Tuesday's headlines

04 Jun 2013

Election update as the latest Newspoll figures come in. In international news, Bradley Manning’s trial for leaking classified information has begun in the US.

Latest Newspoll shows bleak outcome for Labor

The latest opinion poll alludes to an election wipeout for Labor with almost one in two voters backing the Coalition. According to Newspoll, the Coalition’s primary vote is at 49 per cent and after preferences, the Coalition has a 16 per cent lead. See the results on ABC News.

Commonwealth could be liable

An official body investigating asbestos exposure linked to the National Broadband Network (NBN) says the Commonwealth may be held liable at a general level. A register has been created for people potentially at risk after being exposed to asbestos, while Telstra has agreed to look at a community education campaign. Read more.

Australian scientists to retrace Mawson’s steps.

A team of Australian scientists will travel to Antarctica in November to retrace Sir Douglas Mawson’s expedition. The team of 46 will take new measurements to compare them to those made by Mawson’s team including ocean, wildlife, weather and ice cover. Nine News has more.

Nine dead in European floods

Thousands of people have been evacuated, and shops and schools have been shut as floodwaters ravage central Europe. Road and rail transport was disrupted in Prague, Austria and Germany after torrential rain. The flooding caused chaos at Prague Zoo where zookeepers had to tranquilise large animals to take them to higher ground. Sky News has the details.

Fire kills 119 in China

A fire has broken out in a poultry plant in northeast China killing at least 119 people. Dozens were also hurt in the blaze that trapped workers inside. The fire seems to have been started by three explosions, possibly triggered by an ammonia leak. Read more.

Bradley Manning trial starts

Bradley Manning’s trial has started three years after his arrest in Iraq in connection to the biggest leak of classified information in US history. Prosecutors will allege that the leaks were massive downloads, rather than transmissions and evidence will include chat logs from Manning’s computer. ABC News has the full story.