12:10:00 09/02/2012
News Corporation says costs from the phone hacking scandal took US$87 million from the company's bottom line. The media conglomerate posted US$1 billion quarterly profit, but signalled that the scandal was making its profit guidance uncertain. More
12:12:00 09/02/2012
Telstra has posted a 23 per cent increase in its first half profit, with a surge in mobile customers outweighing revenue losses from its Sensis and fixed-line phone businesses. Chief executive, David Thodey, says the company is also looking for clarity on possible changes to copyright laws relating to live sports broadcasting. More
12:15:00 09/02/2012
The Federal Government, members of the former Howard government, and the Defence Department have all denied claims that Australian soldiers were involved in secret prisons during the Iraq war. A US military document obtained by The Guardian newspaper says Australian forces were 'integral' to the operation of a secret facility in Iraq's western desert in April, 2003. However, despite the official denials, the head of the Defence Association admits questions were raised at the time about Australia's legal responsibility for prisoners-of-war. More
12:18:00 09/02/2012
A censored version of the final report into poor behaviour on board HMAS Success during a deployment to Asia in 2009 has found individual failure within the chain of command contributed to the problems that arose. Commissioner Gyles has also questioned whether reforms within defence over the past 15 years have led to some commanders being 'gun shy' when it comes to taking action to maintain discipline. More
- Matt Wordsworth
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12:22:00 09/02/2012
The minister responsible for Queensland's dams, Stephen Robertson, has told the flood inquiry he read all the correspondence relating to the January flood event in Brisbane last year. However, when asked why he didn't pick up on the conflicting evidence that featured throughout the reports, he said he believed they were initial briefings, and were therefore a work in progress. More
- Eleanor Hall
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12:25:00 09/02/2012
The man who came up with the term, 'The precariat', joins The World Today to explain why he's warning democratic governments to take urgent notice of the global anger registering in protests from Europe and the Middle East, to Wall Street. More
12:30:00 09/02/2012
Some academics are warning that the number of casual workers in Australia is rising at what they've termed an 'alarming' rate. They've written about their concerns to a union-funded inquiry which so far has received 500 submissions on the issue. More
12:35:00 09/02/2012
The Victorian and Federal Governments are both say they're determined to stop job losses from Alcoa's aluminium plant in Geelong. It's unclear what that may involve, but the issue also poses a difficult policy question for the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey More
12:40:00 09/02/2012
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, says he stands ready to support a renewed Arab League observer mission to Syria, warning that the violence against civilians is worsening. At the same time, Medicine Sans Frontieres has accused the Syrian security forces of using medical treatment as a weapon of persecution, by targeting injured protesters being treated in state hospitals. More
12:45:00 09/02/2012
Christmas Island locals say they're frustrated at the delays in removing the wreck of a 4000-tonne cargo ship that sank at the island's only port one month ago. The Greens say officials should be moving much quicker to remove the wreck, but the Australian Maritime Safety Authority says red tape and bad weather are hampering salvage efforts. More
12:50:00 09/02/2012
An Aerospace designer says the presence of wing cracks on the fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft is a good thing. John Page, from the University of New South Wales, says aircraft are designed to show stresses so that they can be monitored. He argues that having visible signs of wear and tear also avoids a situation where a catastrophic event can occur without any warning More
