Exclusive: Japan plans to send largest warship to South China Sea, sources say

Mon Mar 13, 2017 | 8:39 AM EDT ‹ 2/2 FILE PHOTO: Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's helicopter carrier Izumo is seen at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2016. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 1/2 FILE PHOTO: A helicopter lands on the Izumo, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's (JMSDF) helicopter carrier, at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2016. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 2/2 FILE PHOTO: Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's helicopter carrier Izumo is seen at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2016. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 1/2 FILE PHOTO: A helicopter lands on the Izumo, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's (JMSDF) helicopter carrier, at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2016. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo › Exclusive: Japan plans to send largest warship to... X By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo | TOKYO Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two. China claims almost all the disputed waters and its growing military presence has fueled concern in Japan and the West, with the United States holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. The Izumo helicopter carrier, commissioned only two years ago, will make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July. It will return to Japan in August, the sources said. "The aim is to test the capability of the Izumo by sending it out on an extended mission," said one of the sources who have knowledge of the plan. "It will train with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea," he added, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media. A spokesman for Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force declined to comment. Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei also claim parts of the sea which has rich fishing grounds, oil and gas deposits and through which around $5 trillion of global sea-borne trade passes each year. Japan does not have any claim to the waters, but has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea. Japan wants to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pushed ties with China in recent months as he has criticized the old alliance with the United States, to visit the Izumo when it visits Subic Bay, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Manila, another of the sources said. Asked during a news conference about his view on the warship visit, Duterte said, without elaborating, "I have invited all of them." He added: "It is international passage, the South China Sea is not our territory, but it is part of our entitlement." On whether he would visit the warship at Subic Bay, Duterte said: "If I have time." Japan's flag-flying operation comes as the United States under President Donald Trump appears to be taking a tougher line with China. Washington has criticized China's construction of man-made islands and a build-up of military facilities that it worries could be used to restrict free movement. Beijing in January said it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over the disputed islands after the White House vowed to defend "international territories". The 249 meter-long (816.93 ft) Izumo is as large as Japan's World War Two-era carriers and can operate up to nine helicopters. It resembles the amphibious assault carriers used by U.S. Marines, but lacks their well deck for launching landing craft and other vessels. Japan in recent years, particularly under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has been stretching the limits of its post-war, pacifist constitution. It has designated the Izumo as a destroyer because the constitution forbids the acquisition of offensive weapons. The vessel, nonetheless, allows Japan to project military power well beyond its territory. Based in Yokosuka, near to Tokyo, which is also home to the U.S. Seventh Fleet's carrier, the Ronald Reagan, the Izumo's primary mission is anti-submarine warfare. (Additional reporting by Martin Petty in Manila; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Top U.S. prosecutor Bharara is fired after refusing to quit

Sat Mar 11, 2017 | 5:09 PM EST 1h ago | 01:08 U.S. prosecutor Bharara says he has been fired By Mark Hosenball and Andy Sullivan | WASHINGTON U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of New York said on Saturday he had been fired after he defied a Justice Department request to resign as the Trump administration cleared out federal prosecutors who served under former President Barack Obama. "Today, I was fired from my position as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York," Bharara said in a press release. He had originally disclosed his firing in a Twitter post. The Justice Department confirmed that Bharara was no longer serving in the position and declined further comment. Bharara, whose jurisdiction as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York included Manhattan, has handled a string of high-profile corruption and white-collar criminal cases. He was one of 46 Obama administration holdovers who were asked to resign by the Justice Department on Friday. Like all of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, Bharara is a political appointee who is typically replaced when a new president takes office. Bharara told reporters in November that President Donald Trump, shortly after being elected, had asked him to remain in the job. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to replace so many sitting attorneys at once has raised questions about whether the Trump administration's ability to enforce the nation's laws would be hindered. The Trump administration has not yet nominated anyone to fill those spots. "President Trump's abrupt and unexplained decision to summarily remove over 40 U.S. attorneys has once again caused chaos in the federal government," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. Career attorneys will carry on that work until new U.S. attorneys are put in place, the Justice Department said. Bharara, in his statement, said his seven-year tenure as U.S. attorney "will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life." He said his deputy, Joon Kim, will serve as his temporary replacement. Marc Mukasey, a white-collar defense lawyer who previously worked in the prosecutor's office for eight years, has been mentioned as a possible replacement. His father, Michael Mukasey, served as attorney general under Republican President George W. Bush. Bharara's Manhattan office, which also has jurisdiction over the New York City borough of the Bronx, neighboring Westchester County and some other counties in the state, handles some of the most critical business and criminal cases passing through the federal judicial system. He has been overseeing a probe into New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's fundraising. After he was appointed by Obama in 2009, Bharara built a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor who was not afraid to take on complex cases. Bharara has successfully prosecuted state and local politicians for corruption, including former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. He won a lifetime sentence against the Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, and a 25-year sentence for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. He won a $1.8 billion insider-trading settlement against SAC Capital Advisors, the largest in history, which forced the hedge fund to shut down, and he forced JPMorgan Chase to pay $1.7 billion to settle charges related to its role in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Bharara previously served as a staffer for Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York, investigating the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys by the George W. Bush administration. Alberto Gonzales, who was attorney general, and several other Justice Department officials involved with that controversy resigned. Trump has asked two U.S. prosecutors to remain on the job, according to the Justice Department. U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein of Maryland has been asked to stay on as the Senate considers his nomination to serve as the No. 2 Justice Department official, and U.S. Attorney Dana Boente of Virginia, who is temporarily serving in that position, has also been asked to remain. A White House spokeswoman said she did not know whether other U.S. attorneys would be asked to remain in office. (Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson in Washington and Nate Raymond in New York; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Tech workers find communal living a solution for high rents

Fri Mar 10, 2017 | 2:35 PM EST ‹ 25/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer shows his friend Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer a funny text exchange on his phone as they hang out at a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 1/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer and Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer toast as they socialise at a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 2/25 Negev tech house is seen in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 29, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 3/25 Participants at a weekend Hackathon event chat while taking a food break, in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 4/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer who lives at the Negev tech house, walks into SF Pizza to get some food on the way home from a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 5/25 Vish Arya, 26, who is an operations analyst watches clips of Saturday Night Live on his computer in his bedroom at the Negev tech house in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 29, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 6/25 Cory Brandi (L), 25, and Isha Padhye (right), 23, who is a UI engineer, check their phones as they rest together on large stuffed bear at The Negev tech house in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 4, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 7/25 Kumar Srikantappa (C), 31, a software architect for Oracle, chats with people in line for a Gatsby-themed party in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 28, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 8/25 Kumar Srikantappa (Centre R), 31, who is a software architect for Oracle, waits in line to get into a Gatsby-themed party in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 28, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 9/25 People work on their computers during a weekend Hackathon event in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 10/25 Vish Arya, 26, who is an operations analyst living at The Negev tech house, walks out of a corner store in San Francisco, California, U.S. January 29, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 11/25 Ivy Zheng (L), 26, a student and William Harris, 29, a software engineer who are both residents of The Negev tech house relax during a Sunday ''family'' dinner in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 30, 2016. 12/25 Aash Anand (L-R), 26, a software engineer, Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer and Isha Padhye, 23, who is a UI designer, take a cigarette break outside the Negev tech house in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 4, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 13/25 Andrew Bresee, 26, a software engineer and resident at The Negev tech house hangs from a gymnastic ring while making a phone call before joining a Sunday ''family'' dinner in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 30, 2016. Residents at the house cook and eat food together once a week. Reuters/Gabrielle Laurie 14/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer gets dressed in his room in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 4, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 15/25 Zander Dejah (2nd L), 25, who works as a Virtual Reality engineer, Nick Olszowy (C), 25, a software engineer and Andrew Bresee, 26, a software engineer, all who are residents of The Negev tech house, use their electronics during a Sunday ''family'' dinner in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 30, 2016 16/25 Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer and Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer, walk home from a night out in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 17/25 Mehmet Efe Akengin, Hassan Kane and Surya Bhupatiraju (L-R) work late into the night on computers during a weekend Hackathon event, in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 17, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 18/25 A participant sleeps under a desk during a weekend Hackathon event, in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 17, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 19/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer and Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer, who both live at the Negev tech house walk home from a night out in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 20/25 A participant sleeps on a couch during a weekend Hackathon event in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 21/25 Boxed food and canned drinks sit on a table during a weekend Hackathon event, in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 22/25 People work on their computers during a weekend Hackathon event in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 23/25 A man works at his computer during a weekend Hackathon event in San Francisco, California, U.S. July 16, 2016. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 24/25 Isha Padhye (L), 23, a UI designer and Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer who both live at The Negev tech house pose for a photo at a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 25/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer shows his friend Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer a funny text exchange on his phone as they hang out at a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie 1/25 Zander Dejah, 25, a Virtual Reality engineer and Isha Padhye, 23, a UI designer toast as they socialise at a bar in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 12, 2017. Reuters/Gabrielle Lurie › Tech workers find communal living a solution for... By Gabrielle Lurie and Melissa Fares | SAN FRANCISCO Zander Dejah, 25, pays $1,900 a month rent to live in a downtown San Francisco house with at least 40 other people, many of whom sleep in bunk beds. Dejah is a resident of The Negev, a communal living space that styles itself as a home for millennial tech workers to brainstorm ideas, write code and create apps, even if they have to share toilets and bathrooms with dozens of others. Houses like The Negev, located in a neighborhood known as "SoMa" or South of Market, have cropped up around San Francisco as an influx of young professionals, many of whom are tech workers, have faced the city's notoriously high rents and apartment shortages. It has three floors and roughly 50 rooms, filled with bunk beds, beer bottles and laptops, according to residents. Dejah, born and raised in New York, graduated last year with a degree in computer science and math from McGill University. Unemployed, he moved to California six months ago and found his room at The Negev on Craigslist. "I thought New York was expensive," said Dejah, who quickly landed a job as a virtual reality engineer at consulting firm moBack. "It's basically an extension of college. We sort of live in a frat house." The home is certainly filled with parties on weekends, but the residents make sure to sit down every Sunday for a communal dinner, akin to a traditional family gathering. While some say communal housing provides a solution for many first-time workers fresh out of college, such housing also has created its share of controversy. Housing advocates have complained that this new dorm-like style of living has pushed up rents and forced longtime residents to move out. Alon Gutman, who co-founded a company called The Negev and began leasing the building on Sixth street in 2014, said, "We have never made somebody move out of that building," adding that his tenants pay 30 percent to 50 percent less than others in the neighborhood. "We are trying to solve the housing crisis and increase density in a positive way." The Negev company runs nine communal properties, three of which are in San Francisco. The others are in Austin, Texas, and Oakland, California. The Negev properties, generally in run-down, low-income neighborhoods, are restructured to accommodate a large number of tenants, Gutman explained. Sarah Sherburn-Zimmer, executive director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, said housing problems have arisen because occupants leave buildings being converted to communal homes and cannot afford to move back in or the space is no longer suitable for them. "The Negev house takes affordable housing and makes it unaffordable," said Sherburn-Zimmer. "All they've done is take away housing from people who had it and loved it and pushed them out to make a quick buck." Kumar Srikantappa, 31, who also pays $1,900 a month for a single room at The Negev, said he chose the house because of the social experience. After eight months there, the software engineer for Oracle Corp said he would soon be ready to live elsewhere. "I met a bunch of friends, and I just want to move on to another location and into a bigger place," he said. "It's time." Click on reut.rs/2njat9I to see a related photo essay (Reporting by Gabrielle Lurie in San Francisco; Additional reporting and writing by Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Diane Craft)

Stobie pole moved away from Kurralta Park garage after stirring controversy

Now you see it, now you don’t: the Stobie pole has been moved 2m, to allow access to the driveway. Local Stobie pole moved away from Kurralta Park garage after stirring controversy Eugene Boisvert, CoastCity Messenger March 7, 2017 8:35pm Subscriber only New Kurralta Park house built with garage behind Stobie pole but who is to blame: council or State Government? THE newly built Adelaide home dubbed the “Stobie-pole house”, after its driveway was curiously built right behind a street power pole that prevented entry to the garage, is now almost accessible. The owners of the Kurralta Park house, Fariba and Sassan Chegini, have paid thousands of dollars to have the Stobie pole moved about two metres to allow access to the Daly St carport. They now just need to wait for a new driveway crossover in front to be finished. The bizarre development sparked controversy in January after a photograph of the driveway with the Stobie pole in front of it was posted on social media. Both the West Torrens Council and the State Government ducked for cover, blaming each other for the planning bungle. Dr and Mrs Chegini said they didn’t realise the pole would prevent entry to the garage until the house – which they plan to rent out – was complete. The same house back in January, with a Stobie pole in front of its garage. West Torrens city development manager Janine Lennon told a council meeting last month that, under State Government regulations, driveway crossovers no longer need approval before a development application for a house can be approved. Keswick Ward councillor John Woodward said he was “glad it’s been fixed” but remains concerns State Government planning rules allowed it. He has started a petition calling for tighter controls – and better quality housing – when it comes to building on land that’s been subdivided. “The quality of what’s being built is not up to scratch,” Cr Woodward said. Neighbour Neale Clarke is concerned developments aren’t being followed up. How the house now looks. Mr Clarke said it was “obvious” there was little in the way of checks and balances once a development had been approved by council. “They could build any old crap,” Mr Clarke said. Mrs Chegini has previously told The Advertiser it would cost up to $20,000 to move the Stobie pole 200cm. SA Power Networks spokesman Paul Roberts agreed it would cost between $8000 and $20,000 to move a pole, depending on the voltage, and if a transformer needed to be moved. Dr and Mrs Cheginis have been contacted for comment. Comments Hide Comments Post comment as... Newest | Oldest | Top Comments Graham Graham 5 hours ago One of SA's major infrastructure projects. LikeReply Andrew Andrew 6 hours ago It would be prudent to present the plans that were approved by the council before making judgments upon them. Is the house situated on the block exactly as the approved development plans showed it? LikeReply Peter Peter 7 hours ago Interesting the SA Power Networks estimated cost to move a stobie pole depending on voltage and if a transformer needed to be moved was quoted by their spokesman between 80000 and $20000, we were told a pole that is very close to our driveway exit point would cost an estimated $30000 for the pole to be moved to allow safer access to our driveway. Now given we pay the highest cost for electricity in Australia, to have a poorly positioned electricity power pole moved is also unaffordable. 2LikeReply david david 10 hours ago The problem is that planning rules & regulations are a dogs breakfast whether its council or government who is at fault. The planning process takes forever & they still get it wrong. The government & the councils must understand that high density living is about the proper design of infrastructure as well as approving smaller blocks & more properties. Perhaps if the power was underground we wouldn't have this problem. 2LikeReply Andrew Andrew 11 hours ago The stobie pole was there long before the block of land was cut in half to build these dog boxes blame the builders for the stuff up. 10LikeReply Irene Irene 1 day ago Looks to me like the council was at fault. As usual and obviously so, seems many councils have been caught out and perhaps had to fix the problems .....and the State Government cover up for the councils of Adelaide who can't do their job......absolutely dumb and the State Government again show disregard for the little guy.....protect yourselves and stuff us. LikeReply Nonindigenous Nonindigenous 1 day ago @Irene In he original story months ago, plans were approved by the Council, then the owners decided to "flip over" the plans. The owners nor the Designers "walked it out" to see where the stobie pole would actually end up. If they did this rs it would shown the final location of the obstruction. Hence why the home owners have to pay for the relocation of the obstruction. The Council are not at fault on this one. Sorry. 19LikeReply Virginia Virginia 20 hours ago @Irene are you serious, the bucks stops with the owner, and thats who paid to get it fix as they should, maybe the planner but stop blaming the government for everything. 5LikeReply

Why property owner won’t sell to Muslims: 172 One Tree Hill Road Golden Grove SA 5125

Property No. 7877414 A GOLDEN Grove property owner has refused to sell his 4.5 hectare equestrian centre to a group of Islamic buyers, declaring he wanted 172 One Tree Hill Road Golden Grove "Gainsborough Equestrian Centre" Equine luxury Arguably one of the regions finest equestrian and training facilities in SA, in a premier location for horse training & agistment, this property sits within a 35 minute commute to CBD, Adelaide. "Gainsborough Equestrian Centre" provides lifestyle & income - Agistment for 30 plus horses with an established 20 year income. This reputable property & business is rock solid and always at maximum capacity. Gainsborough" provides 10.67 acres with state of the art facilities, yards, shedding, all weather flood lit arenas and parking. You would be hard pressed to find this again so close to the suburbs, schools and other amenities. Enjoy having your own horse on your own property. Main residence - An immaculate and spacious, tastefully renovated 5 bedroomed, two bathroom home. As soon as you step inside the large entrance hall you know you've entered into opulence and quality. Your eye is immediately drawn to the tasteful design that make this an impressive and classy home. The high quality fixtures and fittings are evident as you stroll through this masterpiece that offers a relaxed lifestyle, complementing the ambience offered by the open space and neutral colours. - Formal entry - Master suite with walk-in robe and ensuite - Second master suite with built in robe and walk through ensuite/main bathroom - Bedroom 2,3,4,5 all have ceiling fans - Modern kitchen with central bench, ample storage and dining area - Spacious lounge with open fire place - Split system heating and cooling - Well insulated - Modern main bathroom - Gardens - Privacy from the public - Wrought iron & pillar front fence This compelling home has so much to offer the growing family wanting to simply enjoy a good work life balance by running a business from home. Enjoy this established property where someone has done all the hard work. Equine Facilities & infrastructure: - 22 post & rail yards with high quality shelter stables and individual tack rooms. With 2 more approved with construction site done. - 10 paddocks 8 with yards, stables, tack room, power and water and two Paddocks with approval for Stables and Yards - 3 x Round yards - All-weather 60 x 20 outdoor Dressage arena, with exceptional surface - Floodlit - All-weather 40 x 30 outdoor jumping arena, with exceptional surface - Workshop with 3 Car Garage and full size Pit - Saddlery shed - Hay shed - Equine crush - 3 wash down bays and tie up areas - 3 Parking areas and float storage - Security systems - 4 Tonne Silo Country - The land is arable, flat to gently undulating. Fertile Soils, improved & weed free pastures. Fantastic all weather arena surfaces, car parking and float area, training facility for young horses. Power - 6 KW solar system, mains power, solar units, inverters & batteries covering most stables, additional stables have mains power, all paddock stables equipped with solar power in yards and tack sheds. Fencing - With safety of horses a major priority, this property has been fenced to the highest of standards. Totally horse safe fencing with 8 inch posts, 150 x 50 Creosote rails, post & rail, 100 x 50 x 2.5mm galvanized yard rails, electrics everywhere & Bayco plastic. No wire on the property! 3 electric fence systems. Water - Approved and Licensed Bore (1500ppm tested Sept 2016 and 2400 GPH Capacity) Approx. 250,000L of rainwater storage, most stables having their own tank, two winter creeks, and Bush Fire sprinkler systems on the roof of stables 1-10. Agents Comments - Truly one of the region's best equine facilities, 172 One Tree Hill Road, Golden Grove is being offered for genuine sale due to relocation. Our owners have loved every moment here (22 Years), but now it's time for new owners to enjoy everything it has to offer. Call today for a private inspection. ============================= Adelaide Man Refuses To Sell Property To Muslim Buyers Newsroom Posted on March 08, 2017 by Amy Taeuber A Golden Grove man has rejected a million dollar offer to buy his 4.5-hectare equestrian centre because he says it was made by a group of Islamic business men.   John O’Leary told The Advertiser he refused to sell his property out of  ‘principle’ because he wants “Australia to remain in Australia." A group of Islamic businessman had offered to buy the centre for $1.79 million in the hope of converting it to a community centre which would include prayer rooms and a catering kitchen. “Through the agent, they made me an offer; I was told I could get more than I was looking for,” Mr O’Leary said. “I rejected it on principle. We want Australia to remain Australia and not disappear.” “I’m a right-winger of Irish Catholic background.” Mr O’Leary’s former agent, who did not wish to be named, told The Advertiser, the businessmen’s plan were not to build a mosque, but a large community centre that could cater for up to 100 people. He also claimed the land was not suitable and was not zoned appropriately for the prospective build. The property remains on the market, with Mr O’Leary hopeful that a potential buyer ====================

Tens of thousands of new homes set for city fringes as sprawl keeps on spreading

Clay Lucas Tens of thousands of new housing lots are to be released by the Andrews government in Melbourne's growth corridors, as the sprawling city continues to expand. The state opposition says the city is not sprawling fast enough, and has accused Labor of not keeping up with Melbourne's soaring population. Melbourne to get 17 new suburbs Video duration 00:41 Body of boy found in Murray River Mother charged over drowning claims Video duration 01:46 Golden marathon man hits the treadmill Video duration 01:00 Scaling Victoria's tallest and biggest ... Video duration 01:56 Mack Horton, just an average 20-something Video duration 01:03 Million Dollar Cold Case Video duration 00:26 Glenroy shooting: Neighbour speaks out More videos Mother charged over drowning claims One of the two boys is in hospital while his brother is still missing in the Murray River in Moama. (Video courtesy: ABC New 24) The release of the new housing lots will ultimately create 17 new suburbs across sites in outer Melbourne. And, more than two years since it made a promise to trial a pilot to deliver cheap homes, the government has pledged to deliver 100 affordable houses – but only on government land. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Link There will be 100,000 new housing lots released on Melbourne's fringes.  Photo: James Davies Treasurer Tim Pallas and Planning Minister Richard Wynne on Tuesday went to a Stockland housing development called Cloverton in Kalkallo, 37 kilometres north of the CBD, to make the announcement. The Stockland land, which has already been rezoned, was brought into Melbourne's urban growth boundary in 2010 by Labor's John Brumby, in one of the biggest land rezonings in Victorian history. Advertisement Stockland's Mike Davis put the size of his company's land to be built on into perspective: "If you were to overlay Cloverton on a map of Melbourne, it would stretch from Albert Park in the south to Brunswick in the north." Tuesday's announcement will add more housing to the Kalkallo and Donnybrook area – despite its only public transport being Donnybrook railway station. Fourteen trains a day leave Donnybrook for Melbourne. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Link An artist's impression of Stockland's Cloverton estate in Kalkallo, the site of the government's announcement on Tuesday.  Photo: Supplied As well as releasing land for housing, the government will make it easier for developers to subdivide land and speed up planning applications. Melbourne land prices remain about "half that in Sydney", a government release said. It also said the land release would help maintain that. As part of the latest land release, the planning minister will begin a long-promised pilot program to deliver 100 new "social housing dwellings" on government land. The government's $26 million program to encourage private developers to provide inclusionary housing in new developments will be done in established suburbs, not greenfield developments.   The five Melbourne sites to be developed are mostly ex-public schools: the former Broadmeadows Primary School, the old Mount View school in Boronia, land in Reservoir's Dumbarton Road, and land once used by Noble Park's Athol Road School. In opposition, Labor accused the Napthine government of having "done nothing to fix housing affordability". When the Andrews government was elected, Melbourne's median house price was $627,068, Domain Group data shows. Today the city's median house price is $795,447. Last year, Mr Wynne boasted that he had approved $2 billion in development approvals in inner Melbourne. At the time, housing groups complained that none of these approvals had forced developers to include any affordable housing in their projects. The government said in November 2014 it would pilot "inclusionary" zoning on government-owned land. Its planning policy said: "Labor will pilot the use of inclusionary zoning as a new affordable housing initiative for land sold by the government for development, requiring a share of new construction to be affordable to first home-owners and low income families." Inclusionary zoning is a common practice in some overseas cities where developers are granted building approval on the strict condition they build a proportion of affordable housing. Victoria will only trial the practise on publicly owned land, and will not force developers to include affordable housing in private developments. The government's release on Tuesday said the pilot program would allow private developers to "innovate to provide inclusionary housing in new developments". Mr Pallas said the release of housing lots would help "make housing more affordable". "This increase in supply is also a boost to the construction industry, creating jobs in the growth corridors, as well as in established suburbs," he said. Mr Wynne said the inclusionary housing pilot would "create up to 100 new social housing homes, helping Victorians in need". Opposition planning spokesman David Davis said that Labor was not adding enough housing to Melbourne, and that the city's population had grown by 250,000 since Daniel Andrews became premier. "By the time these developments are ready our population will probably be another 150,000 more," he said. Asked whether there would be adequate infrastructure installed in the developments ahead of housing being built, Mr Pallas said Labor was spending more than its predecessors on projects like the Mernda rail line and new outer suburban roads. Mr Wynne said the government had "learnt from the mistakes of the past", and that purchasers in new estates wanted to see infrastructure such as "the schools, the shopping centres, the employment centres that will be available locally".

Armed political faction interrupts Kirkuk exports

The "Black Force" special police unit of the PUK party briefly took over Kirkuk's IT-1 facility - a sign of deteriorating intra-Kurdish political rivalries. Aso Almany, the head of the PUK office in Kirkuk and the leader of the "Black Force" special police unit, gives a press conference on March 2, 2017, accompanied by two other senior PUK figures, Assutah Rasool (right) and Sirwan Kokhiya Najim (left). (KAMARAN AL-NAJAR/Iraq Oil Report) By Kamaran al Najar, Patrick Osgood and Rawaz Tahir of Iraq Oil Report Published Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 Iraq’s northern oil exports were briefly disrupted Thursday when armed units associated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) political party took over a central oil facility in Kirkuk. The incident is further evidence of a deteriorating rivalry between the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) two main parties over how to share power, including over energy resources. At around 8:15 a.m., units from the so-called "Black Force," a Kirkuk-based special police unit operated by the PUK... Assassination and bombings roil Basra After gunmen killed the general secretary of Hizbollah Iraq's Basra branch, and amidst a spate of IED bombings, paramilitary groups threatened to take security matters into their own hands. Iraqi security forces take their positions during a training exercise in Basra on Nov. 18, 2012. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) By Ali al-Aqily, Jassim al-Jabiri and Ben Van Heuvelen of Iraq Oil Report Published Wednesday, February 15th, 2017 Basra leaders are scrambling to contain an outbreak of violence that has targeted political figures and provoked outrage among Shia paramilitary groups.The spate of violence began with the assassination, on Feb. 8, of Bassam al-Mosawi, the general secretary of the paramilitary group Hizbollah Iraq's Basra branch. Over the following week, six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have detonated around the city, one outside the home of an official from the Dawa political party.In response t...