US billionaire awarded $US12m in wine case

A US billionaire has been awarded $12 million in his dispute over phony vintage wine. Source: AAP

A JURY has awarded a Florida billionaire $US12 million ($A11.4 million) in his dispute over phony vintage wine, and he's vowed to do more to expose wine frauds.

He also proclaimed on Friday his happiest day since winning the America's Cup in 1992.

"Out of sight! Over the moon!" William Koch said as he described his feelings after emerging giggling with glee from a courtroom in US District Court in Manhattan.

"We weren't even expecting any damages and we got $12 million. Unbelievable!"

The verdict came against businessman Eric Greenberg, who insisted that he never intentionally sold a fake bottle of wine in auctions that generated about $US42 million for him over an eight-year period. The trial involved alleged counterfeit bottles of Bordeaux labelled as if they were made from 1864 to 1950.

In a statement, Greenberg called the verdict "a disappointment because I believed all the consigned wine to be authentic".

Outside court, Greenberg declined to comment beyond his statement.

Koch's lawyer, John Hueston, suggested that a criminal probe of Greenberg was under way, saying: "We're co-operating with the FBI." He declined to elaborate.

In a chilly drizzle outside court, the 72-year-old Koch celebrated with his lawyers, posed for pictures and met briefly with at least one of the eight jurors who decided on Thursday that Koch had been defrauded, awarding him $380,000 in compensatory damages.

Jurors returned on Friday to hear Koch and Greenberg testify again and deliberate over punitive damages.

"I'm very sorry I had counterfeit wine," Greenberg told them. "It's a horrible thing. Both of us have lost millions of dollars."

The verdict was another blow to Greenberg, a former billionaire who built two internet consulting companies before the 2000 collapse of those stocks reportedly reduced his net worth by as much as 90 per cent.

Koch said he planned to use the $12 million to continue his crusade to clean up the wine auction industry, including by creating a website that highlights fake wines and who sells them.

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Egypt's Mubarak retrial hits a glitch

THE retrial of Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak after he appealed against a life sentence began in Cairo and was immediately adjourned as the judge recused himself amid chaotic scenes.

Mostafa Hassan Abdallah recused himself after Saturday's hearing that lasted just seconds, sending the case back to the Court of Appeal which will then refer it to a new court.

As the judge filed out of the courtroom, there was an uproar with people shouting and waving their arms.

Civil society lawyers attending the trial chanted: "The people want the execution of the president."

Last October, the very same judge had acquitted the defendants in the infamous "Battle of the Camels" trial, who were accused of sending men on camels and horses to break up a protest during the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

Earlier on Saturday, television footage showed Mubarak, dressed in white and wearing sunglasses, wheeled out of an ambulance on a stretcher and taken into the capital's Police Academy in a suburb of the capital for the hearing.

Inside the courtroom, he was seen sitting up, smiling and waving from inside a barred cage, although it was not clear if he was greeting anyone in particular.

In the cage with him were his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, and his former security chief Habib al-Adly, who were due to face retrial.

Earlier, a handful of Mubarak supporters outside the courthouse held up posters of their former leader, but were outnumbered by security officers.

Mubarak was flown to the academy that was once named after him by helicopter from the Cairo military hospital where he is being treated, the official MENA news agency said.

He left the compound the same way.

His original trial in August 2011 was a major moment for both Egypt and the region, being the first time an Arab leader deposed by his people had appeared in court in person.

Mubarak, Adly and six security chiefs were again in the dock - albeit briefly - for their alleged complicity in the murder and attempted murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters on January 25-31, 2011.

Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, once symbols of Egyptian power and wealth, also faced retrial on corruption charges. Another defendant, business tycoon Hussein Salem, was to be tried in absentia.

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Japan quake leaves 23 people injured

Meteorologists say there is no risk of a tsunami after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit western Japan. Source: AAP

A STRONG earthquake shook Japan near the southwestern city of Kobe, leaving 23 people injured, seven of them seriously - mostly elderly tripping while trying to flee, police said.

No one was killed.

Saturday's 6.3 quake left some homes with rooftop tiles broken and cracked walls, while goods fell off store shelves, according to the Meteorological Agency and Japanese TV news footage.

The earthquake was centred on Awaji Island, just south of Kobe, at a depth of 15km.

The quake was in the area where a 7.2 temblor killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

TV news footage showed that some areas of the island had liquefied, a common effect of strong earthquakes.

The agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.

Japan is among the most quake-prone nations in the world. In March 2011, northeastern Japan was struck with a giant earthquake and tsunami, killing nearly 19,000 people and setting off a nuclear disaster.

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Plane crashes in Bali with 108 on board

A Lion Air plane carrying 108 people has overshot the runway at Bali's international airport. Source: AAP

A LION Air plane carrying 108 people has overshot the runway at Bali's Denpasar International Airport.

The plane crashed into the water as it came in to land at the airport about 3.50pm local time (5.50pm AEST) on Saturday.

Early reports said that all passengers and crew were safe.

An Indonesian Transport Ministry official was quoted by AFP as saying that there were more than 130 people on the flight.

However, Eko Diantoro, an official from Bandung Airport said the flight manifest showed that there were 101 passengers and seven crew.

The Lion Air fight 904 was due to arrive at Denpasar at 3.40pm local time (5.40 AEST).

"Then I got information that the plane had an accident or an overshoot," Eko said.

"We don't know the cause of the accident," he said.

It is not yet known if any Australians were aboard the Lion Air plane.

It's understood that all passengers and crew had been evacuated and taken to the terminal building at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Photographs shown on Indonesian television showed the plane's fuselage had split into two parts just behind its wings, and the plane half submerged in shallow water.

The Boeing 737-800 had been flown from Bandung in West Java to Denpasar.

A spokeswoman with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said efforts were being made to ascertain whether any Australians were on the flight.

"The Australian Consulate-General in Bali is making urgent inquiries to determine whether any Australian citizens may have been involved in air crash is Bali on Saturday afternoon," the spokeswoman said.

"At this time we are not aware that there are any Australian victims."

Lion Air commercial director Edward Sirait said some passengers had been taken to a hospital in Denpasar.

"All passengers and crew are safe, 101 passengers and seven crew. They've been taken to the nearest hospital," he said.

Mr Sirait said that the plane was new, and began operating last year.

"The plane is Boeing 737-800 NG, Next Generation. It's a new one, a 2012 product," he said.

"It actually has sophisticated technology to anticipate accident. Let's see what the data says about that accident."

Lion Air started operating in 2000 and services more than 36 destinations, mostly in Indonesia.

The airline last month agreed to buy 234 Airbus planes and announced that it planned to target new routes in Asia, as well as a venture in Australia.

Hospital officials and paramedics said at least seven passengers were taken to Sanglah Hospital with head wounds and broken bones, the Associated Press reports.

Many passengers arrived with wet clothes and bruises.

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Abusers 'prey on disabled and vulnerable'

DISABLED and vulnerable children are more likely to be targeted by sexual predators because there's less risk they will tell someone, an inquiry has heard.

A leading academic says children without strong family networks are easier for pedophiles to manipulate and access.

This means child victims are vulnerable to further abuse, University of Sydney Associate Professor Judith Cashmore says.

"Unfortunately the children who are most vulnerable are those with disabilities and those who have already been abused and neglected and removed from their homes," Prof Cashmore told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations on Friday.

She said studies involving interviews with offenders about how they selected victims showed they were very strategic.

"They look for children where they're less likely to be believed.

"It's no accident that the sort of circumstances in which children are abused are those where people are standing in as parents - because they have unsupervised access."

Statistics show girls are more likely to be abused than boys but they are also more likely to report abuse, the inquiry heard.

In an institutional setting, boys are more frequently victims.

In instances of clergy abuse, boys account for approximately three-quarters to 80 per cent of victims.

Under these circumstances the abuse was more likely to be violently sexual and involve multiple perpetrators, Prof Cashmore said.

The victims of clergy are also likely to be older children approaching adolescence.

"It really has a dramatic impact on their sexuality," Prof Cashmore said.

It also inhibits reporting because men fear being labelled a possible perpetrator in the future.

The sense of shame and guilt was one of the long-term impacts outlined by Prof Cashmore in her submission to the inquiry.

Anxiety and depression, feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, suicide and difficulty forming adult relationships are some of the things abuse victims have to deal with.

The high levels of stress may be linked to more serious life-long health problems such as chronic back pain, heart disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Despite this, Prof Cashmore said with support and understanding there was hope for recovery.

"Not everyone who's sexually abused is going to suffer irreparable harm," she said.

"A lot of people can recover."

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Man threatened NSW police with chainsaw

A MAN who ran at police with a running chainsaw after they were called to a home in Sydney's east has been charged.

About 9.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday police went to a Queens Park home responding to reports of a domestic incident.

When officers arrived, a man with a chainsaw charged at them, police say.

They were forced to retreat and call for back-up but were able to arrest the man a short time later when his chainsaw ran out of fuel.

The chainsaw-wielding assailant was then taken to Prince of Wales Hospital for assessment.

About 1.30 pm on Friday a 28-year-old man was taken to Waverley police station and charged with possessing a dangerous thing with intent to injure and assault officer in execution of duty.

He was granted bail with strict conditions and is due before Waverley Local Court in May.

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NSW ports privatised in $5 billion deal

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has announced a deal to privatise the state's ports for the next 99 years. Source: AAP

THE NSW government has accepted a bid to privatise two of Australia's biggest ports, in a deal that will earn $4 billion for infrastructure projects in the state.

The 99-year lease for Port Kembla and Port Botany was awarded to the NSW Ports consortium for $5.07 billion.

The consortium is comprised of three Australian companies, Industry Funds Management (IFM), Australian Super and QSuper, and Tawreed Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government.

About $4.3 billion of the net proceeds will be invested in the state government's infrastructure fund, NSW Treasurer Mike Baird announced on Friday.

It means the government's $1.8 billion commitment to the WestConnex motorway between the M4 and Port Botany was now funded, he said.

The sale would also provide funding for the Princes Highway, the Bridges for the Bush program and a further $100 million for projects in the Illawarra region.

"It's a great win for NSW, the infrastructure funding for this state has had a massive boost," Mr Baird said.

However, opposition Treasury spokesman Michael Daley has criticised the sale, saying the money raised was a "drop in the ocean" when it comes to building major projects like the $10 billion WestConnex.

He said the sale would also cause a rise in petrol prices because the new operators had "unfettered powers" to increase all port fees, rents and charges.

"The industry has long warned that petrol and LPG prices could soar under the privatisation of ports because new fees and charges will be imposed," Mr Daley said on Friday.

"It's also likely to compel a number of lease holders to move their operations to other ports such as Brisbane and Melbourne."

Mr Daley also criticised the government for removing the cap on the number of components that would move through the port each year.

"This will mean a massive increase in trucks in and around Port Botany and the airport," he said.

The head of the company that led the NSW Ports consortium, IFM CEO Brett Himbury, wouldn't confirm if the ports would be expanded.

"We expect the state of NSW will continue to grow rapidly and with that there will be a level of growth, but that will be done in a responsible manner that ensures the community also benefits," he told reporters in Sydney.

The Sydney Business Chamber welcomed the sale, saying it would free up billions in capital to reinvest in new assets.

The Australian Industry Group's NSW Director Mark Goodsell, meanwhile, said the port privatisation should "give confidence" that the electricity network can also be safely privatised in the future.

Some employees of the Sydney Port Corporation and Port Kembla Port Corporation would transfer to the new port lessee, Mr Baird said.

Those on enterprise agreements would receive a two-year employment guarantee, a transfer payment of up to 30 weeks' pay and retain their current superannuation and other entitlements and conditions.

The NSW government would also retain regulatory oversight of the ports, as well as responsibility for safety and security.

Infrastructure Partnership Australia (IPA), Australia's peak infrastructure body, said the NSW government should be congratulated on the sale of the ports.

"The excellent sale price will allow the state to make meaningful inroads into tackling the state's substantial infrastructure backlog and will prove a win for taxpayers, commuters and the state's freight sector," IPA chief Brendan Lyon said in a statement.

"The recent negative credit outlook from rating agencies reinforces the need to sell assets and rein in spending."

Mr Lyon said the sale should give other governments the confidence to follow the NSW government's lead.

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Asylum-seeker boat may have sunk

ONE asylum seeker boat is feared to have sunk on its way to Australia while another has been detained by the Indonesian navy after running aground near Sulawesi.

Indonesian search and rescue authorities are trying to locate where a boat carrying about 70 asylum seekers reportedly sank in the Sunda Strait at about midnight (3am AEST).

The Indonesian national search and rescue agency, BASARNAS, confirmed on Friday there were reports some people had been rescued by a fishing boat.

"We received information from Australia from AMSA that around 12am a ship carrying immigrants has sunk in south of Sunda Strait. It's said that it carried around 73 people," a BASARNAS spokesman told AAP.

He said BASARNAS was trying to find the exact location after being informed of the possible sinking on Friday morning by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

"We don't have the co-ordinates for the area where we could search," a Jakarta search and rescue officer told AAP.

"We only received information from BASARNAS that it's in south of Sunda Strait and they've been rescued by local fishermen. But where is it? We're now contacting local ports and others if they have such information."

But an Indonesian navy patrol was able to pick up and detain 82 asylum seekers including scores of Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar when their boat ran aground as they headed to Australia from southwest Sulawesi, an immigration official said on Friday.

The 51 Rohingya, 24 Iranians and seven Somalis had been heading from Sulawesi island, in the east of the country, to East Nusa Tenggara, one of the closest Indonesian provinces to Australia, he said.

"They were heading to Australia, as usual," immigration official Muhammad Bakri told Agence France Presse.

The migrants, including several children, were taken to the nearby city of Makassar where they were being registered and questioned by immigration officials.

Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police on Friday said it played a key role in the Pakistani police bust of a people-smuggling syndicate responsible for an asylum-seeker boat which sank leaving 94 people dead.

The Pakistani Federal Investigations Agency (PFIA) arrested four key syndicate members involved in the first boat sinking last year, an AFP spokesman said on Friday.

The AFP helped the PFIA and the Indonesian National Police identify the organisers and facilitators responsible for that vessel.

The first boat, carrying 152 ethnic Hazara asylum seekers, left Indonesia for Australia in June 2012 and sank south of Java, killing 94 people.

The syndicate apparently sent asylum seekers on valid visas to Malaysia, from where they travelled to Indonesia to board boats for Australia.

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Woodside tipped to shelve Browse project

WOODSIDE Petroleum is remaining tight-lipped on rumours that it is about to shelve its controversial $40 billion Browse liquefied natural gas project.

The energy giant has reportedly told the federal and West Australian governments that its Browse joint venture partners have decided not to proceed with plans to build a LNG processing plant at James Price Point, near Broome.

Contractors doing preliminary work at the site have been told to demobilise and that no further progress payments will be made, The Australian Financial Review's website reported on Thursday.

A Woodside spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on market speculation.

Meanwhile, WA Premier Colin Barnett has denied he was told last week by Woodside and its joint venture partners that the James Price Point project would not proceed.

"I have not received advice to that effect from the joint venture partners at all," he told parliament.

However, he said he had been in continuous talks with Woodside.

"It's not for me to comment publicly, particularly to market sensitive information as to what the decisions might be."

Woodside received conditional state government planning approval last week to build a $120 million camp to house more than 850 fly-in, fly-out workers at the proposed gas hub.

The company recently said it was sticking to its June schedule for a final decision on building the onshore processing plant.

Analysts believe the proposal is not economically viable due to spiralling costs and challenges securing labour.

Joint venture partner Royal Dutch Shell prefers a floating liquefied natural gas facility.

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Vic govt says regions need to grow faster

VICTORIA'S regional cities need to grow much faster than Melbourne, starting with Geelong, the state government says.

A growth blueprint for the state's second-largest city flags higher density living in the central business district and existing suburbs, such as Norlane and Corio, which could accommodate 80,000 extra people.

Faster growth is also slated to Geelong's west, with plans for Colac to gain 5000 people, bringing the population to 20,000, and Winchelsea an extra 6300.

Premier Denis Napthine said on Thursday it was hoped the regional growth would be achieved over the coming decades.

"I want to grow those populations in regional cities even faster than the Melbourne population growth to get better balanced development across the state," he said.

The Geelong region is currently home to almost 300,000 people - expected to increase to 500,000 by 2050.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy said the government wanted to encourage greater density living to breathe life into the Geelong city centre.

Twenty dwellings per hectare could be built in urban Geelong, he said.

"We can't keep having a statewide planning policy that focuses on Melbourne accommodating population (growth) alone - those days are over," he said.

Mr Guy said the coalition wanted to grow local employment so Geelong residents weren't forced to commute to Melbourne.

"The whole concept of simply having Geelong as a dormitory suburb for jobs in Melbourne is not sustainable," he said.

The G21 report predicts the region's population could grow by up to 2.5 per cent annually over the next 10 years with major investment.

An additional 80,000 jobs in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and tourism will be needed to accommodate the projected population growth.

Geelong Mayor Keith Fagg said there was an opportunity for higher rise living in the city's CBD and the future for Geelong's economy lay with small to medium businesses.

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