Four die after tornado hits French towns

Four die after tornado hits French towns	5.08.2008

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08/04/2008		Teen killed by beach tunnel collapse
A TEENAGER died when a tunnel collapsed on him while he was digging on a beach during a family holiday in south Wales, a coastguard spokesman said today

08/04/2008		Plutonium leak from watchdog`s lab
A SMALL amount of plutonium leaked in an ageing International Atomic Energy Agency laboratory outside Vienna but radioactive contamination was contained to a storage area and no one was injured, the UN watchdog said

08/04/2008		Tornado kills three in France
A FREAK tornado has ripped through northern France, killing three people and injuring nine as it gutted houses and hurled cars through the air

08/04/2008		Tibetans to unveil autonomy plan
ONE of the Dalai Lama`s top envoys says Tibetan negotiators will present Chinese negotiators with a detailed autonomy plan at their next meeting in October

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Latest Comments:

Petrol companies are only interested in profit. Whilst we let them they will take every cent they can. We need to all get together and do something !.
Posted by: carolyn rains of Sunbury 9:44am today

Hang on.Did we, or did we not, only just recently vote in a new government who pledged to represent the people of this nation, honestly and fairly? Did the people of Australia not democratically decide to place their trust in Mr Rudd and friends and did Mr Rudd and friends not willing accept this responsibility?Unless I dreamt all of the above, I'm pretty sure that the current leadership, owes the good people of Australia, the same kind of support that we showed them at the polls.Instead, all I am seeing in this little scenario is "thanks for voting us in you fools, but we've got more important things to worry about than protecting you from greedy oil companies".It is the governments duty to stop this nonsense.We have oil fields around Australia and we are (believe it or not) a super power.If the oil companies won't treat us fair, the we should take back our oil, with force if necessary.
Posted by: Sparky of Melbourne 9:43am today

Let me make a prediction - the ACCC will say nothing dodgy happened over the Easter Weekend, we, the public will complain (again)and the ACCC will investigate and 6 months later they will say nothing dodgy happend - oh and the Caltex CEO willstaunchly defend their stupid pricing cycle
Posted by: Evan Backer of Adelaide 9:42am today

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Motorists panicking to beat price hikes
Police report a wave of petrol thefts
Consumer watchdog issues warning

SERVICE stations across the nation are being drained of fuel as pre-Easter panic takes hold and motorists rush to beat the price hikes.

In New South Wales angry motorists complained of long queues and closed pumps at service stations across the state yesterday as thousands battled to fill up at prices below 140c a litre ahead of the long weekend.

In metropolitan areas, petrol stations resembled those in countries with fuel rationing this week as consumers tried for the least painful price.

Unleaded surged by 11c to 148.9c a litre in parts of Sydney last night, more than doubling the daily profit margin of Shell, Caltex, Mobil and BP to 18c-20c a litre.

Police reports also showed a wave of petrol thefts this week as some desperate motorists drove off without paying.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the price hikes were part of the average cycle but criticised "rogue operators" who lifted prices to $1.50.

"The price hike has generally been below the $1.50 mark," Mr Samuel told the Nine Network.

"The daily price movement, particularly that on Wednesday, is not a reflection of a movement away from the Singapore benchmark.

"This is not to forgive the petrol companies or defend them. It`s simply to observe that is something that occurs every Wednesday of every week of the year.

"There are some rogue operators out there who have lifted their price above $1.50."

The ACCC will continue to monitor prices during the Easter long weekend.

Record highs

Petrol prices also reached record highs in Melbourne yesterday with at least one service station selling unleaded fuel for 152.9c a litre.

In Queensland, queues of up to 50 cars were a common sight at bowsers yesterday and the huge rush saw many service stations run low on unleaded fuel and some ran out of fuel altogether.

In anticipation of the price hikes, the ACCC this week announced it would issue retailers with a "please explain" if their prices moved too far from the Singapore benchmark without justification.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the consumer watchdog had received reports of stockouts during the so-called "discount" part of the week.

Mr Samuel has promised to shame publicly any supplier using "spurious" shortage excuses to jack up prices ahead of the long weekend.

"On the information available to us there are no supply problems that ought to give rise to any significant price divergence from the Singapore benchmark," Mr Samuel said.

"We keep a daily track of what`s happening on the supply side and we know that the fundamental problems, with the exception of Shell`s Clyde refinery in Sydney, have been resolved.

"Every cent that the local price diverges from Singapore Mogas benchmark appears to be only a cent, but is a lot of profit to the oil companies."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned the newly appointed petrol commissioner, Pat Walker, would be watching pump prices closely.

"The whole underlying thrust of that appointment and the extra powers given to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is to ensure that maximum competition policy pressure is brought to bear on the oil company majors," he said yesterday.

- Courier Mail, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and AAP

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