* Abducted child Madeleine McCann is being investigated as a murder victim. * 22yo Dutch man, ex Muslim, needs protection * Trouble in Timor for Australian Troops * New Foot and Mouth outbreak in England
Jen Hawkins would pose nude By Michelle Cazzulino JENNIFER Hawkins has told Tele readers she would consider posing nude - but many reckon the pictures could come back to haunt her.
Writing exclusively for The Daily Telegraph's website yesterday the former Miss Universe said she could go naked, describing arthouse publication black+white as "a classy mag".
But while the majority supported her approach readers like Jolanda Challita of Miranda warned: "Once you pose nude you can never take those images and hide them away. If you want to have children just consider how they might feel and the example that you set for them."
And hellsbells of Sydney added: "In years to come, when you are older, your future children will be embarassed by it, particularly as they start going to school and you socialising with other parents."
Hawko also spoke of her disappointment at having to turn down a movie role because of scheduling difficulties later this year, saying the chance to take part in Pink Panther 2 was one she would have liked to take up.
She said she would consider pursuing an acting career in the future, but admitted her days as a cheerleader for the Newcastle Knights were well and truly over.
"Acting is something I'm interested in and I am looking into it," she said. "I did get an offer for a movie but I (couldn't) accept it because I would have had to go to the US from August until November and I'm booked up with work in Oz . . . next time.
"It kind of upset me a little though."
Hawkins also used her time on the blog to recall the experience of winning the Miss Universe pageant in 2005.
She described her win as "a blur" and advised anyone interested in modelling to "give it a go".
Unsurprisingly, she found herself fielding a number of marriage proposals from Daily Telegraph readers.
Describing them as "sweet", she responded with a good-natured "I have a boyfriend" - a reference to long-term partner, model and TV presenter Jake Wall.
Hawkins also said she would consider motherhood down the track, but "not any time soon".
The secret to her beauty regime was also revealed - water.
"I've tried to lay off the alcohol a bit - and the food you eat, it always comes out in your skin," she said.
Maddie 'treated as murder case' from news.com.au correspondents in Lisbon PORTUGUESE police have found traces of blood on the wall of the apartment where four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann went missing and now fear she might have been murdered, a local newspaper reported today.
Police seem increasingly convinced that Madeleine was murdered the night she disappeared three months ago and no longer think she was kidnapped, the Diario de Noticias daily cited sources close to the investigation as saying.
However, it was not clear whether the blood belonged to Madeleine as tests have not yet been completed and the newspaper did not say how police had come to the conclusion that the child was murdered.
A police spokesman declined to comment on the report.
"Portuguese police have known for a month that Madeleine McCann was killed that night (May 3) at the apartment in the Praia da Luz resort, having definitely rejected the chance that she may have been kidnapped," the newspaper said.
"It is confirmed that there were vestiges of blood found in the apartment occupied by the McCanns," Diario de Noticias cited unnamed police sources as saying.
Madeleine went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve tourist region on May 3, just yards from where her parents were dining.
Briton Robert Murat, 33, has been identified by police as the main suspect in the investigation and his property has twice been searched.
The daily also said police had identified a second suspect – a 40-year-old white man – and were also investigating some friends of the McCann family who were staying at the resort when the girl went missing.
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have campaigned relentlessly to draw attention to her disappearance. British business tycoons and celebrities ranging from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to soccer stars have contributed to a reward for her return.
There have been a number of possible sightings of Madeleine – from Morocco to Argentina – since she went missing but police have come up with no concrete results.
Last week Belgian authorities said they were conducting DNA tests on a bottle and a straw after another possible sighting of the missing girl.
Ex-Muslim to get protection after attack from news.com.au correspondents in Amsterdam AN Iranian-born politician who heads a Dutch group for "ex-Muslims" will get extra protection after he was attacked near his home, a spokesman for the National Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism said today.
The attack on Ehsan Jami caused an outcry in the Netherlands, where a filmmaker critical of Islam was murdered in an Amsterdam street three years ago, and where high-profile lawmakers have faced death threats from Islamist militants.
Mr Jami, 22, was set upon by three assailants of non-Dutch origin at the weekend, the third time he had been attacked, his adviser Afshin Ellian told Dutch media.
"Protective measures will be put in place," a spokesman for the National Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism (NctB) said.
The Committee for Ex-Muslims, which Mr Jami heads, aims to support former Muslims and lift taboos on domestic violence and violation of rights within Muslim communities.
Similar organisations exist in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
Mr Jami, a local politician for the Labour party (PvdA) said he felt "too emotional" to discuss the attack, Dutch media said.
According to Dutch news agency ANP, he recently described the prophet Mohammad in an interview as a "terrible man".
Leaving Islam is considered a crime punishable by death in some Muslim-majority countries.
The Netherlands is home to 1 million Muslims among a total population of 16 million.
The murder in November 2004 of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim militant led to an anti-Muslim backlash and unleashed unprecedented social tensions, although issues of immigration and integration no longer top the political agenda.
Former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali also quit the Netherlands for the US after finding the stringent security measures she was forced to live under after receiving death threats unbearable. Somali-born Hirsi Ali collaborated with Van Gogh on a film accusing Islam of repressing women.
Aussie troops attacked in Timor By Karen Michelmore SECURITY forces today fired tear gas and rubber bullets at mobs setting government buildings on fire in the East Timorese city of Baucau.
Youths in Baucau went on a rampage, said local police inspector Pedro Belo.
Witnesses said at least three buildings were on fire.
The violence comes one day after independence hero Xanana Gusmao was named East Timor's new prime minister.
Earlier, Australian troops and UN personnel in the capital of Dili were attacked by gangs of rock-throwing youths.
The UN said the situation in Dili remained violatile.
Reports of gunshots
UN spokeswoman Allison Cooper also said there had been reports of gunshots.
"They are not throwing rocks at each other, they are throwing rocks as those people trying to contain the violence, the UN, ISF (International Stabilisation Force) and PNTL (East Timor National Police)," Ms Cooper said.
"The groups around the IDP (refugee) camps, there would be dozens (of rock throwers), but in other isolated areas, there are just a few youths, two to five.
"It really doesn't look like a systematic, coordinated political revenge attack," she said, adding that it appeared to involve mainly groups of disaffected youths.
Violence "sporadic"
She described the violence as sporadic and isolated.
The unrest follows President Jose Ramos Horta's announcement yesterday that Gusmao would lead the next government, a coalition of major parties, after five weeks of negotiations following the recent parliamentary elections.
East Timor's dominant Fretilin party – which won the most votes in the election but which fell short of the majority needed to rule – has denounced the decision, declaring the new government is illegal.
It has refused to attend parliament since last week.
"As a consequence of the president's decision, Fretilin declares that it will not cooperate with a government that is unconstitutional," the party said in a statement.
"The party ... will do everything available to the party to raise awareness amongst the people so that they can combat through legal means the usurping of power, to contribute to the ending of violence and to re-establish law and order which will lead to peace and stability in Timor-Leste."
Tension
Authorities have long feared that the announcement of the new government could inflame tensions, and security has remained tight around Dili since the June 30 poll.
Another potential flashpoint could come with the inauguration of Gusmao tomorrow.
The head of the UN mission, Atul Khare, had met with Fretilin secretary general and former prime miniser Mari Alkatiri to discuss the latest violence, UN spokeswoman Ms Cooper said.
"In this meeting, Mari Alkatiri (said) that property damage and throwing stones at UN cars was unacceptable," she said.
Protesting "unhappiness"
The declaration of the new government follows five weeks of bickering between the parties over the formation of the new government.
Analyst Sophia Cason, of the International Crisis Group, said the outbreak of violence was expected, but that people hoped it would die down within a few days.
"I think they just want to protest their unhappiness with the decision," she said.
"Xanana Gusmao was a divisive figure during the crisis last year, a lot of people who voted for Fretilin were voting against him.
"They are also expressing their unhappiness that Fretilin is no longer in government."
About 1000 Australian troops have been in East Timor following an outbreak of violence in April last year in which 37 people were killed and 150,000 displaced from their homes.
Cason did not believe Fretilin was overseeing the recent violence, but feared it would continue unless the party came to terms with its new, opposition, role in parliament.
"Unfortunately if they continue to say ... that it's an illegitimate government, it will inflame tensions," Cason said.
"It will inevitably make people more tense and more unwilling to accept the result.
"It's not really unexpected for them to say that, but hopefully they will stop saying that soon so they can be a strong opposition."
Second foot and mouth outbreak confirmed from news.com.au correspondents in London TESTS confirmed a second outbreak of foot and mouth disease on a British farm, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said today.
A cull of 50 cattle had already been ordered at the second site, close to the farm southwest of London that was the original site of the outbreak which has kicked Britain into emergency mode.
The country is scrambling to prevent a full-blown farming crisis as the European Union bannedon meat and livestock exports.
Debby Reynolds, Britain's chief veterinary officer, said earlier that foot and mouth was suspected in cattle within the 3km protection zone thrown up around the first outbreak site.
"We have decided to cull these animals. The culling has started. It has been found promptly and I want to continue to assess the situation based on the laboratory test results."
About 120 cattle had already been slaughtered after positive tests were found in three animals, Dr Reynolds said before today's culling round began.
The source of the outbreak has not been officially sourced to the Pirbright animal health research laboratory, which is within the protection zone.
But the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said that the virus strain found in the cattle is not in circulation among livestock and resembled one being used in vaccine production within recent weeks at Pirbright.
Officials are rapidly trying to confirm if a leak occurred and avert a repeat of the last outbreak in 2001, a disastrous epidemic which saw up to 10 million animals slaughtered and the rural economy battered.
Earlier, Mr Benn said flooding was a possible explanation as to how the virus reached the confirmed affected farm.
"It is one of the options we are looking at," he said on Channel 4.
"There was flooding on the farm last month. We have got to keep an open mind."
Farmers have voiced anger at growing signs that the virus may have leaked from Pirbright.
The site is shared by the government-backed Institute for Animal Health and the private lab of Merial Animal Health Ltd, which is owned by US drugmaker Merck and Co Inc and France's Sanofi-Aventis SA.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has tried to reassure farmers that a "major national effort" was under way to nip the disease in the bud.
Britain has slapped a ban on all transport of cows, sheep and pigs and agreed to an export ban.
The 2001 foot and mouth epidemic cost Britain's economy an estimated £8 billion ($19.2 billion).
The current export ban could cost the British meat industry £10 million ($24 million) per week, the Meat and Livestock Commission warned.
Countries in Europe and as far as Australia have taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Jen Hawkins would pose nude
ReplyDeleteBy Michelle Cazzulino
JENNIFER Hawkins has told Tele readers she would consider posing nude - but many reckon the pictures could come back to haunt her.
Writing exclusively for The Daily Telegraph's website yesterday the former Miss Universe said she could go naked, describing arthouse publication black+white as "a classy mag".
But while the majority supported her approach readers like Jolanda Challita of Miranda warned: "Once you pose nude you can never take those images and hide them away. If you want to have children just consider how they might feel and the example that you set for them."
And hellsbells of Sydney added: "In years to come, when you are older, your future children will be embarassed by it, particularly as they start going to school and you socialising with other parents."
Hawko also spoke of her disappointment at having to turn down a movie role because of scheduling difficulties later this year, saying the chance to take part in Pink Panther 2 was one she would have liked to take up.
She said she would consider pursuing an acting career in the future, but admitted her days as a cheerleader for the Newcastle Knights were well and truly over.
"Acting is something I'm interested in and I am looking into it," she said. "I did get an offer for a movie but I (couldn't) accept it because I would have had to go to the US from August until November and I'm booked up with work in Oz . . . next time.
"It kind of upset me a little though."
Hawkins also used her time on the blog to recall the experience of winning the Miss Universe pageant in 2005.
She described her win as "a blur" and advised anyone interested in modelling to "give it a go".
Unsurprisingly, she found herself fielding a number of marriage proposals from Daily Telegraph readers.
Describing them as "sweet", she responded with a good-natured "I have a boyfriend" - a reference to long-term partner, model and TV presenter Jake Wall.
Hawkins also said she would consider motherhood down the track, but "not any time soon".
The secret to her beauty regime was also revealed - water.
"I've tried to lay off the alcohol a bit - and the food you eat, it always comes out in your skin," she said.
Maddie 'treated as murder case'
ReplyDeletefrom news.com.au correspondents in Lisbon
PORTUGUESE police have found traces of blood on the wall of the apartment where four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann went missing and now fear she might have been murdered, a local newspaper reported today.
Police seem increasingly convinced that Madeleine was murdered the night she disappeared three months ago and no longer think she was kidnapped, the Diario de Noticias daily cited sources close to the investigation as saying.
However, it was not clear whether the blood belonged to Madeleine as tests have not yet been completed and the newspaper did not say how police had come to the conclusion that the child was murdered.
A police spokesman declined to comment on the report.
"Portuguese police have known for a month that Madeleine McCann was killed that night (May 3) at the apartment in the Praia da Luz resort, having definitely rejected the chance that she may have been kidnapped," the newspaper said.
"It is confirmed that there were vestiges of blood found in the apartment occupied by the McCanns," Diario de Noticias cited unnamed police sources as saying.
Madeleine went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve tourist region on May 3, just yards from where her parents were dining.
Briton Robert Murat, 33, has been identified by police as the main suspect in the investigation and his property has twice been searched.
The daily also said police had identified a second suspect – a 40-year-old white man – and were also investigating some friends of the McCann family who were staying at the resort when the girl went missing.
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have campaigned relentlessly to draw attention to her disappearance. British business tycoons and celebrities ranging from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to soccer stars have contributed to a reward for her return.
There have been a number of possible sightings of Madeleine – from Morocco to Argentina – since she went missing but police have come up with no concrete results.
Last week Belgian authorities said they were conducting DNA tests on a bottle and a straw after another possible sighting of the missing girl.
Ex-Muslim to get protection after attack
ReplyDeletefrom news.com.au correspondents in Amsterdam
AN Iranian-born politician who heads a Dutch group for "ex-Muslims" will get extra protection after he was attacked near his home, a spokesman for the National Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism said today.
The attack on Ehsan Jami caused an outcry in the Netherlands, where a filmmaker critical of Islam was murdered in an Amsterdam street three years ago, and where high-profile lawmakers have faced death threats from Islamist militants.
Mr Jami, 22, was set upon by three assailants of non-Dutch origin at the weekend, the third time he had been attacked, his adviser Afshin Ellian told Dutch media.
"Protective measures will be put in place," a spokesman for the National Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism (NctB) said.
The Committee for Ex-Muslims, which Mr Jami heads, aims to support former Muslims and lift taboos on domestic violence and violation of rights within Muslim communities.
Similar organisations exist in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
Mr Jami, a local politician for the Labour party (PvdA) said he felt "too emotional" to discuss the attack, Dutch media said.
According to Dutch news agency ANP, he recently described the prophet Mohammad in an interview as a "terrible man".
Leaving Islam is considered a crime punishable by death in some Muslim-majority countries.
The Netherlands is home to 1 million Muslims among a total population of 16 million.
The murder in November 2004 of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim militant led to an anti-Muslim backlash and unleashed unprecedented social tensions, although issues of immigration and integration no longer top the political agenda.
Former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali also quit the Netherlands for the US after finding the stringent security measures she was forced to live under after receiving death threats unbearable. Somali-born Hirsi Ali collaborated with Van Gogh on a film accusing Islam of repressing women.
Aussie troops attacked in Timor
ReplyDeleteBy Karen Michelmore
SECURITY forces today fired tear gas and rubber bullets at mobs setting government buildings on fire in the East Timorese city of Baucau.
Youths in Baucau went on a rampage, said local police inspector Pedro Belo.
Witnesses said at least three buildings were on fire.
The violence comes one day after independence hero Xanana Gusmao was named East Timor's new prime minister.
Earlier, Australian troops and UN personnel in the capital of Dili were attacked by gangs of rock-throwing youths.
The UN said the situation in Dili remained violatile.
Reports of gunshots
UN spokeswoman Allison Cooper also said there had been reports of gunshots.
"They are not throwing rocks at each other, they are throwing rocks as those people trying to contain the violence, the UN, ISF (International Stabilisation Force) and PNTL (East Timor National Police)," Ms Cooper said.
"The groups around the IDP (refugee) camps, there would be dozens (of rock throwers), but in other isolated areas, there are just a few youths, two to five.
"It really doesn't look like a systematic, coordinated political revenge attack," she said, adding that it appeared to involve mainly groups of disaffected youths.
Violence "sporadic"
She described the violence as sporadic and isolated.
The unrest follows President Jose Ramos Horta's announcement yesterday that Gusmao would lead the next government, a coalition of major parties, after five weeks of negotiations following the recent parliamentary elections.
East Timor's dominant Fretilin party – which won the most votes in the election but which fell short of the majority needed to rule – has denounced the decision, declaring the new government is illegal.
It has refused to attend parliament since last week.
"As a consequence of the president's decision, Fretilin declares that it will not cooperate with a government that is unconstitutional," the party said in a statement.
"The party ... will do everything available to the party to raise awareness amongst the people so that they can combat through legal means the usurping of power, to contribute to the ending of violence and to re-establish law and order which will lead to peace and stability in Timor-Leste."
Tension
Authorities have long feared that the announcement of the new government could inflame tensions, and security has remained tight around Dili since the June 30 poll.
Another potential flashpoint could come with the inauguration of Gusmao tomorrow.
The head of the UN mission, Atul Khare, had met with Fretilin secretary general and former prime miniser Mari Alkatiri to discuss the latest violence, UN spokeswoman Ms Cooper said.
"In this meeting, Mari Alkatiri (said) that property damage and throwing stones at UN cars was unacceptable," she said.
Protesting "unhappiness"
The declaration of the new government follows five weeks of bickering between the parties over the formation of the new government.
Analyst Sophia Cason, of the International Crisis Group, said the outbreak of violence was expected, but that people hoped it would die down within a few days.
"I think they just want to protest their unhappiness with the decision," she said.
"Xanana Gusmao was a divisive figure during the crisis last year, a lot of people who voted for Fretilin were voting against him.
"They are also expressing their unhappiness that Fretilin is no longer in government."
About 1000 Australian troops have been in East Timor following an outbreak of violence in April last year in which 37 people were killed and 150,000 displaced from their homes.
Cason did not believe Fretilin was overseeing the recent violence, but feared it would continue unless the party came to terms with its new, opposition, role in parliament.
"Unfortunately if they continue to say ... that it's an illegitimate government, it will inflame tensions," Cason said.
"It will inevitably make people more tense and more unwilling to accept the result.
"It's not really unexpected for them to say that, but hopefully they will stop saying that soon so they can be a strong opposition."
Second foot and mouth outbreak confirmed
ReplyDeletefrom news.com.au correspondents in London
TESTS confirmed a second outbreak of foot and mouth disease on a British farm, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said today.
A cull of 50 cattle had already been ordered at the second site, close to the farm southwest of London that was the original site of the outbreak which has kicked Britain into emergency mode.
The country is scrambling to prevent a full-blown farming crisis as the European Union bannedon meat and livestock exports.
Debby Reynolds, Britain's chief veterinary officer, said earlier that foot and mouth was suspected in cattle within the 3km protection zone thrown up around the first outbreak site.
"We have decided to cull these animals. The culling has started. It has been found promptly and I want to continue to assess the situation based on the laboratory test results."
About 120 cattle had already been slaughtered after positive tests were found in three animals, Dr Reynolds said before today's culling round began.
The source of the outbreak has not been officially sourced to the Pirbright animal health research laboratory, which is within the protection zone.
But the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said that the virus strain found in the cattle is not in circulation among livestock and resembled one being used in vaccine production within recent weeks at Pirbright.
Officials are rapidly trying to confirm if a leak occurred and avert a repeat of the last outbreak in 2001, a disastrous epidemic which saw up to 10 million animals slaughtered and the rural economy battered.
Earlier, Mr Benn said flooding was a possible explanation as to how the virus reached the confirmed affected farm.
"It is one of the options we are looking at," he said on Channel 4.
"There was flooding on the farm last month. We have got to keep an open mind."
Farmers have voiced anger at growing signs that the virus may have leaked from Pirbright.
The site is shared by the government-backed Institute for Animal Health and the private lab of Merial Animal Health Ltd, which is owned by US drugmaker Merck and Co Inc and France's Sanofi-Aventis SA.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has tried to reassure farmers that a "major national effort" was under way to nip the disease in the bud.
Britain has slapped a ban on all transport of cows, sheep and pigs and agreed to an export ban.
The 2001 foot and mouth epidemic cost Britain's economy an estimated £8 billion ($19.2 billion).
The current export ban could cost the British meat industry £10 million ($24 million) per week, the Meat and Livestock Commission warned.
Countries in Europe and as far as Australia have taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease.