Britain reopens way for fracking

The UK government has reopened the way for energy firms to fracking for shale gas . Source: AAP

THE British government has opened the way for energy firms to explore for shale gas, three years after seismic tremors led to the suspension of fracking.

BUSINESS and Energy Minister Matthew Hancock says shale gas has the potential to improve energy security but stresses national parks will be protected.

"Done right, speeding up shale will mean more jobs and opportunities for people and help ensure long-term economic and energy security for our country," he said on Monday.Firms will be able to bid for licences to start exploring, though further permits are required for drilling.Drilling for shale gas, a process known as fracking, was linked to two earthquakes near Blackpool, a town in northern England, in 2011 with magnitudes 2.3 and 1.5.As a result the UK government stopped operations.

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Toll mounts as Ukraine clashes intensify

The US has released satellite images it says add to its claims Russia has fired across the border. Source: AAP

AT least eight civilians have been killed by fighting and shelling in two Ukrainian cities held by separatist militants, officials in the rebellion-wracked east say.

AUTHORITIES in Luhansk said that five people were killed and 15 injured by overnight artillery strikes.

Three were killed in Donetsk as a result of clashes, the city's government said.Territory between the cities has been the site of intensified fighting as government troops try to gain control over the area where a Malaysia Airlines plane was downed earlier this month.Dutch and Australian police set off for the crash site on Monday morning in a convoy of 20 cars, aiming to secure the area so that investigations can continue and any remaining bodies can be recovered.Both sides in the conflict have traded accusations over the mounting civilian death toll.The armed conflict that has been raging for more than three months has displaced more than 200,000 people.Rebels accuse government troops of deploying artillery against residential areas. Authorities deny that charge but also complain of insurgents using apartment blocks as firing positions.The US State Department on Sunday released satellite images that it says back up its claims that rockets have been fired from Russia into eastern Ukraine and heavy artillery for separatists has also crossed the border.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the claims on Monday during a televised press conference, asking "why it took ten days" before the US released the images.A four-page document released by the State Department appears to show blast marks from where rockets were launched and craters where they landed.Officials said the images, sourced from the US Director of National Intelligence, show heavy weapons fired between July 21 and July 26 - after the July 17 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.The images could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.Lavrov said he is expecting Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers to arrive at the Russian-Ukrainian border "in the coming days".He said they would see that accusations rebels are travelling freely into Ukraine from Russia are false.Ukrainian officials have said the mission is largely pointless because it involves only about two dozen observers monitoring the 2000 kilometre border between the two countries.

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Search called off for man overboard in WA

THE search for a 41-year-old man who fell overboard from a Liberian crude oil tanker off Western Australia's northern coast has been called off.

INDIAN national Mukesh Lala Fulbaria was reported missing early on Sunday after he fell from the MT Sigma Integrity, northwest of Carnarvon, in the Gascoyne region.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMSA) released a statement on Monday evening saying the search operation had ceased.ASMSA said advice from medical experts indicated that even under the best circumstances there was now no realistic prospect of survival.MT Sigma Integrity dropped flotation equipment for the motorman and a search began immediately, but he was not found.An AMSA spokesman said a Dornier search and rescue aircraft made two sorties on Monday.The MT Sigma Integrity also remained in the area on Monday searching for Mr Fulbaria.Wallem Ship Management said in a statement that Mr Fulbaria had been an employee for 13 years."Wallem's thoughts are with the family of the seafarer," they said.The MT Sigma Integrity had been on its way to the port of Kwinana in WA.

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Thai rail line to reopen after derailment

THAI railway authorities are preparing to reopen a route where a luxury train derailed and injured two tourists.

THE six carriages were being moved away from the track to clear the way for regular rail services to resume later in the day, said an official.

The accident occurred on Sunday in central Thailand as the Eastern & Oriental Express train was en route to Bangkok from Singapore.Two Japanese women suffered minor injuries and were treated in hospital.The Eastern & Oriental Express is a luxury train service that travels between Vientiane, Laos and Singapore, through Thailand. Ticket prices range from $US2000 to $US9000 ($A2163-$A9737).

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Legal battle looms over 157 asylum seekers

Last Updated: July 29, 2014

LAWYERS for 157 asylum seekers brought to the Australian mainland insist their clients are not economic migrants despite claims to the contrary by the Abbott government.

Mary still loves to party at 105

MARY O'Driscoll might be 105, but she loves to party. "I don't dance though," the great-grandmother says.

Heat on ALP leader over leaked tapes

DANIEL Andrews is standing by senior ALP figures involved in the Baillieu tape affair as the Liberal Party vowed to expel and dob in to police any of its members if they were involved.

A boulevard of grand dreams

HIGH-rise schools will be ­integrated with apartments and businesses under the final plan for the revitalisation and expansion of Fishermans Bend.

Couples take up counselling offer

VICTORIANS have raced to take up the Federal Government's offer of free marriage counselling, with nearly 700 couples signing up in the first month alone.

Woman sues over 'dodgy' treadmill

A WOMAN who claims she ended up in hospital after being thrown from a faulty treadmill is taking legal action against her gym.

Explosions delay MH17 investigation

AUSTRALIAN and Dutch police have been forced to head back from the MH17 crash site in Ukraine after reports of heavy explosions in the area.

The end of the free download?

THE days of downloading your favourite TV show for free are numbered. Here's how the piracy crackdown could cost you.

Ex-teacher accused of running sex cult

A FORMER Ballarat teacher is at the centre of explosive claims he ran a money-laundering cult that forced young men to engage in homosexual acts against their will.

Study to probe effect of early birth on brains

A NEW study shows babies born four to eight weeks early have smaller and less mature brains than infants born on time - and researchers are investigating whether it has lasting effects.

A boulevard of grand dreams

HIGH-rise schools will be ­integrated with apartments and businesses under the final plan for the revitalisation and expansion of Fishermans Bend.

Overland signed off Carl's $1m reward

UPDATE: THE state's former top cop and prosecutor approved gangland boss Carl Williams's eligibility for a $1 million reward over the deaths of informer Terence Hodson and wife Christine.

Comic giants clash over name

ORGANISERS of two of the biggest comic-book conventions in the US at war over a naming issue. Find out why the lawyers are coming.

What you missed on TV last night

MISS Monday night's Round 18 debrief? Catch up on all the news and expert analysis on Collingwood, Ty Vickery and Hawks-Swans.

The creepiest modern-day cannibals

IT'S often associated with mysterious, island tribes from a far away land, but recent headlines prove the idea of eating humans is as prevalent today as it was back in the 16th Century.

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Five dead as violence rattles Thai south

Last Updated: July 29, 2014

A 10-YEAR-OLD girl died after a grenade blast while four others, including a soldier, were killed in a shootout only hours afterwards in Thailand's war-torn deep south.

Mary still loves to party at 105

MARY O'Driscoll might be 105, but she loves to party. "I don't dance though," the great-grandmother says.

Heat on ALP leader over leaked tapes

DANIEL Andrews is standing by senior ALP figures involved in the Baillieu tape affair as the Liberal Party vowed to expel and dob in to police any of its members if they were involved.

A boulevard of grand dreams

HIGH-rise schools will be ­integrated with apartments and businesses under the final plan for the revitalisation and expansion of Fishermans Bend.

Couples take up counselling offer

VICTORIANS have raced to take up the Federal Government's offer of free marriage counselling, with nearly 700 couples signing up in the first month alone.

Woman sues over 'dodgy' treadmill

A WOMAN who claims she ended up in hospital after being thrown from a faulty treadmill is taking legal action against her gym.

Explosions delay MH17 investigation

AUSTRALIAN and Dutch police have been forced to head back from the MH17 crash site in Ukraine after reports of heavy explosions in the area.

The end of the free download?

THE days of downloading your favourite TV show for free are numbered. Here's how the piracy crackdown could cost you.

Ex-teacher accused of running sex cult

A FORMER Ballarat teacher is at the centre of explosive claims he ran a money-laundering cult that forced young men to engage in homosexual acts against their will.

Study to probe effect of early birth on brains

A NEW study shows babies born four to eight weeks early have smaller and less mature brains than infants born on time - and researchers are investigating whether it has lasting effects.

A boulevard of grand dreams

HIGH-rise schools will be ­integrated with apartments and businesses under the final plan for the revitalisation and expansion of Fishermans Bend.

Overland signed off Carl's $1m reward

UPDATE: THE state's former top cop and prosecutor approved gangland boss Carl Williams's eligibility for a $1 million reward over the deaths of informer Terence Hodson and wife Christine.

Comic giants clash over name

ORGANISERS of two of the biggest comic-book conventions in the US at war over a naming issue. Find out why the lawyers are coming.

What you missed on TV last night

MISS Monday night's Round 18 debrief? Catch up on all the news and expert analysis on Collingwood, Ty Vickery and Hawks-Swans.

The creepiest modern-day cannibals

IT'S often associated with mysterious, island tribes from a far away land, but recent headlines prove the idea of eating humans is as prevalent today as it was back in the 16th Century.

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Ukrainians take part control of MH17 site

Dutch and Australian forensic investigators on their way to the MH17 crash site have turned back. Source: AAP

THE Ukrainian army has seized control of part of the vast crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 in the east of the country, pro-Russia rebels say.

"THE Ukrainians have taken over a part of the crash site," said Vladimir Antyufeev, self-styled first deputy prime minister of the "Donetsk People's Republic".

Ukraine's military said on Monday its troops were battling separatist fighters for control of a string of towns around the impact site and had "entered" the town of Shakhtarsk, about 10 kilometres from the scene.The rebels, accused by Ukraine and its Western allies of shooting down MH17 on July 17, have kept a close guard over the crash site as international anger has grown over possible evidence tampering.A team of unarmed Dutch and Australian police were forced by heavy fighting to abandon attempts to reach the crash site, where the remains of some of the 298 people killed remain rotting in the sun.But Antyufeev lashed out at Kiev for launching the nearby attack despite the planned visit by international experts and said government shelling was "destroying parts of the site where fragments of the plane are located".Monday's advances by Kiev forces come as the government claims a string of government victories across the wider region that could see the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk cut off from the Russian border.Antyufeev admitted the rebel forces increasingly have their backs to the wall and that the military situation on the ground "is very complicated".

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