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Posted: 02 Jul 2011 09:34 PM PDT

SYDNEY: One of the most senior policemen in Australia on Sunday said authorities must have clear legal powers to require people to remove face coverings, including veils, if they are do their job properly.

The comments by New South Wales state Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione follow the case of Carnita Matthews, who in November 2010 was sentenced to six months jail for falsely accusing police of forcibly trying to remove her burqa.

It followed the woman being pulled over for a traffic offence.

Her sentence was quashed last month when a magistrate said he could not be 100 per cent sure it was Matthews who made the complaint because officers were not able to see the face of the accuser.

Scipione told the Sydney Sunday Telegraph there must be one law for everyone — regardless of their race or religion.

"This is not about disrespect; this has got nothing to do with religion," he said.

"It wouldn't matter whether it was a full-face motorcycle helmet or a balaclava at the snowfield: People have to do what they're required to (by police).

"Whether you're wearing a veil, whether you're wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet, a ski balaclava in the snowfields — if there is a lawful reason, if there is a need for police to actually identify the person, then this should not be in the grey.

"It should be something everyone clearly understands."

Scipione said he had held talks with senior politicians who had indicated that if there was a loophole, then they would work to close it.

"This is not something we can just allow to continue," he said, adding that frontline police officers had to be protected from vindictive complaints, which could ruin careers.

"I get absolutely filthy when people want to make complaints that are clearly false," he said. "If you do that, and I catch you, we will charge you." - AFP

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Rescuers rush to reach 40 trapped Chinese miners

Posted: 02 Jul 2011 09:30 PM PDT

BEIJING: A build-up of volatile gas hampered rescue efforts in one Chinese coal mine and high levels of water slowed them in another as emergency crews raced to reach 40 miners trapped Sunday for a second day, officials and state media reports said.

The accidents — a cave-in at one mine and a flood at the other — occurred Saturday in two southern provinces after days of heavy rains.

At the Heshan mine in Guangxi, rescuers vented explosive gas released from coal seams and pumped out silt-filled water as they tried to reach 19 miners believed to be 1,200 feet (390 meters) underground, the state media reports said. China Central Television interviewed a miner who said he heard a loud explosion before the cave-in, which killed at least three miners.

Waters continued to flood into the Niupeng mine in Guizhou, where 21 miners are trapped. Industrial pumps were brought into action but the waters remained high, CCTV said.

Heavy demand for coal to fuel China's economy has turned Chinese mines into the world's deadliest, despite constant safety campaigns that have managed to reduce fatal accidents. On Saturday, the State Administration of Work Safety released its latest order for vigilance after accidents at four other mines, a construction site and a port left 26 people dead in the past two weeks. - AP

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Sabtu, 2 Julai 2011

NST Online: Latest

NST Online: Latest

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