Australian police investigate Google over privacy issues

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Australian police have been asked to investigate internet giant Google over possible breaches of telecommunications privacy laws, Attorney General Robert McClelland said on Sunday.

The investigation follows complaints from members of the public about activities of Google employees while taking photographs for Google Maps, the search engine’s maps page. It comes amid a wave of criticism over the use of personal information by the internet giants.

The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police on Friday after complaints from members of the public, McClelland told journalists in Melbourne at the start of a forum on internet security.

“On Friday the attorney-general’s department did refer those allegations and those reports to the Australian Federal Police,” McClelland said.

“They relate in substantial part to possible breaches of the Telecommunications Interceptions Act, which prevents people accessing electronic communications other than for authorised purposes.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed a referral had been received.

A Google spokesman in Australia could not be immediately contacted for comment on Sunday. (Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Australia arrests Chinese crew of grounded coal ship

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Australian police arrested on Wednesday two senior crew members of a Chinese coal ship which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, charging them with damaging the reef by failing to sail a correct course.

Green Business

Chinese bulk carrier Shen Neng 1 was fully loaded and traveling at full speed on April 3 when it struck the Douglas Shoal, toward the southern end of the protected reef, which covers 346,000 sq km (133,600 sq miles) off the northeast coast.

The ship, which leaked around two tonnes of heavy fuel oil, was refloated at high tide on Monday night and towed to safe anchorage near Great Keppel Island, a tourist resort, for a damage inspection.

The Australian Federal Police said they had arrested the ship’s master and chief officer-on-watch and that the two Chinese men will appear in court in Queensland state on Thursday.

“Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at a waypoint required by the intended course of the ship. A waypoint is a location at which a ship is to alter course,” the federal police said in a statement.

The 44-year-old crewman in charge of the watch faces a maximum three years jail and/or a A$220,000 ($205,000) fine. The 47-year-old master faces a A$55,000 fine.

The stricken ship belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group Co. Ltd.

The company could face fines and costs of up to A$23 million dollars ($21.3 million) over the incident, according to international maritime law experts. (Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Australia arrests Chinese crew of grounded coal ship

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SYDNEY, April 14 (Reuters) – Australian police arrested on Wednesday two senior crew members of a Chinese coal ship which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, charging them with damaging the reef by failing to sail a correct course.

Utilities

Chinese bulk carrier Shen Neng 1 was fully loaded and travelling at full speed on April 3 when it struck the Douglas Shoal, toward the southern end of the protected reef, which covers 346,000 sq km (133,600 sq miles) off the northeast coast.

The ship, which leaked around two tonnes of heavy fuel oil, was refloated at high tide on Monday night and towed to safe anchorage near Great Keppel Island, a tourist resort, for a damage inspection.

The Australian Federal Police said they had arrested the ship’s master and chief officer-on-watch and that the two Chinese men will appear in court in Queensland state on Thursday.

“Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at a waypoint required by the intended course of the ship. A waypoint is a location at which a ship is to alter course,” the federal police said in a statement.

The 44-year-old crewman in charge of the watch faces a maximum three years jail and/or a A$220,000 ($205,000) fine. The 47-year-old master faces a A$55,000 fine.

The stricken ship belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group Co. Ltd (000027.SZ).

The company could face fines and costs of up to A$23 million dollars ($21.3 million) over the incident, according to international maritime law experts. (Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Australia police hunt accused Serb commander

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thu, Apr 1 11:26 AM

A former Serb commander accused of war crimes in the Balkans was being hunted by Australian police on Thursday after disappearing in the wake of a court ruling that he could be extradited to Croatia.

Dragan Vasiljkovic, 55, an Australian who also has Serbian citizenship, lost a four-year legal battle on Tuesday when Australia’s High Court approved his extradition and reinstated a 2006 warrant for his arrest.

Croatia holds Vasiljkovic, whose Australian name is Daniel Snedden, responsible for torturing and killing Croat soldiers and civilians, as well as a foreign journalist, when he commanded a Serb paramilitary unit during Croatia’s 1991-95 independence war.

“Mr Snedden is now required to be committed to prison to await the Minister for Home Affairs’ final determination whether or not to surrender him to Croatia to face prosecution for war crimes offences,” a spokeswoman for Australia’s Attorney-General Robert McClelland said.

Vasiljkovic, known as “Captain Dragan” during the war in Croatia, won an earlier appeal against extradition when a lower court found he had grounds for believing he could be punished or imprisoned because of his nationality or political opinions.

Last week, the presidents of Croatia and Serbia promised a new era in relations, effectively resuming ties after a year of silent hostility.

On Wednesday, Serbia’s parliament apologised for the 1995 killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two.

Police were on Thursday searching Vasiljkovic’s last known residence in the town of Boambee, north of Sydney. Vasiljkovic did not attend the court and police had no power to arrest him until after the High Court ruling.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor and McClelland will have the last say on whether Vasiljkovic will be extradited to Croatia.

Croatia declared independence from communist Yugoslavia in 1991, but its Serb minority, backed by Belgrade, rebelled and seized a third of the country by force. Croatia crushed the rebellion in two offensives in 1995.

(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Australia police probe alleged Indian cyber attacks

March 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SYDNEY: Australian police said they were investigating a string of hacking attacks against Melbourne-based companies, reportedly linked to recent violence against Indian nationals.

The cyber raids, which have occurred in the past week, are being probed by a specialist taskforce, a spokeswoman said, refusing to confirm media reports that they were linked to the Indian assaults.

“The Victoria Police e-crimes squad is investigating reports of alleged hacking of a number of different business servers hosted in Melbourne,” the spokeswoman said.

“The ongoing investigation is in its infancy and it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

The Australian newspaper reported that several Melbourne construction and engineering firms had been attacked in recent days by a hacker called “Ghost Buster”.

“Your server data have been compromised … and have been encrypted,” Ghost Buster wrote on one.

“Stop racial attacks against Indian people,” the message said, vowing that until the assaults end, Australian servers will be hacked “every day”.

Attacks against Indians, including beatings and robberies, have been on the rise in Australia, threatening to damage diplomatic ties and the country’s 15.4-billion-US-dollar education export industry.

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Australian police delay release of survey on racism

March 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MELBOURNE: The release of a research paper providing evidence that Indian students in Melbourne feel racially targeted was delayed by the Australian police.

The survey conducted by Victoria University will be reviewed by the police in 60 days and the paper will be released on Feb 16. It was earlier scheduled to be released in November.

The project was launched in June last year by the university as a “fast-track attempt” to gather survey and interview evidence from students and community stakeholders, The Australian reported.

The VU administration said that it was waiting for police approval as the participation of police was significant for a comprehensive and detailed report.

The university would have preferred to release the report earlier but felt it was important to have participation of police, said VU acting vice-chancellor Linda Rosenman.

“There was never any pressure on Victoria University to amend or alter our findings,” she said.

Senior Sergeant Simon Foster of the Victoria police research coordinating committee said the 210-page report was too long and had to be reviewed by different areas of the organisation.

“When Victoria police agrees to provide information, data or access to interview members for external research projects, they are given a 60-day period to review the draft report and provide feedback,” he said.

Terming the delay as “unfortunate and suspicious” Gautam Gupta, founder of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, said that the community members had been facing even worse situation on the ground.

“Now we are talking about a six-month old report when the situation has deteriorated,” he said, adding that there was “enough evidence out in the street” that Indians were living in fear of being targeted.

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Indian man faked attack to claim insurance: Australian police

March 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MELBOURNE: The Indian man, who said he was attacked and set ablaze by assailants here, had falsely reported the incident for claiming insurance, Australian police alleged today.

Jaspreet Singh, Grice Crescent, Essendon, in the city’s north, faced an out-of-sessions hearing today before a bail justice at St Kilda Road police complex charged with making a false report to police and criminal damage with a view to gaining a financial advantage, the Sky News TV said.

Singh, who is in Australia on his wife’s student visa, told police that he was doused with petrol and set alight as he parked his car near his home early on January 8.

Singh, 29, was taken to the Alfred hospital with 15 per cent burns, affecting his face, arms and hands.

Detective Senior Constable Danielle O’Keefe of the arson and explosives squad told the hearing Singh suffered the burns while trying to torch his 2003 Ford Futura.

O’Keefe said arson chemists and hospital staff had concluded the damage to the car, Singh’s clothes and his injuries were not consistent with his story.

“Police inquiries have led us to believe that Mr Singh is in some financial difficulty and that he intended to sell his car but instead stood to gain USD 9,750 from an insurance claim out of this particular incident,” she told the hearing.

The January 8 incident occurred amid growing tension between India and Australia over a spate of violence against Indian students in recent months here.

Police had obtained security footage depicting Singh buying a 15-litre opaque plastic container and 15.96 litres of petrol on the day before the attack. The container and other evidence were found at his unit when he was arrested yesterday, O’Keefe said.
However, Singh has denied all allegations. His wife had been questioned about her knowledge of the incident, she said.

Burns were still obvious on Singh’s face and neck, and he wore pressure bandages on his arms.

Through an interpreter, Singh told the hearing he and his wife planned a holiday to India, leaving on February 20 and returning in late April to visit his child and extended family.

O’Keefe said while police did not oppose bail it has been noted that Singh was a potential flight risk.

The justice, who declined to be named, granted him bail with strict conditions banning him from contacting witnesses and attending points of international departure.

He must report to police three times a week and surrender his passport. He will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on March 15.

At the time, police Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Neil Smyth described the attack as “a bit strange” and said there was no evidence the attack was racially motivated.

Are Indians bigger racists than Australians?

Why do you think Indians are being attacked in specific in Australia?

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Aussie police command wobbled by sexual harassment claims

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep. 15 (ANI): Female police officers at an Australian police command have alleged that they were sexually harassed and intimidated by their male counterparts apart from being told that their place was in the home.

According to a complaint filed by a senior female constable at the Goulburn Local Area Command, five of her male colleagues sent sexually explicit emails to her and asked her to join a threesome.

Another three officers at the same command’s Bowral station have told their local MP they were “demeaned” due to pregnancy or because they were mothers, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The alleged harassment of the senior constable and sergeant began two years ago.

During one sleazy exchange in the police station, a senior colleague told the female constable that a threesome was “every man’s dream” and then suggested she “have a go” with the girlfriend of another officer.

The policewomen have also alleged that a local man was assaulted during an arrest in the middle of 2007 and that it was never investigated, despite his family attempting to make a complaint.

The senior constable said the arresting officer told her: “That guy’s a piece of s…, he was carrying on like a f…..t and mouthing off, he got what he deserved, we flogged him, he got pile-driven into the ground head first.”

A police spokesman said the women were the subject of a 181D action and faced a loss of confidence of the Commissioner.

“Their reward for a combined 37 years of dedicated front-line service is to be subjected to systematic bullying by male officers because of their gender and because they had the courage to stand up and complain about their treatment,” Hodgkinson said.
The two women have paid dearly for their service, with the senior constable needing surgery to fuse her spine last year and the sergeant suffering a broken back on duty. (ANI)

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Krishna visits Melbourne’s Railway station where Indian students were attacked

August 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug.9 (ANI): External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Sunday visited Sunshine train station in Melbourne, where several Indian students were targeted by mobs a couple of months ago.

Krishna was briefed by a senior police officer about the extra security measurements taken at the station.

“By and large I think there are so many other considerations which have led to this attack on Indian students,” SM Krishna said during a news conference about the motive of these attacks.

“In India itself we will have to take some measure like regulate unscrupulous agents to ensure students understand what is in store for them when they go abroad to study,” Krishna said.

Australian police told Krishna that the attacks had not been racially motivated and blamed Indian media for labelling the incidents as ‘racially motivated’.

New security cameras have since then been placed to outwatch security at that train station.

Krishna also met Victoria’s premier John Brumby.

Indian students, generally working until late hours and travelling alone with valuables such as iPods and mobile phones form “perfect preys” for the mobs and they are not the only foreign students who were targeted, Australian police said in its earlier statements.

An Australian current affairs programme last month also unveiled scam visa agents and education institutions targeting foreign students.

The reaction to both the attacks and the scams is seen as a major threat to Australia’s 3rd largest export.

Krishna’s visit has come at a time when Australian Government announced its review over the education system.

On Friday, Krishna met with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and got reassurances from the top end of the Australia’s political scale.

Kishna is undertaking five-day visit to Australia. (ANI)

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Australian team discusses safety of students with W.Bengal chief secretary

July 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kolkata, July 15 (ANI): An Australian Government delegation, led by Colin Walters, met with West Bengal Chief Secretary Asok M Chakrabarti on Wednesday and briefed him about Canberra’s response to recent crimes against Indian students in Australia.

A statement issued by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi quoted the delegation as saying that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other political leaders have responded quickly to the issue.

“They have issued a series of firm statements saying that Australia has zero tolerance for racism and that Australia is proud of its multiculturalism. The Australian Government has initiated a review of legislation pertaining to international students, a rapid audit of institutions to ensure they deliver quality education, and established a student roundtable to bring the concerns of international students directly to the attention of Ministers. This is a first order priority for the Australian Government,” the delegation is said to have told Chakrabarti.

The visiting delegation further informed that the Australian Police have taken the issue very seriously and have deployed significant resources to make students safer in Australia, especially in Melbourne. Police are working to improve their communication with Indian students. A recent cricket match between police and students was a mark of this closer cooperation.

Australian Universities have issued a Ten-Point Plan to address issues raised by students including affordable accommodation, safety and other issues.

Chief Secretary Chakrabarti welcomed the briefing and agreed that this was generally a matter of urban crime, not racism. There was no suggestion that Indians specifically had been targeted. Like in many big international cities, a degree of crime exists and it is important to take care. He appreciated the Australian statements of regret about the crimes suffered by some students but said most students enjoyed their time in Australia and felt welcomed by the Australian community.

He said the parents of students from West Bengal and elsewhere in India should be assured that the Australian Government was taking the issue of student safety very seriously.

He added that the growth in education cooperation between Australia and West Bengal was very encouraging and it should continue to grow in the future. He also stated that both Australia and India have much to benefit from closer cooperation and hoped that Indian students and Indian people will continue to be welcome in Australia.

The Australian delegation also met with parents and students who are considering studying in Australia or who have relatives already in Australia. (ANI)

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Father of stabbed Indian student in Australia concerned

May 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Karnal, May 30 (ANI): Family of Baljinder Singh, the Indian student who was stabbed allegedly by some Australian students earlier this week, has criticised rising number of such attacks on Indian students.

Baljinder Singh was robbed and stabbed in Melbourne on Monday (May 25). He was hospitalised with stab wounds in his stomach.

Baljinder’s father Mewa Singh on Saturday said that wanted his son to study abroad. But the recent attack on his son has made him worried about his son’s safety.

“These attacks are condemnable. Students go abroad for a bright future. If such incidents happened, how would they feel safe in such a country?” said Mewa Singh.

Mewa Singh has appealed to the Australian Government to take necessary steps to ensure safety of Indian students living in their country and bring the culprits behind attacks to justice.

“We request the Australian Government to take necessary steps for the safety of Indian students abroad and they should take strict action against those who are behind these incidents,” said Mewa Singh.

Baljinder Singh had left a railway station when two men carrying weapons approached him and demanded money. As he searched through his bag to handover his wallet, he was stabbed in the abdomen, a Herald Sun report stated.

Such ‘racial’ attacks have been occurring for over a year. But they drew major attention last weekend when a student Sravan Kumar Theerthala was left fighting for his life after being stabbed with a screwdriver at a party.

Australian Police have repeatedly denied that race was a factor in the attacks, arguing that Indian students were often at the wrong place at a wrong time, as they travelled home late at night with items such as mobile phones and IPods. (ANI)

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Australia assures safety of Indian students, says S.M. Krishna.

May 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, May 29 (ANI): External Affairs minister S. M. Krishna on Friday said that the Australian Government has given it assurance about the safety of Indian students living in Australia.

“I just spoke to the Foreign Minister of Australia. He has assured me that those responsible for the assault on Indian students will be punished, investigations are on. He has reassured me that they (the attackers) will be punished. He also said all the Indian students living in Australia will be protected,” said S. M. Krishna.

Earlier in the day, India had summoned the Australian High Commissioner to convey the nation’s concern over a slew of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and urged steps to ensure such assaults do not recur.

Four Indian students were attacked with a screwdriver by a gang at a party last weekend, and one remains in hospital with serious injuries.

On Monday, an Indian student was attacked in what appeared to be a robbery. There were three other attacks in early May, including two on Indian taxi drivers.

There is a growing outrage in India over the recent attacks on Indian students living in Australia.

There is a growing perception that these are racial attacks against Indian students.

Meanwhile, Australian police had detained a teenager in connection with the recent attack on Sravan Kumar Theerthala, an Indian student, and has charged him with attempted murder.

The injured Indian student is under treatment in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Melbourne.

More than 80,000 of them have enrolled in Australian institutions since August last year. (ANI)

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Oz Police says attacks on Indian students not racially motivated

May 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 29 (ANI): The Australian Police has denied that a series of attacks on Indian students was racially motivated.

The majority of crimes against Indians in Melbourne are opportunistic, not racially motivated, says Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Keiran Walshe.

Deputy Commissioner Walshe said he did not believe the attacks were racially motivated, rather that offenders were focusing on “soft targets”.

“I don’[t think they are (racist crimes) in general … more opportunistic activity. We think they are vulnerable, we don’t think it’s racial, we think they are a weak target,” he added.

He said there was no indication that a sharp rise in assaults and robberies against Indian students in Melbourne’s west were a result of race hate.

Deputy Commissioner Walshe said he believed some Indian students were being attacked because they were by nature quiet and passive people, they travelled late at night, often alone and carried expensive gadgets.

The Herald Sun quoted him as saying that there was a perception that Indian people were weak prey for criminals.

Chief Commissioner Simon Overland has met with the Indian High Commissioner to discuss the issue, which has gained prominent media coverage in India.

As the attacks continue to create outrage in India, police have moved to assure the community that extra resources are being thrown at the problem through the Embona armed robbery taskforce. (ANI)

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Australian police arrest two for attack on Indian student

May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 28 (IANS) Australian police Thursday arrested two teenagers over the beating of an Indian student on a Melbourne train, a media report said.

Sourabh Sharma, 21, was beaten by a group of thugs as he travelled on a train May 9, HeraldSun reported.

Two people, aged 16 and 18, were being questioned by the police in connection with the attack, it reported.

Sharma suffered a fractured cheek bone and a broken tooth in the attack, which was captured on closed circuit television cameras.

He said he was also racially abused and robbed during the attack.

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Pope mocker goes free in Australia

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney – Australian police have given up trying to prosecute civil libertarian Ian Bryce for driving around Sydney in a fake pope-mobile during the real pope’s visit in July for World Youth Day. Charges were dropped Monday after the police case collapsed for a fourth time. A Sydney judge dismissed the case.

“It was against the pope’s claims to have supernatural authority and all the harm he’s doing in the world in banning condoms and trying to avoid family planning,” Bryce said.

“And now he’s said that gays are an equal threat to mankind as climate change, and I can’t for the life of me see what harm they are doing anyone.”

Police alleged the modified car was a distraction for other motorists. Bryce had fitted an illuminated canopy to the roof with a mannequin dressed as the pope inside.(dpa)

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Oz police warn wannabe models against web predators

March 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, March 26 (ANI): The Australian police have warned aspiring models against web predators, after a 35-year-old Indian national has been charged with sexually assaulting a young woman in Sydney.

Cops have revealed that the man used the online name James Carter, and posed as a modelling agent on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

They allege that he arranged for a meeting with the woman after chatting with her online, spiked her drink, and raped her.

“In this particular instance, (a meeting) took place in the city. It involved alcohol. And we will allege in this particular instance, it involved drink spiking as well,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Detective Inspector Murray Reynolds as telling reporters in Sydney.

According to the inspector, “a stupefying drug” was used to spike the woman’s drink.

While the police currently has the accused in its custody, they fear that other people might have also fallen victim to similar schemes.

Former model Mink Sadowsky, now a Sydney model agency manager, blames the popularity of reality TV shows, wherein several young people have found instant fame, for making others take desperate measures to join the profession.

“Not everyone is going to be appropriate for this industry,” she told reporters.

“Unfortunately, there may be a percentage of those girls who would still … pursue that and they’re the ones that we’re sort of worried about,” she said.

Mink added that girls “may be vulnerable to being approached online”, or going to people who offered help with breaking into the industry.

The police are urging any person, who might have chatted online with a man introducing himself as James Carter, to come forward.

The accused will face Sydney Central Local Court on April 28. (ANI)

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Crime gang crackdown follows Sydney airport killing

March 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney – Australian police promised more arrests Wednesday as a squad dedicated to breaking up motorcycle gangs rolled through major cities picking up suspects in a show of force.

The crackdown follows Sunday’s outrage when a Hells Angels member was bludgeoned to death in front of horrified passengers at Sydney airport.

Fears of outright war between rival gangs were stoked by a double murder in Canberra on Tuesday. But police warned against immediately linking the killings to gang rivalry.

“There is nothing to suggest that this is in any way related to some sort of broader bikie gang-related criminal activity or some sort of turf war between bikie gangs,” Canberra Police Minister Simon Corbell said.

Four men have been charged over the death of the 28-year-old at Sydney’s domestic terminal. He suffered a fractured skull when hit with a metal post used to rope off the check-in area.

Hours after the Canberra shooting, Sydney police picked up 27-year-old Mahmoud Dib, a senior member of the Bandidos gang, and charged him with six firearms offences. A loaded gun was found in his car and police are examining it to see if it was used in any of the 11 drive-by shootings of the past six days.

In the shootings, unidentified people have shot indiscriminately into houses, including Dib’s, in what police believe are tit-for-tat attacks. Rival gangs have firebombed each other’s headquarters and gang members have been shot in the legs.

Police suspect the gang warfare is over control of the drug trade.

Former New South Wales deputy police commissioner Clive Small said that in the four years to 2002, 20 gang members had died and that this was the latest round in a turf war.

“There is an attitude in motorcycle outlaw gangs that they don’t care about the community, they don’t care about innocent people, and they think they are the boss and we will do what we want,” Small said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised a national response. “This sort of behavior by bikies and others engaged in organized criminal activity is unacceptable in Australia, absolutely unacceptable,” Rudd said during a visit to the United States. (dpa)

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