Daily Archives: January 4, 2015

In a historic state judgment, Robyn Greeuw of Bunbury, Western Australia, was ordered by a magistrate to pay damages to the amount of A$12,500 after a December 2012 Facebook post was deemed to be defamatory.

The monetary sum will compensate Ms Greeuw’s estranged husband, Miro Dabrowski, after the social media update accused him of nearly two decades of “domestic violence and abuse”.

The exact wording of the post was: “Separated from Miro Dabrowski after 18 years of suffering domestic violence and abuse. Now fighting the system to keep my children safe”. Ms Greeuw, who legally represented herself, stated in court that she was not responsible for the post, as she reported that she is not technologically savvy enough.

She conceded that she entered an incomplete statement like that which appeared on Facebook, but did not upload it—the defendant proposed that the screenshot that was used as evidence was the work of a computer hacker.

However, as part of her defence, Ms Greeuw also refuted the claim of defamation, referring to legislation that permits the publication of such content if it is substantiated. She then proceeded to provide a basis for the Facebook post before the court, with the abuse allegedly beginning after her marriage to Mr Dabrowski in 1992. Although police served the husband with an interim violence restraining order when the relationship ended in 2012, Dabrowski denied the claims of abuse and violence.

Western Australian District Court Judge Michael Bowden announced that he had found inconsistencies and issues with the cases presented by both parties, but ultimately believed that Ms Greeuw was “not a credible witness”, and that the post led to “personal distress, humiliation and hurt and harm to his reputation”. Ms Greeuw had presented evidence of a single 2010 incident to back up her abuse claims.

While a New South Wales former student was ordered to pay $105,000 in damages to a teacher in March 2014 for defamation on social media, this was the first time that such a ruling was handed down in Western Australia.

source:christiantoday.com.au

Bodies of the victims are being flown back to Surabaya after being recovered from the Java Sea

Bad weather was the biggest factor in the crash of AirAsia flight QZ8501, the Indonesian weather agency believes.

The BMKG agency said initial analysis suggested icy conditions in the air had caused the engine to stall.

The Airbus A320 vanished with 162 people aboard en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore last Sunday.

The discovery of four large objects believed to be plane debris has raised hopes of finding the fuselage, where most bodies are believed to be trapped.

Just 30 bodies had been recovered from the Java Sea as of Saturday morning.

The plane’s black boxes, its flight data and cockpit voice recorders, have yet to be located.

BMKG found conditions at the time of the plane’s disappearance suggested it had probably flown into a storm.

“From our data it looks like the last location of the plane had very bad weather and it was the biggest factor behind the crash,” said Edvin Aldrian, head of research at BMKG.

“These icy conditions can stall the engines of the plane and freeze and damage the planes machinery.”

Officials have said the plane was travelling at 32,000ft when the pilot’s last communication was a request to climb to 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.

Meiji Thejakusuma is one of the few victims to have been positively identified

The mother of victim Hendra Gunawan Syawal prayed by her son’s coffin in Surabaya

The search teams have recovered 30 bodies from the Java Sea despite tough weather conditions

Victims in body bags were hoisted aboard a warship

Russian search teams arrived aboard a Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft

 

Search chief Bambang Soelistyo said four large objects as well as oil slicks had been detected by sonar.

The biggest object is 18m (59ft) long and 5.4m wide, he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency, adding he believed the objects were parts of the plane. Another object is said to be 10m long.

Mr Soelistyo said an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) was being lowered into the water to get an actual picture of the objects, which were at a depth of 30m.

But he warned that waves up to five metres high were hampering the search effort.

Captain John Noble, a marine salvage consultant, told the BBC the fact the wreckage was 30m down would help search teams.

“It is very dive-able,” he told the News Channel. “It is easy to get equipment down there.”

A flotilla of ships, including two from the US navy, are converging on the site where the objects were located and preparing to put divers into the water.

A Russian search team, including 22 deep water divers and a remotely operated submersible vessel, is expected to join the hunt for the black boxes after arriving in Pangkalan Bun on Saturday.

No permit to fly

It has emerged that AirAsia did not have official permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on the day of the crash but was licensed on four other days of the week.

The Indonesian authorities suspended the company’s flights on this route pending an investigation. AirAsia said it would “fully co-operate”.

There were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew, on the plane – the majority Indonesian.

Four people have been identified so far: Hayati Lutfiah Hamid, Grayson Herbert Linaksita, Kevin Alexander Soetjipto and Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi.

AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record, with no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.

source:bbc.com

A firefighter battles flames in Kersbrook in the Adelaide Hills, where the worst fires were burning. Photo / News Ltd

Thousands of Australians fled their homes yesterday as wildfires raged across the nation’s south, with firefighters struggling to contain the blazes fanned by strong winds.

Six homes were destroyed by the fires in South Australia and Victoria states, officials said, although no serious injuries have been reported.

Dry conditions and temperatures nearing 40C were causing headaches for firefighters battling the blazes. Officials said it would be likely to take days before the fires were under control.

The worst of the fires was in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, where the flames had destroyed five homes and put hundreds of others at risk, state Country Fire Service spokesman Daniel Hamilton said.

At least seven firefighters were injured battling an out-of-control blaze at Sampson Flat in the state’s Mt Lofty Ranges.

Residents of 19 communities were asked to evacuate as a predicted shift in the winds yesterday afternoon prompted fears the flames could worsen.

The forecast was also for increased humidity, which could slow the fire’s progress, Hamilton said.

Up to 2000 firefighters were battling the blazes across the state from the ground and the air, with more than a dozen aircraft dumping water on to the flames.

Four firefighters suffered minor physical ailments, including dehydration and asthma, Hamilton said.

In neighbouring Victoria state, firefighters have controlled more than 300 fires since Friday, with only one still considered a danger.

One home was destroyed in the blaze in the western Victoria town of Moyston, state Country Fire Service spokesman Mario Xuereb said.

A shift in the weather late yesterday was expected to bring light rain, wind and lightning to the area, which could exacerbate the blaze.

The rain wouldn’t be enough to quell the flames, and the lightning could spark fresh fires, Xuereb said.

The Mt Lofty ranges scrub fire was yesterday travelling erratically and burning freely in all directions.

The Country Fire Service says lives are at risk in towns including Upper Hermitage, Chain of Ponds and the townships of Inglewood, Houghton, Cudlee Creek, Lower Hermitage, Forreston, Lobethal, Mount Torrens, Charleston, Williamstown, Woodside, Lenswood and Mt Pleasant.

“One of our appliances was caught by the fire and several people have injuries,” CFS spokesman Rob Sandford told ABC radio.

“We don’t know the full extent … [but] they are being treated and supported by SA Ambulance.”

Country Fire Service chief officer Greg Nettleton said the Sampson Flat fire had burned through about 10,000ha of scrub.

Lightning had sparked new fires, causing further headaches for firefighters already working in tough conditions.

Nettleton confirmed that six CFS volunteers had been injured fighting the blaze, most of them suffering smoke inhalation.

In South Australia, firefighters were “all working in very arduous conditions and doing very, very hard work,” Sandford said.

“They’re doing their absolute best in what are the worst of conditions imaginable for firefighting.

“We just want them all to come home safe, because this situation is very dynamic and we don’t want the tragedy of any of our firefighters being injured or worse.”

In 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2000 homes in Victoria.

source: nzherald.co.nz