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Pommie stormchaser right at home in wild Territory
A BRITISH ``wild weather fan'' knocked back the opportunity to chase tornados across the US just to catch a glimpse of storms in Darwin -- and he is now preparing his family to migrate to the Top End.
Julian Harcombe, said he didn't know what to expect when he arrived in Darwin, but he ``fell in love'' with the Top End.
``I had the chance to go tornado chasing in the US, but over the internet I had been in touch with a Darwin stormchaser and he turned out to be such a great mentor that I wanted to come to Darwin instead,'' Mr Harcombe said.
``When I arrived after 31 hours on the plane I didn't even have chance to go to bed or have jetlag -- we went out to chase a storm straight away, for 13 hours -- it was too exciting for me to be tired. Weather-wise it's definitely an eye opener -- I took some great lightning shots, one strike was just 300m away.
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Angry calls have ring of finality
IT WAS the emotional phone call that brought to a head the simmering tensions in Australia's most talked-about relationship.
Late last week, a furious Michael Clarke phoned fiancee Lara Bingle from New Zealand after learning she had sold an exclusive tell-all interview to a women's magazine.
Sources said the Australian vice-captain was less concerned about the resurfacing of a topless photo of Bingle than he was that the interview would rake over her relationship with AFL bad boy Brendan Fevola.
Last night the two-year relationship was believed to be close to an end with Bingle and Clarke negotiating how to break off the engagement.
``It's certainly heading that way,'' a source close to the couple said.
A current affairs program reported yesterday that a ``friend'' had claimed the relationship was over.
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What sort of mongrel could attack man in a wheelchair
THE photographs show blow by blow a sickening attack on a wheelchair-bound man.
The attack on the 35-year-old disabled man began shortly after 11pm on Tuesday as he waited for a train at Mt Druitt station.
His two alleged attackers punched him in the face and set on him while he was helpless on the ground, breaking off part of his chair and beating him with the makeshift weapon.
The sustained attack went on for about five minutes -- the two youths allegedly took breaks before returning to continue the brutal attack.
One of the thugs is believed to be in his early teens. Police were last night interviewing a boy believed to be connected to the attack. The other accused is a 16-year-old from Doonside. He appeared in Parramatta Children's Court yesterday charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and robbery armed with a weapon causing wounding.
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Tuqiri now back in the spotlight
LOTE Tuqiri stepped off a 24-hour flight from London, navigated his way through customs with two young children and walked straight into the open arms of Sydney, the Wests Tigers and rugby league. Reunited and it feels so good.
Sure, he stuffed his pockets with the rival code's cash eight years ago. He strung out South Sydney like an Eastern Suburbs real estate agent before deciding to stay at the Waratahs in 2007.
And the tawdry details of his mysterious termination by the ARU for ``disciplinary reasons'' on July 1 last year still swirl, although the Clarke-Bingle mini-series has shifted the focus of gossip-mongers for now.
But no other game forgives, forgets and hands a kid a second chance like rugby league. Just ask Wendell Sailor.
``The game's already embraced me,'' Tuqiri told The Daily Telegraph. ``I don't have to try too hard. League people are quite loyal. I didn't get that big a backlash when I left . . . although my mum won't be supporting the Tigers -- she's a Bronco.''
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What a lowlife did for $10 in change
SHE must have seemed the easiest of targets, an 83-year-old woman walking slowly with the aid of a stick along a suburban Newcastle street, her beloved silky terrier Milly by her side.
But when a cowardly thief attacked Marina Kosci she ``saw red'', the grandmother said yesterday.
``He was saying: `I want the money, I want the money' and I was telling him `I don't have much money','' said Mrs Kosci, whose handbag contained $10 in change.
``He kept pulling and pulling at the strap [of the handbag] until he broke it -- and then I just saw red.
``I lifted up my walking stick and whacked him in the head, and that's when he pushed me to the ground and ran away.''
Mrs Kosci's bravery in fighting back on Sunday night left her with a dislocated shoulder.
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A tiny survivor clings on
STORM dogs bounced back but other animals still trickled in yesterday as the washout from Saturday's wild weather continued.
Wilson, a maltese-cross named after Tom Hanks's volleyball in Castaway, was reunited with owner Tonia Bocola.
But at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, a nameless, furless brushtail possum joey was facing life as an orphan after being rescued from her dying mother's pouch.
The three-month-old brushy will have to be hand-raised, but is in the loving care of a trained foster carer.
Wilson, though, a seasoned escape artist who was rescued in busy Moreland Rd, holds his own fate in his free-roaming paws.
Ms Bocola said it was the sixth time Wilson, 7, had gone walkies.
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Park and fly car dumpers bomb airport
MORE than $600,000 in parking fees and towing costs is owed on the dozens of cars that have been dumped at Sydney Airport.
But payment is unlikely to be made as those who abandoned the vehicles are usually backpackers who have tried to sell the car and then left it at the airport -- where it can be unnoticed for months -- as they leave the country.
About 60 vehicles are locked in a compound near the airport's long-term carpark. And the price to reclaim them is growing by the day.
Some cars have racked up fees of close to $20,000, including a Toyota van on which $19,111 is owed and a Mitsubishi sedan with $18,873 in outstanding fees.
Most of the cars seen in the compound by The Daily Telegraph yesterday were dishevelled-looking 1980s or '90s models.
Most of them are now also unregistered and carry licence plates from across Australia.
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SBY to jail people-smugglers for five years
PEOPLE-SMUGGLERS caught in Indonesia will face five years' jail under tough anti-trafficking measures unveiled yesterday during a historic speech to federal parliament by visiting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
In the first speech by an Indonesian leader to Australia's parliament, Dr Yudhoyono announced that a new law would make people-smuggling a crime in Indonesia -- a move designed to discourage the Indonesian fishermen who have carried thousands of asylum-seekers into Australian waters.
The President's announcement followed a day of high drama in which Indonesian counter-terrorism police confirmed the death of the country's most wanted terrorist, Bali bombing mastermind Dulmatin, on Tuesday during a raid targeting a militant hideout in Jakarta.
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Farmer `vindicated' after court win against BHP
WHEN Les Alcorn decided he wanted to take the world's largest mining company to court, he knew it wouldn't be easy.
He also knew he and his wife, Margaret, would need the full support of the local community to protect their farm of 37 years from BHP Billiton's exploration plans. Yesterday, Mr Alcorn's worries turned to celebration as the 75-year-old cattle farmer from Quirindi, on the Liverpool Plains in NSW's mid-north, savoured a landmark decision handed down in the Supreme Court on Friday. Judge Monika Schmidt found that BHP's licences to explore for coal on two farms in the region - the Alcorns' and the family farm of Geoff and Sharon Brown --were invalid because the company had not consulted other landholders: the banks. "I feel vindicated,'' Mr Alcorn told The Australian yesterday. "This is a win not just for us but for all farmers around Australia ... it sets precedents and says that mining companies have to smarten up their act and do things by the book.''
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Huge croc spotted but locals swim on
A HUGE saltwater crocodile has been spotted roaming in a creek in Darwin's rural area -- but locals yesterday couldn't be stopped from splashing about in the water.
Fishermen had seen the saltie, which is believed to measure about 3m, in the Howard River at Howard Springs on Monday.
NT Parks and Wildlife senior ranger Tom Nichols yesterday told the Northern Territory News a croc slide had been reported, but rangers were aware of the predator and had already re-baited two permanent traps in the river. ``We know about crocodiles in the area, but we also know about people swimming there quite regularly,'' Mr Nichols said.
Graham Yates, 26, told the Northern Territory News yesterday he had heard about a croc sighting, but it wouldn't stop him or his friends from cooling down in the water.
``A ranger told us a croc had been seen in the area and they had a trap in,'' he said.
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Newspix - Now representing Tim Clayton
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