澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-08-19（在线收听）

Veteran ABC journalist Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst are believed to have died in a helicopter crash in South Australia. The crash happened around 7:30 last night over Lake Eyre in the north of the state. Police have now located the wreckage and have recovered two bodies.

Investor fears have again hit world markets. London plunged almost four and a half per cent, with France and Germany down more than five per cent. Wall Street also tumbled more than four per cent. Fears over global growth and eurozone debt prompted that turmoil. Bank stocks were the hardest hit--some dropping around 10 per cent in value.

World leaders are stepping up pressure on Syria. The United States, Britain, France and Germany are all demanding President Bashar al-Assad step down. US President Barack Obama has signed off on tough new sanctions against Syria. He’s frozen Syrian government assets and stopped investment and exports to the country.

The carbon tax will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets state and territory leaders in Canberra today. Some state premiers are warning the tax will cost thousands of jobs. The leaders will sign off on the Federal Government’s hospitals reform package. They’ll also discuss proposals for a national disability insurance scheme.

And British police have arrested another reporter from the defunct News of the World newspaper. James Desborough is the 13th person to be arrested in connection to the phone hacking scandal. He’s a former show business reporter at the newspaper and was promoted to editor of its US bureau in 2009.