Eight killed after Egypt soccer verdict

FOURTEEN people have been killed in riots outside the main prison in Port Said following a controversial verdict related to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence.

Two police were shot dead outside the prison when angry relatives tried to storm the facility to free the defendants on trial, 21 of whom were earlier sentenced to death.

The death toll has risen to 14 after the clash, in which police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd outside the prison.

At least 75 people were injured.

Egyptian security officials say the military is being deployed to the city.

Port Said residents also cut off the main road leading to the city.

Officials spoke anonymously in line with regulations.

Earlier in the courtroom, families of the deceased wailed and raised their hands in the air shouting "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is great".

The judge said in his statement read live on state TV that he would announce the verdict for the remaining 52 defendants on March 9.

Among those on trial are nine security officials.

The soccer melee on February 1, 2012 between Port Said's Al-Masry fans and Cairo's Al-Ahly fans was the world's deadliest soccer violence in 15 years, killing 74 people.

As is customary in Egypt, the death sentences will be sent to a top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for approval.

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Vic man dies following arrest

VICTORIA Police's professional standards watchdog will investigate the death of a man who had been in police custody for intoxication.

Police had arrested the 53-year-old man in Mildura, in the state's far northwest, on Wednesday.

During a routine check at 6.20pm (AEDT), officers noticed he was breathing heavily and unresponsive, Victoria Police said in a statement on Saturday.

Paramedics were called immediately, and the man was taken to Mildura Base Hospital, but died at 10.30pm on Thursday, the statement said.

The Professional Standards Command will oversee the investigation into the man's death and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

The incident has also been referred to the Office of Police Integrity in line with standard procedure, Victoria Police said.

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ACT storms spoil fireworks display

FIERCE thunderstorms across Canberra have prompted almost 300 calls for help and forced the cancellation of the city's Australia Day fireworks.

The ACT State Emergency Service (ACTSES) said the storms, which lashed the city from around 6.30pm (AEDT), left flash flooding, fallen power lines and tree branches in their wake.

Most of the 295 calls for assistance came from residents in the northern suburbs, ACTSES said.

The ACT government cancelled the city's planned fireworks display, saying in a statement it was a necessary safety precaution due to the storms and flooding.

ACTEW AGL electricity crews were also fixing isolated power outages across the territory.

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Mali Islamists say ready for hostage talks

AN al Qaeda-linked Islamist group in Mali says it is ready to negotiate the release of a French hostage, as a French-led offensive to rout Islamists from the north gathered steam.

"The MUJAO is ready to negotiate the release of Gilberto," said Walid Abu Sarhaoui by phone, spokesman for the Movement for Jihad and Oneness, referring to Gilberto Rodriguez Leal who was kidnapped in November.

The spokesman, speaking on the 16th day of the French-led campaign which has halted the Islamist advance south, said: "We Muslims can come to an understanding on the issue of war."

Gilberto Rodriguez Leal, a 61-year-old French national of Portuguese origin, was seized on November 20 by armed men in western Mali near the border with Senegal and Mauritania while travelling by car.

His kidnapping was claimed by MUJAO.

A total of seven French hostages are being held in the Sahel, of whom six are captives of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

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New air force raids in Damascus province

SYRIA'S air force has launched new raids on rebel-held towns east of Damascus a day after President Bashar al-Assad attended prayers at a Damascus mosque.

The army pounded opposition-held areas of battered Homs in central Syria, as it stepped up a campaign to reclaim areas of "the capital of the revolution", said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Warplanes made several air strikes on towns and villages in the Eastern Ghouta region" near Damascus, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers across Syria for its reporting.

Eastern Ghouta is home to some of the rebel Free Syrian Army's best organised and fiercest groups.

Assad attended prayers at a Damascus mosque on Thursday in a rare public appearance to mark Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

Appearing in public for the first time since a rare speech on January 6, he was shown in a live broadcast, flanked by Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun, the highest Sunni religious authority in Syria, and the religious endowments minister.

In a fresh bid to find a solution to the bloody civil war, UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed again to members of the Security Council to overcome their divisions.

And Syria's interior ministry told political opposition abroad wishing to participate in a national dialogue proposed by Assad they were "authorised" to return to the country.

Clashes pitting rebels against troops raged overnight on the edges of the Yarmuk refugee camp, which has seen frequent violence in the past few weeks, especially since two air raids in mid-December.

Once home to some 150,000 Palestinians, Yarmuk now also acts as a makeshift refuge for hundreds of Syrians fleeing violence elsewhere in the country.

"But it is no longer a safe place. Thousands of people have left the camp, Palestinians and Syrians, in search of another refuge," said Abu Omair, an activist from Damascus.

Friday's violence came a day after at least 98 people were killed across the country, among them 33 civilians, 26 soldiers and 39 rebel fighters, said the watchdog.

Meanwhile on Thursday, a jihadist suicide attacker killed at least eight military intelligence troops, said the Observatory.

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Man charged with murder over WA death

A 31-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with murder over the death of a 23-year-old man after an altercation at a home in the Peel region south of Perth.

Police were called to a disturbance at a home in the Bunbury suburb of Withers about 10:45pm WST on Thursday and found the man, 23, with serious injuries resulting from a fight at a nearby address.

The injured man was taken to Bunbury Hospital where he died a short time later.

On Friday, police said they had charged a 31-year-old man from Withers with murder over the incident.

He is due to appear in the Bunbury Magistrates Court on Saturday.

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Peris draft 'tokenism', Bernardi says

CONTROVERSIAL Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has labelled the federal government's drafting of Aboriginal Olympian Nova Peris "tokenism of the highest order", drawing an angry response from Labor.

Senator Bernardi told Adelaide radio on Friday that while Peris was an extraordinary athlete, her skills as a politician were yet to be demonstrated.

"I think it's tokenism of the highest order," he said of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to parachute Ms Peris to the top of Labor's Northern Territory Senate ticket - ahead of 15-year incumbent Trish Crossin.

"Basically a sitting senator is being dumped by the prime minister because she's got the wrong colour skin, and I think that's an appalling precedent."

Senator Bernardi - who was dumped from a senior coalition role last year for linking homosexuality to bestiality - also said while Ms Peris could turn out to be a wonderful member of parliament, her path had been tarnished.

"Because there is always going to be that cloud, if you like, of how did you get here and do you deserve to be here?"

But Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said Ms Peris was a great advocate for Aboriginal people.

"It's a sad reflection on Liberal politicians that so many of them are trying to run down a determined and driven Aboriginal woman who is seeking to represent her community in federal parliament," Ms Macklin said.

Ms Gillard later defended her choice of Ms Peris.

"I've decided that our political party will support a woman who I think is very likely to become the first indigenous woman in Australian parliament," she told ABC radio in Canberra.

She said it would depend on the voters of the Northern Territory.

"But I'm very optimistic that she'll right that part of our history for us."

The opposition leader on Friday reiterated the episode raised fresh questions about Ms Gillard's judgment.

"And I can fully understand why so many Labor MPs are today wondering whether their own jobs are safe," he said.

"This is a prime minister who deals ruthlessly with anyone who is standing in her way."

Prominent Aboriginal leader and Australian of the Year finalist Tom Calma leapt to Ms Peris' defence on Friday, saying the attacks on her were unacceptable.

Ms Peris on Thursday responded to unsubstantiated rumours about her handling of education programs in the Northern Territory and denied misusing NT Department of Education assets.

She released a statement saying the whispers about her departure from the department were "malicious and unfounded rumours".

Dr Calma said all aspiring politicians must be held accountable but should not be subject to vitriol.

"The scrutiny is fine, the vitriol is unacceptable," the social justice campaigner told reporters in Canberra.

If all goes to Ms Gillard's plan, Ms Peris will be the first indigenous woman elected to the federal parliament.

The ALP national executive meets next Tuesday and is expected to endorse Ms Peris as the federal party's NT Senate candidate.

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Buttrose named Australian of the Year

AUSTRALIAN of the Year Ita Buttrose wants to promote a more positive approach to ageing by tackling community attitudes toward older people.

The 71-year-old was on Friday honoured at a ceremony in Canberra for her extraordinary and groundbreaking media career and role in raising awareness of health and media issues.

Ms Buttrose said she was honoured to follow in the footsteps of so many distinguished Australians.

"This is one of the proudest moments of my life," she said, her voice quavering slightly.

"How wonderful to be honoured for doing something that I've thoroughly enjoyed doing for most of my life - being a journalist and working for causes for which I have a genuine passion and commitment."

Born in Sydney's Potts Point, Ms Buttrose began her career as a 15-year-old copy girl at The Australian Women's Weekly, before scoring a spot as a cadet journalist on the women's section at the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. She was appointed women's editor of the newspapers aged 23.

But it was as founding editor of Cleo magazine that she shot to national prominence in the 1970s.

Cleo was an instant hit, becoming the top selling monthly women's magazine in the country.

Three years later she was appointed editor of The Women's Weekly.

In 1980 she became the first woman editor of an Australian metropolitan newspaper - the Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph, and later the Sunday Telegraph.

Ms Buttrose was the first woman appointed to the News Limited Board in 1981 and last year she was the subject of a TV drama, Paper Giants.

Ms Buttrose has used her prominence to raise awareness of health issues such as breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and prostate cancer.

She now plans to tackle the issue of ageing and promote preventative health.

"I believe preventative health strategies need to begin in childhood and followed all through life," Ms Buttrose said.

She has been national president of Alzheimer's Australia since 2011 and is also vice president emeritus of Arthritis Australia.

Alzheimer's Australia applauded her commitment to improving the quality of life of people with dementia.

"We can beat dementia, we can remove the stigma and the sense of shame that comes with diagnosis if we increase community understanding," Ms Buttrose said.

"I look forward to many more years to contributing what I can towards the health challenges facing our country."

Ms Buttrose's children Kate and Ben Macdonald were in the audience to see their mother honoured at the Canberra ceremony.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said considering it had been some time since a woman last won the award, it was nice to see Ms Buttrose bag the honour.

Women like Ms Buttrose had helped advance the role of women in the workplace, and Ms Gillard said she herself had much to be thankful for as Australia's first female prime minister.

"It's only possible for me to be here in this position because I'm standing on the shoulders of women who have come before," Ms Gillard told ABC Radio.

"And I'd like to hope that me doing this position will make a difference for the women to come."

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Vic teacher pay talks to resume

THE Victorian government and the state teachers' union have agreed to resume talks in a bid to resolve their bitter, lengthy dispute over pay and conditions.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian branch says a meeting between the parties is scheduled for Thursday January 31.

AEU Victorian branch president Meredith Peace says the resumption of talks is positive, but is warning the government it won't back down.

"The Baillieu government has dragged this dispute out for over two years by refusing to listen to the concerns of education staff, parents and the broader community," Ms Peace said in a statement on Thursday.

The Baillieu government has threatened legal action against the union, which is planning fresh industrial action from the start of the new school year.

The AEU has scheduled another mass teacher strike on February 14, as well as a ban on working beyond the 38-hour week.

Ms Peace said the AEU put a significantly revised offer of 4.2 per cent per year over three years to the Baillieu Government in November but has yet to receive a formal response.

The government has long stood by its offer of an annual pay rise of 2.5 per cent with any further increases to be offset by productivity gains.

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Two Aussies held over Phuket shooting

TWO Australian men facing charges of attempted murder after a shooting in the Thai resort island of Phuket have been transferred to the main prison pending a court hearing.

John Edward Cohen, 33, from NSW, and Tasmanian Adam Lewis Shea, 26, were detained late on Tuesday after a shooting that left two German tourists injured, one seriously.

Late on Thursday the men were transferred from police holding cells to the main prison in Phuket, where they will stay until Thai prosecutors finalise the case against the men, legal sources told AAP.

Thai police investigations are examining possible links between the men and an Australian outlaw motorcycle gang.

Cohen and Shea were arrested after allegedly pursuing a Danish man who they had a dispute with over the purchase of a $A10,000 bike.

Earlier on Tuesday the men had been expected to appear in court to settle the issue but the Danish man failed to appear. Thai police are now searching for the man.

Local media report Cohen told police the Danish man had sent a group of men to his Phuket residence. Cohen, who runs a tattoo business in Phuket, told police he feared for his safety and had "decided to make a move first".

The shooting occurred after the Danish man was seen leaving a hotel near Patong Beach.

Two German tourists, Johann Baschenegger, 42, and Joseph Woerner, 71, were wounded by stray bullets.

CCTV footage showed the German men racing back into the Baan Pirin Hotel clutching wounds to the arms.

Senior Thai police said the burst of fire in the middle of a tourist area called for "the highest penalties under the law".

The men have yet to make an official plea, which will be presented to the court at the next hearing, expected within 12 days.

Thai police sources said the men's lawyers could lodge a bail application to the court in the interim.

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