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Workers missing in Cambodian dam collapse

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 01 Desember 2012 | 23.51

A CHINESE-BUILT dam under construction in western Cambodia has partially collapsed, seriously injuring four workers and leaving another four missing and presumed drowned.

Major Theang Leng, chief of police in the district where the hydroelectric dam is located on the Atay river, said on Sunday the collapse appeared to happen because the dam was holding too much water and started leaking.

He said a search was under way for the four missing after the accident on Saturday.

Theang Leng said construction work has been temporarily halted as experts survey the damage.

Although Cambodia has an electricity shortage, there has been criticism of building some dams because of environmental and social reasons.


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Sydney crane arm cleared almost a week on

A MAJOR inner Sydney traffic route is finally back in action, after a crane arm that caught fire and collapsed onto a major road last week was removed.

The Transport Management centre says a crane jib that collapsed on Tuesday was finally removed on Sunday afternoon after days of work by clean-up crews.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) construction site and surrounding buildings during the emergency, which closed Broadway and caused traffic chaos.

Traffic finally returned to normal on Broadway between Wattle Street and Jones Street in Ultimo, with three lanes available for traffic in each direction.

The speed limit has returned to 50km/h and Abercrombie Street has also reopened at Cleveland Street.

But Wattle Street will remain closed between Broadway and Thomas Street for the next few days while engineers continue to stabilise parts of the building site that were damaged when the crane fell.

Citybound drivers are still able to use the left turn lane from Broadway into Wattle Street.

WorkCover, emergency services and developer Lend Lease have launched investigations into the fire and the collapse of the 65-metre crane's boom.


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Homes destroyed, power cut in Vic storms

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 November 2012 | 23.51

Several hundred homes have been damaged after severe thunderstorms swept through Victoria. Source: AAP

HUNDREDS of homes are still without power and some have been rendered uninhabitable after severe thunderstorms that ripped through Victoria's southwest.

Power was cut to 9000 homes and the State Emergency Service (SES) received 250 calls for help within an hour from residents at Ballarat - that's more than four calls per minute - from 9pm (AEDT) as the storm hit on Friday night.

By Saturday afternoon, 708 homes were still without power in Ballarat and Ararat.

Gordon Badham, spokesman for electricity distributor Powercor, said repair crews were expected to have everyone's power restored by Saturday night.

"We're hoping to get everyone back by tonight but that depends upon the conditions and circumstances," he said.

"We've had downed lines and trees across lines, we've had trees blocking roads and other obstructions, so it has been complicated.

"(The storm) was short and sharp but it certainly produced some serious impact."

SES spokesman Lachlan Quick said more than 300 calls for help were received, mainly from residents at Sebastopol, Mount Helen and Mount Clear.

He said the calls concerned building damage from heavy wind, rain, hail and fallen trees, as well as trees fallen onto roads.

A handful of homes at Mr Clear had been rendered uninhabitable when they were damaged by falling trees.

Neighbouring SES units as well as those in Melbourne and Geelong had been helping to clear the backlog of calls but there were still 70 people waiting for help on Saturday afternoon.

"We expect it will take all of today and potentially some of tomorrow to clear it all up," he said.

"They are certainly not 15 minute jobs. Many of them will take several hours."

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster James Taylor said thunderstorms were expected to hit north of Ballarat on Saturday evening, with the potential for more storms in the areas that were battered on Friday night.

But the storm front would be much less severe, he said.

"It should stay north of Ballarat and not affect the areas that were hit last night but there is a chance, so we have briefed emergency services about that," he said.

"It's extremely unlikely that it would be anywhere near as severe as what they got last night."


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Boycott-hit voting begins in Kuwait

VOTING is under way in Kuwait to pick a new parliament that is certain to side with the ruling establishment after a widespread election boycott by opposition groups.

The voting on Saturday is likely to expose deep divisions in the strategic Gulf nation, a major oil producer and hub for US ground forces.

Opposition groups, ranging from hardline Islamists to Western-leaning liberals, have bitterly denounced a decree in October by Kuwait's emir to change the balloting system.

They claim it will make it easier for officials to influence the outcome.

Kuwait has the Gulf's most politically powerful parliament, which was in the hands of Islamists and their allies earlier this year.

Opposition groups now may increasingly turn to street protests after staying on the sidelines in the election.


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Daniel Morcombe's funeral set for Friday

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 November 2012 | 23.51

Daniel Morcombe's parents are considering a funeral on the ninth anniversary of his disappearance. Source: AAP

DANIEL Morcombe's family will finally lay their son to rest, nine years to the day after he went missing.

Daniel's funeral will be held on Friday, December 7, the anniversary of his 2003 disappearance, his mother Denise said on Friday.

She said it would be a public ceremony and people would be invited to wear some red and donate to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation instead of giving flowers.

"It's to be a positive celebration of Daniel's life," Mrs Morcombe told AAP.

The funeral will be held at the St Catherine of Siena Church at Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast.

The plans follow the state coroner's sudden decision a day earlier to release Daniel's remains, which were found more than a year ago in bushland in the Glasshouse Mountains.

Earlier, the Morcombes said they were shocked but relieved at the decision.

"It means everything. We've been waiting nine years and we can put Daniel to rest now," Mrs Morcombe told reporters outside the committal hearing for Daniel's accused murderer, Brett Peter Cowan, 42.

The hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday heard disturbing evidence about the afternoon Daniel vanished.

Two witnesses told of seeing a man in an older model blue sedan at the overpass where Daniel went missing.

Nambour resident Keith Lipke said he saw someone under a tarpaulin in the back seat of a blue car.

The sedan was being driven by a clean-shaven man with brown hair past his collar, Mr Lipke said.

"When I looked at the back seat, it had a tarpaulin over it and it appeared to me there were kids playing under it, jumping around," he told the court under cross-examination.

Mr Lipke saw the man turn to the back seat with an annoyed expression and say something.

"As he went past (I noticed) that the tarp was taut. It wasn't flying around any more."

He said he saw a flash of red under the tarpaulin, "like Santa Claus".

Daniel was wearing a red T-shirt on the day he disappeared.

A second witness said she saw a "clean-cut" man standing by the passenger door of an older blue sedan with NSW number plates.

Lily Obah told the court it looked like the man was pushing someone's head down in the front seat as she drove past.

Outside court Cowan's lawyers said they expected the judge to decide the crown had a case and commit their client to a trial.

But defence lawyer Tim Meehan said there was no direct evidence against the 42-year-old, who is charged with murder, child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse.

Any trial would probably be a year off, Mr Meehan's colleague Michael Bosscher said.

Daniel was 13 when he disappeared while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in 2003.

The hearing continues on Monday.


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Horror crash driver to get trial sequel

A MAN who was jailed for smashing his car into oncoming traffic and killing an elderly driver on the Sunshine Coast has won a retrial on appeal because he may have been asleep at the time.

The Court of Appeal ruled Johnny George Kuruvinakunnel should get a new trial because of inadequate directions by the trial judge.

A jury at the Maroochydore District Court took two days in September to find Kuruvinakunnel, 34, guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to his wife Rhea Eugene and family friend Ninny Varkey - both passengers in his car - and for the death of another driver, Ray Milburn, 73.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment to be suspended after nine-months.

The trial heard the defendant was driving a van northbound on Steve Irwin Way towards the Australia Zoo, near Beerwah, with his wife, two adult friends and two young children aboard, on June 20, 2011.

It heard Mr Milburn was driving a ute which was travelling in the opposite direction when the van, driven by Kuruvinakunnel, failed to follow a sweeping bend and travelled onto the wrong side of the road.

The two cars collided head-on at 1pm.

The trial heard Kuruvinakunnel told police investigating the crash he "momentarily, and without warning, fell asleep" behind the wheel.

This evidence was raised by his defence during the two-day trial.

In the Court of Appeal, Justice Margaret McMurdo, Justice John Muir and Justice Robert Gotterson agreed the judge's directions may have led the jury to reach their verdict on a wrong basis and deprived Kuruvinakunnel of "a chance fairly open to him of being acquitted".

Justice McMurdo said the trial judge misled the jury on whether the crash was a "willed act" or done while the defendant was "momentarily and suddenly asleep" by reversing the onus of proof.

"... the jury should have been instructed that, if they were satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the driving was objectively dangerous to the public, then they must consider whether they were satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant when doing so was not momentarily and suddenly asleep," she said.

"If so, his actions whilst asleep would be involuntary and could not amount to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle."


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Beach algae still causing red alert

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 November 2012 | 23.51

More NSW beaches have been closed as red algal blooms are spotted along much of the state's coast. Source: AAP

RED algal blooms are continuing to close beaches along the NSW coast, with sightings as far south as Bateman's Bay and as far north as Newcastle.

Large streaks of red algae were spotted off North Wollongong beach on Thursday and Clovelly, Bronte and Tamarama beaches were all shut.

On the city's northern beaches, Bilgola, Mona Vale, Palm Beach and Newport were also closed due to outbreaks, while splashings of red algae were spotted at Newcastle.

"We were out fishing at Stockton this morning and we came across a little bit out there," Newcastle Surf Life Saving Club president Brad Kinniard told AAP.

It was the first time he had seen a red bloom, despite being in the area for more than 25 years, he said.

A spokesman for the NSW Office of Water said there were also sightings of the tomato-juice coloured blooms as far south as Batemans Bay, which while not formally identified, were likely to be Noctiluca scintillans, which is caused by an upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water.

He said it was difficult to predict whether the warmer weather forecast for the weekend would increase bloom outbreaks.

"It's really up to mother nature and the current weather and ocean conditions prevailing," he told AAP on Thursday.

A bloom was first spotted at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach at 6.30am (AEDT) on Tuesday, with subsequent outbreaks at Clovelly Beach and Gordons Bay.

Also called "red tide" or "fire in the sea", the algae is non-toxic but contains high ammonia levels that can cause minor skin irritation if you swim in it.

A spokeswoman for Waverley Council said the 12th annual Bondi to Bronte ocean swim would go ahead on Sunday as planned.

However a final call will be made at 7.30am, with updates available at the council Facebook page.


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Nasser talks about BHP CEO succession

BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser (R) has backed CEO Marius Kloppers (L) at its AGM. Source: AAP

BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has not guaranteed chief executive Marius Kloppers' job for any length of time as speculation continues about a succession plan.

Mr Nasser said on Thursday, while sitting alongside Mr Kloppers, that he had his unequivocal support after speaking at length about succession planning at the company's annual general meeting (AGM).

However the company has hired corporate headhunters to search for a replacement and Mr Nasser told shareholders the company was committed to a succession planning process put in place when Mr Kloppers was appointed.

BHP recently confirmed the succession plan following a report in London's Financial Times that Mr Nasser was leading the process to replace Mr Kloppers.

The 50-year-old South African-born businessman has served as chief executive for five-and-a-half years and is believed to want to continue in the role.

He has previously criticised what he called an Australian obsession with five-year tenures for chief executives.

Asked by reporters after the AGM if he would be at the 2013 meeting, Mr Kloppers would only say he served at the pleasure of the board and would prefer that other things were written about BHP.

Mr Nasser said he did not think there should be a maximum amount of time considered appropriate for a chief executive.

"I am not referring to BHP Billiton but it could be a CEO reaches a point in their life where he or she wants to do different things, it could be the strategy of the company has changed dramatically," he said.

He also highlighted what he called the company's "strong bench", referring to aluminium boss Alberto Calderon, non-ferrous head Andrew Mackenzie and new chief financial officer Graham Kerr.

Speculation began in July when it emerged through the Corporate Confidence Index that investor ratings of Mr Kloppers had fallen, with weaker annual profit, a weak share price and massive writedowns on shale assets not helping.

However BHP was upbeat about its year at the AGM, saying its uniquely diversified resources portfolio had protected profits - its net profit was $US15.4 billion ($A14.76 billion) - in a volatile year for the market.

"We were able to invest through the cycle, we were able to continue to invest when others couldn't and we were able to continue to invest during the downturn in global economies," Mr Nasser said.

There was pressure to invest less and return more to shareholders at the AGM, with some angry and calling for special dividends.

Mr Kloppers said he could not make a forward-looking statement about profits, but said no increase in iron ore prices - currently the company's biggest earner - was expected soon.

That does not augur well for the federal government's chance of getting any mining taxes out of the company.

It forecast compound annual volume growth rate of about 10 per cent this year and next, increasing the importance of volumes - rather than prices - and controlling costs to drive profits."

Meanwhile, two men face charges after abseiling down the Sydney Convention Centre as part of an environmental protest outside BHP's AGM.

BHP shares closed 21 cents up at $34.21.


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Dhaka fire factory managers arrested

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 November 2012 | 23.51

Three factory managers have been arrested in Bangladesh over a blaze that killed 110 workers. Source: AAP

BANGLADESH police have arrested three managers of a factory where a blaze killed 110 people, following claims they stopped workers from leaving the plant saying an alarm was just a routine fire drill.

Dhaka police chief Habibur Rahman told AFP on Wednesday the managers were arrested overnight after charges that they told panicked workers of Tazreen Fashion they had nothing to worry about when the fire started on Saturday night.

"All three are mid-level managers of Tazreen. Survivors told us that they did not allow the workers to escape the fire, saying that it was a routine fire drill. There are also allegations that they even padlocked doors," he said.

Survivors and witnesses told AFP how workers, most of them women, tried to escape the burning factory, which supplied clothes to international brands including Walmart, European chain C&A and the Hong Kong-based Li & Fung company.

Two government inquiries have already been set up to try to establish the cause of the fire, the worst factory blaze to hit Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs three million and is the mainstay of the economy.

The shell-shocked nation observed a day of national mourning on Tuesday. Green and red Bangladeshi flags flew at half mast alongside black flags on top of government offices and the nation's 4500 garment factories.

Rahman said police also quizzed Tazreen's owner, Delwar Hossain, about alleged violations of building rules after inspectors found the nine-storey factory only had permission for three floors.

Around 700 garment workers have been killed in dozens of fires since 2006, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, an Amsterdam-based textile rights group. But none of the owners have been prosecuted over previous blazes.

Campaigners say Western firms whose clothes are made in Bangladesh hide behind flimsy safety audits to help drive down costs.

After European chain C&A and Hong Kong-based Li & Fung confirmed they had orders at Tazreen, the US retail giant Walmart also acknowledged some of its products were made there and said it had terminated ties with the supplier.


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Call for crane checks after UTS fire

Investigations are underway into a fire that caused a crane to fall onto a Sydney construction site. Source: AAP

A CRANE that caught fire and toppled onto a Sydney university building has prompted union calls for city-wide engineering checks, the promise of a "safety roundtable" and an investigation by emergency services.

Construction company Lend Lease, which manages the inner-city building site at the centre of Tuesday's emergency, has promised to "work closely" with authorities investigating the accident at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

The construction workers' union has alleged Lend Lease was warned fuel was leaking from the crane but did nothing.

A safety roundtable of the parties involved will be held next week, WorkCover general manager for work health and safety John Watson announced on Wednesday.

"I would urge all contractors across NSW to check the state of tower cranes and related machinery and ensure they are compliant with work health and safety legislation in the wake of Tuesday's serious workplace incident," Mr Watson said in a statement.

Wattle Street in Ultimo remains cordoned off between Broadway and Thomas Street as engineers continue to assess the site.

Hundreds were evacuated from the construction site and adjacent UTS buildings, with the emergency closing the busy Broadway thoroughfare and causing major traffic disruption.

WorkCover, emergency services and Lend Lease have launched investigations into the fire and the collapse of the 65-metre crane's boom.

Construction Forestry Mining and Engineering Union (CFMEU) NSW secretary Brian Parker said the crane was "an accident waiting to happen" and Lend Lease had been warned of the fuel leak.

"We have evidence of the fact that workers were complaining about getting soiled clothes, soiled helmets from drops dripping on them consistently from this particular crane," he told Macquarie Radio on Wednesday.

"With the heat that generates up there in the crane box on a motor, with leaking fluid, there's no doubt in my mind that could have been a contributing factor to the fire breaking out and the collapse of the boom."

Lend Lease CEO Steve McCann said safety was the company's highest priority.

"We ... have a history of working closely with construction industry unions and have always co-operated with the authorities and will continue to do so ... in a transparent and collaborative manner," Mr McCann said in a statement.

The crane is owned by a Sefton company, Marr Contracting, and leased to Lend Lease.

A Marr Contracting worker told AAP the company had no comment, except to say that "we support WorkCover in all their investigations".

WorkCover inspectors were at the site on Wednesday and have discussed plans to remove the damaged machinery with Lend Lease, union officials and emergency services personnel.

"WorkCover is satisfied that there is no further risk of debris or the crane falling from the building," the agency said in a statement.

The National Tertiary Education Union on Wednesday called for a public inquiry into the crane collapse.

The union's UTS branch president Simon Wade said he was concerned that safety at the site had been sacrificed, endangering building workers, firefighters, university staff, students and the public.

Mr Wade said workers at the Lend Lease construction site had said that as the crane burned, they were instructed by their supervisor not to stop work.


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Bishop defends meeting with Blewitt

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 November 2012 | 23.51

Deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop defended meeting with self-confessed fraudster Ralph Blewitt. Source: AAP

DEPUTY opposition leader Julie Bishop has defended her decision to meet with one of the key figures in the Australian Workers' Union slush fund scandal.

Ms Bishop met for 10 minutes with former AWU official Ralph Blewitt in Melbourne on Friday seeking access to documents to inform her questioning of Prime Minister Julia Gillard in parliament this week.

Mr Blewitt, who lives in Malaysia, has publicly admitted to participating in a fraud in the 1990s involving the AWU Workplace Reform Association but is seeking legal immunity from prosecution.

Ms Bishop on Tuesday said it was a "chance meeting" that only came about following a telephone call from former Sydney radio host Michael Smith.

She said Mr Smith, who had gone with Mr Blewitt to a police station when he made statements about three AWU related matters, had asked her whether she wanted to meet him.

"I spoke to Mr Blewitt for about less than 10 minutes and I left," she told reporters in Canberra.

Ms Bishop said her meeting did not compare with Ms Gillard's "four-year personal friendship" with Mr Blewitt who worked with her then partner, AWU official Bruce Wilson.

"Surely the prime minister is not suggesting that I shouldn't spend 10 minutes with a man that she considered one of her closest friends over four years and for whom she did free legal work," Ms Bishop said.

She said part of her conversation with Mr Blewitt was about a call Mr Blewitt received from members of his former army regiment, the 2RAR, who are serving in Afghanistan.

"The only interest I had in meeting with him is he'd met with police and I wanted to know whether he produced any further documents," she said.

"I understand that he waived legal professional privilege over any advice that current or former partners of Slater & Gordon gave to him when he was Ms Gillard's client and I wanted to know if he had any documents.

"And he said anything he said to police he wouldn't repeat to me, so that was the end of it."

Ms Gillard, when a lawyer with Slater & Gordon, provided legal advice on the incorporation of the AWU association but has denied any wrongdoing or involvement with the entity beyond that advice.


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Man shot dead in Punchbowl

Police are conducting and operation in Sydney's southwest after a man was shot multiple times. Source: AAP

A MAN has been found dead in a house in southwestern Sydney and another man is in hospital after being found with gunshot wounds in the same street.

Police say they found the dead man's body at the back of a house in Lumeah Avenue in Punchbowl after receiving reports of shots around 4.10 pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

Another man was found at the front of the home with gunshot wounds and has been taken to hospital.

The injured man, who suffered at least five gunshot wounds, was taken to St George Hospital in a serious condition.

Both men were shot inside the premises and it is believed the owners were not present at the time of the incident.

Police did not know the ages of the victims or if they were armed at the time of the incident.

A manhunt for possibly two suspects began shortly after the shooting.

"We will be seeking further persons who are believed to have left the premises shortly after the shooting," Superintendent Michael McLean told reporters at the crime scene.

Police have roped off three separate crime scenes, where the shooting took place in Lumeah Avenue, in Christian Road where the incident may have spilled into and nearby Werona Ave where at least two spent shell casings were found on a nature strip.

Police have not ruled the offenders may have dropped the spent shell casings in an attempt to discard evidence.

Police are beginning to allow residents back into their homes.

According to a neighbour who spoke to an eyewitness to the incident and who would only give his name as Lionel, two men arrived at a home being renovated in Lumeah Avenue where at least three workers were on the scene.

"As I understand it there were two shooters with balaclavas," Lionel told AAP.

"They approached the building site where there were three workers, one of whom was shot five times."

Police believe that victim was the man who survived the attack.

"Two men ran off up the street screaming 'call the police, call the police'," Lionel said.

"And they ran into a house around the corner.

"And a girl heard them screaming and she phoned the police."

Dozens of neighbours remained just outside the crime scene.

"I didn't see nothing, I don't say nothing," one man who would not give his name told AAP.

"That's the way it goes around here."

Another young man said the neighbourhood has recently had its troubles.

"Someone got their knees capped over there," he told AAP as he pointed to a house in adjacent Christian Road.

"You can see no one's worried around here. We're used to it."


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Bangladesh factory fire under control

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 25 November 2012 | 23.51

A fire in a nine-storey garment factory in Bangladesh has left at least 110 people dead. Source: AAP

BANGLADESH firefighters quelled a new blaze at a garment factory on Monday as the country mourned the death of 110 workers in a weekend blaze at an apparel plant, the export industry's worst-ever accident.

The latest fire caused widespread damage at the plant on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, but no casualties were reported after rescue teams searched the building for workers feared to have suffocated in toxic black fumes.

"Most workers broke grilles in the upper floor and escaped to a safe location at an adjacent building," Dhaka district deputy commissioner of police Nisharul Arif told AFP.

"We don't have any casualties and have now controlled the fire, which started on the first floor where there was inflammable acrylic clothing."

Thousands of workers staged protests during the day, demanding better protection after the earlier fire Saturday night trapped more than 1,000 staff and forced many to jump from upper floors at the Tazreen Fashion factory outside Dhaka.

Survivors told how workers, most of them women, tried to escape the burning factory, which made clothes for international brands including the European chain C&A and the Hong Kong-based Li & Fung company.

"Workers from several factories have left their work and joined the protest. They want exemplary punishment to Tazreen owners," said Dhaka police chief Habibur Rahman.

In Ashulia, the industrial zone where the Tazreen factory is located, hundreds of plants stayed closed on Monday as workers mourned. An official national day of mourning will be held on Tuesday.

Local police chief Badrul Alam said they had opened a case of murder due to criminal negligence. Two government inquiries and the police investigation are trying to establish if the owners were to blame for the fire.

"We won't spare anyone," police chief Alam promised.

Preparations have been made for the mass burial on Monday of the bodies of 59 workers who cannot be identified.

Their remains, often burnt beyond recognition, will be laid to rest at a state graveyard in a southern suburb of Dhaka.

"We are keeping the DNA samples of the dead workers so that we can identify their relatives for compensation," said Dhaka district police commissioner Yusuf Harunhe.

Bangladesh has emerged as the world's second-largest clothes exporter with overseas garment sales topping $19 billion last year, or 80 percent of national exports.

The sector is the mainstay of the poverty-stricken country's economy, employing 40 percent of its industrial workforce, but work conditions are often basic and safety standards low.


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Sea of pink honours slain Vic woman

Murdered Victorian woman Sarah Cafferkey has been farewelled during a ceremony in her home town. Source: AAP

FAMILY and friends of slain Victorian woman Sarah Cafferkey have shunned the traditional black funeral garb for pink in honour of the bubbly, fun-loving 22-year-old.

Her casket was carried into the Bacchus Marsh Uniting Church to a pop song and her friends released bundles of pink balloons as it was driven away in a hearse.

Even those mourners who did opt for the black adorned their outfits with flowers or pink shoes while shops and restaurants along the main street, 50km west of Melbourne, were decorated with balloons and streamers.

It was a town's way of remembering the local girl whose death created headlines across the state.

More than 1000 people packed the Uniting Church, among them Sarah's mother Noelle Dickson, father Adrian Cafferkey and beloved dog Sprocket, led by a pink leash.

Delivering the eulogy, Mr Cafferkey described Sarah as "her mother's world" and a girl who left a positive impact on countless friends.

"One measure of a person is the way they positively impact on others, and today you need only look around at this gathering to see the number of people she reached in her short life," he said.

"Sarah could raise your spirits with just a glance.

"When Sarah walked into your life it lit up. She radiated an energy that lifted your whole being."

Mr Cafferkey told mourners he and Ms Dickson were enduring every parent's nightmare.

"In all our minds there is a preordained order in which these matters of life and death are meant to occur. This is all wrong," he said.

A court has heard Ms Cafferkey was stabbed multiple times at a flat in Bacchus Marsh on November 10 before her body was moved to Point Cook in Melbourne's outer southwest.

Police say her body was found in a wheelie bin at the home on November 18.

Steven James Hunter, 47, of Bacchus Marsh, has been charged with the murder while two other men were questioned and released without charge.


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