Plane fighting Australia fires crashes as cooler weather eases threat

1 of 4. A helicopter drops water on a bushfire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 70 km (43 miles) west of Sydney, October 23, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/David Gray

SYDNEY | Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:10am EDT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A plane dousing wildfires in bushland around the Australia's biggest city, Sydney, crashed into a national park on Thursday, sparking a new fire to add to 55 still burning across the state of New South Wales.

The accident happened as the immediate threat from the fires eased thanks to cooler weather, but the Rural Fire Service (RFS) warned of hot and dry weather ahead as summer hits its peak.

"It's hard to definitely say that (the worst is over) at this stage," said RFS spokeswoman Natalie Sanders. "We have got cooler temperatures today and the winds are slightly lower but with these fires still going, it's hard to say how long they'll go for and whether there will be any further damage."

More than 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since last Thursday, when fires tore through Sydney's outskirts, razing entire streets. One man died from a heart attack while trying to save his home.

The RFS said it held "grave concerns" for the pilot of a water bomber fixed-wing aircraft that crashed in the Budawang National Park, 270 km (170 miles) southwest of Sydney, a wilderness area of steep mountainsides and forests popular with hikers and campers.

Sanders said 20 of the 55 fires still burning on Thursday had yet to be contained by firefighters, who fear strong winds may see three major fires in the Blue Mountains commuter district west of Sydney join up in coming days, creating one massive wildfire.

The fires have so far burned through more than 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) and have a perimeter of some 1,600 km (990 miles).

Police have arrested several children suspected of starting fires. Other fires were sparked by power lines arcing in strong winds, according to the RFS.

(Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Jane Wardell and Nick Macfie)

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Lack of ICT skills holding Australia back: Ai Group (itnews)

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Lego Ferrari Formula 1 car unveiled in Australia

We have enough Lego fans on the Autoblog team that, were cars wiped off the face of the Earth tomorrow, our fall-back plan would be to launch Legoblog: We Obsessively Cover The Lego Industry. So a full-size Ferrari F1 car made entirely out of Lego bricks is something that's sure to catch our attention.

Unveiled yesterday by Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in Australia ahead of the season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix, this 1:1 scale model of the team's 2011 Ferrari F150 Italia car is a highly accurate recreation of the real thing. While Ferrari hasn't released too many details about it (a brick count would be nice), we do know that the car has real Pirelli race tires and a seat that can actually accommodate a driver. Once buckled in, though, everything within arms reach is made of Lego, including the complicated F1 steering wheel.

The Lego F1 car is part of a promotion between Ferrari and Shell that's been going on for some time. In some places of the world (not the US, though), if you stop at a Shell station and refuel, you can purchase these special mini Ferrari Lego kits that feature six of the Italian brand's greatest creations: the F40, 458 Italia, FXX, 250 GT Berlinetta, the Scuderia Ferrari Truck and even a pint-sized version of this F150 Italia. Or you could just buy the full set on eBay, which features a mark up in price worthy of the Ferrari name.
AUSTRALIAN GP: A LIFE SIZE MARVEL

Melbourne, 14 March - On the Thursday of the first Grand Prix of the year in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa unveiled the first full scale model of a Ferrari Formula 1 car made out of LEGO bricks. The event was part of a new promotion run by Shell in Australia, in collaboration with Ferrari and the LEGO Group.

As from 18 March, customers at Shell petrol stations will be able to get their hands on a limited edition model of some of the most evocative cars in the history of Ferrari. These will include the short wheelbase 250 GT Berlinetta, the F40, the FXX and the 458 Italia. To launch the promotion, a team of experts built up a 1:1 scale model of the Ferrari 150 ° Italia, the car with which the Maranello Scuderia competed in the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship. It took several months to design the model, which features real Pirelli race tyres, a seat big enough to accommodate a driver and an exact replica of the steering wheel, also made entirely from Lego bricks.

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