Qantas engineers are going to walk off the job for four hours in Sydney today, which would cause more chaos for passengers. Australians travelling to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup are facing long delays. Qantas has cancelled 17 flights and delayed 32 other services. Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson has warned the unions that the Government would intervene if the dispute isn't solved soon.

 

Up to 28 people are feared dead in a plane crash in the north-east of Papua New Guinea. The plane carrying 32 people was flying from Lae to Madang when it crashed late yesterday. Villagers near the crash site say only four people have survived. Australia's High Commission is trying to determine if any Australians were on board the craft.

 

French prosecutors have abandoned their investigation into an allegation of attempted rape by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. French writer Tristane Banon had accused the former International Monetary Fund boss of trying to rape her in 2003. Now prosecutors found evidence of sexual assault but too much time has elapsed, they say, for a successful prosecution.

 

And severe thunderstorms have swept across south-east Queensland, killing one person when a tree fell onto a car.