Gaza conflict: Pro-Palestinian protesters in Canberra call for end to hostilities (ABC)

ABC About 200 protesters gathered at the rally.

About 200 protesters in Canberra gathered in solidarity with Palestinians on Saturday, demanding an end to the conflict in Gaza.

It comes a day after a ceasefire in Gaza lasted only hours before fresh fighting began.

Israel quickly declared the latest ceasefire in Gaza over, blaming Hamas militants for breaching the truce after the apparent capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas.

Both the US and the United Nations also pointed the finger at Hamas for ending the planned 72-hour ceasefire, which was an ambitious proposal to end more than three weeks of fighting.

Gaza officials say at least 1,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and 7,000 wounded.

More than 60 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 400 wounded. Three civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets in Israel.

Protesters rallied at Canberra's Petrie Plaza waving the Palestinian flag and holding signs reading "Stop the massacre in Gaza" and "Free Palestine".

The crowd included Palestinians, members of Canberra's Muslim community, pro-Palestinian Australians, families and curious weekend shoppers who stopped to watch.

Palestinian woman Rajaa Barakat, 41, is currently studying at the University of Canberra and has family living in the centre of Gaza.

"All my sisters and brothers, the Israeli soldiers called them to evacuate from their building," she said.

"They went to a school - they have been there for two weeks."

But Ms Barakat fears for their safety, even in the school.

"Israelis also attack UN schools, so there is no safe place in Gaza. Everywhere there is rockets, everywhere there is fighting."

She said each day she called her family to make sure they were safe, but often there was an anxious wait if power or telephone signals were cut.

Lebanese-Australian Diana Abdel-Rahman, from the Palestinian Action Group Canberra, addressed the peaceful protest, describing the Israeli bombing of Gaza as a war crime.

"This is genocide and it should be exposed as such at all costs," she said.

Ms Abdel-Rahman said in recent days Israel had destroyed more than 40 per cent of Gaza, which is less than half the size of Canberra with more than four times the population.

"It has now become a disaster, no electricity, no power, no nothing - they are suffering," she said.

Although largely a subdued affair, towards the end of the protest a man walked by the protest yelling pro-Israeli sentiments, but was heckled by the crowd and asked to leave.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24617301/gaza-conflict-pro-palestinian-protesters-in-canberra-call-for-end-to-hostilities/

HIV stigma: HIV Foundation survey reveals old fears still prevalent in Queensland (ABC)

ABC Jesse Hooper says the stigma around HIV is a barrier to prevention.

A survey has revealed long-standing fears and misconceptions about HIV-positive people are still prevalent in Queensland.

One-in-six Queenslanders still thought you could get HIV from sharing a drink, according to a HIV Foundation survey.

The findings also revealed that 20 per cent of respondents mistakenly believed HIV could be spread through kissing.

"I thought I'd picked up a report from 20 or 30 years ago to be perfectly honest," HIV Foundation chief executive Tony Majer said.

He said he commissioned the report to find out how much people with HIV remained stigmatised, and was concerned by the findings.

"If we don't understand something we're more likely to be scared of it and I think that's played out very clearly in relation to knowledge of HIV in Queensland at the moment," he said.

The results come at a time when more Australians are being diagnosed with HIV.

Last year, 1,236 Australians were diagnosed HIV positive - a 16 per cent increase on 2012 figures.

Jesse Hooper, who is living with HIV, said the stigma surrounding HIV affected the fight to prevent the infection spreading.

"I think we need to see a huge change in community attitude before we can see a change in the notifications," he said.

"Stigma and discrimination are the biggest barriers to testing for HIV and in turn is the biggest barrier to prevention of HIV.

"When people know their status and they're on treatment they're far, far less likely to transmit the virus."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24616247/hiv-stigma-hiv-foundation-survey-reveals-old-fears-still-prevalent-in-queensland/

Bushfires in northern NSW threaten properties at Kremnos (ABC)

Fire authorities have issued an emergency bushfire warning as crews battling a number of blazes in northern New South Wales.

The Rural Fire Service says the fire is burning in a north-easterly direction from McGills Road towards Curlew Drive and Sandstone Drive.

Several properties are under threat. Residents are being told it is too late to leave and they should seek shelter as the fire approaches.

Fire authorities have downgraded a warning for Carrs Drive, Yamba where earlier this afternoon the Yamba Waters Caravan Park was under threat.

Firefighters are on the scene and there is no immediate threat to the caravan park. Residents are being told to remain vigilant.

Grafton police duty officer Darren Williams says residents are familiar with bushfires.

"Most of the public are being pretty good," he said.

"Most of the people in this area are used to bush fires, they've been here a long time and we've had a number of fires in the area.

"You're dealing with a lot of farmers that are second and third generation farmers and it's a way of life."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24616431/bushfires-in-northern-nsw-threaten-properties-at-kremnos/

Aboriginal leader chides Prime Minister Tony Abbott for absence at NT Garma Festival (ABC)

One of Australia's most prominent land rights activists says Prime Minister Tony Abbott has broken a promise to meet with him and discuss the issue.

Former Australian of the Year Galarrwuy Yunupingu was speaking during the main forum at the Garma Festival near the mining town of Nhulunbuy.

Mr Yunupingu, the Yothu Yindi Foundation chairman, told the crowd - which included Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and representatives from mining company Rio Tinto - that Mr Abbott had promised to attend Garma but never showed.

"He promised me to come to this meeting, to today's meeting. Well, he didn't come yesterday. I wonder if he'll come?" Mr Yunupingu said.

"We'll excuse him, but he'll come, and when he does come he'll get the message.

"It's all about land rights. Last time I meet him was in this room. It was a brand new building. I said to him that I had a message for him. 

"Land rights is the most pressing issue for Aboriginal people in north-east Arnhem Land."

Comment was being sought from the Prime Minister's office on his non-attendance at the forum.

After Mr Yunupingu's speech, Senator Scullion read out a message from Mr Abbott.

It read in part:

"The success of the Garma Festival shows that vision can become a reality when people work together. If we all take responsibility, if we can work together I'm certain that tomorrow will be better than today. I send everyone my best wishes for an enjoyable Garma Festival."

In June this year, the ABC reported that Mr Abbott, along with parliamentary colleagues and government department representatives, would make good on an election commitment and spend a week in north-east Arnhem Land in September.

"For an entire week, Aboriginal people will have my full focus and attention as Prime Minister," Mr Abbott said in a statement.

'A spear in the heart of racism'

Senator Scullion told the crowd Australia needed to "do better" on the issue of land rights, and that constitutional recognition would be a "spear in the heart of racism".

"I will not change land rights act unless land councils support it," Senator Scullion said.

He said Government and Aboriginal land councils should not be the "gatekeepers" of economic development.

"I will not change Land Rights Act unless land council supports it," he said.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24615873/aboriginal-leader-chides-prime-minister-tony-abbott-for-absence-at-nt-garma-festival/

Cop charged over road collision with teen (AAP)

A Queensland police officer has been accused of dangerous driving after his car hit a mini motorbike being ridden by a teenage boy.

Police say the off-duty constable's car collided with the pocket bike at a cul-de-sac at Nambour, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, about 8.15am on Friday.

The 13-year-old boy was unharmed and left the scene on foot.

The police officer has been stood down and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

He is due to appear in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on August 28.

A joint internal investigation by Ethical Standards Command and the Sunshine Coast District is under way.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24615930/cop-charged-over-road-collision-with-teen/

Police recover MH17 bodies and belongings (AAP)

The wreckage of flight MH17. Picture: Reuters

Australian police have recovered human remains and passenger belongings from the MH17 crash site during their first visit to the area.

Federal police were part of an 80-strong Australian and Dutch team that has spent five hours combing farmland, paddocks and villages in eastern Ukraine in an operation that could last up to 10 days.

While deadly clashes between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian rebels continued nearby, the recovery mission was not under threat, Australian Federal Police national security specialist Andrew Colvin said.

"All parties involved respected the conditions set to allow safe passage both in an out of the wreckage site and at the wreckage site itself," Deputy Commissioner Colvin told reporters in Canberra on Saturday.

Australian representatives were not armed during the visit on Friday and there are no plans to carry arms to the site, concealed or otherwise, he said.

Assuming conditions in the area remain stable, he expects the mission to recover bodies will last seven to 10 days.

The team's focus is purely humanitarian and will not consider gathering evidence to investigate the crash, he added.

"We are focused on removing the remains and bringing some closure to the families."

Bodies and belongings will be taken to the Netherlands for identification.

And as soon as the team has done "the best we can do, we will get out",he said.

He is confident the search will continue on Saturday but admits safety considerations need to be assessed daily.

"We won't take any unnecessary risks."

Police are working in hot and difficult conditions at the site.

Each day the team will travel from an Australian base located away from the crash site.

It is more than two weeks since the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet came down after being hit by a missile, killing all 298 people on board, including 38 Australian residents.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott welcomed news that Australian police have accessed the crash site, but warned that a lengthy task still lay ahead.

He could not say how many bodies had been recovered overnight, nor how many more could lay undiscovered in the 50 square kilometre search area.

"It will be a long and slow process and I expect our officials will be on site for a week or so yet and that's assuming nothing goes wrong," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

He said police are working under difficult and dangerous conditions in a high-risk environment but that their efforts are justified by the importance of the task.

Remains will be taken to the Netherlands as quickly as possible but the prime minister added delays are still likely.

"By way of possible parallel, after the Bali bombing it was some three weeks before the first victims were identified and some five months before the last victim was identified and brought home."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24615479/police-recover-mh17-bodies-and-belongings/

Ancestral remains of 15-year-old Aboriginal girl returned to Tasmania from Berlin, Germany (ABC)

The ancestral remains of a 15-year-old Aboriginal girl have been returned to Tasmania nearly two centuries after she died.

Representatives of the state's Aboriginal community gathered at Hobart airport on Friday night to welcome home the remains of Nungarrika, from Robbins Island, who died around 1830.

Her skull had been handed over to a university in Berlin by a German sheep breeder who worked in north-west Tasmania in the 1830s and 1840s.

Two Tasmanian women travelled to Europe last week to collect the remains.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's Ruth Langford said their return last night was an emotional and joyful occasion for the community.

"It's been tragic that this young girl was taken and her head removed and sold to European scientists," she said.

"Most of us feel a little bit easier and a little bit more restful knowing at least one of them has come home."

There will be a private ceremony in the coming days to return Nungarikka to country.

In late June, the remains of three Tasmanian aborigines originally taken to London in the 1930s, were returned to the state.

The three skulls had spent more than 50 years in a Chicago museum.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24615283/ancestral-remains-of-15-year-old-aboriginal-girl-returned-to-tasmania-from-berlin-germany/