Qantas passengers sue Airbus over terrifying plunge

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• Qantas passengers sue Airbus over terrifying plunge
• Lost tiger population discovered
• Mid-East investors keen on Tanjung Manis halal hub
• Gerakan determined to regain lost seats
• BP broken well in Gulf of Mexico is 'dead'
• Sweden coalition loses majority as far-right surges
• Rich donors urge rethink of aid at U.N. poverty meet
• China in talks to export Pakistan bigger nuke plant - CNNC
• Education in poor countries hurt by financial crisis
• Q+A - Where is the China-Japan sea dispute headed?
• Swedish centre-right wins ballot, loses majority
• Fiji man's 'sudden death' at Aussie immigration centre
• Typhoon injures 107, shuts plants in Taiwan; China next
• China media warn Japan over escalating sea row
• Q - China, Japan and the East China Sea gas dispute
• Reuters Summit - November election will define Obama presidency
• World must rethink poverty fight - U.S. aid chief
• Woman opens fire in German town, four killed
• China suspends contacts as Japan boat row deepens
• Three bombs kill 18, wound scores in Iraq

Qantas passengers sue Airbus over terrifying plunge Posted: 19 Sep 2010 04:49 PM PDT SYDNEY: Dozens of Qantas passengers and crew are launching a multi-million dollar case against Airbus and a component-maker over a terrifying mid-air plunge which left scores injured, a lawyer said today. Attorney Floyd Wisner said he was representing 76 passengers and crew who were on the 2008 flight which dived steeply twice, tossing people around the cabin and forcing an emergency landing in a remote Australian air force base. Wisner refused to put a figure on the compensation sought from Europe's Airbus and American firm Northrop Grumman, which made a data unit on the plane, but said it would be in the millions of dollars. "I can tell you from my experience of cases like this, the awards probably would range from low six figures going up, depending on the injury," he said via telephone from the United States. "Some of the people with very, very serious physical and psychological (injuries) would be in the few million dollar range." Among the mostly Australian group he is representing, which also includes passengers from Britain, Sri Lanka, India and Singapore, are the three Qantas pilots who were on the flight, he said. The Airbus A330-300 was flying at 37,000 feet as it made its way from Singapore to Perth on October 7, 2008 when the autopilot disengaged and the plane suddenly nose-dived, plunging 650 feet (200 metres). After the pilots brought it back to altitude, the plane went into another plunge and dropped another 400 feet, again throwing passengers and loose items around the plane and leaving more than 100 people injured. "Some had broken limbs, spinal injuries, severe lacerations to their scalps," Wisner said. "Others had a combination of lesser physical injuries and psychological injuries. Some have more psychological injuries." Wisner said one passenger had described the cabin as "like a war zone". "People flew up to the ceiling, hit their head on the (luggage) bins, and then remained up on the ceiling for what to them seemed like an unusual amount of time only to come crashing down on top of other people," he said. Many passengers who were travelling that day are so traumatised by the experience they are no longer able to fly, he added. Wisner, whose practice is devoted to aviation cases, said he had been contacted by Australian lawyers to work on the compensation claims before the statute of limitations expired on Oct 7, 2010. He said if the claims were not settled, he expected the case to go to trial in the US within two years. - AFP

Lost tiger population discovered Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:25 AM PDT Television footage shot by the BBC's Natural History Unit has provided the first evidence that tigers can live and breed at extremely high altitudes.

Mid-East investors keen on Tanjung Manis halal hub Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:08 AM PDT KUCHING, Monday 20 September 2010 (Bernama): Foreign investors, especially from the Middle East, are to confirm their participation in the Tanjung Manis halal hub project after visiting the 16,000ha site within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) for a development preview. According to Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) general manager Datuk Sarudu Hoklai, the Arab investors were particulalrly keen to tap on the vast investment potentials because of the halal concept and green policy development of the hub products. read more

Gerakan determined to regain lost seats Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:01 AM PDT MALACCA, Monday 20 September 2010 (Benama): Gerakan has the confidence and resoluteness to regain the seats it lost to the opposition in the last general election, according to its president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Koh said that the party was working very hard and was mobilising the party machinery to achieve this goal. "We have decided that we have the confidence and determination to win," Koh told reporters after opening the Malacca Gerakan general meeting here yesterday. read more

BP broken well in Gulf of Mexico is 'dead' Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:47 PM PDT Oil giant BP faces a long uphill battle to clean up the Gulf, a litany of lawsuits and billions of dollars in fines read more This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sweden coalition loses majority as far-right surges Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:33 PM PDT Sweden's ruling centre-right coalition won the most votes in a parliamentary election but fell short of a majority read more This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Rich donors urge rethink of aid at U.N. poverty meet Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:07 AM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Budget-strapped rich donors will call for a rethink of strategies to make sure their aid funds are not wasted when world leaders meet this week to discuss U.N. goals to tackle global poverty.

China in talks to export Pakistan bigger nuke plant - CNNC Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:07 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) is in discussions to build a 1-gigawatt scale nuclear power plant in Pakistan, after having built two there and signed agreements for two other smaller ones, a CNNC executive said on Monday.

Education in poor countries hurt by financial crisis Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:07 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - As world leaders meet this week to review a U.N. bid to cut poverty and hunger by 2015, the Global Campaign for Education warned that the financial crisis had halted improvements in education for children in impoverished countries.

Q+A - Where is the China-Japan sea dispute headed? Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:07 AM PDT Such territorial disputes may recur, but strong economic interests are likely to contain the damage. Here is an explanation of the dispute and how it could unfold:

Swedish centre-right wins ballot, loses majority Posted: 20 Sep 2010 12:07 AM PDT STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Fredrik Reinfeld became Sweden's first sitting centre-right prime minister to win re-election, but was deprived of a majority by the entry into parliament of an anti-immigrant party.

Fiji man's 'sudden death' at Aussie immigration centre Posted: 19 Sep 2010 03:15 PM PDT SYDNEY: A Fijian man died suddenly at a Sydney immigration centre, officials said today, as refugee advocates said he jumped from a rooftop hours before he was due to be deported. Immigration officials said they were helping a police investigation into the "sudden death of a 36-year-old detainee" at Villawood detention centre, on Sydney's western fringe. "The Fijian national had been detained at (Villawood) since Aug 17," the department said in a statement. A spokesman said the "circumstances surrounding his death are not yet clear" and described it as a "tragic incident". Refugee advocates who had spoken by phone to inmates said the man had "thrown himself from the rooftop" of a building inside the 300-person compound and was believed to have died instantly. "The other detainees are very distressed," said activist Jamal Daoud. Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said the man and a younger relative, believed to be his nephew, were due to be deported Monday morning. "The death of the Fijian man has thrown a stark light on mandatory detention and conditions inside the detention centres," Rintoul said. "Three Tamil asylum seekers in Villawood have attempted suicide in recent weeks and there have been serious suicide attempts on Christmas Island," he added. Tamils inside the centre had begun a 24-hour mourning fast for the dead man and were badly shaken after having witnessed him jump, said Rintoul. Australia has a policy of mandatory detention for asylum-seekers while their claims are processed, and generally holds detainees on the remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. But increased numbers of poor immigrants -- more than 4,000 this year, mainly Asians fleeing conflict and economic hardship -- have forced the reopening of some centres on the country's mainland. Canberra last week announced a US$50 million expansion of mainland facilities to make room for another 900 inmates, after riots and a mass breakout of 80 Afghans from a facility in the far north earlier this month. Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to open a regional processing centre for refugees and is in negotiations with neighbouring East Timor about building it there. - AFP

Typhoon injures 107, shuts plants in Taiwan; China next Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT TAIPEI (Reuters) - A typhoon packing winds up to 162 kph (100 mph) injured more than 100 people as it crossed Taiwan on Monday and headed toward China, but it caused little of the disruption officials had feared after a deadly storm last year.

China media warn Japan over escalating sea row Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese media on Monday warned Japan to expect deepening retaliation over a sea dispute, calling the detention of a Chinese boat captain a test of wills between Asia's two biggest economies.

Q - China, Japan and the East China Sea gas dispute Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Tension between Japan and China has risen with the extended detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain seized in disputed waters, also bringing new sparring over gas fields in the East China Sea.

Reuters Summit - November election will define Obama presidency Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The congressional election in November will define U.S. President Barack Obama's next two years in office as Republicans look likely to pick up seats and put their stamp on issues ranging from the huge budget deficit to economic recovery and immigration.

World must rethink poverty fight - U.S. aid chief Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world must rethink strategies for fighting global poverty, with new emphasis on economic growth, accountability and governance key if basic goals for helping the world's poorest by 2015 are to be met, the U.S. aid chief said.

Woman opens fire in German town, four killed Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Four people were killed and at least one person seriously injured when a woman armed with a gun opened fire in and around a hospital in the southern German town of Loerrach, authorities said on Sunday.

China suspends contacts as Japan boat row deepens Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - China suspended high-level exchanges with Japan on Sunday and promised tough countermeasures after a Japanese court extended the detention of a Chinese captain whose trawler collided with two Japanese coastguard ships.

Three bombs kill 18, wound scores in Iraq Posted: 19 Sep 2010 11:36 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three car bombs killed at least 18 people and wounded scores in Iraq on Sunday as tension runs high six months after an election that no one won outright and weeks after U.S. troops ended combat operations.

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