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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Australia 'could end whaling row' | Australia 'could end whaling row' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Australia could intervene to end a stand-off in the Antarctic by sending a ship to collect two activists currently on board a Japanese whaling vessel. | Australia could intervene to end a stand-off in the Antarctic by sending a ship to collect two activists currently on board a Japanese whaling vessel. |
| Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said officials were considering sending a patrol ship to pick up the two men. | Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said officials were considering sending a patrol ship to pick up the two men. |
| The protesters, from radical anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, boarded the Japanese ship on Tuesday. | The protesters, from radical anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, boarded the Japanese ship on Tuesday. |
| Whalers say they want to return them, but Sea Shepherd say conditions for the release are unacceptable. | Whalers say they want to return them, but Sea Shepherd say conditions for the release are unacceptable. |
| Australia is using the Oceanic Viking patrol ship to gather evidence of the whalers' activities for a possible legal challenge. | Australia is using the Oceanic Viking patrol ship to gather evidence of the whalers' activities for a possible legal challenge. |
| Mr Smith said it was currently within sight of the fleet. | Mr Smith said it was currently within sight of the fleet. |
| "Obviously one option in rendering assistance is the use of the Oceanic Viking, and that is one of the options we are currently considering," he told journalists in Perth. | "Obviously one option in rendering assistance is the use of the Oceanic Viking, and that is one of the options we are currently considering," he told journalists in Perth. |
| 'Stand-off' | 'Stand-off' |
| Sea Shepherd and the whalers are currently deadlocked on the issue of the two activists. | Sea Shepherd and the whalers are currently deadlocked on the issue of the two activists. |
| The Japanese want Sea Shepherd to guarantee a safe handover | The Japanese want Sea Shepherd to guarantee a safe handover |
| Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane boarded the vessel on Tuesday to deliver a protest. | Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane boarded the vessel on Tuesday to deliver a protest. |
| The whalers say the men tried to damage their propeller and threw acid before illegally boarding the Yushin Maru 2. | The whalers say the men tried to damage their propeller and threw acid before illegally boarding the Yushin Maru 2. |
| They have offered to return them if Sea Shepherd agrees not to confront the whaling vessel during the handover. | They have offered to return them if Sea Shepherd agrees not to confront the whaling vessel during the handover. |
| Sea Shepherd say the men were roughed up when they boarded the vessel. The group has ruled out any kind of conditional hand-over. | Sea Shepherd say the men were roughed up when they boarded the vessel. The group has ruled out any kind of conditional hand-over. |
| Japan has temporarily suspended its whaling operations while the stand-off continues. | Japan has temporarily suspended its whaling operations while the stand-off continues. |
| The stand-off has ratcheted up tensions between the whalers and the activists, who have clashed in the past. | |
| Sea Shepherd threatened a commando-style raid on the whaler if the activists were not returned. A whaling official said the activists could be taken to Japan if Sea Shepherd did not cooperate. | |
| A Japanese spokesman welcomed the Australian proposal. | A Japanese spokesman welcomed the Australian proposal. |
| "If concrete, Japan would greatly welcome such a move because it would be one step forward in resolving this problem," Hideki Moronuki of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, told the French news agency AFP. | "If concrete, Japan would greatly welcome such a move because it would be one step forward in resolving this problem," Hideki Moronuki of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, told the French news agency AFP. |
| Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was concerned for the safety of all involved and urged all parties to act with restraint. | |
| The fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme. | The fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme. |
| But other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling. | But other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling. |
| TRACKING JAPANESE WHALERS November 2007: Japanese fleet of six whaling ships sets sail 31 December: MV Esperanza carrying Greenpeace campaigners enters Antarctic waters on trail of Japanese fleet. MV Steve Irwin carrying rival Sea Shepherd Conservation Group also heads towards whaling fleet9 January: Australian ship Oceanic Viking leaves Perth on whaling surveillance mission15 January: Two Britons held by Japanese after boarding Yushin Maru No 2 to deliver protest letter | TRACKING JAPANESE WHALERS November 2007: Japanese fleet of six whaling ships sets sail 31 December: MV Esperanza carrying Greenpeace campaigners enters Antarctic waters on trail of Japanese fleet. MV Steve Irwin carrying rival Sea Shepherd Conservation Group also heads towards whaling fleet9 January: Australian ship Oceanic Viking leaves Perth on whaling surveillance mission15 January: Two Britons held by Japanese after boarding Yushin Maru No 2 to deliver protest letter |