Cash bonus plan for Vic jail operators

VICTORIAN jail operators could get up to $40,000 for each prisoner who stays on the straight and narrow for two years after their release.

The Herald Sun says bonuses are likely to be offered to the operator of the planned Ravenhall Prison and rolled out in the private jails at Port Philip and Fulham if the scheme is a success.

Corrections Minister Andrew McIntosh told the paper the bonus scheme is among a a number of options being discussed with potential private jail operators.

"The government is certainly willing to listen to and think about innovative suggestions to improve the way Victoria's prisons run," Mr McIntosh said.

The idea behind the bonuses was to encourage operators to focus on better rehabilitation programs and greater support for prisoners after their release.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fifth French soldier killed in Mali

A FRENCH corporal has been killed tracking down jihadist fighters in their northern Mali mountain bastions, bringing to five the number of French deaths since the January 11 military intervention, officials say.

France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the 24-year-old soldier was killed and three of his comrades wounded when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb blast in the Ifoghas mountains.

Alexandre Van Dooren was "taking part in a search and destroy mission targeting terrorist weapons caches south of Tessalit" near the Algerian border, Le Drian said in a statement on Sunday.

According to army sources, two of the wounded were in serious condition.

With its special forces and aerial firepower, the French military took only days to reconquer the main cities in northern Mali, which al-Qaeda's North African franchise and its allies had controlled for nine months.

But the bulk of jihadist fighters moved north to fight from their remote mountain strongholds and France has admitted that flushing them out was the most perilous phase of its involvement.

President Francois Hollande's office paid tribute to the French forces involved in "the final and most difficult phase of their mission" in Mali.

Hollande has already said he planned to scale back French military presence in the former colony as early as next month and start handing over responsibility to Malian troops and an African stabilisation force.

The AFISMA force set up by regional bloc ECOWAS has been slow to deploy however. It needs funding and training.

France has said plans for a UN peacekeeping force, believed to potentially number as much as 10,000 troops, were afoot and could start deploying in June.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Prince Harry hits town with girlfriend

PRINCE Harry and his girlfriend Cressida Bonas have spent a night out together in London a month after their much-publicised hug on a Swiss ski slope.

Britain's Sunday Daily Star declared on its front page that the Friday night drinks proved "She's the one".

The tabloid splashed photos of the pair leaving reggae bar The Rum Kitchen in Notting Hill.

"Friday night was her (Ms Bonas's) biggest test as the couple faced photographers after hitting several London nightspots," the newspaper stated.

"Dance student Cressida passed with flying colours."

The Mail on Sunday reported Prince Harry, 28, and Ms Bonas, 24, headed straight to The Rum Kitchen's basement nightclub where they drank rum cocktails and danced.

"They looked very much like a couple," the UK tabloid reported one onlooker as saying.

"They were very affectionate. They were hugging and they kissed a few times."

The pair reportedly left separately just after 1am on Saturday morning London time.

Prince Harry's well-documented embrace with Ms Bonas at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier in February led one royal correspondent to note at the time he'd declared his love "in an unprecedented public display of affection".

The third-in-line to the royal throne split with former flame Chelsy Davy in 2010. He was first linked with Ms Bonas in mid-2012.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Somalia frees rape interview journalist

SOMALIA'S Supreme Court has freed a reporter imprisoned for interviewing a woman who alleged she had been raped by soldiers, in a case that has sparked widespread international criticism.

Supreme Court judge Aidid Abdulahi Ilkahanaf said the charges had been dropped and the court "has given journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur his freedom back".

Both Abdinuur and the woman were initially sentenced to a year in prison for "offending state institutions". But all charges were dropped against the woman earlier this month, while Abdinuur's sentence was halved.

His release, following more than two months' incarceration and after an appeals court ruled he must remain in jail, came as a surprise to many.

The 25-year-old reporter walked out of the courtroom offering prayers of thanks for his release and thanking those who had supported him.

"I'm very happy that I got my freedom back, I thank those who worked in this process that helped my release including my lawyers", he said.

Abdinuur was detained on January 10 while researching sexual violence in Somalia, but did not air or print a story after interviewing the woman.

He was also found guilty of "making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present".

The court had initially deemed the woman's story to be false after a midwife conducted a "finger test" to see if she had been raped, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) said was an "unscientific and degrading practice that has long been discredited".

When she was sentenced, the woman was allowed to defer her prison term for six months to breastfeed her infant.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said at the time he was "deeply disappointed" over the case.

Abdinuur works for several Somali radio stations and international media outlets.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alstom India boss rescued from kidnappers

THE India head of French multinational engineering group Alstom has been rescued over the weekend hours after being kidnapped near New Delhi, police say.

Police said Rathin Basu was abducted by a group of five men, at least one of whom was armed, late on Friday.

The kidnappers forced him to stop his car and pushed him into their white Camry in Delhi's satellite city of Noida before driving to the northern town of Meerut, said Meerut senior superintendent of police Deepak Kumar.

"We sent out 70 policemen to map the area from Noida to Meerut and after a firefight with the kidnappers, we finally found Mr Basu around 4am on Saturday," Kumar told AFP.

The executive, reportedly in his 60s, was found handcuffed in a small and dingy room, police said.

Kumar said a shopkeeper in Noida is thought to have masterminded the kidnapping. "He was in financial trouble and thought this would help, so he sent his servants and his drivers to do the job," the officer said.

The shopkeeper is being questioned by Noida police, after officers found phone records showing several overnight calls made by the alleged kidnappers to him during the incident.

Basu's family received no demands for ransom during that period, Kumar said.

Three of the five men involved in the kidnapping have been arrested on charges of abduction and attempted murder.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

I hope baby is a boy, Kate reveals

THE Duchess of Cambridge has told a soldier she would like her baby to be a boy as she attended a St Patrick's Day parade at a military barracks.

But Kate, who is five months pregnant, said the Duke, who attended the event with her, would prefer to have a girl.

Ahead of watching the parade at Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire, the duchess suffered an embarrassing mishap when the heel of one of her shoes became stuck in a drain.

Kate, who showed patriotic spirit in the same green Emilia Wickstead dress coat she wore to the event last year, had to lean on William while she pulled it out with her hand.

Afterwards, the royal couple chatted to soldiers from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards in the Guardsmens' cookhouse.

Guardsman Lee Wheeler, 29, said: "I was talking to her about the baby, of course.

"I asked her 'do you know if it's a girl or boy', and she said 'not yet'.

"She said 'I'd like to have a boy and William would like a girl'. That's always the way.

"I asked her if she had any names yet and she said no.

"I said I suppose you've got to stick to traditional names."

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

William given aide-de-camp position

THE Duke of Cambridge has been made a personal aide-de-camp to the Queen, it has been announced.

William's honorary appointment was detailed in the Court Circular and the duke wore the insignia for the first time at the St Patrick's Day parade for the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire.

The position has few duties but will be seen as symbolic of William's growing role within the royal family.

It comes after a week in which the monarch, who has been suffering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis, cancelled most of her public engagements.

The Court Circular stated the Queen "has been pleased to appoint The Duke of Cambridge as a Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty" with effect from Sunday.

Queen Victoria was the first to institute the appointment of a small group of personal aides-de-camp (ADC) positions, with one of the earliest holders being Prince Louis of Battenberg.

William's father Prince Charles is also a personal aide-de-camp to the monarch.

The Duke of Edinburgh was made personal aide-de-camp by the Queen's father, King George VI.

Principal ADC is an office held by some high-ranking officers in the Armed Services and includes carrying out duties such as attendance on the Queen at the state opening of parliament or representing the Queen at memorial services.

Other ADCs, rarely asked to perform any duties, are also chosen from the Armed Services.

Last year, second in line to the throne William was given the highest honour in Scotland after being installed as a Royal Knight of the Order of the Thistle at a service in Edinburgh.

He is also a Knight of the Garter.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Irish 'kidnapping' victim 'made up story'

AN Irish property developer who alleged he was kidnapped and held captive for eight months made up the extraordinary story, it has been claimed.

Kevin McGeever reportedly came clean after being arrested on suspicion of wasting police time on Thursday.

The former tycoon from Mayo - who was emaciated and disorientated when found wandering a roadside barefoot - said he made up the elaborate tale to escape financial pressure.

Police sources said the 68-year-old caved under questioning, according to the Sunday Independent.

The newspaper reported the cash-strapped McGeever admitted to staging his kidnapping and subsequent release to keep investors off his back.

His plan went awry when the couple who found him wandering the Cavan-Leitrim border on January 29 insisted on bringing him to a police station, which led to a full-scale investigation.

McGeever, who had lost about 32kg, claimed he had been abducted at gunpoint from his gated mansion in May last year.

The businessman had the word "thief" inked on his forehead when he was found. His beard had grown out and his finger nails had not been cut for months.

He has since admitted the eight-month ruse was an attempt to get breathing space from people hounding him for cash.

He also hoped they would leave him alone following his emergence from the alleged captivity for fear they might become suspects in the "abduction", the Sunday Independent reported.

McGeever said he lived in self-imposed exile in a remote part of the west of Ireland.

He was quizzed by police for 24 hours but released without charge on Friday night.

A police spokesman said on Sunday a file was being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More