Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV

Shear English - Finally, there's a worthy Italian alternative to some of the default hot-hatch choices, writes Bruce Newton. Alfa Romeo has been living on its past glories for some time now. The driving experience promised by some sublime shapes has failed to materialise. The Giulietta QV is Alfa's latest attempt at Italian soul-stirring. Thankfully, it is neither a rehashed Fiat like the MiTo city car, nor a compromised production version of an exquisite concept such as the Brera coupe.   Price and equipment The curvaceous five-door Giulietta replaces the aged 147. The base model is priced from $36,990 (plus on-road and dealer...

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Online Broking Booming

Shear English - Price is one factor that attracts investors but websites are also offering goodies to help pull in even more punters, writes Bina Brown. Online brokers are now the preferred trading method for almost half of the country's shareholders. Whether it is a transaction over the internet or via a phone, about 46 per cent of investors use online brokers as their main method of trading, according to the Australian Securities Exchange 2010 Australian share ownership study. The head of retail distribution at CommSec, Brian Phelps, attributes rising trading volumes online to the growing disenchantment with the advice investors received...

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Bali's Hidden Magic (Eight New Fish and One New Coral Species)

Shear English - Scientists from Conservation International have discovered eight new fish and one new coral species off Indonesia’s Bali island. The new species include eels and damsels, the colourful little fish that dart among coral branches and help give reefs their dazzling appearance while playing a key role in reef ecology. “We have carried out a marine survey in 33 sites around Bali island. We have identified 952 reef fish, and among them we discovered eight new species,” team senior adviser Mark Van Nydeck Erdmann said. The surveys were carried out off the popular tourist island’s northeast coast at Tulamben, a well-known recreational...

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HOT, Fully Naked, IMF Chief to Rape A Maid in Hotel

Shear Blog - IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, widely expected to run for the French presidency next year, was charged Sunday with the sexual assault and attempted rape of a chambermaid at a New York hotel, police said. The charges included “criminal sexual act, unlawful emprisonment, attempted rape” and “assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room,” Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters. Strauss-Kahn, a 62-year-old Socialist who had been leading French opinion polls for the 2012 elections, was escorted off an Air France flight Saturday just minutes before it was to leave John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials...

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3,000 Female Fetuses Aborted in Taiwan in 2010

Shear Blog - Up to 3,000 female babies were presumed “missing” from Taiwan’s population last year due to illegal sex-selective abortion, an official was cited by media as estimating Sunday. Abortion practices caused the gap, Chiu Shu-ti, director-general of the Bureau of Health Promotion, was cited by the United Daily News as estimating. The Bureau last month launched an investigation after it found that 10 out of every 11 babies delivered in a clinic in New Taipei City last year were boys. Nine out of every 10 babies delivered in a Taipei City hospital during the same period of time were also male. Government officials suspected that...

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