AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, April 29

AAP General News (Australia)
04-29-2011
AAP National News Wire Round-Up for Breakfast, April 29
Breakfast Round-Up: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 0430


Wedding Wrap (LONDON)

Britain's royal family will start preparing within hours to stage the biggest .. and
some say most historically important show of its life .. the wedding of Prince WILLIAM
and his longtime love .. KATE MIDDLETON.

It hasn't rained in London since Sunday .. but grey skies are forecast for the wedding
day .. with a 30 per cent chance of rain at the time of the ceremony.

Sometime before midday London time .. that's eight pm AEST .. the couple will be declared
husband and wife in front of almost two-thousand invited guests in London's Westminster
Abbey .. and an estimated two billion people watching international broadcasts.

The Queen will leave Buckingham Palace after hosting a lunchtime reception for the
bride and groom.

The 85-year-old monarch will head out of the capital with the Duke of Edinburgh for
a private weekend .. leaving the newlyweds to party the night away at a black tie evening
reception with their friends.



Gillard (LONDON)

JULIA GILLARD has met with her British counterpart DAVID CAMERON at Downing Street
for talks including both nations' involvement in Afghanistan and the situation in Libya.

Sharing a joke as they entered a second floor sitting room of 10 Downing Street ..

Mr CAMERON has welcomed the Australian PM .. joking about something happening they're
excited about.

Both leaders and their partners will attend the wedding of Prince WILLIAM and KATE
MIDDLETON at Westminster Abbey .. but in the meantime it's been business as usual.

After the meeting Ms GILLARD's rushed off to nearby Clarence House to meet with Prince
CHARLES .. to see the first in line to the throne on the eve of his eldest son's wedding.



Syria Aust (LONDON)

Foreign Minister KEVIN RUDD says he'll be writing to the head of the UN .. asking him
to send an envoy to Syria following its bloody crackdown on protesters.

Mr RUDD is calling for international sanctions against the Syrian regime .. and says
the country's top diplomat in Canberra has been hauled in to register Australia's opposition
to the military's brutal tactics.

A Syrian human rights group says the death toll in six weeks of protests has risen
to more than 450.

Mr RUDD is due to fly out of London to the Middle East .. for meetings with Palestinian
leader ABU MAZEN and Israel's Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU.

He's advised against travelling to Syria .. and is calling on Australians already there
to get out.



US Watson (BIRMINGHAM)

A US judge has decided that GABE WATSON will stand trial in Alabama for the murder
of his bride TINA THOMAS on their Australian honeymoon scuba diving trip.

If convicted .. the 34-year-old bubble wrap salesman faces a maximum life sentence
in Alabama's harsh prison system.

A trial date hasn't been set .. but it's expected to take place in October or November.

Ms THOMAS' parents .. TOMMY and TINA .. were shattered when Queensland prosecutors
agreed to a manslaughter plea deal with WATSON in 2009 that resulted in an 18 month prison
sentence.

They're ecstatic with the decision .. flashing large smiles as they left the courthouse.



US Storms Toll (BIRMINGHAM)

Tornadoes and storms have carved a trail of catastrophic destruction across the southern
United States .. killing more than 250 people in the worst US weather disaster in years.

Shocked residents in more than half a dozen states crippled by the ferocious spring
storms have picked through the remains of their destroyed homes.. businesses .. schools
and churches.

The White House says President BARACK OBAMA will travel to Alabama today for a first-hand
look at the devastation .. with emergencies declared in eight states.

Officials have reported at least 258 people dead in the region .. but the toll's likely
to rise as residents and emergency workers begin to mop up and assess the damage.

Another major storm system is forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds tomorrow.



Abrahams (SYDNEY)

The mother and stepfather of KIESHA ABRAHAMS will face Penrith Local Court today ..

charged with the six-year-old's murder.

KIESHA was reported missing from her Mount Druitt home in Sydney's west last year ..

sparking a lengthy police investigation.

Last week her mother KRISTI ANNE ABRAHAMS and stepfather ROBERT SMITH were charged
with her murder.

A post-mortem examination has been unable to determine whether remains discovered last
Friday in bushland in Shalvey .. northwest of the family's home .. belong to the little
girl.

DNA testing is now being carried out.



PlayStation (NEW YORK)

Sony is telling PlayStation users it had encrypted the credit card data that hackers
may have stolen .. reducing but not eliminating the chances the thieves could use the
information.

In a blog post on Wednesday Sony says while it has no direct evidence the data was
even taken .. it can't rule out the possibility.

Sony announced this week account information had been compromised for certain players
using its PlayStation Network .. including names .. birthdates .. email addresses and
log-in information.

The company says it's in the process of moving its network infrastructure and its data
centre to a new .. more secure location.



Hospitals (CANBERRA)

The latest statistics show more Australians are being admitted to hospital and they're
also waiting longer for elective surgery.

The Australian Hospital Statistics report says Australians have had to wait an average
36 days in 2009-10 for planned elective surgery .. two more days than they waited the
year before.

The report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows admissions in 2009-10
grew to 8.5 million .. up from 8.1 million the year before.



Briefly in other news ..



Escapee (SYDNEY)

Police and the dog squad are hunting for a prison inmate .. who escaped during a treatment
visit to hospital in the New South Wales Hunter region.



Logging (CANBERRA)

The federal government's scheme to lure loggers out of Tasmania is under renewed fire
over claims companies are pocketing cash only to resume logging on the mainland.



Morocco Blast (MARRAKESH)

A powerful blast at a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh has killed 11 foreigners
and three Moroccans .. in what authorities suspect was the work of a suicide bomber.



in Finance ..



in Sport ..



AFL Wrap (PERTH)

Melbourne coach DEAN BAILEY admits his team put in a poor effort after watching the
Demons crash to a 54-point AFL loss to West Coast in Perth last night.

The Demons were never in the hunt as West Coast piled on five goals to nil in the opening
quarter to set up the 15.16 (106) to 6.16 (52) triumph.

Sydney and Carlton square off at the SCG tonight, with both sides looking to shore
up spots in the top eight.



AFL TV (MELBOURNE)

The AFL is set to pocket at least a cool one-and-a-quarter billion dollars from a five-year
broadcast deal with Seven Group Holdings and pay TV broadcasters Foxtel and Austar.

However .. analysts say Seven shareholders could be the losers .. as the network may
have overpaid .. even though the generous programming schedule is a winner for viewers
and Foxtel.

AFL chief executive ANDREW DEMETRIOU says the AFL will earn one-point-two-five billion
dollars from the deal .. including a cash contribution.

In comparison .. the 2007-11 deal was worth 780 million.



RL (SYDNEY)

Cronulla skipper PAUL GALLEN says it's time for his side's much-heralded pack to live
up to the hype as the Sharks look to revive their flagging NRL finals hopes in tonight's
do-or-die clash against South Sydney.

Both sides head into the ANZ Stadium game with just two wins to their name .. with
another loss leaving them in dire straits just a third of the way into the season.

In tonight's other game high-flying Brisbane go up against Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium.



RL Rights (SYDNEY)

NRL boss DAVID GALLOP claims rugby league fans and administrators should be buoyed
by the AFL securing a new broadcasting deal worth in excess of one billion dollars.

With NRL rights due for renewal ahead of the 2013 season .. rugby league administrators
are hoping for a similar payday.



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