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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