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Yacht drama off the Gold Coast. Eight people rescued.
Heartbreak in Alaska with the death of one whale.
Greg Norman wins his third New South Wales Open.
Good evening.
An amateur yacht race on the Gold Coast today turned to disaster when one boat sank and two others were disabled.
Eight people had to be rescued, four dragged to safety after 20 minutes in the water.
The eight and a half metre sloop Wonder Woman set sail this morning with three men and a woman aboard for what was to be a breezy fun run around Jumpin' Binbar.
At five nautical miles north of the Southport Seaway the yacht was hit by a northerly swell and flipped over.
At 10.30 the distress call went out, Wonder Woman was sinking.
Coast Guard and water police rescuers mobilised as the four clung to the vessel in grave danger of drowning in 60 feet of water.
Well the thing is you get very tired with wet weather gear and all that sort of stuff on trying to swim around and that was the main worry.
And we had a girl on board as well who, thank god she's done a lot of ocean miles and she's pretty experienced but you do get very tired very quickly.
The four were rescued by another yacht competing in the race after 20 minutes in rough waters.
Despite his ordeal skipper Larry Dean is not giving up the sea.
I think I'll be out there again on Wednesday night, so on someone else's boat of course.
Not far from Wonder Woman another runaway bay competitor again crewed by four experienced trouble of a different kind.
Oh we were going down wind running second behind bound, we were either doing about 18 knots or so, got the bottom marker and just started the jive and the bottom of the mast broke away and the rig came down.
While some Coast Guard members have questioned holding a race in 20 knot winds water police say conditions were reasonable.
Andrew Bonetto, National Nine News.
An employee of the Australian High Commission in Hong Kong has now been arrested as the investigation continues into this country's biggest ever heroin haul.
45 million dollars worth of the drug was seized and a major international ring smashed when police raided homes in Sydney and Hong Kong.
On Friday night as federal police in Sydney closed the net on 22 suspects in Hong Kong drug squad detectives conducted simultaneous raids.
14 people there were charged over the plan to smuggle 43 kilograms of Thai heroin into Australia.
Apart from members of the feared 14k triad, Hong Kong police also arrested a woman working in the Australian consulate.
The Chinese woman was employed in the visa section of the consulate.
Her arrest confirms fears held by police both here and in Hong Kong that Australia's business migration scheme has been targeted by the drug syndicates.
Meanwhile federal police today were quietly celebrating the success of their most complex international surveillance operation.
The heroine was seized six weeks ago after undercover detectives posing as crewmen took control of the triad's yacht off the coast of Hong Kong.
From that moment the operation's success depended on total security among more than 200 federal and Hong Kong police.
And there was praise from federal justice minister Michael Tait.
Well there's no doubt that this must fill drug traffickers and organised crime bosses with foreboding because it shows that we now have the international network and the expertise within Australia to disrupt and destroy their operations.
Six people will appear in court in Sydney tomorrow, including the man police believe is a financier for one of the triads.
He was arrested in this Chinese gambling club on Friday night.
Detectives are expecting to make more arrests this week. Paul White, National Nine News.
There's been another shark attack on a surfboard rider, this time at the Australian Malibu Championships at Phillip Island.
The victim, 35-year-old John Wannham, was left sore and sorry.
Sore because of the stitches in his leg, sorry because he couldn't keep surfing.
Like it's not that bad I don't think really.
Among the surfing fraternity it would appear that shark attacks requiring 30 stitches or less barely rate a mention.
These guys are pretty tough.
The fact that John required 31 stitches to close this bite on his left ankle meant he fell just outside the don't worry about it keep surfing category.
So Wayne Dean and Steve Friedman going to the grand final.
John was just about to begin his semi-final heat in the Australian Malibu surfing titles here at Surfies Point on Phillip Island when he heard a noise then felt a tug on his leg.
He looked behind and discovered a shark roughly one and a half metres long had taken hold of his left ankle.
And I just gave it a couple of kicks and off it went and I just raced in the shore.
A lot of the guys got him out of the water, they had him bandaged up and in hospital within about 10 minutes.
John was out of hospital in roughly the same time eager to join the other riders for the day's post competition discussion at the local.
While the competitors make light of the attack the tournament organisers thought the incident serious enough to warrant relocating the championships at Summerland Beach.
As for John he considers himself pretty lucky but remains a little miffed at being cheated with his shot for the title.
It's like any of these sort of sports you know like you get there's a bit of risk involved.
So as soon as you heal up you'll be back in there? Yeah I think so.
Christopher Hill, National Nine News.
Despite an extraordinary rescue operation one of three trapped whales in Alaska has apparently died.
It hasn't been seen for a day and rangers say it may have been too weak to survive.
As John Mangos reports the other two are being slowly led to safety.
Just a couple of hours after these pictures were taken the youngest whale with the Eskimo name of Canik disappeared.
Missing for more than 24 hours Canik has been presumed dead.
The cause either infection or the young one just lost its way.
Sad but you know we're doing our best to save them.
Meanwhile the local Eskimos have dug a succession of 34 holes towards the Arctic Ocean.
The two surviving whales have now learnt to move from one to the next and advanced a kilometre today.
So successful is the Eskimo solution that more chainsaws and other equipment have been flown in by the US Air Force following a request from the White House.
The National Guard effort to pulverise with concrete blocks from choppers was abandoned because of deteriorating weather conditions.
It made four holes yesterday but they iced over very quickly.
The mood is down in the 3000 strong village of Barrow tonight.
Three children aged between 10 months and eight years old were killed in a house fire overnight.
And the two surviving whales are rolling to their sides when they come up to take air.
That's what Canik did before disappearing.
There are still another six kilometres to go and the question is can the two survive long enough in the slow leapfrog to the Arctic Ocean?
In Barrow, Alaska, John Mangos, National Nine News.
A dreadful weekend on the States roads. That report when we return.
And happier news of Britain's oldest bridegroom.
One week of Expo to go and the records keep being broken.
Yesterday a new attendance record with 136,276 people pouring in for a last look.
Final figures will now probably top 17 million, more than the population of Australia.
A horror weekend on Queensland roads. Five people have died, three in the last few hours.
At Daisy Hill on Brisbane's southern outskirts there were desperate attempts to save the occupants of a burning car.
Police say the car careered off the Pacific Highway just before midday and immediately burst into flames.
Emergency crews and other motorists worked frantically managing to rescue three of the four occupants.
One of the gentlemen got a rock and smashed the glass and we had to help push the car over to get one of the guys out.
We just couldn't get him out. We really didn't think we were going to get him out in time because the flames were getting so bad.
It's believed the group were on holidays from New South Wales. Police have not released the dead man's name.
Near Esk north of Brisbane a middle aged man and a young woman died in separate cars after a head on collision.
The accident happened about one o'clock near the Wyvernhoe Dam on a straight stretch of the Brisbane Valley Highway.
And a 51 year old man died last night in a two car collision near Caloundra.
Two occupants of the second vehicle were taken to hospital. Andrew Truan, National Nine News.
On the eve of a government announcement on a new deal for pensioners the opposition has come up with plans of its own.
Under a coalition government the controversial assets test will stay but it will be streamlined while the elderly will be given more incentives to stay on at work.
By the year 2025 16% of the population will be 65 or older.
The implication of that on the government's welfare bill is drastic and according to the opposition demands a major overhaul of retirement arrangements.
Speaking on the Nine Network Sunday show Social Security spokesman David Connolly confirmed the opposition's retirement incomes policy will discourage early retirement,
introduce a common minimum retiring age of 65, for women it's currently 60, establish a pension bonus system.
The longer retirees stay off the pension the higher their payments will be when they finally take it up.
In some cases as much as $93 more per week.
The policy will also encourage the two million people who currently don't have superannuation to open a retirement savings account.
But Mr Connolly confirmed the opposition has decided to ditch its pledge to abolish the government's controversial assets test.
But the important thing is this that we are taking out of the current labour assets test a whole range of anomalies which have been there for far too long,
which were unfair to a significant number of people and what we're effectively doing is having a level playing field.
The plan to encourage the age to stay in the workforce longer by altering existing superannuation and pension benefits
is expected to be outlined in a major government report on retirement policy due to be released here tomorrow.
It also follows Prime Minister Hawke's announcement late last week that the government now realised it had to address the growing concerns and problems facing Australia's pensioners.
Jane Fealin, Canberra.
Prime Minister Gareth Evans has arrived in Indonesia for the most important stop of his South East Asian trip.
Both countries are keen to improve relations but there is still tension.
Topics such as murdered yachtsman David Blenkinsop and the increasing number of Indonesian fishermen in Australian waters.
Welcoming Gareth Evans to Jakarta was Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alitas,
obviously determined to improve the often frosty relationship his country has with Australia.
One very definite sign allowing in with Senator Evans, the biggest Australian media group to come to Indonesia in years.
Australian officials were impressed.
Ali Alitas had not been expected to turn up at the airport and definitely not expected to hold an impromptu news conference where he dealt openly with some extremely sensitive issues.
Jakarta, he said, will join with Australia in a crackdown on Indonesian incursions into our northern waters,
especially fishermen after the extremely valuable trochus shell.
Well it's a problem that is I think a needless irritant in our relationship and it is solvable.
Minister Alitas went further to the continuing surprise of Australian diplomats.
Indonesia, he said, has no problems of any substance with Australia.
We have had a record of good cooperation but we know that the problems sometimes crop up elsewhere.
The Indonesian open arms policy towards this visit of Gareth Evans even extends to the most controversial of current issues, the shooting of yachtsman David Blenkinsop.
Senator Evans has been told that will be dealt with at length in his meetings with President Sahara when Foreign Minister Alitas
and the Indonesians have also promised swift action to punish those responsible.
Peter Harvey, National 9 News, Jakarta.
Greek authorities have abandoned the search for two people still missing more than 24 hours after the cruise ship Jupiter sank off Piraeus.
The captain of the freighter which rammed the Jupiter packed with British school children is in jail and will be charged with manslaughter.
The children returned home today with stories of terror and heroism to emotional reunions.
What's it like to be back with your mum?
I'm proud. I love her. I love you too.
But the children's relief was tempered with the knowledge 14 year old Vivian Bali and one of their teachers was lost.
In Central America Hurricane Joan has struck Managua and Costa Rica. 17 are dead, 140 missing.
Winds of up to 220 kilometres an hour devastated several towns, thousands are homeless and heavy rains threaten to flood low-lying areas.
The Nicaraguan government has ordered the immediate evacuation of 70,000 people.
And at 101 Alf Arnold today became Britain's oldest bridegroom tying the knot with Joyce Harris, a mere 81.
The couple who met at a Sussex nursing home believe you're never too old to fall in love.
Robert Braff with the sport next and that was quite a game of golf in Sydney today Rob.
This wasn't a bad one Mike, in fact a memorable New South Wales Open for Greg Norman.
That's coming up next and from Tokyo a fighting John Fitzgerald.
Hi, good evening everyone. Greg Norman warded off a late challenge from defending champion Craig Parry to win his third New South Wales Open golf.
Despite enjoying a five stroke lead early in the day Norman shot a double bogey on the 11th to put Parry back in the picture.
However the Sharks final round 73 gave him a one stroke victory.
Some young spectators went out on a limb to get a bird's eye view of the action.
The trees though were no discomfort for Bob Shearer who early in the round looked as if he may have been the player to apply the pressure to Greg Norman.
After Brett officers near miss yesterday American Eric Egloff was keen to produce a lucrative ace but again it was a case of so near yet so far.
Early on though no one was getting close to Norman and shots like this were the main reason.
Look to give that plenty of air to the right now is it coming back.
A regulation birdie putt for Norman gave him a big lead.
With an equal course record Queensland at Peter Senior went from an overnight 30th to outright third.
But it was Craig Parry who was starting to provide the big challenge to Greg Norman.
Then a string of shots one doesn't normally see from Greg Norman.
He looks like he just hit that so hard it putted it right through the break.
Goodness.
Three putts from a metre from Norman a double bogey.
Parry was back in the match and he knew it.
Things were looking sweeter for the West Australian.
But this putt from Norman showed his coolness under pressure.
With Norman wayward on the 18th Parry needed this final putt.
But a steady recovery from the shark and he was home.
Andrew Slack National 9 News.
Boris Becker has won a hard fought final of the SACO series against Australia's John Fitzgerald in Tokyo this afternoon.
While the two time Wimbledon champion won in straight sets Fitzgerald broke Becker's serve on two occasions.
With Becker in top form of late Fitzgerald was looking for an early advantage.
Applying the pressure right from the start Fitzgerald broke the West German serve in the very first game.
Fitzgerald breaks and wins the first game of the match.
Becker broke back in the fourth but Fitzgerald wasn't giving up.
Both men were throwing themselves around desperate for the slightest advantage.
With two service breaks apiece the set went to a tiebreaker with Becker coming out on top.
The second set was also proving to be a near thing with both matching each other point for point.
Gradually Becker seemed to be getting the upper hand but Fitzgerald wasn't giving him much breathing space.
To prove that was no fluke he produced the same form in the very next point.
Becker finally broke in the ninth and then only had to hold serve in the next to take the match and the $100,000 first prize.
Peter Adamson, National Nine News.
It's taken them three matches to do it but the Wallabies have finally won a game in their bicentennial tour of the UK.
David Campisi who turned 26 yesterday ran in three of the Aussies five tries.
And Brisbane City have failed in their bid to re-enter the National Soccer League next year.
While they drew with Heidelberg today they lost on a 3-1 goal aggregate when last week's game was taken into account.
Six days remaining in the Commonwealth Bank Cycle Classic and the Polish riders Kulas and Zimana look set to fight it out for the yellow jersey.
While they weren't prominent in today's Criterium finish in Wollongong it made no real difference to the overall times as the breakaway group didn't pose a threat to the Polish dominance.
The breeze comes off the water and the crosswinds make this Wollongong Criterium one of the toughest on tour.
Norway's Bard Grosvold came to grief after a spectator stepped in front of his bike. Among other things he has a suspected broken shoulder.
But yesterday's casualty Clayton Stevenson fronted up at today's race and seems to be okay.
Yeah not too bad it could have been a lot worse.
50% of today's field were a lap down when the breakaway group of shoemaker Rasenberg and Australia's Scott Stewart went for the line.
The Big West German shoemaker grabbing it by the width of his tyre.
And earlier this morning at North Wollongong Beach it was the second race in the New Trograin Ironman Series.
50 competitors took part and undoubtedly the favourite was local boy Darren Mercer.
The 20 year old professional Ironman has been the overall winner in the past two series and easily took the first race this season two weeks ago at Burleigh.
But today he was pushed all the way by goal co-star Trevor Hendy.
It wasn't until the final 400 metres dash up the beach that Mercer broke away to win by nine seconds.
Craig Riddington was third.
And the New Zealanders are dominating the Pacific 1000 Powerboat Classic with EIT mover racing down the coast to win the second leg from Townsville to Mackay.
In near perfect glassy conditions the competitors averaged around 72 knots.
With a pair of 550s on board Stefan's shampoo is the most powerful craft.
But the 21 strong New Zealand team is held bent on victory.
Powered by three 2.4 EFI Mercuries the catamaran now leads the Classic by 200 points.
That's it for our sport for tonight. Now with all the pools numbers here's Heather.
Thanks Rob. This week's winning numbers are 6, 17, 20, 28, 30, 34 and the supplementary number is 15.
The weather details are next and then not your average bottle of Plonk.
A cooler day around Brisbane after a very warm night. 22 degrees was the minimum and a top of 28 today.
At the moment the barometer is on 1016 and rising. Humidity is 73 percent. Current temperature is 22. That's one above normal.
On the synoptic chart a trough extending from the Gulf linked with another north of Bundaberg triggering local thunderstorms there and hot conditions generally.
A weakening upper trough brought cloud to the southern border areas and a high over the Bight extends a ridge into New South Wales.
In the satellite photo the country is basically cloud free except for that trough over the Queensland border and a series of cold fronts are passing south of the continent.
Forecast for capital cities, showers and cool for Hobart and a late storm for Darwin.
Northern centres of Queensland, fine and warm along the coast and in the west.
Southeast Queensland, fine and mild conditions for both coasts and the same for Ipswich, Toowoomba and Gympie.
On Moreton Bay 15 knots south easterly winds easing to 10 to 15 knots tomorrow tending north easterlies in the afternoon and higher seas to one metre.
Look at the tide times first high 834, first low 228.
Forecast for Brisbane, fine and mild with light to moderate south easterly winds and an afternoon sea breeze temperatures between 18 and 27.
And looking ahead, fine and warmer.
That's the weather news. We're back to some decent weather now.
Thanks very much Heather. And finally tonight a story for wine buffs with a few spare dollars.
The world's most expensive tipple has gone on sale in New York.
The 1787 bottle of French red was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and even back then it was too rich for his taste.
He couldn't really afford this. It was about 14 cents a bottle. It's now 250,000 dollars a bottle.
So for a mere quarter of a million, a bottle of wine for a very, very special occasion.
A rich red alright. Hope you had a good weekend. From the National Nine News team, good night.