New Zealand mine: 'No survivors' after second blast

All 29 miners trapped in a New Zealand coal pit since Friday are believed to be dead after a second explosion.

Police Supt Gary Knowles said there was no hope that anyone could have survived the "massive" underground blast at the Pike River mine on South Island.

Prime Minister John Key said the loss of life was a national tragedy.

There had been no contact with the men - 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African - since the first explosion on Friday.

The Britons were Peter Roger, 40, and Malcolm Campbell, 25, who were both originally from Scotland.

The mayor of Greymouth, the town nearest the mine, said the miners' families were in "absolute despair" after hearing of the news.

'Still hoping'

Supt Knowles, who was leading the rescue operation, said there had been another explosion at 1437 local time (0137 GMT) inside the mine.

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People shouted out in anger, they are sickened by the whole thing. A lot of them felt misled... This is the West Coast's darkest hour”

Tony KokshoornGrey District mayor

"It is our belief that no-one has survived and everyone will have perished,"

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No room for natural beauties at Miss Plastic Hungary 2010

Winners of the Miss Plastic Hungary 2009, queen Reka Urban, center, first runner-up Edina Kulcsar, right, and second-runner up Alexandra Horvath, left. 

Can I please see your medical notes from your plastic surgeon? 

This unusual question will be the first thing asked of beautiful Hungarian girls who want to participate in “Miss Plastic Hungary.” 

Natural beauties are not allowed to compete in the pageant in Budapest, Hungary’s capital. 

Judges of Miss Plastic 2010 say the standard is high among the 22 contestants in the national rounds, the Sun reported on Tuesday. 

The contestants will be judged on their beauty and the quality of their plastic surgery. The winner will go on to a face-off with international contestants in Miss Plastic Universe. 

Contestant Timea Kertesz, 27, has had a boob job and buttock implants. 
Kertesz told the Sun, “It started when I was 17 and I persuaded my mum to agree to an operation to pin back my sticking out ears. I suddenly discovered I was much more confident and from that moment on I have never stopped improving what nature gave me.” 

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Seoul suspends N.K. flood aid

South Korea has halted shipments of flood aid to North Korea in the aftermath of the lethal shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea a day earlier, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday. 

The aid, delivered via the Red Cross but heavily financed by the Seoul government, was promised in September after North Korea had been battered by heavy rains.

Houses on Yeonpyeong Island are seen to be severely damaged by the artillery attacks of North Korea on Tuesday. 

Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said that 5,000 tons of rice, 3 million packs of instant noodles and 3,000 tons of cement have been delivered to the North Korean town of Sinuiju bordering China as of Wednesday.
Seoul’s move will stop the planned delivery of 7,000 tons of cement and medical supplies worth 580 million won ($500,000), the ministry said.

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Korea, U.S. to start joint naval drill in West Sea on Sunday

South Korea and the United States will launch a joint naval drill in the Yellow Sea from Sunday with a nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier participating amid heightened tensions over North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island, officials said Wednesday.

"The USS George Washington carrier strike group will join Republic of Korea naval forces in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 to conduct the next exercise," the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a stateme

While the four-day exercise has been previously planned well before the North's "unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the ROK-U.S. alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence," the USFK said in the statement. ROK is an acronym of South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

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Pants are ready to take off

The head of the agency responsible for US airport security, facing protests from travellers and pressure from the White House, appeared to give ground on his position that there would be no change in policies regarding new invasive passenger screening procedures.

The announcement comes as a US man unveiled an invention that  he says uses a powdered metal that protects people’s privacy when undergoing security screenings.

Jeff Buske says the underwear’s inserts are thin and conform to the body’s contours, making it difficult to hide anything beneath them.

The mix of tungsten and other metals do not set off metal detectors. It’s unclear whether the pants would lead to a more intrusive pat down by airport officials.

Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole said in a statement that the agency would work to make screening methods “as minimally invasive as possible”, although he gave no indication that screening changes were imminent.

The statement came just hours after Pistole, in a TV interview, said that while the full-body scans and pat-downs could be intrusive and uncomfortable, the high threat level required their use.

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8m crocodile lurks in river in Normanton, pastor says

A PASTOR says he has evidence that an 8m croc lurks in a river in Queensland's Gulf country.

Pastor Elton Thompson said he took pictures of slide marks from the crocodile last Wednesday on the Norman River at Normanton.

"I haven't actually seen the crocodile but it was the slide marks that was left behind,'' Pastor Thompson said.

He said he took his measuring tape down to the bank.

It's paw imprint spanned 25cm, and some claw marks went into the mud 2.5cm deep.

It measured 1m between its two back feet.

"We're predicting the croc is 1.5m to 2m across its girth,'' he said.

"There's a possibility that the croc is 8m.''

Normanton is famous for its love affair with crocs.

An 8.64m alleged replica of a croc shot in the area in the 1950s sits proudly on the town's main street.

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Irish central banker hangs "For Sale" sign on banks

(Reuters) - Ireland's banks are effectively up for sale, central bank Governor Patrick Honohan said on Tuesday as Dublin sought aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to prop up its lenders.
"They are for sale as far as I am concerned," Honohan said. "I've been an advocate for a number of years for small countries to have foreign owners for their banks."
Honohan also said he expected there to be a lot of conditions attached to any bailout deal and that the lack of confidence being shown by financial markets in the country's banks and government was not justified.
The support of the IMF should raise confidence, he told a meeting of accountants in Dublin.
"If there are big numbers announced in a deal it is not certain that they will all be drawn down. To the extent that they are drawn down, to a large extent they will be substituting for market funding," Honahan said, describing bailout loans as "a kind of a backstop for the banking system."

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