HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Dec 19

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2003
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Dec 19

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe have all been nominated
for Golden Globes, but Naomi Watts missed out in a shock snub. (US Globes Daylead with
factbox)

US GLOBES AUST NIGHTLEAD to come

PERTH - The coronial inquest into the deaths of four sailors in a fireball on HMAS
Westralia has cleared the navy of any cover-up over the tragedy five years ago. (Westralia,
NIGHTLEAD to come)

ADELAIDE - A US court ruling that Guantanamo Bay prisoners should have access to the
American court system provided hope, but no direct help, for Australian terrorism suspect
David Hicks, his lawyer said today. (US Guantanamo Kenny)

SYDNEY - A US appeals court decision to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees access to lawyers
showed America was finally putting justice before politics, the lawyer for one of the
Australian men detained there said today. (US Guantanamo Hopper)

US GUANTANAMO AUST NIGHTLEAD to come

HOBART - Federal Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone should go to Nauru to visit child
detainees spending Christmas behind razor wire, the Australian Greens said today. (Detention
Brown)

CANBERRA - Australia was looking at ways to help Nauru after immigration detention
camps on the Pacific island nation close, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said
today. (Nauru Aust)

SYDNEY - Australian Catholic bishops today called on the federal government to immediately
bring to the mainland all asylum seekers in immigration detention on Nauru. (Detention
Catholic)

MELBOURNE - Former immigration minister John Hodges and an Afghan community leader
will visit Nauru next week to speak to the asylum seekers on hunger strike. (DETENTION
VISIT to come)

DETENTION NIGHTLEAD to come

SYDNEY - Convicted insider trader Rene Rivkin will remain free from his periodic detention
sentence at least until February on medical grounds. (Rivkin)

SYDNEY - The NSW government said today that it could not order convicted insider trader
Rene Rivkin to finish his jail sentence. (Rivkin Hatzistergos)

RIVKIN NIGHTLEAD to come

MELBOURNE - Hundreds of mourners, including notable members of Melbourne's underworld,
have arrived at the funeral of slain crime boss Graham Kinniburgh. (Kinniburgh Funeral
Second Daylead, NIGHTLEAD to come)

MELBOURNE - Gold Coast businessman Christopher Kent escaped jail today when a judge
imposed fines for his "stupid" attempt to con the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) over
a brief encounter between his niece and Shane Warne. (Kent Nightlead)

BRISBANE - Queensland's green lobby has won a landmark case over the federal government
to stop construction of a dam on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. (Nathan, NIGHTLEAD
to come)

SYDNEY - Queensland recorded the first road fatality of the Christmas period overnight
when a 50-year-old man died in a car crash at Nerang, on the Gold Coast. (Toll National)

SYDNEY - Queensland based wagering company UNiTAB Ltd has unveiled an agreed $2.0 billion
takeover offer for larger rival Tab, in what could spark a bidding war with Tabcorp Holdings
Ltd. (TAB Lead, NIGHTLEAD to come)

HOBART - Australia A has made a strong start to the three-day cricket tour match against
India at Bellerive Oval here. (Cricket India Lead Lunch, NIGHTLEAD to come)


ALSO SEE THE FOLLOWING BACKGROUNDERS AND ANALYSES MOVED TODAY:

CANBERRA - Mark Latham has wasted no time in putting his stamp on the ALP leadership.

(Newscope Federal)

SYDNEY - Nicole Kidman has come a long way since playing a sheep in a school Christmas
production at the age of seven. (Kidman Newsfeature)

SYDNEY - Small wonder Australia is suffering an attack of the guilts about Nauru, whose
inhabitants have often been treated like the material their tiny island was built on -
bird excrement. (NAURU BACKGROUNDER to come)

ADELAIDE - Despite his surroundings, David Hicks appeared typically Australian this
week. (Newscope SA)

BRISBANE - The furore over Queensland's foster care system is hiding a deeper problem.

(Newscope Qld)

AUCKLAND - There's a scene in Peter Jackson's Forgotten Silver documentary showing
the first flight of New Zealander Richard Pearse, months before the Wright brothers' famous
aviation feat. (NZ Flight Backgrounder)

KALKARINGI - Most Australians expect to be able to attend a school near their homes. (Students)

SYDNEY - Much has changed in Dr Robert Finlayson's two decades of treating people with
HIV/AIDS. (HIV Backgrounder)

MELBOURNE - Nimble fingers are busy executing one of the original blueprints for the
Sydney Opera House almost 40 years after the architect fled Australia. (Tapestry Backgrounder)

BRISBANE - Seen plenty of Steve Irwin? Stand by for lots more in 2004. (Irwin Newsfeature)

MELBOURNE - Robert Doyle had been leader of the Victorian Liberal Party for less than
three months when he had to concede one of the worst defeats in Victorian electoral history.

(Libs Vic Backgrounder)

BRISBANE - George W Bush, Saddam Hussein and co may stride the world stage but nobody's
too powerful to escape the judgment of Australia's top political cartoonists. (Cartoons
Newsfeature)

CAIRNS - A territorial battle is looming between Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders
at the nation's tip, and the casualty could be regional autonomy. (Autonomy Feature)

SYDNEY - Anybody who keeps watch on a city street corner or in a shopping mall for
long enough can learn the routine of security guards delivering cash. (Guards Backgrounder)

HOBART - For a some time after India's epic Test win over Australia this week, Rahul
Dravid became "the wailing wall". (Cricket Dravid Sportsfeature with factbox)

HOBART - Four years ago India's cricketers left Australian shores with the farewell
headline "No tikka!" screaming at them. (Cricket Aust Ganguly Sportsfeature)

AAP mo

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL

2003 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.