Man shot dead in bed named

A GOLD Coast man shot dead in bed has been named in a move to help find his killer.

Shyam Dhody, aka Sam Dhody, was discovered by his partner when she arrived at their Sunbird Court home in Gilston just before 5pm (AEST) on Friday.

The couple's newly-built home is now a crime scene and police say the pair had only been living there for two weeks.

Mr Dhody had sustained gunshot wounds but police are refusing to provide further details, such as whether there was a struggle or signs of forced entry.

His partner is assisting police with their inquiries but is not a suspect, Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson told reporters on Saturday.

Det Supt Hutchinson says they are certain Mr Dhody had no known links to bikie gangs or other criminal groups.

"There's absolutely no information available to suggest they had any association whatsoever with OMCGs (outlaw motorcycle gangs) at this point in time," he said.

"Indications to us would tend to suggest it's not a random event but there's a lot of inquiries still to be made."

Forensic police are continuing to search the home and police are appealing for public assistance.

Anyone who saw anyone or any vehicles in the area between 7am and 5pm (AEST) on Friday is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Stranded whale freed on Vic coast

Rescue workers have asked boats to stay clear of a Southern Right Whale stranded in Lakes Entrance. Source: AAP

RESCUERS have helped to free a southern right whale that was stranded in shallow water in eastern Victoria.

The whale, an adolescent about 12 metres long, was first sighted on Friday morning by a charter boat operator in shallow waters west of Lakes Entrance, about 320 kilometres east of Melbourne.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) led a frantic effort to free the whale, with teams of boats sheltering the mammal, and a firefighting boat spraying it with water.

By Saturday evening, the whale had begun to swim out towards the ocean, a DEPI spokeswoman told AAP.

"But it's struggling to swim against the incoming tide and is still about 200 metres from the opening out to the ocean," she said.

She said crews will search for the whale on Sunday morning to ensure it was able to return to sea.

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Egypt Islamists vow new demos

At least 25 people have been killed across Egypt as supporters of Mohamed Morsi take to the streets. Source: AAP

EGYPT'S Islamists have vowed further protests to demand the army restore the country's first democratically-elected leader Mohamed Morsi, after a day of clashes which saw 26 people killed across the country.

"The masses will continue their civilised protests and peaceful sit-ins in Cairo until the military coup is reversed and the legitimate president is restored," a coalition of Islamist groups said in an early morning statement on Saturday.

Ahead of the protests, central Cairo was already tense early on Saturday. Anti-Morsi protesters spent the night in Tahrir Square, with checkpoints manned by civilians after a night of deadly fighting nearby.

A bridge leading up to Cairo University - where Morsi supporters had been camping out - was littered with rocks and burned out tyres from confrontations between the two camps.

Throughout the city, there were reports of gunfire during the night, adding to the tension.

The Tamarod movement, which engineered the mass protests against Morsi that culminated in his overthrow by the army on Wednesday, urged its supporters to take to the streets again on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of Morsi's supporters turned out on Friday to protest against his ouster in the popularly backed military coup.

Equally large numbers of anti-Morsi protesters also flooded the streets of Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, sparking pitched battles between members of the rival camps.

Police meanwhile pressed a round-up of top Islamists, announcing the arrest of Khairat al-Shater, widely seen as the most powerful man behind Morsi in the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

At least 12 people were killed in Alexandria as Morsi's supporters and opponents fought in the streets, the official MENA news agency said.

In Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, at least two people were killed when Morsi supporters traded fire with his opponents, state television reported.

The clashes subsided when the army separated the protesters using armoured vehicles.

"We are not taking sides. Our mission is to secure the lives of protesters," military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali told AFP.

Four protesters were killed outside the Republican Guard headquarters after breaking away from a pro-Morsi demonstration, the official MENA news agency reported.

In the restive north of the Sinai peninsula, armed Morsi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters in the town of El-Arish after a gunfight and raised the black banner of Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants, an AFP correspondent said.

A spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon quoted him calling for a peaceful end to the crisis. "There is no place for retribution or for the exclusion of any major party or community".

The United States, too, condemned the clashes and urged all leaders, including the army, to ensure the blood-letting ended.

"We condemn the violence that has taken place today in Egypt. We call on all Egyptian leaders to condemn the use of force and to prevent further violence among their supporters," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

The Islamists accuse the military of conducting a brazen coup against Morsi, after millions called for his ouster on the June 30 anniversary of his first turbulent year in power.

The armed forces have already sworn in Adly Mansour as interim president, and he issued his first decree on Friday, dissolving the Islamist-led parliament and appointing a new intelligence chief.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsi's overthrow on Wednesday night, citing his inability to end a deepening political crisis.

Morsi himself was "preventively detained", a senior officer told AFP.

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Syria warplanes bomb Damascus outskirts

Syrian government troops have unleashed a major artillery barrage on the rebel-held city of Homs. Source: AAP

SYRIAN warplanes launched a series of strikes on the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday as President Bashar al-Assad's regime pressed a bid to drive back rebels, a monitoring group says.

Fresh fighting meanwhile erupted in several flashpoint areas around the capital, while the army renewed its shelling on besieged rebel areas of the central city of Homs, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Warplanes carried out several air strikes on the edges of Assali (in the south) and Qaboon (east)," said the Britain-based group, referring to areas on the outskirts of Damascus.

The Observatory also reported fresh clashes in Assali as well as in the southwestern neighbourhood of Qadam, adding that the army shelled rebel-held Yarmuk in the south and Jubar in the east.

Air strikes also targeted other rebel areas east of Damascus, among them insurgent bastion Zamalka, says the group.

Violence has encroached deeper into Damascus in the past few months, with several outlying districts battered by shelling and fighting. Central Damascus is still squarely in army hands.

Elsewhere, an assault by the army and pro-regime militias on rebel areas of Homs went into a seventh day.

The army "intensely shelled" Khaldiyeh on Saturday, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a grassroots network of activists.

Amateur video distributed by the group showed clouds of smoke rising above the neighbourhood.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's 27-month war, says the Observatory.

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Rudd apology over insulation deaths

The family of a worker killed while installing insulation wants a face-to-face apology from the PM. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd is prepared to meet and apologise to parents of tradesmen killed installing home insulation batts under a federal government scheme.

But the opposition says Mr Rudd must go further and release all documents relating to advice to him about problems with the scheme, set up during his first term as prime minister.

The issue re-emerged just over a week into Mr Rudd's return to the leadership after Queensland coroner Michael Barnes handed down a damning report into the deaths of three men.

Mr Barnes found the rushed rollout of the scheme was a significant factor in the deaths of installers Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes and Mitchell Sweeney in Queensland.

A fourth man, Marcus Wilson, died in November 2009 from hypothermia complications with installing batts in a Sydney house.

Mr Rudd, who rolled out the scheme to create jobs during the global financial crisis, issued a public apology to the men's families on Thursday during a trip to Jakarta.

On Friday, a spokesman for Mr Rudd said the prime minister would meet with any of the parents who wished to meet him in private.

"These events are tragic - and despite what the opposition might believe, they are not some opportunity for a headline."

Lawyer Peter Koutsoukis, representing Mr Sweeney's family, told AAP they would appreciate a face-to-face apology, even though "no amount of apologies can bring Mitchell back".

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said an apology was an important "first step".

But Mr Rudd should also release all 10 warnings he personally received between August 2009 and March 2010 and any others he was aware of relating to the scheme, which also has been linked to 250 fires.

Four of the letters were from the then minister in charge of the program, Peter Garrett, who is quitting parliament at the next election.

A cabinet committee is known to have discussed the scheme's safety issues in October 2009 and February 2010.

"I think he's got a bit of explaining to do," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Rudd's spokesman said Mr Abbott was calling for release of information already made public, except for confidential cabinet documents.

The victims' families are considering claims against the state and federal governments.

Mr Albanese said the pace at which the program had been rolled out allowed dodgy operators to take advantage.

"What these findings highlight is that because of the pace of the scheme, in some places unscrupulous operators didn't give staff appropriate health and safety training, and that has led to these consequences," he said.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the deaths were a tragedy and the government would look closely at the coroner's report.

Mr Garrett apologised for the bungled program and defended his own actions in the matter, but accused Mr Abbott of playing politics.

"Of course I'm terribly sorry about what happened," Mr Garrett told reporters on Friday.

The former Midnight Oil frontman said two independent reviews showed he had acted appropriately during the home insulation roll-out.

"At all times I've served the country to the best of my ability," Mr Garrett said.

"It's on the public record ... you can come to your own conclusions about those matters.

"I'm not buying into Tony Abbott's attempt to turn this into some kind of additional political conflict scenario."

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Qld-NSW interstate drug ring smashed

AUTHORITIES have dismantled an interstate criminal enterprise accused of importing flu medicine to make $10 million worth of the drug ice.

A Queensland-based network is accused of placing orders with importers for ContacNT on behalf of criminal gangs in NSW.

The over-the-counter flu medicine can be used to extract pseudoephedrine, which is then used to produce the drug ice.

The 10-month joint operation, codenamed Operation Lithium, has resulted in the seizure of eight kilograms of precursor chemicals.

They had the potential to produce ice with an estimated street value of $10 million.

Two men and a woman from the Brisbane area were charged on Thursday with a raft Queensland and NSW drugs charges.

All three appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.

One man was remanded into custody while the other man and woman are expected to also appear in Sydney courts next week.

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Comedians get stuck into news at Ten

NETWORK Ten is promising a fresh new look but looks like it's reviving some well-worn formats - including The Panel.

While it's not bringing back Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, Glenn Robbins and Kate Langbroek, Ten will be putting a bunch of comedians in a Melbourne studio to discuss live the events of the week in news, sport and showbiz.

Oh, and it'll screen at 9.30pm on Wednesdays - a timeslot The Panel called its own from 1998 to 2004.

This time it'll be Dave Thornton, Tommy Little, Tom Gleeson and Meshel Laurie who will be trying to find the funny in everyday events in the weekly chat show This Week Live.

The comedians released a statement on Friday, but didn't exactly reveal what they would be bringing to the show.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that a Christmas Party car pool with Ita Buttrose is now a very real possibility for me," said Laurie.

"I'm 39 and bald," Gleeson said.

"I don't belong on television, but someone's paying me to do it, so I'll turn up."

Ten already mixes a lighter-hearted look at the news with The Project.

* This Week Live will premiere on Ten at 9.30pm on Wednesday, July 24.

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Asia shares mostly up on ECB rate comments

ASIAN markets have mostly climbed after the European Central Bank said it would keep interest rates at record lows for "as long as necessary", while concerns over Portugal's political crisis also abated.

The euro remained under pressure in Asia after suffering losses late Thursday in the wake of the ECB announcement, while the dollar extended its gains against the yen after climbing back above 100 yen.

Tokyo rose 2.08 per cent, or 291.04 points, to 14,309.97 and Sydney was 0.98 per cent, or 47.0 points, higher at 4,841.7, while Hong Kong added 1.89 per cent, or 386.00 points, to end at 20,854.67.

Shanghai was flat, edging up 1.10 points, to 2,007.20.

Seoul eased 0.32 per cent, or 5.83 points, to 1,833.31 as market giant Samsung Electronics suffered a sell-off after announcing a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast.

With New York markets closed for Independence Day, traders took their lead from Europe, where markets rallied on comments from the ECB that it would maintain its easy monetary policy.

The bank's policy-setting governing council "expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time", its head, Mario Draghi, said.

"Our exit (from low interest rates) is very distant."

Speaking to a news conference after the ECB's governing council voted to hold its key interest rate at an all-time low of 0.50 per cent for the third month in a row, Draghi vowed that "monetary policy will remain accommodative for as long as necessary".

At the same time the Bank of England said it would keep interest rates low and hinted it would not lift them in the short term.

London's FTSE 100 rose 3.08 per cent, the DAX 30 in Frankfurt added 2.11 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 gained 2.90 per cent. Madrid was up more than 3.0 per cent.

On forex markets the euro tumbled in London trade, with low interest rates meaning the currency would not provide very good returns.

And on Friday it continued to fall, buying $1.2887 and 129.20 yen, off from $1.2922 and 129.62 yen in London.

Worries about Portugal's future were also soothed after the centre-right coalition said it had found a "formula" to avert a break up of the government, after the shock resignation of the foreign and finance ministers.

The pair had stepped down in a dispute over austerity policies put in place as part of a deal to qualify for bailout cash.

The dollar, which has been buoyed by an improved global outlook, rose to 100.21 yen in Tokyo, compared with 99.71 yen in London late Thursday.

Eyes will later Friday turn to Washington, awaiting the release of non-farm payroll data, which will provide an idea of the state of the US economy.

In Seoul, electronics giant Samsung ended 3.80 per cent lower after estimating 9.5 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in operating profit for the April-June quarter.

While it said the figure would be a record, analysts had expected a figure of more than 10 trillion won after it released its much-vaunted Galaxy S4 smartphone in April.

"Demand for high-priced, high-end smartphones shows slowing growth, which could hurt Samsung's profit margin," IBK Investment and Securities analyst Lee Seung-Woo told the Yonhap news agency.

Oil prices were mixed after rallying recently on events in Egypt. Dealers are keeping tabs on events in the country after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi, with fears growing that the coup could send shockwaves through the crude-rich Middle East.

In afternoon trade New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in August, was down 24 cents at $101.00 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for August rose nine cents to $105.46 63.

Gold was at $1,241.70 per ounce at 0810 GMT, compared with $1,250.80 late Thursday.

In other markets:

- Taipei rose 1.37 per cent, or 108.1 points, to 8,001.82.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 1.87 per cent to Tw$109.0 while smartphone maker HTC was 1.0 per cent higher at Tw$203.0.

- Manila closed 0.56 per cent higher, adding 36.22 points to 6,500.48.

SM Investments rose 1.02 per cent to 890 pesos and Alliance Global Group advanced 1.02 per cent to 24.85 pesos but Bank of the Philippine Islands slipped 0.11 per cent to 92 pesos.

- Wellington rose 0.69 per cent, or 30.91 points, to 4,489.86.

Chorus added 1.9 per cent to NZ$2.63 and Fletcher Building gained 1.5 per cent to NZ$8.62.

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Syria army renews assault on central Homs:

SYRIAN warplanes have bombed the central city of Homs , with insurgents and troops battling on the ground as regime forces pressed an assault on rebel-held neighbourhoods, an NGO said.

"Warplanes carried out two raids against the Khaldiyeh neighbourhood of Homs, and both Khaldiyeh and the Old City were under heavy rocket fire producing the sound of explosions and plumes of smoke," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Sporadic clashes were ongoing between rebels and regime forces on the outskirts of Khaldiyeh," the watchdog added.

Regime forces began a campaign to retake several rebel-held neighbourhoods of Homs, often dubbed the capital of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, on Saturday.

The neighbourhoods being targeted have been under siege by regime troops for more than a year, and many civilians have fled, but concerns have been raised about those who remain.

On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed fears for 2,500 civilians "trapped" in the city, which is home to a patchwork of religious communities.

Ban called on "the warring sides to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties and to allow immediate humanitarian access, as well as opportunities for trapped civilians to leave without fear of persecution".

Elsewhere in the country, the Observatory said an aide to the labour minister was injured by an explosive device planted in his car in the Baramkeh district of Damascus.

The group, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers on the ground, also reported shelling on the Palestinian Yarmuk refugee camp in the capital.

In southern Daraa province, the group said six people were killed in shelling on the town of Sheikh Miskeen.

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NSW police officer dies in motorbike crash

AN off-duty police officer has died in a motorbike crash on a property in northern NSW.

Constable Aaron Ryan, 35, died at the scene of the crash 25 kilometres north of Moree, police say.

Investigations are under way.

Const Ryan's commander Superintendent Jenny Hayes said he was a fine officer who would be dearly missed.

"He was well-known and popular not only in the command but also within the local community," she said.

"His death will affect everyone who knew him for a long time."

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Hong Kong stocks end 1.60% higher

HONG Kong shares climbed 1.60 per cent Thursday following more strong jobs figures from the United States and thanks to bargain buying after the index suffered a sell-off in the previous session.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 321.36 points to end at 20,468.67 on turnover of HK$48.37 billion ($US6.24 billion).

Chinese shares ended up 0.59 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 11.83 points to 2,006.10 on turnover of 82.7 billion yuan ($US13.5 billion).

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Top judge is Egypt interim president

EGYPT'S chief justice Adly Mansour has been sworn in as the country's interim president, a day after the military ousted and detained Mohamed Morsi following a week of massive protests.

"I swear to preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people's interests," Mansour said as he took the oath of office at a ceremony in the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Officials welcomed the declaration with a warm round of applause.

The swearing-in ceremony, which was broadcast live on national television, came after the military swept aside Morsi on Wednesday, a little more than a year after the Islamist leader took office.

A senior military officer told AFP the army was now "preventively" holding Morsi.

The ousted president's government unravelled after the army gave him a 48-hour ultimatum in the wake of massive demonstrations against him on June 30, the anniversary of his first turbulent year in power.

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New research boosts search for cure, AIDS

FRESH data from several small trials presented at an AIDS conference on Wednesday provides encouraging news in the quest for a cure for HIV, scientists said.

Giving an update in an eagerly-followed trial, researchers said an HIV-positive infant in Mississippi who was put on a course of antiretroviral drugs within a few days of birth had remained free of the AIDS virus 15 months after treatment was stopped.

In Boston, two HIV-positive men who were given bone-marrow transplants for cancer also had no detectable virus 15 weeks and seven weeks respectively after stopping AIDS drugs, a separate team reported.

Both research projects are at an early stage and should not be taken as a sign that a cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is around the corner, researchers cautioned at a world forum of AIDS scientists in Kuala Lumpur.

Even so, they said it strengthens the motivation for pursuing the once-unthinkable goal of eradicating HIV or repressing it without daily drugs -- a condition referred to as a "functional cure" or "functional remission".

"I don't actually want to use the cure word in this situation," said Timothy Henrich, from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, of the bone-marrow study he is co-leading.

"But what I can say is that if these patients are able to stay without detectable HIV for at least a year, maybe a year and a half, after we stop treatment, then the chances of the virus coming back are very small," he told an AFP correspondent in Paris.

Introduced in 1996, the famous cocktail of antiretroviral drugs is a lifeline to millions with HIV.

But if the drugs are stopped, the virus rebounds from "reservoirs" among old cells in the blood stream and body tissue. It then renews its attack on CD4 cells, part of the immune system's heavy weaponry.

Deborah Persaud, heading the so-called Mississippi Child investigation, said early treatment of newborns appears to offer the best hope of attacking the virus before it gets established in these reservoirs.

"Therapy in the first few days of life really curtailed the reservoir formation to the point that (it) was not established in this child and allowed treatment cessation without having the virus rebound," Persaud, an associate professor of paediatrics at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, Maryland, said by phone.

An estimated 34 million people are infected with HIV worldwide, and about 1.8 million die each year.

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SA to consider cooling off period for pets

South Australia will consider a cooling off period for buying cats and dogs to stop impulse buying. Source: AAP

A COOLING off period for buying cats and dogs may be introduced in South Australia to stop impulse buying of pets.

A parliamentary committee examining the sale of companion animals has recommended the move in its final report tabled on Wednesday.

It also wants the introduction of enforceable standards for breeders, minimum qualifications for pet shop and breeding staff, a licence scheme for all breeders and more stringent micro-chipping.

The report comes after a string of recent incidents in South Australia where animals, mostly dogs and cats, were seized from breeders and shelters because of their poor condition.

It also comes amid ongoing concerns over the rise of so-called puppy farms.

The committee said the introduction of a cooling off period, before a prospective owner could take delivery of a dog or cat, would allow the buyer to properly reflect on the decision to purchase a pet.

It would reduce impulse buying and cut the number of animals being surrendered or abandoned, the committee said.

"This is the procedure employed by the rescue groups and by members of pedigree clubs," the report said.

"Their self-imposed cooling off period provides the best model to ensure proper matching of pet to owner."

The committee said the length of the cooling off period should be determined after consultation with the industry.

The RSPCA said the committee's recommendations would have South Australia leading the nation in the care and protection of companion animals if adopted.

"The RSPCA has been calling for many of these changes for a long time," chief executive Tim Vasudeva said.

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Bolivian leader slams Snowden rumour

The Bolivian president's (pic) plane stopped in Austria due to rumours Edward Snowden was on board. Source: AAP

US fugitive Edward Snowden's struggle to find a safe haven has sparked a diplomatic row after Bolivian President Evo Morales's plane was diverted to Austria over suspicions he might be on board.

The incident happened on Tuesday just hours after Morales had said his country would consider a request for political asylum if Snowden submitted one.

Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca accused France, Italy and Portugal of having denied airspace to the plane, forcing it to reroute.

"The president was forced to land in Vienna," he told reporters in La Paz. Morales's life had been endangered by what he described as a forced emergency landing, he added.

"There were unfounded rumours that Mr Snowden may have been on board the aircraft," Choquehuanca said.

"We have no idea who made up this huge lie."

Austrian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Schallenberg confirmed that Morales's plane had landed at Vienna and that Snowden was not on board.

"President Morales will leave early Wednesday morning for La Paz," the Bolivian capital, he added. Austria did not know why the plane had landed at Vienna, he said.

Officials at the French foreign ministry and the prime minister's office said they knew nothing about the incident.

Earlier on Tuesday, Morales had been asked about Snowden's bid for a haven, as Washington sought his extradition for having leaked intelligence secrets.

"If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea," Morales told Russia's state-run RT television in comments translated from Spanish.

Bolivia is one of 21 nations to which Snowden had applied for asylum, according to the website of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which helped file the requests.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Snowden had already withdrawn his application there. Putin made it clear on Sunday that he would have to end revelations about US intelligence activities if he wanted to stay.

A number of other countries on his list were quick to reject his application or give it a cool reaction.

Germany, The Netherlands and Poland rejected Snowden's asylum bid; an Indian foreign ministry said there was "no reason to accede to the request"; and Brazil said it was "not going to respond".

Austria, Finland, Iceland and Norway each said Snowden's request was invalid because it was not filed from inside their respective countries. Ireland and Spain issued similar statements.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said they knew nothing about a bid apart from media reports.

France and Switzerland said they had not yet received an application, while Italy said it was "contemplating" the request.

As Snowden's options narrowed, however, there was some comfort from Morales's response.

And another leftist Latin American leader, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, also offered him a degree of hope.

Maduro, who like Morales was in Moscow for a two-day energy summit, praised Snowden's actions in leaking information on US spying activities.

"What is happening now should not be - he never killed anyone or planted any bombs," he added.

But Maduro refused to entertain Russian media speculation that he might take Snowden on a plane with him from Moscow.

Snowden has remained quiet and out of sight of reporters since arriving at Sheremetyevo Airport.

Late on Monday, he issued his first statement since arriving in Moscow - a blistering attack on the United States.

He accused Washington, which has charged him with espionage for his intelligence leaks, of pressuring foreign leaders to refuse him refuge.

"These are the old, bad tools of political aggression," Snowden said in a statement published by WikiLeaks.

"Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me."

But a top US official rejected Snowden's claims that Washington was leaning on countries to leave him out in the cold.

The Spanish government on Wednesday authorised Bolivian President Evo Morales's plane to fly over and land in Spain after several countries barred it suspecting fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden was on board.

"Bolivia has again requested overflight and a stopover and we granted it at 9:30 am this morning," or 0730 GMT, a spokesman for the Spanish foreign ministry said.

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Beached whales swim free from Qld island

Rangers have successfully freed five of seven killer whales that were stranded off Fraser Island. Source: AAP

A RARE stranding of seven killer whales off Queensland's Fraser Island has ended, after the surviving five were successfully refloated.

Two of the whales died, reportedly a mother and her calf, around 9am (AEST) on Wednesday.

Rescuers have managed to free the surviving five, including two around 5pm (AEST) on the rising tide.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services says the rescue has been a success with all five last seen swimming south, away from shallow waters.

Rescuers were initially afraid the whales' strong social bond meant they would remain in the area and risk being stranded again.

Sea World's marine expert Trevor Long says there are not many killer whale strandings worldwide let alone off Queensland's coast.

He says they are smart animals and rarely ventured into shallow waters.

"I'm not sure why they would be there," Mr Long said.

"Whether they are following some type of food into there, that might be seal or whale, I don't know.

"It's certainly unusual to see them in those shallow waters inside Great Sandy Strait (off Fraser Island)."

Killer whales follow the humpback whale migration to prey on calves.

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'Yeah I've made mistakes': joyride suspect

HE was expected to give evidence at a Sydney inquest into the joyride hit-and-run of a devoted father of two.

Instead, a young man was arrested and handcuffed at Glebe Coroners Court and taken to Newtown police station for questioning in relation to the October 2010 death of 48-year-old Daryl Reid.

The inquest has heard police suspect the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the driver of a stolen ute that ploughed through a stop sign and into Mr Reid's car.

The man and another boy then ran off and left Mr Reid to die from his "terrible injuries", the inquest before Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund heard.

On his Facebook page two months ago, the man who was aged 17 at the time of the alleged incident, wrote: "Everyone looks at me as a bad person and really none of you ... know me, yeah I've made mistakes I've payed (sic) for them greatly.

"I just want to be the happy person I used to be why did my life turn upside down."

He was due to take the stand on Tuesday, but instead his lawyer handed up a signed statement after his arrest.

It came a day after Mr Reid's widow Lorraine made an emotional plea for the truth about her husband's death.

"How can someone have an accident and run away and not even call an ambulance?" Ms Reid asked through her tears.

"You don't let somebody die on the side of the road."

Several teenagers in court cried as Ms Reid described how her family struggled to cope with her husband's death.

Police believe two to three teenagers were involved in stealing a ute they discovered with its keys still inside after attending a nearby house party.

They then took it for a spin, reaching speeds of about 90km/h before the crash.

Another boy who said he was a passenger in the car took the stand on Monday and apologised to Ms Reid.

"I'm utterly sorry from the bottom of my heart," the boy, who was just 13 years old at the time, said.

"It's totally up to you but I'd like to help you in any way I can...I'd do anything for you."

The boy also pleaded for the driver of the car to come forward and take responsibility.

Ms Freund suspended the inquest.

The 19-year-old man was later charged with numerous offences, including dangerous driving cause death, failing to stop after impact causing death, reckless and furious driving, stealing a motor vehicle and take and drive conveyance.

He has been refused bail and will reappear at Campbelltown Children's Court on July 29.

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Russian booster rocket crashes

A Russian rocket carrying three satellites has crashed in Kazakhstan shortly after takeoff. Source: AAP

A RUSSIAN booster rocket carrying three satellites has crashed at a Russia-leased cosmodrome in Kazakhstan shortly after the launch.

The Russian Space Agency said in a statement Tuesday that the Proton-M booster unexpectedly shut down the engine 17 seconds into the flight and crashed some 2 kilometres away from the Baikonur launch pad.

Russian officials said there were no casualties or damage immediately reported. Meanwhile, the Interfax news agency quoted Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bozhkov as saying that the burning rocket fuel has blanketed the launch pad with a toxic cloud.

But he said authorities have yet to determine its potential danger to the environment.

Another Proton-M booster crashed in Baikonur in August 2012 when it failed to place two satellites into orbits.

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Girl thrown from car in NSW crash

A YOUNG girl thrown from a car after a collision on a Sydney freeway has escaped serious injury as have a four-year-old boy and a woman also in the vehicle.

The six-year-old girl from Engadine was taken to Westmead Hospital with non life threatening injuries, police say.

When she was found by emergency services after the collision on the F3 at Wahroonga on Tuesday morning she was still strapped into her booster seat.

At first doctors feared the worst and assessed the girl for head injuries.

But they soon discovered she had escaped with only bruising and cuts to her head.

The 27-year-old truck driver was taken to Hornsby Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.

Police are investigating the crash and have asked for anyone with information to come forward.

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50 hurt when quake hits Aceh

A STRONG 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's north western province of Aceh on Tuesday, causing buildings to collapse and injuring at least 50 people.

The quake hit inland at 0737 GMT at a depth of just 10 kilometres, 55 kilometres south of Bireun and 72 kilometres south east of Reuleuet, the US Geological Survey said.

"We have received around 50 people with injuries suffered when the walls of their houses collapsed," Ema Suryani, a doctor at a health clinic in Lampahan city, Bener Meriah district, told AFP.

"The injuries vary from open wounds to broken bones."

Injured people had been transported from several affected villages in two trucks, she said.

People also ran out of buildings in panic in the provincial capital Banda Aceh as the quake shook houses for around one minute, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

A massive quake struck off Aceh in 2004, sparking a tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province on Sumatra and tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

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Pakistan backing Afghan peace efforts

British Prime Minister David Cameron has arrived in Pakistan for talks on the Afghan peace process. Source: AAP

PAKISTAN has assured visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron that it will promote efforts to reach a peace deal in neighbouring Afghanistan before NATO's planned withdrawal.

Cameron is the first foreign government leader to visit Islamabad since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in June after winning landmark elections in May.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad are traditionally mired in distrust. The apparent headway made at a summit hosted by Cameron in February has since unravelled in a series of public rows.

Cameron flew to Pakistan from Afghanistan, where he joined an international push to revive peace efforts that recently collapsed in ignominy after the Taliban opened an office in the Qatari capital Doha.

"We hope that the UK will continue these efforts to seek sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan," Sharif told reporters after Sunday's talks with Cameron.

He supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai's position that any peace process should be "Afghan-owned and Afghan-led".

"I have assured Prime Minister Cameron of our firm resolve to promote the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, to which the three million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan can return with honour and dignity," said Sharif.

Cameron welcomed Sharif's remarks about the "vital importance of the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan".

"I profoundly believe that a stable, prosperous, peaceful, democratic Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest, just as a strong, stable, peaceful, prosperous, democratic Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest, and I know that you and President Karzai will work together towards those ends," Cameron said.

The search for a peace deal is an urgent priority as 100,000 US-led NATO combat troops prepare to withdraw next year and Afghan forces take on the fight against insurgents that has lasted more than a decade.

The Taliban office in Qatar that opened on June 18 was meant to foster talks but instead enraged Karzai, who saw it as being styled as an embassy for a government-in-exile.

He broke off bilateral security talks with the Americans and threatened to boycott any peace process altogether.

On Saturday however, Karzai told Cameron that a subsequent Taliban attack on the presidential palace "will not deter us from seeking peace".

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Robin Thicke enjoys eighth week at top

Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines has become the longest running No. 1 single of 2013 on the ARIA charts. Source: AAP

NOT since last winter has a song spent so long at the top of the ARIA charts, with Robin Thicke with TI and Pharrell with Blurred Lines spending an eighth week at No.1.

The last song to achieve eight weeks was Flo Rida with Whistle across May, June and July 2012.

If Thicke only stays for eight weeks, he will have tied for third place in the longest running No.1 this decade, as Gotye and Kimbra also spent eight weeks at the top in 2011 with Somebody That I Used to Know.

Ahead with the longest running No.1s this decade are two LMFAO songs - Sexy and I Know It, at the top for nine weeks, and Party Rock Anthem, at the top for ten weeks.

Blasting up 40 places from last week's debut at No.42 to No.2 this week is Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc with Wake Me Up, becoming his highest charting single.

Jumping up six places each within the Top 10 are Timomatic with Parachute to No.3 and Olly Murs with Dear Darlin' to No.4.

After returning to No.2 last week, Passenger slips down three places to No.5 with Let Her Go, Bastille's pending August tour in Australia helps keep Pompeii at No.6 this week, and down three places to No.7 are Daft Punk with Pharrell and Get Lucky.

Jessie J lands her fourth Top 10 single in Australia as her latest track Wild is up six places to a new peak of No.8.

Imagine Dragons land their first Top 10 hit with Radioactive up three places to No.9, and returning to the Top 10, back up a place to No.10, is Matt Corby with Resolution.

On the ARIA albums chart, the Voice Season 2 winner Harrison Craig sees his debut album More Than a Dream debut at the top, selling enough to achieve Gold in its first week of sales.

Last week's top two debuts move down one place each this week, with Yeezus for Kanye West dropping to No.2 and Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey's The Great Country Songbook down to No.3.

Rising back up to No.4 is The Great Gatsby Soundtrack and back up two places to No.5 is Bruno Mars with Unorthodox Jukebox.

Daft Punk hold steady at No.6 in their sixth week on the chart with Random Access Memories, Pink is back up five places to No.7 with The Truth about Love, and Bernard Fanning drops four places to No.8 with Departures.

Ice on the Sun for Empire of the Sun falls six places to No.9 and down to No.10 is Passenger with All the Little Lights.

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South China Sea row heats up ASEAN talks

THE Philippines has accused China of a "massive" military build-up in the disputed South China Sea, warning at a regional security forum that the Asian giant's tactics were a threat to peace.

Sunday's statement by Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario ensured the growing row over rival claims to the strategically vital and potentially resource-rich sea would again be a key focus of the annual four-day Asia-Pacific talks.

"Del Rosario today expressed serious concern over the increasing militarisation of the South China Sea," said a Philippine government statement released on the first day of the event in the Brunei capital.

Del Rosario said there was a "massive presence of Chinese military and paramilitary ships" at two groups of islets within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, called Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.

Del Rosario described the Chinese presence at these islets as "threats to efforts to maintain maritime peace and stability in the region".

He did not give details of the alleged build-up but said the Chinese actions violated a pact in 2002 in which rival claimants to the sea pledged not to take any actions that may increase tensions.

The declaration on conduct signed by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China also committed claimants to settle their disputes "without resorting to the threat or use of force".

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of neighbouring countries.

ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, as well as Taiwan, also have competing claims to parts of the sea.

The rivalries have for decades been a source of regional tension, with China and Vietnam fighting battles in 1974 and 1988 for control of some islands in which dozens of Vietnamese soldiers died.

Tensions have again grown in recent years with the Philippines, Vietnam and some other countries expressing concern at increasingly assertive Chinese military and diplomatic tactics to stress control of the sea.

ASEAN has been trying for more than a decade to secure agreement from China on a legally binding code of conduct that would govern actions in the South China Sea.

China has resisted agreeing to the code, wary of making any concessions that may weaken its claim to the sea.

Nevertheless, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN would continue to press its case with China in Brunei.

"We will be really zeroing in on the need for the code of conduct," Natalegawa told reporters on Saturday.

Toxic smoke from uncontrolled burning of Indonesia's enormous rainforests that has drifted across to neighbouring countries was also discussed on the first day of the Brunei talks.

Natalegawa said the fires had been greatly reduced and were coming under control.

The talks will expand on Monday and Tuesday to include the US, China, Japan, Russia and other countries across the Asia-Pacific, providing the platform for face-to-face diplomacy on many of the world's hot-button issues.

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Abortion drug overshadows new PBS listings

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says the abortion pill RU486 will be listed on the PBS. Source: AAP

THE inclusion of controversial abortion drug RU486 on Australia's subsidised medication program has been labelled an "abuse of power" by pro-life supporters.

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on Sunday that Mifepristone and Misoprostol - used in combination to terminate a pregnancy of up to seven weeks gestation - would be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

"By offering this different option at a very difficult time in a woman's life, I hope that we are giving more choice in what are often extraordinary difficult circumstances," the minister said.

However Right To Life president Margaret Tighe said the decision was a "gross abuse of power" by the government.

"The PBS is designed to include life-saving drugs," she told AAP.

"In this case these drugs are just going to make it easier and cheaper and quicker to have more abortions in Australia and that's an absolute disgrace and goes against the purpose of the PBS."

Listing of the abortion drugs overshadowed the addition of cancer treatments and an anti-stroke medication which were also named by Ms Plibersek as newcomers to the PBS.

Breakthrough skin cancer drug ipilimumab, late-stage prostate cancer treatment abiraterone and breast cancer medication vinorelbine were added to the list in a move that will cost taxpayers $430 million over the next four years.

"The exciting thing about these new treatments is that they will extend the life of patients with melanoma, with prostate cancer, with breast cancer," Ms Plibersek said.

"If we didn't subsidise these medicines through the PBS they would be out of the reach of most Australians."

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia welcomed news of abiraterone's listing to help in the fight against a cancer that kills 3300 men each year.

"Affordable access to therapy at all stages of the condition is vital and the minister's decision to include the therapy on the PBS highlights her commitment to all Australians touched by prostate cancer," foundation CEO Anthony Lowe said in a statement.

Cancer Australia also welcomed the new PBS listings.

"All these agents are important in their own way and to have them available more widely is very important to patients," Professor Jim Bishop said on behalf of the national body.

The government will also put up $450 million over the coming four years for the PBS inclusion of anti-stroke medication rivaroxaban.

"It's a drug that will be used by patients who have been on Warfarin in the past," Ms Plibersek said.

The revised PBS listings are effective from August.

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