AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Dec 3

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2001
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Evening, Dec 3
Evening Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630

Terror Aust (CANBERRA)

About 30 Australian SAS troops have arrived in Afghanistan today to join US Marines
in a likely ground assault on the Taliban's last southern Afghanistan stronghold, Kandahar.

Defence Minister ROBERT HILL has confirmed an advance party of SAS troops arrived in
southern Afghanistan this morning (AEDT), with the remainder of the 150 Australian soldiers
expected to join coalition forces tomorrow or Wednesday.

Senator HILL says the troops will operate under Australian command with their tasking
coordinated through a coalition command centre.

He could not confirm the duration of the operation but expects it to continue for some months.

At least one Australian officer arrived at the US Marine base outside Kandahar - the
radical Taliban militia's spiritual centre - yesterday.

Spokesman for the US Marine task force in Afghanistan, Captain STEWART UPTON, earlier
said Australian, British and German liaison officers had teamed up with the Marines.

He said the number of non-American officers at that stage was less than five.



Terror (BONN)

As Afghan factions examine a draft plan for a new government, the Taliban militia has
been told to surrender or die.

A US officer in Afghanistan says US ground troops could join tribal forces in an assault
on the southern city of Kandahar.

And US Defence Secretary DONALD RUMSFELD has told NBC television the Taliban will be
killed if they don't surrender.

In Germany, the four main opposition groups, in their seventh day of UN-sponsored talks
near Bonn, have agreed on the outline of a power-sharing government.

The Northern Alliance's foreign minister ABDULLAH ABDULLAH says delegates have agreed
the head of the interim government will come from royalists backing ex-king ZAHIR SHAH
-- the Alliance will hold onto the defence ministry.



Mideast arrests (GAZA CITY)

Palestinian police have reportedly arrested up to three senior leaders of the hardline
Hamas group in a crackdown ordered by YASSER ARAFAT.

And a Palestinian security source says more than 75 militants from Hamas and the smaller
Islamic Jihad were rounded up.

The arrests came after ARAFAT'S Palestinian leadership vowed to crack down on them
for a wave of suicide assaults which left 25 Israelis dead and injuring 210.

Most of the arrests came after the Palestinian leadership declared a state of emergency
in the Palestinian territories giving police sweeping powers.





Meanwhile, the Israeli defence minister has met with US peace envoy ANTHONY ZINNI in
the wake of the suicide bomber attacks.

BINYAMIN BEN ELIEZER told ZINNI the attacks are a direct result of the Palestinian
Authority and its leader's refusal to put an end to the violence and terrorism.

ELIEZER told ZINNI that Israel will judge YASSER ARAFAT by his actions.



Storm (SYDNEY)

Two people were reported killed and a number of others injured, some by falling trees,
as severe storms swept across Sydney today.

Roads were also blocked, power cut to thousands of homes and train lines cut as damaging
winds reached 175kph.

The NRMA CareFlight says two people were trapped under a fallen tree at Crosslands
Reserve on Somerville Road, near Hornsby Heights, in the city's north around 2.40pm.

Ambulance officers later reported the two had been killed.



Jobs confidence (CANBERRA)

A survey has found that unemployed people are becoming less confident about finding a job.

The November survey shows the proportion of unemployed people who said they felt confident
about finding work in the next six months had fallen from 74 per cent in October to 68
per cent.

Meanwhile, Australian job ads for November have fallen 0.8 per cent, seasonally adjusted,
the third successive fall.

The figures suggest the unemployment rate will remain above seven per cent into 2002.

The ANZ survey also showed that the total number of job ads on the Internet fell by
7.3 per cent in November and fell to its lowest level since January 2000.



Economy (CANBERRA)

Australian retail trade figures jumped 1.3 per cent in October, paces ahead of what
market analysts had predicted.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says retail trade jumped to $13.8 billion from
$13.6 billion in September in seasonally-adjusted terms.

In other figures marking the state of the economy today, the estimated value of inventories
at the end of the September quarter fell 0.5 per cent over the previous quarter to $87.732
billion, seasonally adjusted.

The economic indicators come as the Reserve Bank prepares to review the nation's interest rates.

The Reserve meets tomorrow when it has its last chance before February to make a move on rates.



Marshal (MELBOURNE)

An inquest has heard the lives of other spectators were probably saved when a track
marshal took the full force of a flying wheel at this year's Australian Grand Prix.

The inquest is investigating the death of 52-year-old GRAHAM BEVERIDGE who was killed
in a freak accident after a collision between JACQUES VILLENEUVE and RALF SCHUMACHER.

Mr BEVERIDGE died of a ruptured heart when he was hit in the chest by a wheel which
tore free from VILLENEUVE'S car and plunged through a gap in the trackside safety barrier
at Melbourne's Albert Park.

JIM KENNAN, SC, counsel to the coroner, told the inquest if Mr BEVERIDGE had not absorbed
the impact of the wheel it may have struck and killed other spectators.



AND IN BRIEF:



HIH Royal Commissioner Justice NEVILLE OWEN wants police to investigate how a confidential
document relating to the inquiry was leaked to a magazine.



Two women have died and a baby and two other people have been seriously injured following
a car crash on Victoria's Princes Highway at Stratford, in East Gippsland -- the deaths
take the state's road toll to 417, compared to 378 for the same period last year.



The Australian Greens have claimed the last Senate spot in New South Wales.



The city of Loxton in South Australia's Riverland district has been acclaimed as the
state's tidiest town.



AND IN SPORT:


Cricket Aust (PERTH)

New Zealand was two for 91 just after lunch on the fourth day of the third and final
cricket Test against Australia at the WACA in Perth.

The Kiwis lead Australia by 273 runs with MARK RICHARDSON run out after the break for
30, leaving MATHEW SINCLAIR not out on five and Chris Cairns yet to score.

Earlier, first innings centurion LOU VINCENT became just the second Kiwi to score a
ton and a half century on debut when he was out for 54.



Golf PGA (West Palm Beach, Florida)

Australians JOHN SENDEN, PETER LONARD and STEPHEN ALLAN are well placed with one round
left at the US PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Florida.

Queenslander JOHN SENDEN heads the Australians after shooting six-under-par 66 in today's
fifth round at Bear Lakes.

He is equal seventh at 20-under 344, while LONARD is equal 20th at 16 under, with ALLAN
equal 30th at 15 under.

AARON BADDELEY, at eight under, has the odds stacked against him.



SHIELD TAS (HOBART)

Victorian opener MATTHEW ELLIOTT has hit his first century of the season as the Pura
Cup cricket match against Tasmania in Hobart heads towards a draw.

At tea on the final day, Victoria was two for 217 in its second innings -- still 171
runs behind -- with ELLIOTT 112 and BRAD HODGE 17.



AFL CATS (MELBOURNE)

Geelong rover DAVID SPRIGGS has suffered a serious knee injury which will sideline
him for most of the 2002 AFL season.




ENDS EVENING ROUND-UP
AAP RTV pc

KEYWORD: EVENING ROUND-UP

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.