Singaporeans react to 'emotionless' tag

SINGAPOREANS have reacted to a survey depicting them as the world's most emotionless people with many saying the city state's competitive culture leaves them no room for feelings.

"Singaporeans are the least likely in the world to report experiencing emotions of any kind on a daily basis," US-based pollster Gallup said on Friday in a report on a three-year study conducted in more than 150 countries.

The Philippines came out as the most emotional society in the world, with Latin American countries dominating the top of the list.

Media in Singapore, one of the world's wealthiest and most stable societies, gave prominent coverage to the report, setting off some strong reactions.

"Where got time to laugh? Wake up, must fight for place on trains, lunch time, must fight for place to sit down and eat, go home must fight for place on trains," Edward Alexzandra Peters wrote on Facebook.

Kok Leong commented on Yahoo! Singapore: "It's so stressful to be living in Singapore. Our mind is all about $$$ - how to survive, how to raise family, tax, etc. Nothing is free here."

Another commentator wrote on Yahoo: "We have everything, and yet we have nothing. No one in this country actually lives life to the fullest; we merely exist. To our government, we are nothing more than a statistic."

"How can Singaporeans be the most emotionless in the world when they complain the most every day? I'm baffled," said a post by Melody on Twitter.

Gallup said it surveyed about 1000 respondents 15 years old and above in each country annually between 2009 and 2011.

They were asked if they felt five positive and five negative emotions the previous day.

The negative feelings were anger, stress, sadness, physical pain, and worry, while the positive emotions were feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, enjoyment, smiling and laughing a lot, and learning or doing something interesting.

Only 36 per cent of Singaporeans said they felt any of the emotions, Gallup said.

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LNP and premier meet over differences

Clive Palmer plans to spill the beans on the Newman government after quitting the LNP on Thursday. Source: AAP

THE Liberal National Party's president has denied he's embroiled in a power struggle with Queensland's premier.

LNP chief Bruce McIver said he got together with Premier Campbell Newman on Friday to "redefine boundaries" but there was no discord.

The meeting came as the LNP's biggest donor, billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer, accused the Newman government of being crooked and quit the party.

Mr McIver told reporters he'd "agreed on certain protocols" with Mr Newman at Friday's meeting.

"The premier is the premier of the state and he'll run the state," he told reporters.

"I am the head of the organisation and I'll run the organisation.

"We have a very good relationship."

Mr McIver denied there were any disputes over the party's role in government.

"We were just confirming an agreement that Campbell and I made a number of times before the election," he said.

"We talked about how we would operate."

Political analyst Paul Williams told AAP the meeting was a clear indicator of a power struggle between the party and the parliamentary wing.

"Campbell Newman seems to have a strong desire to not be seen as the premier under the LNP, but to be some sort of political entity in his own right," Dr Williams said.

"It seems the senior ministers and Newman want to wrest complete control and take LNP policy in their own direction."

He believes there's a tribal clash between the "old Liberals" and the "old Nationals."

Under the old Liberal Party model, policies rest with the parliamentary leader, Dr Williams said.

"... some of the old Nationals like Clive Palmer are arcing up and saying, 'Hang on, the organisation is not here to be wallflowers. We don't just raise money. We are here as partners.'

"There are different tribal cultures clashing."

Mr Palmer, who was a life member of the party, resigned on Thursday night despite being reinstated hours earlier following a suspension.

He was suspended from the party earlier this month after breaking a truce by launching another tirade against the premier, the deputy premier and the treasurer.

He denied he was pushed, insisting his decision to quit the LNP was because he had no faith in a government that's "much worse than anything that was around the time of the Fitzgerald inquiry".

Mr Palmer says he's now free to shine a light on the government.

"I'll be releasing a lot of information ... I'll be free to do that without any restrictions," he said.

He called Mr Newman a number of names, including Caesar, and compared him to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Mr Newman said now that Mr Palmer has quit the party, everyone can move on and focus on job creation.

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Storm warning for state's southeast

A SEVERE thunderstorm warning has been issued for Southeast Queensland and other areas of the state are on alert.

A warning is current for very dangerous thunderstorms between Crows Nest and Cooyar on the Darling Downs.

Thunderstorms are moving north and are forecast to hit Yarraman, the area north of Crows Nest and the area north of Cooyar and the area south of Kingaroy by 6:05 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms to the east of Toowoomba are moving towards the northeast.

Destructive winds and large hailstones are likely.

Hail of 4cm in diameter was seen at Laidley at 2.45pm.

Have you got a storm picture? MMS it to 0428 258 117 or email it

The storm activity is set to move westward tomorrow, leaving the southeast mainly fine for the weekend.

The storm activity is set to move westward tomorrow, leaving the southeast mainly fine for the weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Bryan Rolstone said the storms would retreat tomorrow, with inland towns more likely to be affected.

``Toowoomba is most likely going to experience storms tomorrow,'' he said.

Mr Rolstone said the weekend would see the storms retreat further towards the Darling Downs, leaving the southeast with light weather and morning showers until Monday.

"Monday the storm activity decreases over the whole of Queensland even more so and there's still a signal on the eastern Darling Downs but elsewhere in the state there's hardly any," he said.

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Rinehart launches new book

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has unveiled her new book and her vision for the nation in Sydney. Source: AAP

MINING magnate Gina Rinehart has gathered tributes from advertising millionaire John Singleton and Indian industrialist GVK Reddy for her new book, which she is launching in Sydney on Thursday.

The book, "Northern Australia and Then Some", has been held in relative secrecy ahead of a two-day publicity tour by Ms Rinehart, who is chairman of Hancock Prospecting, through Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The preface describes the new tome as "a compendium of speeches, articles and images" and says Ms Rinehart "offers the reader a comprehensive insight into her thoughts about national prosperity" and an "intimate glimpse" of her life and times.

A series of photographs from the book, made available to media ahead of the launch in Sydney, show Ms Rinehart with her late father, Lang Hancock, in a number of situations including at her 21st birthday and on one of the family's iron ore tenements in the West Australian Pilbara.

Mr Hancock wrote his own book, Wake Up Australia, to outline his vision of the essential place of mining at the centre of the nation's economic and political future, in 1979.

Mr Singleton, in his tribute to Ms Hancock's book, writes that people need only read two books to understand "the future of Australia and its destruction by government".

"Read Lang's book and it will light up your mind. Read Gina's book and it puts our future under the brightest light I have ever seen," Mr Singleton wrote.

Dr Reddy is chairman and managing director of the giant industrial conglomerate GVK Power and Infrastructure which bought the majority share of Hancock Prospecting's Queensland Galilee Basin coal holdings under a joint development agreement.

Dr Reddy writes that Ms Hancock, who has been involved in a bitter court battle with her children over control of a multi-billion dollar family trust, is "a caring and loving individual ... who cares not only about the wellbeing of her family and those close to her but also about the nation".

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Another blow for businessman Tinkler

PATINACK Farm Administration, an arm of Nathan Tinkler's racing empire, has been placed in liquidation.

In the latest blow to the mining magnate, the Federal Court in Adelaide on Wednesday ordered that Patinack Farm Administration Pty Ltd be wound up in insolvency.

The decision followed legal action brought by creditor WorkCover South Australia claiming almost $17,000 in unpaid monies.

Wednesday's ruling came just a day after another of Tinkler's companies, Mulsanne Resources, was placed into liquidation following a NSW Supreme Court order over an unpaid $28.4 million debt to coal company Blackwood for a stake in the business.

Patinack Farm released a statement on its website in response to Wednesday's ruling and ensuing media reports.

"There was an administrative error in the WorkCover matter by an associate company of Patinack Farm, and the outstanding monies, as well as costs, have been paid," the statement said.

"There will be no further comment."

The placement of Patinack Farm Administration into liquidation is the most recent in a string of troubles for Tinkler's embattled racing empire.

Last week, Patinack Farm announced the closure of its 50-box Melbourne stable, although it still has bases in Sydney and Brisbane.

It also confirmed chief executive Peter Beer had been released from his employment contract as part of the downsizing of its racing business.

The stable closure and the departure of Beer came shortly after it was revealed that Sydney and Melbourne race clubs had held back hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizemoney won by Patinack Farm horses to offset the operation's racing debts.

The debts relate to unpaid stable and track fees as well as sponsorship arrears.

Last month, Tinkler offloaded more than 300 of his thoroughbreds at auction and will dispose of a further 40 mares at the upcoming Inglis Sydney Summer Thoroughbred sale.

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Suicide blasts hit near US base in Afghan

TWO men wearing suicide vests have blown themselves up near a US base in the Afghan capital, killing two Afghan guards in what looked like a thwarted attempt to attack the American base, police say.

The blast reverberated around Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood shortly after 8am local time (1500 AEDT).

An alarm started going off at the nearby US Embassy, warning staff to take cover.

The neighbourhood also is home to many high-ranking Afghan officials, international organisations and the headquarters of the international military coalition.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in an email to reporters.

The attack came as foreign and Afghan forces tightened security around the capital ahead of the holy day of Ashoura on Saturday, when Shi'ite Muslims commemorate the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

Last year, the commemoration saw the first major sectarian attack since the fall of the Taliban regime.

In that strike, a suicide bomber on foot detonated his vest amid scores of worshippers at a Shi'ite shrine, killing 56 people and wounding more than 160 others.

Wednesday's bombers were on foot and were spotted by Afghan security guards as they approached Camp Eggers, the Kabul police chief's office said in a statement.

The police fired on the attackers and they detonated their vests. Two Afghan security guards were killed and five civilians were injured in the explosion, the statement said.

Associated Press video of the scene shows what looks like an undetonated suicide vest, suggesting not all the explosives went off.

An international coalition vehicle was also damaged in the attack but there were no initial reports of casualties among the foreign forces, said Jamie Graybeal, a NATO troops spokesman.

Police had already set up extra checkpoints around Kabul and specifically near shrines to search cars and people in the run up to the Ashoura.

"All our police units are in the first security alert position," General Mohammad Daoud Amin, the city's deputy police chief, said the day before the Kabul attack.

"We are at the service of the people and doing our best to provide good security and prevent any possible incident on Ashoura."

The Taliban said in a text message to AFP that "a large number of fedayeen (suicide bombers) armed with light and heavy weapons attacked an important office of the CIA in the centre of Kabul and the fighting is continuing".

"The enemy has suffered heavy losses but a precise number can't be determined at this time."

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Top Bandido arrested in Qld drug raids

Queensland police launched a series of raids agains the Bandidos motorcycle gang, making 28 arrests. Source: AAP

THE Bandidos national sergeant-at-arms is among 32 members and associates of the outlaw motor cycle gang who have been arrested during police raids in southeast Queensland.

Detectives concluded an 11-month long operation on Tuesday morning with multiple raids across the region, resulting in 173 charges being laid.

Police seized methylamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis, firearms, cash and three mobile phone stunning devices.

Detective Acting Superintendent Tony Duncan says Operation Kilo Subdue targeted the Bandidos Brisbane chapter, focusing specifically on drug distribution to the city's entertainment precincts.

Five people - two gang members and three close associates - were charged with trafficking and one other is expected to be charged late on Tuesday, he said.

Supt Duncan said six of those arrested were Bandido members, while the rest were linked to the gang.

The raft of charges related to not only trafficking, but serious assaults, firearm offences and lesser drug-related crimes, he said.

"The people arrested included the national sergeant-at-arms for the Bandidos," Supt Duncan told reporters in Brisbane.

He said the operation would make a significant impact in the drug supply chain in Brisbane.

"I think anything that can disrupt organised crime is always pleasing," he said.

"Any strategies that can be put in place to disrupt the distribution of drugs is always good."

One person was due to face Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, while the rest are expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

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Lesbian love triangle led to $1.4m theft

A LESBIAN love triangle where one woman "emotionally blackmailed'' her accountant partner into stealing $1.4 million from her employer forced the closure of six Kings Jewellers stores and caused 60 staff to lose their jobs, a court has heard.

Brisbane District Court Judge Hugh Botting sentenced Luisa Touli, 40, to nine years' jail for manipulating two women she'd been in a relationship with into committing the million dollar fraud, including co-offender Faagata Uelese, 23.

Both women pleaded guilty to the large-scale fraud this afternoon.

Prosecutor Ken Spinaze identified Touli as the principal offender.

He said she ``corrupted'' then-partner Anna Rajkowski, manipulating her into committing the fraud over two years and four months, between July 2007 and November 2009.

He said Ms Rajkowski started working at Kings Jewellers in 1998, becoming ''a most trusted employee'' and bookkeeper who had power over the financial records of the company, which at its height had 13 or 14 stores across Australia.

Mr Spinaze said Ms Rajkowski made more than 400 individual transactions, transferring money, sometimes daily, into a bank account held by Touli and to that of fellow employee Uelese.

He said Ms Rajkowski transferred a total of $38,000 into her own account; $1.163 million into Touli's bank account and $226,000 into an account belonging to Uelese.

``The acts were done to feed the gambling and drinking habit of Ms Touli,'' Mr Spinaze said.

He said Touli threatened Ms Rajkowski with suicide if she didn't go through with the frauds.

Mr Spinaze said Touli would withdraw money from Uelese's account when she reached the daily limits of her own account.

He tendered a victim impact statement from the CEO of Kings Jewellers to the court.

''That company now through this offending has had its reputation tarnished and will probably never again reach the heights it once did,'' Mr Spinaze said.

Soraya Ryan, for Touli, said her client was ''ashamed of the way she emotionally blackmailed and pressured her former partner''.

She said the money had been frittered away by Touli, who would spend her days at a Brisbane hotel playing the pokies because ''that made her happier''.

Ms Ryan detailed Touli's abusive childhood and said her client's father initially struggled to understand her homosexuality.

Lawyer Doug Wilson, for Uelese, said his client suffered a mild intellectual disability that made her vulnerable to manipulation.

He tendered references on Uesele's behalf from her current workplace, a Brisbane McDonald's restaurant.

Judge Botting sentenced Touli to nine years' jail. She will be eligible for parole in November 2015.

He ordered Uesele serve a two-year suspended prison sentence and two-and-a-half years  probation.

Ms Rajkowski's matter was listed for trial on February 18 next year.
 

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All options open for super trawler backers

The federal government is extending a ban on commercial fishing by the super trawler Abel Tasman. Source: AAP

JILTED super trawler operator Seafish Tasmania says all options are on the table, including possible legal action, in response to the federal government's two-year ban on the Abel Tasman.

Seafish director Gerry Geen has pleaded for "a fair go" after Environment Minister Tony Burke exercised new powers and stopped the giant factory ship trawling Australian waters while the potential impacts are assessed.

A legal challenge now looks likely once Seafish has consulted with Dutch joint venture partner Parlevliet & Van der Plas over the 142m vessel, formerly known as the Margiris, which is stranded at Port Lincoln and costing its backers tens of thousands of dollars a day.

"All options will be on the table," Mr Geen said in a statement.

"People reckon we have copped a raw deal.

"We followed all AFMA's (Australian Fisheries Management Authority's) rules and regulations and were given the green light ... but then at the last minute the Australian government pulled the rug."

Mr Burke conceded a court battle could result from his announcement, made 60 days after legislation was tabled to increase his ministerial powers.

"The company have made clear, (in) public and personally, that if they thought they needed to they would pursue all legal options available to them," Mr Burke told reporters in Canberra.

But he said the government was on "completely strong legal ground" to counter any compensation claims or legal challenges.

Seafish Tasmania had attempted to appease the government by offering to use less than half the factory ship's freezing capacity and to move on from fishing areas once a certain tonnage was caught.

Mr Burke said his department remained dissatisfied with the "genuine uncertainty" around the vessel.

Mr Geen said he had received little response to his company's offer of concessions.

"All we want is a fair go," he said.

"Both Minister Burke and the Australian government have told us what we can't do - we want them to tell us what we can do.

"We wrote to the ministers Burke and Joe Ludwig directly, seeking their assistance and direction as to alternative solutions.

"But we heard nothing back."

Mr Burke and Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig will now establish an expert committee to study the environmental impact of super trawlers over the next two years.

Once the panel has assessed the science, the Abel Tasman could in theory begin fishing if given the all-clear.

The Greens and environmental groups, who mounted a massive campaign against the ship, welcomed the news.

"Australia should be setting international standards for fisheries management and sustainable industries, and today's announcement from Minister Burke is a step towards that," Greens senator Rachel Siewert said.

Greenpeace said overfishing of the world's oceans needed to be addressed.

"Monster boats like the Abel Tasman have no place in our waters," spokesman Ben Pearson said.

"Australia must make it clear that super trawlers have no place here, or anywhere."

The federal opposition's fisheries spokesman Richard Colebeck said Mr Burke had put politics before science.

"All of the credible science ... supported the sustainability of this fishery," he said.

"That Mr Burke constructed his own 'uncertainty' by not talking to any of these leading institutions is yet another indictment on the decision-making processes of this Gillard government."

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Police find body of missing NQ man

POLICE have found the body of a man who went missing near Innisfail last week.

Police earlier today issued a missing person alert for Rodderick Lewis, 46, who was last seen walking from a hotel in Silkwood, near Innisfail, on Friday night.

The body was found about 3pm today near Maria Creek, just south of Silkwood.

Emergency search crews had been scouring the cane fields and crocodile infested creeks to the north of Silkwood, where a signal from his mobile phone was last picked up.

A crime scene has been established with police unable to confirm if he died in suspicious circumstances.
 

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