet have the ability to drill down into the data when something piques their interest. Still other users need action statements that allow them to set other activities in motion. WebFOCUS accommodates all of these users, allowing them to access financial information using familiar tools such as Web browsers, Excel spreadsheets, and PDF files.

More than 500 reports, predefined or constructed by the users, are accessible through the portal. Authorized users have access to dynamic menus and can therefore very easily share new reports among themselves. Users can schedule reports for automatic distribution via printers, faxes, e-mail messages, and wireless devices. They can also specify events that will automatically trigger reports when specific conditions are met -- for example, when a certain budget is exceeded.

"End users now have a great tool to obtain and share the specific information that they need," said Caparros. "The beauty of the system is its simplicity: Users simply need a standard Web browser to access this useful self-service reporting application."

About Information Builders

Information Builders is the leader in enterprise business intelligence and real-time Web reporting. The company's WebFOCUS product -- the industry's most secure and flexible -- is able to meet all the reporting needs of the extended enterprise, ranging from analysts to power users to the widest deployments for hundreds of thousands of users. Additionally, WebFOCUS' empowerment of organizations seeking to leverage all their data by accessing it all -- from legacy to data warehouse -- is unmatched.

Information Builders' award-winning technology has successfully provided quality software and superior services for 27 years to more than 11,000 customers, including most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,900 people, has over 350 business partners, and generated revenues exceeding $300 million in 2001. For more information, visit http://www.informationbuilders.com/ .

About iWay Software

iWay Software, an Information Builders company, is a market leader in middleware that accelerates business integration. With facilities to integrate systems in real time, near-real time, or on a scheduled basis, iWay provides a complete reusable infrastructure for EAI, B2B, e-commerce, mobile business and e-government. iWay's experience with complex information systems led to the development of prepackaged Intelligent Adapters to connect to more than 200 packaged applications, transaction systems, legacy data, relational databases, and e-business formats without writing custom code. iWay Software integration solutions significantly reduce the time, cost, effort, and risk of integration projects throughout the enterprise.

CONTACT: Kathleen Moran of Information Builders, +1-212-736-4433, kathleen_moran@ibi.com; or Chris Foster of Ruder Finn, +1-212-715-1691, fosterc@ruderfinn.com

Web site: http://www.informationbuilders.com/

Meridian Holdings Announces That the Post-Effective Amended SB-2 Registration Statement of InterCare.com-dx Offering has Been Declared Effective By SEC, And the Repurchase of 250,000 Shares of Its Common Stock.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ --

Meridian Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MEHO), announced that its subsidiary, InterCare.com-dx, Inc. ("InterCare"), recently filed a post-effective amendment of its effective SB-2 Registration Statement that has been declared effective by United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

This amendment disclosed that InterCare (in association with Meridian Holdings, Inc.) has dissociated itself from the MedMaster(TM) product. The parties are jointly developing a new software product named InterCare Clinical Explorer(TM) ("ICE"), which is scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter of 2001. The amendment also provided up-dated financial statements of InterCare.

The prospectus may be viewed online at www.intercare.com. To receive a hard copy of the prospectus, together with the subscription agreement, please contact our corporate offices at (213) 627-8878 or Fax your request along with your contact information to (213) 627-9183. This and other periodic filings relating to the company and its business may be found on the internet at www.sec.gov.

All current subscribers to this offering who decide to withdraw their participation based on the current amendment will be provided with a seven-day written right of rescission.

This offering of shares of InterCare.com-dx, Inc., is subject to the relevant securities laws of the states in which prospective shareholders reside or are domiciled and to the securities laws of such other states where other interested parties may reside or are domiciled. This announcement is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy InterCare.com-dx, Inc.'s common stock, nor shall there be any sale thereof in any state in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state. Such offer will be made only through a prospectus, a copy of which is available from InterCare.com-dx, Inc.

Meridian also announced today that, pursuant to the stock repurchase program approved in March 2001 by the board of directors, it has repurchased 250,000 shares from its shareholders thus far.

"We are extremely excited about the prospects of our yet to be released software product -- ICE. This is an elaborate healthcare enterprise-wide software solution that we are developing to satisfy and expand upon software functionality, implementation and support needs of our customers. We are also continuing with the ramp-up process defined in our business plan and diligently evaluating new business opportunities in an effort to grow our healthcare services and technology business. We sincerely appreciate the patience and continued support of our shareholders as we strive to strengthen shareholder value through our stock repurchase program, in light of the current market condition," said Anthony C. Dike, MD, Chairman & CEO.

About Meridian Holdings, Inc. and InterCare.com-dx, Inc.

Meridian Holdings, Inc. is a Healthcare Services and Technology Company. Meridian seeks to acquire majority or controlling interests in companies engaged in e-commerce, e-communication, and e-business services, which will allow the holding company to actively participate in management, operations and finances. Meridian's network of affiliated companies is designed to encourage maximum leverage of information technology, operational excellence, industry expertise and synergistic business opportunity. Meridian is committed to building shareholder value by positioning affiliated companies as independent business entities in which Meridian shareholders enjoy equity participation. The company's InterCare.com-dx, Inc. subsidiary is an FDA-registered internet-based health care management software developer and solutions provider. For more information, visit Meridian's web site at www.meho.com, InterCare's web site at www.intercare.com.

NOTE: Statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any amendments thereto. Material that is forward-looking may contain statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature. Editors and investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements invoke risk and uncertainties that may cause the company's results to differ from such forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors discussed in the statements and/or in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not undertake to supplement or correct any information in this release that is or becomes incorrect.

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Putting the Web to Work.(hybrid imaging systems vendors)(Statistical Data Included)

How effective is it as an interactive sales and information tool for film-based and hybrid imaging systems vendors? What about web-based document delivery services?

The overwhelming majority of film-based and hybrid imaging system vendors with web sites are still using them primarily as marketing/information tools. And they're generally satisfied with their effectiveness. But an increasing number are now exploring interactive services through the internet. Those are conclusions coming out of MN's annual survey of web usage.

The survey was conducted over the summer months. We queried 100+ of the companies whose web sites are listed in MN's quarterly roundup of industry web sites (see insert this issue) and drew a 15% response.

Questionnaires went to all sizes of companies, both service houses and manufacturers. Mid-size and smaller firms responded best, probably because they have fewer layers between senior management and web site responsibility. We suspect that's the case because more smaller companies were willing to be quoted than were representatives of larger organizations.

What We Wanted to Know

We asked how the responding company used its web site. Can clients and potential clients send data and information to be worked on and/or get processed material back? Is an internet information storage and retrieval service offered? How is the web site used as a marketing tool? As an informational tool? How long has it been in existence and how effective is it? How do companies measure their web sites [1] effectiveness?

Everyone reported they use their web site as an interactive marketing tool. The biggest applications were to gather prospect names (73%), to offer hot links to other sites (66%), as a feeder for sending out product literature (53%) and to take orders (20%).

A minority are using the site to conduct e-commerce. Marc McQueen, Virtual Image Technology, noted his company sells film, processing and processing through its web site.

Web-based Document Services

One-quarter of the companies reported they now offer---or shortly will--- an information storage and retrieval service. In fact, web-based document storage and delivery is the current "Hot" internet service, both from national and local organizations.

On the national level, service houses Anacomp, F.Y.I., Ikon, ImageMax, Lason, and VestCom all offer internet-enabled document delivery solutions. Some do it completely on their own; others contract with outside ASPs to provide hosting and IT infrastructures. There are also specialized electronic archiving services such as Bell & Howell's ProQuest Archiver for publications.

On the local level, some service bureaus offer information repository services, usually based on customized commercial software but sometimes written in-house. An example is Datastor, whose David Hess, noted, "We offer in-house, service bureau and data warehousing solutions."

As a rule, bureaus stick to their own regions for such services but some are talking about setting up cooperative systems. A handful of service houses use their web sites for interactive exchange with clients --i.e. clients can send in data via an FTP protocol rather than physically and get back, also electronically, a formatted product.

An Informational Tool

The original use for web sites was as an informational tool and everyone still uses their site that way. The three biggest applications are to list services offered, to describe the company, and to offer product descriptions and spec sheets. Following are soliciting inquiries, directing inquirers to specific contacts and, lastly, giving prices.

Gary Moelis, Microfilm Products, said, "Visiting our web site, a prospective customer can get detailed product information for the services and supplies we offer. We put up individual pages displaying all of the products so we can give a customer immediate and detailed information." The cost is also far less than producing and mailing brochures and catalogs.

Five Years = Eternity

How long have film-based and hybrid imaging systems vendors been using the internet as an informational/marketing/e-commerce tool? Five years (and in one instance more) is the longest we found and just 11% have been on the web that long.

A notch higher were those who set up their sites four years ago (32%). Some twelve percent came on board three years ago. The most frequently cited period was two years or less. That's how long 42% have been on the web.

Among the veterans, a typical comment was that their web site is either being revised or reviewed. In some instances the revision is based on aesthetics, in more it is to add new features. For example, Dona Elkins, Edco, who has a new web site under design, said that the present informational site only allows comments. "Through the new site we will be able to track inquiries."

The Big Question: Effectiveness

Probably the key question we ask annually is how effective the web site has been so far. This year we asked about it (1) as an interactive business tool and (2) in developing sales.

More people were willing to answer this year than in 1999 and more (71%) found their web site was "very good" or "good" as an interactive tool. Some 21% regarded it as "fair" and just 8% said it was "poor".

Effectiveness as a sales tool was not quite as solid. A majority (54%) rated it "good" or "very good" as opposed to 36% who found it "fair" and about 10% who regarded it as "poor".

Part of the difference may be attributable to how the web sites were constructed. Joe Bryant, Alpha Information, commented, "Our plan was to have the site for informational purposes and to answer informational requests only. That can't really be measured". Bob Phelan, Agfa Micrographics, answered similarly.

Measurement Methods

The question, "How do you measure your web site's effectiveness?" drew a wide range of answers with no single system standing out.

Some go for the number of "hits" on their site while others decry that methodology. One who did cited AIIM International's claim of 1 million "monthly web visitors" to www.aiim.org. "Sure, that number's probably correct by creative arithmetic, but I was probably counted as two dozen or so 'visitors' by that standard," said one service company executive.

Robin Juarez, Mekel Technology, measures the number of leads attributable to site inquiries. Others measure the requests for information (usually by e-mail). Jim Harvey, Altek Systems, not only tracks these responses but is using them to "develop an e-mailing of our available equipment". Some, such as David Urbaniak, Automatic Microfilm, zero in on the amount of dollars generated from site contacts. Peter Hovell, Connecticut Micrographics, looks for "requests which would never have reached us otherwise" and does this by direct follow-up, "I can discuss products on the phone with both of us viewing the web site."

And there are some like Roger Brazier, Integra Information Technologies, who have not yet found a reliable measurement tool.

What's Ahead?

Obviously, web sites are here to stay in the B2B (business-to-business) world. Using them as communication tools with clients, prospects, and the general world is now old hat ---at least half a decade old.

First getting started now is using them to actually do business ---take orders, receive information, returned processed materials, set up and maintain internet-based document storage and delivery systems. So the revolution is still in its formative stage. But at the speed with which everything is happening in the 21st century, it will be upon us before we realize it. Hopefully, it may be a bloodless revolution.

WinZip 7.0 Now Shipping The Internet's Most Popular Zip Data Compression Utility is Now Better than Ever.

MANSFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--WinZip(R) 7.0 is now shipping. Best known for providing a familiar Windows interface for Zip files, WinZip allows users to process Zip files and other popular archival/compression formats without a complex command line interface. Details on the new features are available on the web page http://www.winzip.com/whatsnew70.htm.

With over 7.5 million downloads from one web site (download.com) alone, WinZip is one of the most popular software products on the Internet. -0-

     Recent Industry Awards for WinZip include:     1998 Windows Magazine "Win100" Award     1998 PC Computing "World Class" Award     1998 Personal Computer World (UK) "Best Utility" Award 

-0-

As with all WinZip upgrades for the last seven years, all registered users of earlier English language versions of WinZip can download a FREE upgrade to WinZip 7.0 from the web page http://www.winzip.com/upgrade.cgi.

Key product features include:

--Windows 95/98/NT integration: WinZip includes tight integration with the Windows 95/98/NT shell. Drag and drop to or from Explorer, or zip and unzip without leaving Explorer.

--Internet support: WinZip features built-in support for popular Internet file formats such as TAR, gzip, UUEncode, XXencode, BinHex, and MIME. You can use WinZip to process almost all the compressed or encoded files you download from the Internet. In addition, the freely downloadable WinZip Internet Browser Support Add-On lets you download and open archives with one click using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.

--Easy installation of most software distributed in Zip files: If a Zip file contains a "setup" or "install" program, WinZip's Install feature will unzip the files, run the installation program, and clean up temporary files.

--The WinZip Wizard: This optional feature uses the familiar "wizard" interface to simplify the process of unzipping and installing software distributed in Zip files.

--Favorite Zip Folders: WinZip lets you organize Zip files into one convenient list that is sorted by date, making it easier to locate all Zip files, regardless of where they came from or where they are stored.

--Create files that unzip themselves: WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition is included. Self-extracting files are ideal for sending compressed files to others who may not own or know how to use file compression software.

WinZip 7.0 requires Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT.

An individual license for WinZip costs $29 (postage and handling included). Quantity discounts and site licensing are available. Immediate online delivery is available from the WinZip web site (http://www.winzip.com). To place a credit card order, visit the WinZip web site or call the Public Software Library at 1-877-724-4600 (toll free in the US) or 1-713-610-1432.

Zhone secures another FTTx project in the Midwest.(FTTX)

Zhone Technologies Inc., a provider of FTTx network access solutions, is working with Pulaski-White Rural Telephone Cooperative to build a new fiber network that will support delivery of more affordable and more reliable high-speed Internet access, VoIP, and video services to subscribers.

Throughout 2011, hospitals, schools, banks, and small businesses will begin to see faster speeds and greater bandwidth capacity in their services in part because of Zhone's MXK multiservice access node (MSAN) solution that Pulaski-White Telephone will integrate into its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. The flexibility of the Zhone MXK MSAN and its ability to provide intelligent Gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and Active Ethernet (AE) connectivity in facilitating network and service upgrades to FTTH has been repeatedly demonstrated in similar broadband projects throughout the United States, including the most recent Midwest deployment with Alhambra-Grantfork Telephone in Alhambra, Illinois.

Now, with the extreme bandwidth demands being remotely managed by the MXK platform, Pulaski-White Telephone residential customers will benefit from things such as multiple high-definition television (HDTV) channels, high-definitention digital video recorder (HD-DVR) content and video streaming within the home.

"Our 2,000 lines to residents and businesses require increasing bandwidth as user needs exceed our current capacity. Fortunately, the increased density, scale and performance provided by the Zhone MXK, zNID ONTs and Zhone EZ Touch Provisioning solution address our network complexity and challenges," said Mark Dickerson, plant manager, Pulaski-White Telephone. "We are excited to offer more advanced communications and connectivity to our customers. We initially plan to provide our business customers, including banks, hospitals and schools with AE connectivity and consumers with GPON connectivity using the same MXK system without worrying about bandwidth constraints or expansive cost requirements.The ability to provide multiple services off the same system was imperative for us to curtail operational costs."

Zhone has extensive experience managing the complexity of multiservice access and, as a result, has built the telecom industry's most comprehensive portfolio of scalable FTTx solutions. The MXK's feature set aligns well with Pulaski-White Telephone's specific field requirements, enabling Zhone to provide optimum cost-efficiency and maximum service differentiation in the operator's network in combination with the zNID GPON optical network terminals (ONTs) that will be installed at the residence and business sites to support individual subscriber service needs.

"Like some of our other North American deployments, we recognized Pulaski-White Telephone needed a fiber access solution with superior scale; that was our primary goal," explained Brian Caskey, chief marketing officer for Zhone. "The ease of use and flexibility are two core attributes of our fiber access solutions that resonate with service providers, and we will continue to customize solutions to fit the individual needs of our customers and those they serve."

The use of the Zhone Management System (ZMS) in the Pulaski-White Telephone deployment enables seamless network management support for Zhone's multiservice network solution. The robust platform of the ZMS automates complex, tedious, and error-prone tasks, thereby raising network productivity, improving efficiency and reducing operating costs for Pulaski-White Telephone. And, as an extension of the ZMS, the Zhone EZ Touch Provisioning solution provides next-generation carrier-class network management and automated service provisioning, ultimately reducing recurring operational expenditures (OpEx) by minimizing truck rolls and the need for field technicians to manually turn on subscriber-specific features at each residence or business.

Zhone has deployed over 1,350 of its fully redundant, carrier-grade all-IP MXK platforms with more than 100 service providers in more than 40 countries globally. Featuring industry-leading density, scalability, and switching capacity, the MXK is the industry's first terabit access concentrator and provides non-blocking capacity of up to 3,600 100Mbps GPON subscribers or 360 1G Active Ethernet subscribers.

For more information about Zhone's MXK solution or to learn more about the other solutions offered in the new Zhone FiberHome portfolio, please visit http://zhone.com/products/MXK/ or http://www.zhone.com/solutions/fttn/.

VisiInc PLC and MMRGlobal Announce Agreement to Launch MyMedicalRecords Australia.

MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTCBB: MMRF) ("MMR") and VisiInc PLC (VZJ) (www.deutsch-boerse.com) have entered into an agreement tolaunch MMRGlobal's patented consumer and professional health IT products and services, including MMRPro for healthcare professionals (www.mmrprovideos.com) and the MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record (PHR) (www.mmrvideos.com), on the Visi™ platform utilizing the Vistime product. Vistime is a multi-file format, real-time 3D viewerfor retrieval and viewing of large files, including medical imaging systems such as MRIs, scans and sonograms, over any Internet connection, including dial-up. The system allows physicians and patients to view and discuss medical records including radiology images in an online meeting format, making MMR's MyMedicalRecords one of the world's most functional Personal Health Records systems that allows collaboration of multiple specialists in real time.

MMR will also integrate the Visi platform into its offerings on a global basis. The VisiInc technology will enable MMR usersto render and distribute large multi-dimensional visual files within the MMR interface, including digital medical media such as MRI and CAD files at lightning-fast speed without any resolution degradation or enterprise infrastructure barrier regardless of Internet connection, including dial-up ("Vistime," www.vistime.com).

With current and future planned products MMR and Visi see this as an opportunity in what is estimated to be a $2.4b market.

Jacques Blandin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of VisiInc PLC, said, "Vistime is the world's easiest to use multi-file format, real-time 3D viewer for powerful collaboration of medical records, including radiological images, using Visi rapid visual rendering capabilities. Working with MMR, our plan is to offer a MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record globally. VisiInc will offer the product in Australia through its subsidiary Firmware Technologies. Integrating the Visi technology with the MMR PHR will allow consumers anywhere to simultaneously view and explore Personal Health Records including multi-dimensional data visualizations of any file type of any size, in real-time."

The Visi MMR relationship responds to that agenda and can represent the beginning of a next generation of Personal Health Management Systems for consumers and healthcare professionals," stated Robert H. Lorsch, Chairman and CEO of MMRGlobal, Inc.

Keywords: MMRGlobal, Medical Records, Records as Topic, Technology, VisiInc PLC.

This article was prepared by Information Technology Newsweekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Information Technology Newsweekly via VerticalNews.com.

AASL BOOK DISCUSSION TURNS THE PAGE IN ANTICIPATION OF NATIONAL CONFERENCE.(Conference news)

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The following information was released by the American Library Association:

As part of the countdown to the 15th National Conference and Exhibition Oct. 27-30 in Minneapolis, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will host a 10-week book discussion group on the One Book, One Conference read, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr. Led by AASL President-Elect Carl Harvey, the discussion, which begins Aug. 10, will cover one chapter each week and take place on the conference's Ning at aasl11.ning.com. It will culminate in an opportunity for attendees to share their thoughts with Nicholas Carr as he joins the One Book, One Conference event onsite in Minneapolis on Friday, October 28, 2011.

"I'm excited about the opportunity for discussion and ideas to be flowing from our conference Ning as we prepare for the National Conference in Minneapolis," said Harvey. "Nicholas Carr's book will be a great way to get the conversation started!"

In "The Shallows," Carr asks the question: "As we enjoy the Net's bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?" Carr then describes throughout the book how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by "tools of the mind" u from the alphabet, to maps, to the printing press, the clock and the computer. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store and share information can reroute our neural pathways. A preview of "The Shallows" is available via the AASL conference website, www.aasl11.org.

"The co-chairs are very excited that Carl Harvey, who will be AASL president during the conference, has agreed to lead the One Book, One Conference discussion on the Ning," said Ty Burns, national conference co-chair. "We are pleased that he is taking such an active role in preparing the membership for this excellent professional development opportunity."

The AASL 15th National Conference and Exhibition, "Turning the Page," is the only national conference dedicated solely to the needs of school librarians and their roles as educational leaders. Taking place Oct. 27-30, 2011 in Minneapolis, the AASL National Conference will feature preconferences, numerous concurrent sessions, more than 200 exhibiting companies, educational and school tours, a storytelling festival and special appearances by award-winning authors. Registration is now open at a discounted "early bird" rate. For more information or to register, visit www.aasl11.org.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.

Opnext Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Conferences.(Conference news)(Company overview)

FREMONT, Calif. -- Opnext, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXT), a global leader in the design and manufacturing of optical modules and components, today announced that the Company will participate in two upcoming investor conferences:

* Security Research Analyst Spring Growth Stock Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, May 24 at 4:00 pm PDT; and

* B. Riley Investor Conference in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday, May 25 at 2:00 pm PDT.

Presenting for Opnext will be Robert Nobile, Opnext's Chief Financial Officer.

Investors can listen to a live broadcast of each conference via the Internet by visiting the Investor Relations section of Opnext's website at http://www.opnext.com and following the link to the Events and Presentations page. An archive of each presentation will be available following the live event.

(OPXT-G)

About Opnext

Opnext (NASDAQ:OPXT) is the optical technology partner of choice supplying systems providers and OEMs worldwide with one of the industry's largest portfolios of 10G and higher next generation optical products and solutions. The Company's industry expertise, future-focused thinking and commitment to research and development combine in bringing to market the most advanced technology to the communications, defense, security and biomedical industries. Formed out of Hitachi, Opnext has built on more than 30 years experience in advanced technology to establish its broad portfolio of solutions and solid reputation for excellence in service and delivering value to its customers. For additional information, visit www.opnext.com.

Austria Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts Report 2010.

M2 PRESSWIRE-October 8, 2010-Research and Markets: Austria Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts Report 2010(C)1994-2010 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

RDATE:08102010

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/eec880/austria_telecoms) has announced the addition of the "Austria Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts" report to their offering.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Austrias telecommunications market. The report analyses the mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media sectors. Subjects include:

- Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;

- Facts, figures and statistics;

- Industry and regulatory issues;

- Infrastructure;

- Major players, revenues, subscribers, ARPU, MoU;

- Internet, VoIP, IPTV;

- Mobile voice and data markets;

- Broadband (FttH, DSL, cable TV, wireless);

- Convergence and digital media;

- 3G subscriber and mobile ARPU forecasts to 2015;

- Broadband market forecasts for selective years to 2020.

Austria prepares regulatory unbundling measures for fibre network access:

The annual publication, Austria - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts, provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in the telecommunications and digital media markets a key central European market.

Market highlights:

- The 900/1800MHz ranges currently reserved for GSM services are likely to be opened up for additional 3G use when the frequency allocations held by mobilkom austria, T-Mobile and Orange expire at the end of 2015, 2017 and 2019 respectively. This is in line with similar developments elsewhere in Europe where regulators are keen to refarm 2G spectrum to further develop the 3G sector.

- Fibre deployment remains insignificant outside Vienna and a few other major cities. Nevertheless, Telekom Austria has made considerable progress with its national FiberCities project, having rolled out FttH to about 150,000 households in Klagenfurt and Villach, providing speeds of up to 1Gb/s. This network complements the companys VDSL2 strategy in rural areas using existing fibre backbone infrastructure. About 4,000 mobile base stations will also be connected to the network to support the companys future LTE projects. FttH trials in Vienna are expected to start during the first quarter of 2011.

- All MNOs have advanced plans for LTE roll-outs, with T-Mobile as early as October 2009 having reached data rates at over 130Mb/s. In June 2010 the operators tested LTE in Vienna and Innsbruck using the 2.6GHz band using equipment from Huawei, while H3 has contracted NSN and Orange Ericsson. Mobilkom austria (also with Huawei) demonstrated LTE in July 2010 in Vienna. The technology should see commercial launched during 2011.

- The satellite TV sector is particularly strong in Austria, with the Astra system the market leader: about two thirds of digital TV households are Astra subscribers. Among DTH households, digital satellite has an 89% market share, compared to 39% for digital cable networks. The market has sufficient room to expand, with Austriasat introduced as a new competitor in late 2010.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Key Statistics

2. Telecommunications Market

2.1 Overview of Austrias telecom market

3. Regulatory Environment

3.1 History

3.2 Regulatory authorities

3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Austria

3.4 Number portability (NP)

3.5 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)

4. Fixed Network Market

4.1 Overview

4.2 Telekom Austria

4.3 Tele2UTA

4.4 tele.ring

4.5 UPC Austria

4.6 eTel Austria

5. Telecommunications Infrastructure

5.1 National telecom network

5.2 Next Generation Network (NGN)

5.3 Structural separation

5.4 Wholesaling

5.5 International infrastructure

6. Broadband Market

6.1 Broadband market overview

6.2 Cable modems

6.3 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)

6.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks

6.5 Mobile broadband

6.6 Broadband Powerline (BPL)

6.7 Wireless broadband

7. Convergence

7.1 Overview

7.2 Key general trends

7.3 Business models

7.4 Regulatory issues

8. Digital Media

8.1 Digital TV

9. Mobile Communications

9.1 Overview of Austrias mobile market

9.2 Regulatory issues

9.3 Mobile technologies

9.4 Major mobile operators

9.5 Mobile voice services

9.6 Mobile Messaging

9.7 Mobile data services

9.8 Mobile content and applications

10. Forecasts

10.1 Forecasts broadband subscribers 2007 - 2012; 2020

10.2 Forecasts mobile market 2006 - 2015

11. Glossary of Abbreviations

For more information about this report, please visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/eec880/austria_telecoms

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

National Talk Radio Host Kim Komando Recommends ProtectMyID.com(TM) From Experian to Listeners Wanting 'The Best' Identity Theft Protection.

ProtectMyID.com/Komando online and on-air partnership reaches audience of more than 16 million

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- ProtectMyID.com(TM), the multilayered identity theft detection, protection and fraud resolution product, proudly announces that it has been selected as the recommended identity monitoring product by national radio host Kim Komando. ProtectMyID.com is partnering with Komando to educate her audience of more than 16 million listeners and online subscribers about the importance of identity monitoring and protection. The partnership's mission is to educate consumers about ways to reduce their risk of identity theft and provide them with the tools to help protect themselves.

"With more than 10 million identity thefts occurring in 2008 alone(1), this topic remains top-of-mind for my audience. In fact, I receive more questions about identity theft than on any other topic," said Kim Komando, national radio host of the syndicated Kim Komando Show. "After careful review of the many identity protection products currently available, I feel very confident recommending ProtectMyID.com to my listeners. Not only is it a part of Experian -- one of the most trusted brands in identity protection -- it provides multiple layers of identity monitoring defense, including active Internet scans, change of address notifications, daily credit report monitoring at all three bureaus and notification alerts of key changes. I truly believe that ProtectMyID.com is the best identity monitoring and protection product available."

The ProtectMyID.com and Kim Komando partnership involves both on-air and online components. At the core of the online program is an ID Theft Security Center Web page located at http://www.komando.com/protectmyid/ where visitors can learn how to better protect themselves from identity theft, as well as enroll in ProtectMyID.com. Other elements of the partnership include on-air and online advertisements in Komando's radio program, email newsletters and Web site.

"Kim Komando's audience trusts her expertise, and she knows that when it comes to identity theft protection, consumers need to take an active role in protecting themselves against the damaging and often long-term effects of identity theft," said Jennifer Leuer, general manager, ProtectMyID.com. "Identity theft remains a very real threat, and Kim is doing a great service by educating her listeners about ways they can proactively protect themselves by using ProtectMyID.com."

Identity protection in the ProtectMyID.com program is $9.95 per month and includes active Internet scans that search for key indicators of potential fraudulent use of debit, credit and Social Security numbers; notification alerts that inform members when a change of address action is initiated; daily monitoring of members' credit reports at all three credit reporting companies; and access to experienced U.S. Fraud Resolution Agents. Additionally, members can get the most comprehensive children's identity protection through ChildSecure(TM) for an additional fee. The ProtectMyID.com Guarantee will reimburse members for up to $1 million in related losses and expenses in the event the product fails and the member becomes a victim of identity theft, subject to limitations in the product agreement.

About ProtectMyID.com

ProtectMyID.com is a leading, full-service provider of proactive identity theft detection, protection and fraud resolution. ProtectMyID.com offers comprehensive identity theft protection products supported by experienced Fraud Resolution Agents who deliver personal attention that customers can rely on. ProtectMyID.com is a Web site owned by ConsumerInfo.com Inc., an Experian company. For more information about how ProtectMyID.com helps consumers protect themselves against identity theft, please visit http://www.protectmyid.com/.

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to manage their credit relationships and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2009 was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and S o Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com/.

Experian and the marks herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

Other products and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Kim Komando

Kim Komando hosts the nation's largest syndicated weekend talk radio show, which airs on more than 460 prime stations nationwide. Additionally, the show broadcasts globally via the American Forces Radio Network. Komando is the recipient of the Gracie Award for best program host. Komando writes two weekly columns for USA Today and the Gannett newswire and is currently working on her ninth book. For more information, visit http://www.komando.com/about.

  (1) http://www.protectmyid.com/about-identity-theft  Media Contact:     Chad Darwin                     PainePR                     1 213 996 3776                     cdarwin@painepr.com

CONTACT: Chad Darwin, PainePR, +1-213-996-3776, cdarwin@painepr.com

Web Site: http://www.protectmyid.com/