Two-time shark victim feels he was spared

An abalone diver who survived two separate shark attacks nine years apart feels God saved his life. Source: AAP

THE abalone diver who incredibly survived a second shark attack has revealed he did not see the great white that tried to bite his head off - but instead recognised the sound of teeth on bone.

Greg Pickering, 55, was diving for abalone off a remote part of Western Australia's southern coast last month when he was attacked by a suspected great white shark.

It was the second time Mr Pickering had lived through a shark attack, after being bitten by a 1.5 metre bronze whaler while in waters near Cervantes, north of Perth, in 2004 as he was trying to help a friend.

Speaking about his ordeal for the first time, Mr Pickering told the Seven Network's Sunday Night program about the circumstances of the attack, which left him needing 10 hours of surgery on facial and other wounds.

"I heard the sound, the thrashing sound, of teeth on bone - and I remembered the sound from the last time I was bitten," Mr Pickering said.

"I thought 'that is probably a shark', but I didn't see it - I heard the attack."

The show claims Mr Pickering is now the only man in the world to be attacked by sharks in separate incidents and live to tell the tale.

And the interview will also detail how Mr Pickering used his 40-year diving experience to hold his breath and rise to the surface slowly after the attack, despite the water turning red around him from the blood pouring from his horrific injuries.

A roll of duct tape and a towel was then used to hold Mr Pickering's shredded face together, as his eight-hour journey to hospital began.

Mr Pickering told reporter Mark Ferguson how he felt he had been spared his life.

"It (the shark) suddenly stopped and let me go - so I have definitely been given another chance," Mr Pickering said.

"I do believe I have been given a second chance. God has given me a second chance there is no doubt about that."

Soon after the attack, Mr Pickering's family expressed their thanks to paramedics, surgeons, doctors and nurses who helped save his life, while Fisheries Department director-general Stuart Smith slapped a kill order on the shark.

But the order was then called off because the shark was not sighted again and was no longer considered a threat to school-holiday campers in the area.

Mr Pickering returned to the area where he was attacked, Poison Creek at Cape Arid National Park, about 180km east of Esperance, to tell his story.

*The interview with Mr Pickering will air on the Seven Network's Sunday Night at 6.30pm AEDT on Sunday November 17

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Motorists from the New Farm side of the city have been advised to seek an alternate route.
 

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NSW man dies after crashing into tree

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The driver and only occupant of the car died at the scene.

A crime scene has been established and investigation is underway.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to come forward.

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Two-time shark victim feels he was spared

An abalone diver who survived two separate shark attacks nine years apart feels God saved his life. Source: AAP

THE abalone diver who incredibly survived a second shark attack has revealed he did not see the great white that tried to bite his head off - but instead recognised the sound of teeth on bone.

Greg Pickering, 55, was diving for abalone off a remote part of Western Australia's southern coast last month when he was attacked by a suspected great white shark.

It was the second time Mr Pickering had lived through a shark attack, after being bitten by a 1.5 metre bronze whaler while in waters near Cervantes, north of Perth, in 2004 as he was trying to help a friend.

Speaking about his ordeal for the first time, Mr Pickering told the Seven Network's Sunday Night program about the circumstances of the attack, which left him needing 10 hours of surgery on facial and other wounds.

"I heard the sound, the thrashing sound, of teeth on bone - and I remembered the sound from the last time I was bitten," Mr Pickering said.

"I thought 'that is probably a shark', but I didn't see it - I heard the attack."

The show claims Mr Pickering is now the only man in the world to be attacked by sharks in separate incidents and live to tell the tale.

And the interview will also detail how Mr Pickering used his 40-year diving experience to hold his breath and rise to the surface slowly after the attack, despite the water turning red around him from the blood pouring from his horrific injuries.

A roll of duct tape and a towel was then used to hold Mr Pickering's shredded face together, as his eight-hour journey to hospital began.

Mr Pickering told reporter Mark Ferguson how he felt he had been spared his life.

"It (the shark) suddenly stopped and let me go - so I have definitely been given another chance," Mr Pickering said.

"I do believe I have been given a second chance. God has given me a second chance there is no doubt about that."

Soon after the attack, Mr Pickering's family expressed their thanks to paramedics, surgeons, doctors and nurses who helped save his life, while Fisheries Department director-general Stuart Smith slapped a kill order on the shark.

But the order was then called off because the shark was not sighted again and was no longer considered a threat to school-holiday campers in the area.

Mr Pickering returned to the area where he was attacked, Poison Creek at Cape Arid National Park, about 180km east of Esperance, to tell his story.

*The interview with Mr Pickering will air on the Seven Network's Sunday Night at 7.30pm AEDT on Sunday November 17

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Bird flu strain infects human for 1st time

A STRAIN of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty surprise that shows scientists must do more to spot worrisome flu strains before they ignite a global outbreak, doctors say.

On a more hopeful front, a company on Wednesday reported encouraging results from its first human tests of a possible vaccine against a different type of bird flu that has been spreading through Asia since first appearing in China last spring that is feared to have pandemic potential.

The woman, 20, was hospitalised in May with a lung infection. After being treated with Tamiflu and antibiotics, she was released. One of her throat swabs was sent to the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control. Experts there identified it as the H6N1 bird flu, widely circulating in chickens on the island.

The patient, who was not identified, worked in a deli and had no known connection to live birds. Investigators couldn't figure out how she was infected. But they noted several of her close family and friends also developed flu-like symptoms after spending time with her, though none tested positive for H6N1.

The research was published online on Thursday in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Since the H5N1 bird flu strain first broke out in southern China in 1996, public health officials have been nervously monitoring its progress - it has so far killed more than 600 people, mostly in Asia. Several other bird flu strains, including H7N9, which was first identified in China in April, have also caused concern but none has so far mutated into a form able to spread easily among people.

"The question again is what would it take for these viruses to evolve into a pandemic strain?" wrote Marion Koopmans, a virologist at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, in a commentary accompanying the new report.

She said it was worrying that scientists had no early warning signals that such new bird flus could be a problem until humans fell ill. Scientists often monitor birds to see which viruses are killing them, in an attempt to guess which flu strains might be troublesome for humans - but neither H6N1 nor H7N9 make birds very sick.

Koopmans called for increased surveillance of animal flu viruses and more research into predicting which viruses might cause a global crisis.

"We can surely do better than to have human beings as sentinels," she wrote.

The vaccine news is on the H7N9 bird flu that has infected at least 137 people and killed at least 45 since last spring. Scientists from Novavax Inc, a US company, say tests on 284 people suggest that after two shots of the vaccine, most made antibodies at a level that usually confers protection.

"They gave a third of the usual dose and yet had antibodies in over 80 per cent," said an expert not connected with the work, Dr Greg Poland of the Mayo Clinic. "This is encouraging news. We've struggled to make vaccines quickly enough against novel viruses," he said.

Results were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

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NSW same-sex bill defeated, tears in parly

A BILL to legalise same-sex marriage in NSW has been defeated by the narrowest possible margin, with its supporters crushed they couldn't win just one more vote.

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Hockey rejects Senate's lower debt limit

Treasurer Joe Hockey has rejected a Senate amendment to raise the debt limit to $400 billion. Source: AAP

ECONOMISTS have described the political shenanigans surrounding the national debt ceiling as a "storm in a teacup" that's only become an issue in Australia because of the recent debacle in the US.

Labor and the Australian Greens used their numbers in the Senate on Thursday to limit an increase in the debt ceiling to $400 billion, rather than the $500 billion sought by the government.

"You will find $500 billion is the appropriate level to deal with the legacy of Labor's debt," Treasurer Joe Hockey told the lower house, rejecting the amendment.

The bill could return to the Senate on Thursday evening, but it is more likely a further vote will remain in limbo until the Senate sits again in the week of December 2, just 10 days before the current limit of $300 billion is breached.

The opposition parties want to restrict the increase because the government has not provided adequate reasons for such a large debt ceiling.

But Mr Hockey won't release the mid-year budget review - that would lay out updated economic, fiscal and debt forecasts - until after the release of the September quarter national accounts in early December.

However, he argues that Labor's own economic statement released before the election showed Commonwealth debt peaking at $370 billion in 2015/16.

Additionally, advice from the Australian Office of Financial Management shows it was prudent to have a buffer of $40-$60 billion above the forecast peak.

"We're not going to put the stability of the markets, and the stability of the CPS (Commonwealth Public Service) at risk as a result of Labor ... in opposition," he said.

TD Securities head of Asia Pacific research Annette Beacher said compared to other countries, Australia's debt is "tiny" and Australia's triple A rating is unlikely to be affected.

"Compared with global fiscal issues, this is a storm in a teacup, and more political posturing than anything else," Ms Beacher said in a note to clients.

Earlier, Mr Hockey warned of a US-style shutdown of federal government services if his legislation was blocked in the Senate.

"There is no choice but to start having massive cuts to government expenditure," he told ABC radio.

But shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it was strange that it was only the treasurer who was talking about a government shutdown.

"In the United States you saw a political party (the Tea party) try to shut down the government. Here the only person talking about that is the government," he told reporters in Canberra.

He said Mr Hockey went to the election promising to reduce debt and implementing deep budget cuts, and was now using the debate over the debt ceiling as an alibi for not reducing the debt.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott weighed in on the issue during question time, saying having been incapable of managing the budget in government, Labor now thinks they can do it from opposition.

"What frauds they are. Members opposite should stop interfering with the fiscal repair job that this country desperately needs," Mr Abbott said.

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Major powers agree on Iran nuclear deal

US Secretary of State John Kerry says the major powers were unified on an Iran nuclear deal during weekend talks in Geneva but the Iranians were unable to accept it.

He also said critics of the plan should withhold their comments until a deal is reached.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Kerry said the United States and its negotiating partners were unified on Saturday when the proposal was presented to the Iranians.

"The French signed off on it, we signed off on it," Kerry said.

Earlier reports said that the talks came apart because France refused to accept the deal with Iran. But on Monday, Kerry said that the major powers reached an agreement after a marathon bargaining session but Iran wasn't able to accept the deal "at that particular moment."

"There was unity but Iran couldn't take it," he said.

Kerry also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of a deal to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions was premature.

"The time to oppose it is when you see what it is, not to oppose the effort to find out what is possible," Kerry said.

He said the US has "been meeting constantly" with the Israelis to understand the progress Iran has made in its nuclear program. "We are confident that what we are doing can actually protect Israel more effectively and provide greater security," he said.

Kerry said there is no "end game" in motion and the Geneva talks were a first step in longer process of possible give and take.

Tehran has been eager to reach an agreement to ease international sanctions that have halted most oil exports and crippled the county's economy.

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Sea Shepherd seeks no-arrest guarantee

NEWLY landed Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson wants assurances he won't be handed over to Japanese authorities before considering a visit to Australia.

Mr Watson, who is in the US after 15 months on the run at sea, has been granted an Australian business visa.

But Sea Shepherd Australia chairman Bob Brown says Mr Watson isn't yet intending to use the visa.

"I don't think he's going to come here until he gets an assurance that he won't be captured by a Japanese arrest warrant," Dr Brown told reporters in Hobart.

Mr Watson is wanted by the Japanese over the militant anti-whaling campaign he led in Antarctic waters over the past decade.

He made landfall to give evidence in a civil action by Japanese whaling interests against Sea Shepherd's US arm in a Seattle court.

The action prevents him from direct involvement in the conservation group's actions in the Southern Ocean but a visit to Australia would provide a massive publicity boost as the group seeks to raise $4 million for what it is dubbing Operation Relentless.

Dr Brown said Mr Watson, who holds joint Canadian-US citizenship, felt safe in America.

"The US is very protective of its citizens and I couldn't see a US administration handing Paul Watson over to Japan," the former Greens leader said.

"There'd be a big furore in the United States if that were to happen."

Attorney-General George Brandis's office has been contacted for comment.

Dr Brown has also given evidence in Seattle, where whalers are seeking penalties for alleged breaches by Sea Shepherd US of a restraining order.

He said the case would not affect the three-ship protest planned for this summer because Sea Shepherd Australia has separated from the US arm.

"They're trying a back door way of trying to stop Sea Shepherd and they'll fail," Dr Brown said.

Japan insists its annual whaling program is legal under allowances for a scientific catch.

In a separate action, Australia is challenging the legality of the whale hunt at the International Court of Justice, with the court deliberating and a ruling expected between now and March.

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Aussie cleared by Dubai court on fraud

AN Australian businessman's five-year legal nightmare in the Middle East appears over, with a Dubai court upholding his acquittal.

Marcus Lee, 44, was cleared on fraud-related charges in Dubai in May but the Dubai Public Prosecutor appealed his acquittal, dashing his and his wife Julie's hopes of returning home soon after.

But on Sunday, after more than 50 court hearings over almost five years, the Dubai Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

After the verdict, Mr Lee and Mrs Lee said the outcome was all they could ever have hoped for.

"This is the correct result and we thank the Dubai Appeal Court judges for their verdict," they said in a statement.

"We simply hope that we will now be allowed to return to our families in Australia and resume our lives after almost five years of constant anxiety, stress and hardship.

"Julie and I desperately want to be able to see our families again."

The Lees feared that the lodging of the appeal meant they were likely to be trapped in the UAE for another year.

Mr Lee said he hopes Australian officials will now lobby on his behalf to ensure no further appeals are lodged.

Mr Lee and fellow Australian businessman Matthew Joyce were arrested in January 2009 over fraud allegations brought by Gold Coast property developer Sunland, after a land deal collapsed during the global financial crisis.

They spent nine months in prison, followed by more than three-and-a-half years under effective house arrest.

The court in May this year sentenced Mr Joyce to ten years in prison and a $25 million fine. It also convicted Melbourne businessman Angus Reed in absentia.

They were found guilty of duping Sunland into giving them $12 million, but both maintain their innocence.

But the court cleared Mr Lee of wrongdoing, and even Sunland itself believed Mr Lee did nothing wrong.

Mr Lee's Brisbane-based lawyer, John Sneddon, said any further appeals would be devastating and urged Dubai authorities to allow the Lees to come home.

"They are sick, they are tired and they have lost everything they ever owned," he said.

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Man shot three times in Melbourne's west

A man shot in the chest in Melbourne's west is in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Source: AAP

A MAN who was shot three times at Deer Park in Melbourne's west is known to police.

Police were called to the suburb on Saturday night after the injured man approached a resident for help at around 11.45pm (AEDT).

The 42-year-old Richmond man was taken to The Alfred Hospital with life-threatening chest injuries, police said.

Detective Inspector Adrian Dalzotto from the armed crime taskforce says the injured man is known to police and they hope to interview him once he has had surgery.

Det Insp Dalzotto said police are unsure where the shooting occurred.

"We can't say with certainty it actually happened in this street," he told reporters.

Det Insp Dalzotto says police have no suspects yet and want anyone with information to contact them.

The man's car was found parked in the street and has been impounded for forensic examination.

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Ex-Sydney priest among Philippines dead

A FORMER Sydney priest who secretly married a woman he met in the Philippines is among the hundreds killed in the typhoon that has devastated the archipelago nation.

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