December 11, 2008
POLICE have been forced to apologise for mounting an anti-terrorism exercise in which a forest campaigner hijacked an aircraft and threatened to crash it into a pulp mill in Tasmania.
Heavily armed police responded to the "hijack" at Devonport Airport, and a threat to the nearby Wesley Vale mill in the exercise on Tuesday.
It came at a time of deep community division over plans for the $2.2 billion Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, and followed a recent incident in which forest protesters' vehicles were beaten with a sledgehammer and firebombed.
Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said forest campaigners had shown absolute adherence to the concepts of peaceful community protest.
Tasmania Police acting Assistant Commissioner Steve Bonde apologised to those offended by the scenario.
"We deliberately draw up a scenario unconnected with events in history, unconnected with current events, or what police expect in the future," he said.
ANDREW DARBY
Source
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Second man held over police station firebombings
Nicolas Perpitch December 11, 2008
Article from: The Australian
POLICE arrested a second man last night after a spate of brazen firebomb attacks on Perth police stations forced Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to suggest security officers would be engaged to protect his officers.
Ryan Thomas Jones, 27, of Heathridge in Perth's northern suburbs, was taken into custody about 9pm after detectives released a mugshot of him earlier in the day.
An alleged accomplice, Craig Meyrick, 31, also of Heathridge, was arrested hours earlier after police raided a house and seized a Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The two attacks, which took place at separate police stations over a 28-hour period, have rattled the force to a state not seen since a battle between bikies in 2001 culminated in the bombing assassination of former CIB chief Don Hancock.
Police sources last night confirmed that Mr Jones had been arrested without incident, and at the time of going to press had yet to be interviewed or charged.
Mr Meyrick has been charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire over the attack at the Joondalup police station. He will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.
A Landcruiser seized from Mr Meyrick's Heathridge house earlier in the day was being forensically examined to see if it was involved in the bombings.
In the second attack in a little over 24 hours, two cars owned by on-duty officers at the Warwick police station were firebombed. Police believe an attacker would easily have been able to jump the fence of the station's unguarded back parking lot.
In the Joondalup attack on Monday night, a Holden Rodeo ute was carefully backed up past defensive bollards to the front entrance of the station and a 220litre fuel tank on the tray was set alight.
The explosion and subsequent fire gutted the foyer and reached the top floor of the Reid Promenade complex, as well as adjoining offices, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.
None of the 12 officers inside was injured. None saw the attack because they were in another part of the building.
Mr O'Callaghan said the firebombings were attacks on his police officers and on the whole community. "It's an attack on society, it's an attack on freedom, it's an attack on democracy," he said. "And we do need to make sure our police officers are adequately protected and provided for so they can do their jobs."
Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped the firebombings were "a random event rather than something that may be more systematic or sinister".
Detectives have refused to comment on the attacks, but admitted they could have been more than a coincidence.
"At this stage, there's no link between the two offences, apart (from) they are both the same offence -- that is, damage by fire," Detective Senior Sergeant John Hutchison said. "It's possible, but at this stage it appears it is unlikely."
Police were investigating the possibility of a copycat crime, Sergeant Hutchison said. "There's no suggestion whatsoever they're targeting any individual police officer. At this stage, our information is they were just targeting the police."
He would not say whether Mr Jones had any previous involvement with the Joondalup station or police generally.
WA Police Union president Mike Dean said he had been urging WA Police for years to improve security at stations.
"I've written numerous letters about security for private vehicles," he said.
Hancock and his friend Lou Lewis were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001. The feud between police and the bikies centred on the October 2000 shooting of gang member Billy Grierson, which many bikies blamed on the CIB boss, who had retired from the force and was running an outback pub.
Source
Article from: The Australian
POLICE arrested a second man last night after a spate of brazen firebomb attacks on Perth police stations forced Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to suggest security officers would be engaged to protect his officers.
Ryan Thomas Jones, 27, of Heathridge in Perth's northern suburbs, was taken into custody about 9pm after detectives released a mugshot of him earlier in the day.
An alleged accomplice, Craig Meyrick, 31, also of Heathridge, was arrested hours earlier after police raided a house and seized a Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The two attacks, which took place at separate police stations over a 28-hour period, have rattled the force to a state not seen since a battle between bikies in 2001 culminated in the bombing assassination of former CIB chief Don Hancock.
Police sources last night confirmed that Mr Jones had been arrested without incident, and at the time of going to press had yet to be interviewed or charged.
Mr Meyrick has been charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire over the attack at the Joondalup police station. He will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.
A Landcruiser seized from Mr Meyrick's Heathridge house earlier in the day was being forensically examined to see if it was involved in the bombings.
In the second attack in a little over 24 hours, two cars owned by on-duty officers at the Warwick police station were firebombed. Police believe an attacker would easily have been able to jump the fence of the station's unguarded back parking lot.
In the Joondalup attack on Monday night, a Holden Rodeo ute was carefully backed up past defensive bollards to the front entrance of the station and a 220litre fuel tank on the tray was set alight.
The explosion and subsequent fire gutted the foyer and reached the top floor of the Reid Promenade complex, as well as adjoining offices, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.
None of the 12 officers inside was injured. None saw the attack because they were in another part of the building.
Mr O'Callaghan said the firebombings were attacks on his police officers and on the whole community. "It's an attack on society, it's an attack on freedom, it's an attack on democracy," he said. "And we do need to make sure our police officers are adequately protected and provided for so they can do their jobs."
Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped the firebombings were "a random event rather than something that may be more systematic or sinister".
Detectives have refused to comment on the attacks, but admitted they could have been more than a coincidence.
"At this stage, there's no link between the two offences, apart (from) they are both the same offence -- that is, damage by fire," Detective Senior Sergeant John Hutchison said. "It's possible, but at this stage it appears it is unlikely."
Police were investigating the possibility of a copycat crime, Sergeant Hutchison said. "There's no suggestion whatsoever they're targeting any individual police officer. At this stage, our information is they were just targeting the police."
He would not say whether Mr Jones had any previous involvement with the Joondalup station or police generally.
WA Police Union president Mike Dean said he had been urging WA Police for years to improve security at stations.
"I've written numerous letters about security for private vehicles," he said.
Hancock and his friend Lou Lewis were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001. The feud between police and the bikies centred on the October 2000 shooting of gang member Billy Grierson, which many bikies blamed on the CIB boss, who had retired from the force and was running an outback pub.
Source
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Father raped daughters for 25 years
November 26, 2008 - 6:30AM
A man who fathered nine children after raping his daughters has been jailed for life in England.
The 56-year-old Sheffield man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted raping his two daughters over 25 years.
His terrified daughters fell pregnant 19 times and gave birth to nine children, seven of whom survived.
The case has disturbing parallels with that of Austria's Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with the daughter he locked in a dungeon for 24 years.
While Fritzl is still awaiting trial, the Sheffield man was on Tuesday ordered to serve 25 life sentences behind bars in England.
His daughters, whose identities remain secret, expressed relief that their harrowing ordeal was now over.
"His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again," they said in a statement.
"The suffering he has caused will continue for many years and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives."
Sheffield Crown Court judge Alan Goldsack said the case was "the worst I have come across" in nearly 40 years.
"I have little doubt that many members of the public hearing the facts of this case will consider either you should never be released from prison or only when you are old and infirm," he said as he handed down his sentence to the man, who had refused to leave his prison cell to attend the hearing.
"I agree with that view."
The man, a self-employed businessman who liked to call himself the "gaffer", was arrested after social workers learned in June about the decades of abuse his daughters suffered.
He admitted 25 rapes and four indecent assaults during a hearing last month.
The court heard the abuse began when the man's daughters were aged eight and 10 and that he "took pleasure" in the harm he knew he was doing to them.
The eldest sister fell pregnant seven times, the youngest 12.
Of their 19 pregnancies, 10 babies were lost because of miscarriage or abortion, while two died on the day they were born.
Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said when either of the sisters tried to end the abuse, their father threatened to kill them and their children.
They tried offering him 100 pounds ($233) a month from their child benefits to stop the abuse and tried to give him as much whisky as they could in the hope he would drink himself to death.
To ensure the abuse remained secret, the man repeatedly moved house with his family, including his wife and son. His wife left in the early 1990s.
"All the family were frightened of him," Campbell said.
"His younger daughter told of the frightening habit her father had of putting her head next to the flames of their gas fire and that when she struggled to get away on certain occasions she burnt her eyes."
In 1998 one of the sisters called a helpline run by the charity Childline and asked for a guarantee that she could keep her children if she came forward about the abuse.
But no guarantee was granted and the sisters' suffering went unreported.
Police and social services have launched an independent review into the case and why the abuse was not detected sooner.
Ian Keates, for the Crown Prosecution Service in South Yorkshire, described the abuse the sisters had been subjected to as "beyond comprehension".
"In his treatment of his victims the defendant sank to the most profound depths of depravity," he said.
AAP
Source
A man who fathered nine children after raping his daughters has been jailed for life in England.
The 56-year-old Sheffield man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted raping his two daughters over 25 years.
His terrified daughters fell pregnant 19 times and gave birth to nine children, seven of whom survived.
The case has disturbing parallels with that of Austria's Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with the daughter he locked in a dungeon for 24 years.
While Fritzl is still awaiting trial, the Sheffield man was on Tuesday ordered to serve 25 life sentences behind bars in England.
His daughters, whose identities remain secret, expressed relief that their harrowing ordeal was now over.
"His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again," they said in a statement.
"The suffering he has caused will continue for many years and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives."
Sheffield Crown Court judge Alan Goldsack said the case was "the worst I have come across" in nearly 40 years.
"I have little doubt that many members of the public hearing the facts of this case will consider either you should never be released from prison or only when you are old and infirm," he said as he handed down his sentence to the man, who had refused to leave his prison cell to attend the hearing.
"I agree with that view."
The man, a self-employed businessman who liked to call himself the "gaffer", was arrested after social workers learned in June about the decades of abuse his daughters suffered.
He admitted 25 rapes and four indecent assaults during a hearing last month.
The court heard the abuse began when the man's daughters were aged eight and 10 and that he "took pleasure" in the harm he knew he was doing to them.
The eldest sister fell pregnant seven times, the youngest 12.
Of their 19 pregnancies, 10 babies were lost because of miscarriage or abortion, while two died on the day they were born.
Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said when either of the sisters tried to end the abuse, their father threatened to kill them and their children.
They tried offering him 100 pounds ($233) a month from their child benefits to stop the abuse and tried to give him as much whisky as they could in the hope he would drink himself to death.
To ensure the abuse remained secret, the man repeatedly moved house with his family, including his wife and son. His wife left in the early 1990s.
"All the family were frightened of him," Campbell said.
"His younger daughter told of the frightening habit her father had of putting her head next to the flames of their gas fire and that when she struggled to get away on certain occasions she burnt her eyes."
In 1998 one of the sisters called a helpline run by the charity Childline and asked for a guarantee that she could keep her children if she came forward about the abuse.
But no guarantee was granted and the sisters' suffering went unreported.
Police and social services have launched an independent review into the case and why the abuse was not detected sooner.
Ian Keates, for the Crown Prosecution Service in South Yorkshire, described the abuse the sisters had been subjected to as "beyond comprehension".
"In his treatment of his victims the defendant sank to the most profound depths of depravity," he said.
AAP
Source
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Creationism v science: school on report
Anna Patty Education Editor
November 25, 2008
THE state school registration and curriculum authority has investigated the teaching of creation theory in science classes at a Christian school.
The Board of Studies responded to a complaint about Pacific Hills Christian School in Dural and will hand down its findings early next month.
The general manager of the board, John Bennett, told a budget estimates committee last week that the school was under investigation for "teaching creationism in science classes".
A spokeswoman for the board said it had acted on a complaint that the school had not properly followed its requirements for teaching the science syllabus.
The board referred the complaint to Christian Schools Australia, asking it to investigate.
The board also accepted the school's invitation to inspect its teaching and learning activities.
The board spokeswoman said its curriculum director was given a user name and password for the school's intranet, which allowed him to review the curriculum. He also attended several science classes and observed student work on evolution.
"Our inspector reviewed the school's educational programs for science, including student work samples and the assessment tasks set for years 7-10 science and year 11 biology classes," the board spokeswoman said. "The Christian Schools Australia investigation and report have been received and the board's own processes are close to completion.
"The matter will be finalised and the outcome communicated to the school and the complainant within the next two weeks."
The head of Christian Schools Australia, Stephen O'Doherty, said his organisation had found no reason for Pacific Christian School to lose its registration. "The whole thing is a complete furphy," he said. The school did not teach intelligent design or "creationism" - creation as scientific theory. He said the school had met the Board of Studies syllabus requirements in teaching evolution theory as science.
"It doesn't breach Darwinian theory to ask who set up the world to work in this way or even to say who was there before the big bang," he said. "We are not arguing for the ability to replace science with some other theory."
Chris Bonnor, the former head of the NSW Secondary Schools Principals Council, made the original complaint about Pacific Hills after viewing a television clip that briefly showed how a science class was taught.
He said he did not believe the school had implemented the Board of Studies science syllabus in its teaching of evolution.
"The science lesson in the school was not balanced," Mr Bonnor said. "It is fine to teach God behind evolution, but not in a science class.
"Notwithstanding the integrity of the organisation, I would question whether Christian Schools Australia is the appropriate body to investigate a complaint of this nature for the body that frames the syllabus."
Mr O'Doherty said Mr Bonnor was "whistling in the wind".
"The school does not teach creation as science or intelligent design," he said. "When they talk about faith-based perspectives on creation they tell students that it is not part of syllabus.
"We invited Mr Bonnor to look at the teacher programs and to look at the documentation and he declined."
A state Greens MP, John Kaye, said no private school in NSW had been disciplined for "pushing creationist propaganda in science classes".
"That's not surprising given that the board handed over its only investigation to Christian Schools Australia," he said. "The fox has been put in charge of the hen house."
Source
November 25, 2008
THE state school registration and curriculum authority has investigated the teaching of creation theory in science classes at a Christian school.
The Board of Studies responded to a complaint about Pacific Hills Christian School in Dural and will hand down its findings early next month.
The general manager of the board, John Bennett, told a budget estimates committee last week that the school was under investigation for "teaching creationism in science classes".
A spokeswoman for the board said it had acted on a complaint that the school had not properly followed its requirements for teaching the science syllabus.
The board referred the complaint to Christian Schools Australia, asking it to investigate.
The board also accepted the school's invitation to inspect its teaching and learning activities.
The board spokeswoman said its curriculum director was given a user name and password for the school's intranet, which allowed him to review the curriculum. He also attended several science classes and observed student work on evolution.
"Our inspector reviewed the school's educational programs for science, including student work samples and the assessment tasks set for years 7-10 science and year 11 biology classes," the board spokeswoman said. "The Christian Schools Australia investigation and report have been received and the board's own processes are close to completion.
"The matter will be finalised and the outcome communicated to the school and the complainant within the next two weeks."
The head of Christian Schools Australia, Stephen O'Doherty, said his organisation had found no reason for Pacific Christian School to lose its registration. "The whole thing is a complete furphy," he said. The school did not teach intelligent design or "creationism" - creation as scientific theory. He said the school had met the Board of Studies syllabus requirements in teaching evolution theory as science.
"It doesn't breach Darwinian theory to ask who set up the world to work in this way or even to say who was there before the big bang," he said. "We are not arguing for the ability to replace science with some other theory."
Chris Bonnor, the former head of the NSW Secondary Schools Principals Council, made the original complaint about Pacific Hills after viewing a television clip that briefly showed how a science class was taught.
He said he did not believe the school had implemented the Board of Studies science syllabus in its teaching of evolution.
"The science lesson in the school was not balanced," Mr Bonnor said. "It is fine to teach God behind evolution, but not in a science class.
"Notwithstanding the integrity of the organisation, I would question whether Christian Schools Australia is the appropriate body to investigate a complaint of this nature for the body that frames the syllabus."
Mr O'Doherty said Mr Bonnor was "whistling in the wind".
"The school does not teach creation as science or intelligent design," he said. "When they talk about faith-based perspectives on creation they tell students that it is not part of syllabus.
"We invited Mr Bonnor to look at the teacher programs and to look at the documentation and he declined."
A state Greens MP, John Kaye, said no private school in NSW had been disciplined for "pushing creationist propaganda in science classes".
"That's not surprising given that the board handed over its only investigation to Christian Schools Australia," he said. "The fox has been put in charge of the hen house."
Source
Kidnap victim still lives in fear
Ruth Pollard
November 25, 2008
IT WAS 6.30am when her husband and his brother came to her unit and smashed through her two security doors with an axe.
Screaming for help, Klaudine Fajloun was dragged down the stairs of her apartment block by her hair, a hand over her mouth to try to keep her quiet.
She tried to get away but the men were too strong for her - they shoved her in the back seat of a car and her husband held her head in his hands and banged it repeatedly against the car door.
He said: "I want to kill you and take you somewhere where nobody will know."
His brother said: "I can do anything to you and nobody will stop me and nobody will know."
Klaudine thought she was going to die.
They took her to an empty house, where her husband slapped her, bashed her with a metal rod and kicked her repeatedly. Nearly nine hours later her husband fell asleep. Klaudine crept outside and alerted a neighbour, who called the police.
Suffering broken ribs and other injuries, she was treated at Westmead Hospital, then moved to a hotel for her safety.
"After that I go to a refuge, I go to many refuges, and my kids tell my husband where I am and straight away he comes and I have to leave the refuge again."
Tired of running, she appealed to the police for help, and in late February 2006, three months after the attack, she went to Lebanon to escape, returning two months later to attend court.
Soon after, police helped her move to the United States, where they thought she would be safer. She returned to Australia last year for further court proceedings against her husband.
Raad Fajloun was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and break and enter. He is in jail awaiting sentencing. His brother Michael was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and break and enter - he is on bail awaiting sentencing.
Even with the convictions, Klaudine is terrified of her former husband and his family and lives as a virtual prisoner in her home, cut off from three of her four children and suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I cannot sleep and I dream about the kidnapping and the assault," she said.
"I am always looking over my shoulder fearing Raad and his family might be following me. I have lost contact with my three boys due to the violence I have experienced, and as a mother, that is heartbreaking to me."
Before her kidnapping ordeal, Klaudine had sent her daughter to live in the US, after her husband indicated he wanted the girl to marry his cousin in Lebanon. "My daughter, she does not want this marriage. That is why I send her to America to stay with my brother - my husband was very upset."
Both Klaudine's brother in the US and father in Lebanon had witnessed her husband's aggressive behaviour and urged her to leave him. "How can you live with this man?" her father asked.
It was just days after she told her husband she wanted a divorce and that she would take out an apprehended violence order that he kidnapped her.
In an act of great bravery, Klaudine wants people to know of her experience and has chosen to be identified for this story.
"I want to tell everybody, especially the Lebanese, what happened to me," she says. "My daughter said to me, 'Don't be scared … Say what happened to you, because you know you did not do anything wrong.' "
Source
November 25, 2008
IT WAS 6.30am when her husband and his brother came to her unit and smashed through her two security doors with an axe.
Screaming for help, Klaudine Fajloun was dragged down the stairs of her apartment block by her hair, a hand over her mouth to try to keep her quiet.
She tried to get away but the men were too strong for her - they shoved her in the back seat of a car and her husband held her head in his hands and banged it repeatedly against the car door.
He said: "I want to kill you and take you somewhere where nobody will know."
His brother said: "I can do anything to you and nobody will stop me and nobody will know."
Klaudine thought she was going to die.
They took her to an empty house, where her husband slapped her, bashed her with a metal rod and kicked her repeatedly. Nearly nine hours later her husband fell asleep. Klaudine crept outside and alerted a neighbour, who called the police.
Suffering broken ribs and other injuries, she was treated at Westmead Hospital, then moved to a hotel for her safety.
"After that I go to a refuge, I go to many refuges, and my kids tell my husband where I am and straight away he comes and I have to leave the refuge again."
Tired of running, she appealed to the police for help, and in late February 2006, three months after the attack, she went to Lebanon to escape, returning two months later to attend court.
Soon after, police helped her move to the United States, where they thought she would be safer. She returned to Australia last year for further court proceedings against her husband.
Raad Fajloun was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and break and enter. He is in jail awaiting sentencing. His brother Michael was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and break and enter - he is on bail awaiting sentencing.
Even with the convictions, Klaudine is terrified of her former husband and his family and lives as a virtual prisoner in her home, cut off from three of her four children and suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I cannot sleep and I dream about the kidnapping and the assault," she said.
"I am always looking over my shoulder fearing Raad and his family might be following me. I have lost contact with my three boys due to the violence I have experienced, and as a mother, that is heartbreaking to me."
Before her kidnapping ordeal, Klaudine had sent her daughter to live in the US, after her husband indicated he wanted the girl to marry his cousin in Lebanon. "My daughter, she does not want this marriage. That is why I send her to America to stay with my brother - my husband was very upset."
Both Klaudine's brother in the US and father in Lebanon had witnessed her husband's aggressive behaviour and urged her to leave him. "How can you live with this man?" her father asked.
It was just days after she told her husband she wanted a divorce and that she would take out an apprehended violence order that he kidnapped her.
In an act of great bravery, Klaudine wants people to know of her experience and has chosen to be identified for this story.
"I want to tell everybody, especially the Lebanese, what happened to me," she says. "My daughter said to me, 'Don't be scared … Say what happened to you, because you know you did not do anything wrong.' "
Source
ATM bandits strike
Peter Hawkins
November 25, 2008 - 6:15AM
Masked men have blown up three ATMs across Sydney early this morning, exploding machines in Clovelly, Chester Hill and Guildford, police said.
The first ATM hit was the Bendigo Bank on Clovelly Road at Clovelly in the city's eastern suburbs.
About 1.45am four men exploded the street-front ATM at the intersection of Mount Street using gas cylinders, sending glass and debris flying as far as the other side of the road.
The ATM and front of the bank were destroyed.
In the explosion, the thieves' dark grey Audi getaway car parked out the front of the bank was also damaged, forcing them to abandon it, police said.
Police established a perimeter around the bank and told nearby neighbours to evacuate their homes until the gas cylinders in the boot of the car are deemed safe.
Police closed Clovelly Road as well as several surrounding streets and conducted Polair and dog squad searches throughout the early hours of this morning.
About the same time another group of three masked men exploded an ATM at a bank on Waldron Street at Chester Hill in Sydney's west.
Police said the ATM and front section of the bank was significantly damaged and the area has been cordoned off while officers investigate.
The three men, also using an Audi, but this time silver, as a getaway car, then managed to escape, police said.
The third attack in the space of half an hour happened about 2.15am, with men this time targeting an ATM at the front of a physiotherapist shop on Guildford Road at Guildford in Sydney north west, police said.
Guilford Road between Cross Street and Station Street have been cordoned off.
Police said it is not yet known if the Guildford and Chester Hill explosions are linked or if any of the men escaped with cash.
This mornings three ATM explosions make it seven robberies or attempted robberies using gas cylinders in the last week.
Detectives from Strike Force Piccadilly, who are investigating a spate of ATM explosions using gas cylinders across Sydney since July, have been notified.
Source
November 25, 2008 - 6:15AM
Masked men have blown up three ATMs across Sydney early this morning, exploding machines in Clovelly, Chester Hill and Guildford, police said.
The first ATM hit was the Bendigo Bank on Clovelly Road at Clovelly in the city's eastern suburbs.
About 1.45am four men exploded the street-front ATM at the intersection of Mount Street using gas cylinders, sending glass and debris flying as far as the other side of the road.
The ATM and front of the bank were destroyed.
In the explosion, the thieves' dark grey Audi getaway car parked out the front of the bank was also damaged, forcing them to abandon it, police said.
Police established a perimeter around the bank and told nearby neighbours to evacuate their homes until the gas cylinders in the boot of the car are deemed safe.
Police closed Clovelly Road as well as several surrounding streets and conducted Polair and dog squad searches throughout the early hours of this morning.
About the same time another group of three masked men exploded an ATM at a bank on Waldron Street at Chester Hill in Sydney's west.
Police said the ATM and front section of the bank was significantly damaged and the area has been cordoned off while officers investigate.
The three men, also using an Audi, but this time silver, as a getaway car, then managed to escape, police said.
The third attack in the space of half an hour happened about 2.15am, with men this time targeting an ATM at the front of a physiotherapist shop on Guildford Road at Guildford in Sydney north west, police said.
Guilford Road between Cross Street and Station Street have been cordoned off.
Police said it is not yet known if the Guildford and Chester Hill explosions are linked or if any of the men escaped with cash.
This mornings three ATM explosions make it seven robberies or attempted robberies using gas cylinders in the last week.
Detectives from Strike Force Piccadilly, who are investigating a spate of ATM explosions using gas cylinders across Sydney since July, have been notified.
Source
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Imam blessed polygamous marriage: report
Barney Zwartz
November 22, 2008
CIHAN, an Arab woman with three adolescent children, was given an unpleasant surprise last year. Her husband told her that four years ago he had taken a second wife, an Anglo-Australian who was now expecting their third child.
The husband and second wife wanted a polygamous arrangement, involving a close supportive relationship of the wives and children, but Cihan separated instead.
The financial settlement took into account the second family, and left her struggling.
The second marriage was performed by an imam who knew it was polygamous. He allowed it because the husband was willing to perform his marital obligations to the first wife and was thus "entitled to a little bit of comfort on the side".
Now Cihan, whose story is told in the Islamic Women's Welfare Council report, is under constant pressure from her family and community to accept her husband and second wife.
She cannot get a religious divorce because her husband does not agree.
Source
November 22, 2008
CIHAN, an Arab woman with three adolescent children, was given an unpleasant surprise last year. Her husband told her that four years ago he had taken a second wife, an Anglo-Australian who was now expecting their third child.
The husband and second wife wanted a polygamous arrangement, involving a close supportive relationship of the wives and children, but Cihan separated instead.
The financial settlement took into account the second family, and left her struggling.
The second marriage was performed by an imam who knew it was polygamous. He allowed it because the husband was willing to perform his marital obligations to the first wife and was thus "entitled to a little bit of comfort on the side".
Now Cihan, whose story is told in the Islamic Women's Welfare Council report, is under constant pressure from her family and community to accept her husband and second wife.
She cannot get a religious divorce because her husband does not agree.
Source
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