AAP Backgrounders and Analyses for the weekend of Dec 23/24

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2006
AAP Backgrounders and Analyses for the weekend of Dec 23/24

AAP BACKGROUNDERS AND ANALYSES FOR THE WEEKEND OF DECEMBER 23/24



(EDS NOTE - Stories already on file will be repeated Friday morning. For further information
please contact AAP news editors on (02) 9322 8610 or 9322 8611.)





SYDNEY - Few cricketers will ever come within cooee of Shane Warne's achievements on
the field, but can Warne now top his own reputation as a human headline off it? (Warne
Personality, AAP Sportsfeature, by Doug Conway, 808 words, on file)



SYDNEY - One pads into the bowling crease like an overfed cat and delivers from the
back of his hand. (Warne Career, AAP Sportsfeature, by John Coomber, 1,049 words, with
factbox, on file)



BRISBANE - Queensland: Beautiful one day, bigoted backwater the next. (Newscope Qld,
AAP News Analysis, 713 words, by Steve Connolly, on file)



CANBERRA - "If you want to blame somebody, blame me." ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope
uttered those words just days after a hurricane of fire roared into Canberra's western
suburbs, killing four people and razing almost 500 homes. (Bushfires Inquest, AAP Newsfeature,
by Peter Veness and Kate Corbett, 1,081 words, on file)



CAPE DENISON, Australian Antarctic Territory - If one man's trash is another man's
treasure, then Marty Passingham has struck solid gold. (Mawson, AAP Newsfeature, 764 words,
By Simon Mossman, pix available, on file)



DARWIN - First you grab a plastic bag. Then you slip on some gloves, seize a torch
and head into the night. (Toad, AAP Newsfeature, By Tara Ravens, 996 words, file pix available,
on file)



BRISBANE - The ABC building in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong has long been the subject
of concern and derision. (Breast, AAP Backgrounder, by Rosemary Desmond, 456 words, on
file)



SYDNEY - A tattooed young hand rams the gear lever into first, wheels spin and the
car slams through a supermarket's front window - alarms sound instantly. (Dangerous, AAP
TV Feature, By Erin McWhirter, 909 words, on file)



LOS ANGELES - One of Hollywood's hot young actors is escaping to Australia so he can
throw a couple of shrimp on the barbie for Christmas lunch. US Miller, AAP Newsfeature,
By Peter Mitchell, 637 words, on file)



NOOSA, Qld - Australia's biggest names on the world pop music scene is barely known
in his homeland. (Music, AAP Newsfeature, by James Shrimpton, 977 words, pix available,
on file)



LOS ANGELES - In May 2005, there were few places in the world for Brad Pitt to hide
from the paparazzi. (US Babel Pitt, By Peter Mitchell, AAP Feature, 999 words, on file)



LOS ANGELES - There was a moment during the filming of the new Hollywood musical, Dreamgirls,
Beyonce Knowles gazed into a mirror. (US Beyonce, AAP Feature, by Peter Mitchell, 951
words, on file)



SPORT:

PERTH - Maybe it's time to stop calling Michael Clarke "Pup". (Ashes Clarke Sportsfeature
by John Coomber, 688 words, on file, with factbox)



TENNIS

SYDNEY - The eagerly-awaited return of Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal and farewell
of popular Belgian Kim Clijsters has set the scene for another captivating summer of tennis
down under. (Tennis Aust Summer Sportsfeature by Darren Walton, 766 words, on file, with
factbox)

SYDNEY - Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald has grave concerns for Australian tennis
and says the introduction of more clay courts is a matter of urgency. (Tennis Aust, AAP
Sportsfeature, by Darren Walton, 938 words, on file)



SAILING

SYDNEY - Wild Oats XI is widely tipped to be the first yacht in 42 years to claim back-to-back
line honours in this year's Sydney to Hobart, but an imposing New Zealand maxi is set
to add a trans-Tasman twist to the blue water classic. (Sail SydHob Preview Sportsfeature
by Adrian Warren, 810 words, on file)

SYDNEY - For one, the 628 nautical mile journey from Sydney to Hobart will be swift,
hectic and rough. (Sail SydHob Hi-Tech Sportsfeature by Drew Cratchley, 630 words, with
graphic, on file)



RUGBY

SYDNEY - We know the All Blacks are very good but just how good? What exactly will
the Wallabies be up against when they attempt to win a third Rugby World Cup next year?

(Rugby NZ, AAP Sportsfeature, by Darren Walton, 962 words, on file, with factbox)





ATTENTION EDITORS: The following domestic yearenders have either run in the past 24
hours, or will run today:



CANBERRA - Watch out for forks in the road, bridges too far and cold showers. (Yearender
Politics, with factbox.



CANBERRA - To understand how drought, water, bushfires and climate change have come
to dominate Australians' psyche in the closing months of 2006, it is timely to recall
how the year began. (Yearender Climate, 1,070 words)



CANBERRA - As Baghdad goes to hell, the south of Iraq remains almost tranquil by comparison,
offering the best hope Australia can wind down its military commitment to the strife-torn
nation. (Yearender Defence, 820 words)



BRISBANE - It's a mighty burden for a little girl. When Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin
died suddenly and shockingly earlier this year, millions of people around the world cried.

(Yearender Irwin, 1,040 words)



DARWIN - Even the magistrate was appalled. An 11-year-old boy was allegedly raped 37
times by five teenagers and five men at a remote Aboriginal community earlier this year.

(Yearender Indigenous, 1,355 words)



ADELAIDE - David Hicks twice thought he'd be free. (Yearender Hicks, 560 words)



PERTH - The West Australian government will limp battered and bloodied into 2007, after
a tumultuous year beset with scandal and crisis. (Yearender WA, 1,222 words)



PERTH - The fire may have gone out of Perth's extraordinary five-year property boom,
but it is still expected to overtake Sydney as Australia's most expensive city to buy
a house. (Yearender WA Housing, 900 words)



FINANCE:

MELBOURNE - Mining companies are set to continue to enjoy boom conditions in 2007,
although volatility in metals and minerals markets may take some of the gloss off the
sector following this year's record highs. (Yearender resources, 900 words on file)



PERTH - Hotter summer days and drier winter months has pushed climate change to the
forefront of the political and social agenda, with the quest for cleaner energy heralding
a renaissance for the once unfashionable uranium. (Yearender Uranium, 1,090 words)



MELBOURNE - Australia's worst ever drought could help the wine industry recover from
a long-running glut earlier than expected, although a full recovery was still some years
away. (Yearender Liquor, 1,090 words)



SYDNEY - The Australian dollar faces strong headwinds in 2007, amid an expected slowdown
in the global economy and a softening in commodity prices. (Yearender Dollar, 730 words.

To be updated Dec 29)



SYDNEY - The continuing China-fuelled resources boom and frenetic merger activity was
behind another bumper year for the Australian sharemarket, which is tipped to keep firing
in 2007. (Yearender Stocks, 800 words on file. To be updated Dec 29)



MELBOURNE - After a tumultuous year in the retail sector, in which food giant Coles
rejected an $18 billion takeover bid and cut ties with Myer, and rival Woolworths underwent
a changing of the guard and jumped the Tasman, analysts predict a less eventful 12 months
ahead. (Yearender Retail, 1,037 words)



PERTH - The record oil prices of 2006 are not expected to be repeated in 2007 but they
will be high enough to fill the coffers of the oil companies and draw the ire of motorists.

(Yearender Oil, 1,023 words)



SPORT:

MELBOURNE - The nation watched. The nation celebrated. Eventually, the nation wept.

For one remarkable month, the Socceroos took centre stage in Australian sport. (Yearender
Soccer Aust, 860 words)



MELBOURNE - With West Coast and Sydney's gripping rivalry over the past two seasons
standing at one-all from two epic AFL grand finals, will there be a tiebreaker in 2007?

(Yearender AFL, 2,735 words)



SYDNEY - The 2006 rugby league season can be summed up in two words - Darren Lockyer.

(Yearender League, 2,800 words)



MELBOURNE - Father time is Australia's next formidable opponent after the world's premier
cricket team ruthlessly atoned for a rare and painful dent in its recent record. (Yearender
Cricket Aust), 938 words, with factbox)



SYDNEY - When John Connolly was appointed Wallabies coach in February his brief was
to rebuild the scrum and transform an ordinary Australian team into a World Cup threat.

(Yearender Rugby, 1,050 words)



MELBOURNE - While Mark Webber edged perilously close to a credibility crisis and the
domestic touring car season ended in bitterness, it was Australia's two-wheeled wizards
who had the motorsport globe spinning on their fingertips in 2006. (Yearender Motor Aust,
1,030 words)



SYDNEY - When Geoff Ogilvy presented a 'Top 10' list on The Late Show with David Letterman
shortly after his US Open victory in June, one of his quips was "Even I've never heard
of me". (Yearender Golf Aust, 847 words)



SYDNEY - The story of Takeover Target's year is a film waiting to be made, but surely
it deserves a much happier ending. (Yearender Turf Aust, 1,300 words)





ROUTINERS TO COME:

* Quotes

* Milestones

* Oddities

* Checkup column



AAP jlw/de

KEYWORD: WEEKEND READS UPDATE

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.