New crew reaches ISS in fastest-ever time - The Australian

A NEW Russian-American crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) after an express trip from Earth of under six hours, the fastest ever journey to the orbiting laboratory.

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts opened the hatches of their Soyuz-TMA spaceship on Friday and floated into the ISS to a warm welcome from the three incumbent crew, live pictures broadcast on Russian television showed.

Russia's Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and American Chris Cassidy are now expected to spend the next five months aboard the station after a hitch-free launch and docking.

Their record-breaking trip from blast-off at Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to docking with the ISS lasted less than six hours, slashing the travel time for arriving at the station.

Previously, trips to the ISS had taken over two full days as spaceships orbited the Earth 30 times before docking with the space station.

However, under a new technique now employed by the Russian space agency, the Soyuz capsule this time only orbited Earth four times before docking.

The successful fast-track voyage is a huge boost for the embattled Russian space programme, whose reputation has been battered by several failed satellite launches in the last year.

However, there have been no problems to date with the manned spaceflight programme.

After the retirement of the US space shuttle, Russia is now the sole nation capable of transporting humans to the ISS.

On board the three spacemen are joining incumbent crew Chris Hadfield of Canada, Tom Marshburn of NASA and Russia's Roman Romanenko.

Hadfield has over the last months built up a huge following online with colourful tweets from space and spectacular pictures of the Earth below.

"They're docked! I was right at the hatch, heard/felt the metal sliding, heavy thump, then Soyuz pulling to check latched. So very cool," he said on Twitter.

View the original article here

Obama appoints first woman, Julia Pierson, as head of US Secret Service - The Australian

Barack Obama will appoint the veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency's first female director, signalling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal. Source: AP

US Secret Service agents ahead of taking up duties at the Convention Centre in Cartagena, Colombia,for the 6th Summit of the Americas as it was revealed a dozen of their colleagues sent to provide security for President Barack Obama were relieved from duty an incident of alleged misconduct. Source: AP

US President Barack Obama has named the first female director of the Secret Service, signalling his desire to change the agency's male-dominated culture following a recent prostitution scandal.

The Secret Service, charged with protecting the president and his family, has faced intense criticism for the scandal during preparations for Mr Obama's trip to Cartagena, Colombia, last year.

Veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson, who most recently served as the agency's chief of staff, will take over from Mark Sullivan, who announced his retirement last month.

She joins a notably male team around Mr Obama, who had been criticised for bringing in several men advisers for his second term, which started in January.

"Over her 30 years of experience with the Secret Service, Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day," Mr Obama said in a statement announcing Ms Pierson's appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation.

The Colombia incident raised questions about the agency's culture, particularly during foreign travel. In addition to protecting the president, the Secret Service also investigates financial crimes.

Thirteen Secret Service employees were caught up in the prostitution scandal. After a night of partying in the resort city of Cartagena, the employees brought women, including prostitutes, to the hotel where they were staying. The incident became public after one agent refused to pay a prostitute and the pair argued about payment in a hotel hallway. Eight employees were forced out of the agency, and three were cleared of serious misconduct.

The incident took place before Mr Obama arrived in Colombia, and the service said the president's safety was never compromised. But news of the scandal broke during his trip, overshadowing the summit and embarrassing the US delegation.

Mr Sullivan issued a new code of conduct that bans employees from drinking within 10 hours of starting a shift or bringing foreign nationals back to their hotel rooms. Sullivan also apologised for the incident.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also praised Mr Obama's "historic decision" to name Ms Pierson as the service's first female director.

At the Secret Service, Ms Pierson has served as deputy assistant director of the office of protective operations, assistant director of human resources and training and chief of staff. She started in 1983 as a special agent in Miami and previously worked as a police officer in Orlando, Florida.

Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa said the Secret Service has "lost the trust of many Americans" following the Colombia scandal. Pierson, he said Tuesday, "has a lot of work ahead of her to create a culture that respects the important job the agency is tasked with."

AP

View the original article here

Chris Bowen quits after failed leadership coup, Julia Gillard says more may go - The Australian

Chris Bowen announces his resignation from cabinet, saying it's the honourable decision following his support for Kevin Rudd. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Australian

Chris Bowen resigns as Immigration Minister after supporting Kevin Rudd ahead of the second Labor leadership spill

On The Kyle and Jackie O Show Prime Minister Julia Gillard sets the record straight on leadership spill. Courtesy 2DayFM

LABOR'S aborted leadership coup has claimed another victim, with Rudd supporter Chris Bowen falling on his sword today and announcing his resignation from cabinet.

“This is what I regard is the appropriate and honourable decision for me,” he said this morning.

The fallout among plotters came as Kevin Rudd said in a brief statement there were now "no circumstances" under which he would return to the leadership.

Mr Bowen's resignation follows that of fellow cabinet member Simon Crean, who lit yesterday's leadership fuse.

Human Services Minister Kim Carr is also expected to announce his resignation today.

Julia Gillard earlier flagged further departures of Rudd supporters from her team, after the former prime minister's failure to contest the caucus ballot called by Ms Gillard.

“I anticipate there will be a few more people considering their position,” the Prime Minister told ABC radio in Melbourne.

“They will do that. I will also consider the view as to what is best for the government over coming months, for the nation over coming months.”

Mr Bowen said he and other Rudd supporters had advised Mr Rudd that a vote would be close if he stood in yesterday's leadership ballot.

He said Mr Rudd ultimately made the right decision in deciding a close ballot would cause ongoing instability in the party.

Mr Bowen said others who supported Mr Rudd might make a different decision to the one he had taken.

As well as Senator Carr, other Rudd supporters in senior positions include Mental Health Minister Mark Butler and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson.

Richard Marles last night resigned his position as Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, while Ed Husic and Janelle Saffin resigned as whips.

Rudd plotter Joel Fitzgibbon did likewise, after earlier declaring he would consider his future for the next seven weeks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr said he believed Mr Bowen's resignation was unnecessary but he wished him well, and said he had not considered a similar move himself.

He said he had expressed his emphatic support for Ms Gillard in recent days and believed the Prime Minister had emerged from the week with her leadership reaffirmed and strengthened.

“The Labor Party has got to put behind it this period of leadership tension,” he said in Washington.

He said the party had to get behind Ms Gillard and work together to prevent Coalition “extremists” from taking government.

Ms Gillard's office said the Prime Minister accepted Mr Bowen's resignation, and thanked him for his contribution, particularly in the immigration portfolio.

“The Prime Minister also acknowledges his conduct in offering his resignation is honourable,” Ms Gillard's spokesman said.

Ms Gillard said earlier today that Labor's leadership instability was over, and anyone who tried to stir it up again deserved to be ridiculed.

“If anybody wanders into a journalist's office in the future from the Labor Party claiming to have a numbers sheet, they will be met with gales of laughter,” she told ABC radio.

She said the caucus was sick of any conduct that undermined Labor's ability to contest the election, and the party would now focus on governing.

The Prime Minister said she had a ministerial reshuffle to deal with and would put together the “best team” to take the government to the September election.

Earlier, Tony Abbott vowed to try to unseat the government with a fresh no confidence motion on budget day in May.

Despite failing to get up a similar motion yesterday, the Opposition Leader said he would try again when parliament resumed in seven weeks for the handing down of the federal budget.

“I'm impatient to give our country good government because that's what the public wants,” he told ABC radio.

Wayne Swan scoffed at the opposition's decision to move a no confidence motion in the government when parliament returns on May 14.

“This really just demonstrates how negative Tony Abbott is,” Mr Swan said.

He said although he didn't agree with what Mr Crean had done, he understood why he did it.

“I believe Simon was well motivated.”

Mr Crean said he called for the spill with his eyes open.

“I was campaigning for a change of approach to end this revolving door of the leader and the focus on just the individual to getting back to what the party stands for,” he told 3AW.

Mr Crean said Mr Rudd had done the wrong thing by not contesting the caucus ballot.

“There's a right way and there's a wrong way. He took the wrong way.

“There was only one right way given what he and his team had put us through and he should have exercised it.”

Mr Crean said Ms Gillard was determined to win the election and she had his full support.

“She is a fighter,” he said.

“He (Kevin Rudd) didn't turn up for the fight.”

Mr Crean said he spoke to Mr Rudd in the caucus room.

“My only words to him were `You should have run',” he said.

Ms Gillard she was a “bit surprised” Mr Rudd didn't stand for the leadership, but having made his decision, her leadership had been emphatically confirmed.

She said after yesterday's events, she retired to The Lodge with her Cavoodle, Reuben.

“Tim's away at the moment. It was me and Reuben the dog - he was full of wise words,” she said.

“At the end of a long hard day I was happy to hang out, pat the dog and get some sleep.”

 

 

 

View the original article here

Australian Prime Minister Survives Attempt to Oust Her - New York Times

SYDNEY — Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday survived an attempt by a senior lawmaker within her own party to oust her from her job, after her predecessor Kevin Rudd, whom she deposed in a 2010 party coup, unexpectedly declined to run against her.

Connect With Us on Twitter

Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.

Twitter List: Reporters and Editors

Ms. Gillard had accepted a public demand for a leadership ballot put forward earlier in the day by Simon Crean, a cabinet minister and former leader of the governing Labor Party. Mr. Crean had said that the party could only hope to prevail in September elections by returning Mr. Rudd to office.

But Mr. Rudd declined to challenge her for the leadership, citing an earlier promise not to do so unless he had overwhelming support. The vote was held as scheduled, and Ms. Gillard was re-elected unopposed.

Ms. Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister, has seen her poll ratings plummet since announcing in January that federal elections would be held in September. The unusually early announcement kicked off an election season that has already been bruising.

Ms. Gillard has led a tenuous minority government since her parliamentary majority was diminished in a disappointing 2010 election. Although she beat back a leadership challenge from Mr. Rudd early in 2012, she has since slid in the polls against Tony Abbott, the leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition. Mr. Rudd has insisted that he would not challenge Ms. Gillard again for the leadership, but his supporters had been actively canvassing the party for votes should his name be put forward during a ballot like the one held Thursday.

Ms. Gillard is seen by many within the party as an ineffective campaigner who is unlikely to deliver a victory in the Sept. 14 elections. Supporters of Mr. Rudd, such as Mr. Crean, had seemed confident earlier in the day. “Something needs to be done to break this deadlock,” Mr. Crean said at a hastily assembled news conference in the capital, Canberra. He said he had personally asked Ms. Gillard to hold the leadership ballot — known in Australia as a “spill” — because the party had lost its way and its confidence in her leadership.

A defiant Ms. Gillard quickly announced that she would indeed hold the ballot that day, avoiding what could have become an awkward and possibly prolonged attempt by her opponents to gather enough signatures to force her to acquiesce to a vote.

View the original article here