AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, Aug 1Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430
Mideast University (JERUSALEM)
A Palestinian bombing has killed at least seven people and wounded more than 80 ina crowded cafeteria at the international students centre of Jerusalem's Hebrew University.
The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas says it carried out the attackin revenge for an Israeli air strike in Gaza last week that killed its commander and 14other Palestinians, including nine children.
The blast, condemned by YASSER ARAFAT'S Palestinian Authority, follows a suicide bombingthat wounded four people in Jerusalem yesterday.
The attack raises fears of a widening cycle of death and retribution and has cast furtherdoubt on prospects for ending 22 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Police say it appears a bomb was planted in the cafeteria in the Frank Sinatra InternationalStudents Centre, on the university's Mount Scopus campus near Arab East Jerusalem.
The university is home to a joint Australian-British student program.
Australian students, mainly from Sydney and Melbourne, participate in the British AustralianSemester Program at the campus, usually for a semester but sometimes for a year.
UN Woomera Aust (CANBERRA)
The author of a damning report on Australia's detention centres has rejected governmentcriticism he did not spend enough time in the facilities to warrant his concerns.
In a report to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, envoyand former Indian chief justice PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLAL BHAGWATI urges Australia totake a more humane approach to asylum seekers.
He says conditions at the Woomera detention centre are degrading, especially for children,and flout international treaties.
The report follows Justice BHAGWATI'S Australian visit in May.
The federal government immediately said the report is fundamentally flawed and full of emotion.
PBS (CANBERRA)
The federal opposition has told the government it will oppose any fresh bid to introducelaws in the Senate to raise the cost of medicines.
A key federal Budget measure rejected in the Senate may now be back on the table withdefecting Australian Democrat MEG LEES yesterday giving priority to pharmaceuticals.
Labor and the Democrats joined forces last month to block a 30 per cent rise in prescriptionco-payments, designed to stem a $4 billion cost blowout in the Pharmaceutical BenefitsScheme.
Senator LEES, who quit the Australian Democrats last Friday, says helping resolve thePBS issue will be a top priority in her new role as an independent.
But Opposition Leader SIMON CREAN and his health spokesman STEPHEN SMITH say Laborwill continue to oppose the rises.
Telstra (CANBERRA)
Phone bills go up from today, with Telstra standard line rentals to rise by $2 a monthto $21.90, with premium rentals to rise by $3.
Also going up will be some call connection fees and retrieval charges for most mobilemessage bank services.
The phone fees hike comes as the federal government says country Australians will continueto have their services upgraded after the full sale of Telstra.
Qantas Strike (SYDNEY)
Nation-wide strike action looks set to delay thousands of Qantas passengers tomorrow(Friday), with unionists doubtful talks will avert a mass walkout over pay demands.
Qantas has issued a new flight schedule, with domestic passengers warned of possibledelays and flight cancellations.
Maternity (CANBERRA)
Opposition Leader SIMON CREAN has promised small business it won't have to meet thecost of paid maternity leave under a future Labor government.
Mr CREAN says businesses will be encouraged to supplement the national entitlementbut there'll be no compulsion to contribute.
If it wins government, Labor plans to introduce paid maternity leave as part of a rangeof policies to help parents balance work and family.
Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD has refused to commit his government to a maternity leavescheme, warning it could discriminate against stay-at-home mothers.
Mr HOWARD is reportedly considering a proposal to pay mothers of preschool childrenequal benefits regardless of whether they work.
Malaysia Aust (KUALA LUMPUR)
Malaysia says it will sign an anti-terror pact with Australia tomorrow during a visitby Australian Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER.
DOWNER and his Malaysian counterpart SYED HAMID ALBAR will fly into Kuala Lumpur ona private jet from Brunei after the annual ASEAN Regional Forum security meeting.
Malaysia's foreign ministry says the two ministers will then sign a memorandum of understandingon cooperating to combat international terrorism.
The signing is part of a two-day official visit by Mr DOWNER aimed at strengtheningbilateral ties.
In February, Australia sealed a similar agreement with Indonesia on sharing intelligenceand cooperation against fighting international terrorism.
Boat (CANBERRA)
The federal opposition says the HOWARD government must reveal the true cost and thefuture of its Pacific solution for asylum seekers.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman JULIA GILLARD says it's time the government workswith it to find a better solution.
Ms GILLARD says the government must tell Australians the truth about how many asylumseekers will end up in Australia.
Meanwhile, the government has denied being embarrassed that refugees it once falselyaccused of throwing children overboard could now be living in Australia.
On Tuesday night a group of 42 refugees arrived in Sydney on temporary protection visas.
BRIEFLY:
Mardi (SYDNEY)
Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras could be placed in administration after a privatebacker pulled out of a deal to provide up to $400,000 for the financially troubled event.
UK IVF (LONDON)
A British judge says a white woman who gave birth to black twins after receiving afertility treatment is the biological mother of the babies, but her husband is not theirfather.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES:
GAMES SQSH SARAH (MANCHESTER)
Australia's world no. 1 SARAH FITZ-GERALD has powered New Zealand rival and formerdoubles partner CAROL OWENS off the court to win gold in the Commonwealth Games squashcompetition.
FITZ-GERALD won in four sets 9-5 9-0 2-9 10-9, outclassing her Melbourne-born opponentwho switched allegiance to New Zealand last year.
It was FITZ-GERALD'S 55th consecutive win and her 59th career title.
Games Shoot Aust (MANCHESTER)
Australia's shooters have snapped up gold, silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Gameswith dual Olympic gold medallist MICHAEL DIAMOND leading the way by defending his Gamesclay shooting title.
Games Bowls Aust (MANCHESTER)
Australia's men's and women's pairs lawn bowls teams have booked berths in the CommonwealthGames quarter-finals.
The men's team of ANDREW SMITH and KELVIN KERKOW beat South Africa 14-11 in their finalgroup match to advance while the women's team beat Malaysia 14-12 for a quarter finalberth.
GAMES SWIM REILLY (MANCHESTER)
Australia's JENNIFER REILLY will finally get her Commonwealth Games 200m individualmedley silver medal at a second presentation ceremony tomorrow.
Canadian swimming officials have decided not to appeal the decision to overturn theresult after a judge made an error and disqualified REILLY.
Games Weight Aust (MANCHESTER)
Australia's NATASHA BARKER and SEEN LEE have won triple silver and bronze in the 53kgclass of the women's weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games.
BARKER's taken the silver in both the snatch, and clean and jerk sections to also takethe overall silver while Lee was third in all three categories.
India's SANAMACHA CHANU won the three gold medals.
AND IN SPORT:
RUGBY CONNORS (SYDNEY)
Former Wallaby flanker MARK CONNORS is reported to be ready to sue British rugby sideBath after the club terminated his contract before he even played a game.
The Times in London reports that CONNORS was faxed the news by the club earlier thisweek, saying he breached the contract because he wasn't ready to play on June 1 - whilethe previous season was still in progress.
A devastated CONNORS claims he agreed with former Australian hooker and Bath coachMICHAEL FOLEY that he would not move to England till August 12.
ENDS BULLETIN
AAP RTV psm/
KEYWORD: BREAKFAST ROUND-UP
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