10 Islamists sentenced to death in Egypt

An Egyptian court has sentenced 10 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement to death. Source: AAP

AN Egyptian court has sentenced ten supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement to death in absentia on charges of inciting violence and blocking a road last July.

Judge Hassan Fareed on Saturday referred the sentence to the Grand Mufti, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, a legal requirement usually considered a formality.

The remaining 38 accused in the case, including the Brotherhood's supreme guide and other senior members, will be sentenced at the next hearing on July 5.

The case is one of several ongoing mass trials of supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Under Egyptian law, those sentenced in absentia will have a new trial if they are arrested or surrender to authorities.

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One dead, one hurt in SA speed boat crash

ONE person is dead and another has been rushed to hospital after a speedboat crashed on the Murray River in South Australia.

SA Police say Saturday afternoon's accident occurred during a competitive event.

"There were two victims, one is sadly deceased," an SA police spokesman said.

"The other has got some serious burns and has been flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital."

The Adelaide Advertiser reported the victims were both male, but SA Police were unable to provide further details.

"It was a sad tragic way of ending the day's competition there," the police spokesman said.

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Alleged Sydney card skimmer charged

A man has been caught allegedly skimming money out of ATMs in Sydney's west using stolen card data. Source: AAP

A MAN has been caught allegedly skimming money out of ATMs in Sydney's west using stolen card data.

Police were contacted after the 27-year-old was seen acting suspiciously in Parramatta on Friday morning, walking from one ATM to another, allegedly making transactions with several cards.

Officers later detained and searched the man, finding 15 store cards, which are believed to have been encoded with stolen card data. He also had more than $4000 in cash on him.

The Fairfield man was charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and two other related charges.

He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on July 16.

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PM wants Monash to be household name

THE efforts of Australian General John Monash on the Western Front in World War I should be as widely recognised as the story of Simpson and his donkey at Gallipoli, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott revealed on Saturday a new memorial centre to be built in France would be named in honour of the Australian military leader, who is regarded as one of the great tacticians of World War I.

After joining world leaders at D-Day commemorations in Normandy on Friday, Mr Abbott turned his attention to the First World War as he visited the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux for the first time.

While not as famous as the Gallipoli campaign, the efforts of Australian diggers to stop German forces on the Western Front were critical to the outcome of the war.

Of the 295,000 Australians who fought there between 1916 and 1918, 46,000 never made it home and the prime minister is leading a push he believes will help improve a sense of national identity.

"No place on earth has been more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than these fields in France," Mr Abbott said.

"Australians should be as familiar with the story of the Western Front as we are with Gallipoli.

"Australians should be at least as familiar with the achievements of Monash as we are with the heroism of John Simpson Kirkpatrick (in Gallipoli)."

Sir John Monash was involved in the failed Gallipoli campaign but used his experiences to lead several significant battlefield victories, including the decisive Battle of Amiens.

Mr Abbott said he brought organisation and technology to the battlefield to "break the stalemate of trench warfare".

Attendances at the annual Anzac Day dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux have grown steadily in recent years, with the crowd this year surpassing that at Gallipoli.

Some predict it will become the nation's clear focal point of Anzac Day commemorations beyond next year's centenary in Gallipoli.

"Australians should congregate here, every April 25th, no less than at Anzac Cove," Mr Abbott said.

"And on Anzac Day four years hence, the centenary of the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, I'm sure they will."

Mr Abbott said it was expected the new "interpretive centre", to be built behind the Australian memorial, would open in 2018 to coincide with 100th anniversary commemorations.

The "Sir John Monash" centre will help to better explain Australia's role in the final victories of World War I and the government will put up $6.9 million for the initial planning.

Mr Abbott later followed in the footsteps of former prime ministers by visiting the Victoria School, built in Villers-Bretonneux in 1927 with money donated by school children from the Australian state.

He chatted with schoolchildren and locals in the school's courtyard, where a prominent green and gold sign hangs permanently reading: "Never Forget Australia."

Mr Abbott then visited the memorial site at nearby Pozieres, the sight of a bloody 1916 battle where 23,000 Australians were killed in the space of just six weeks.

The prime minister was expected to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Saturday night before departing Paris on Sunday for Canada and the US.

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Man dies after car hits pole in Victoria

A MAN has died after his car left the road and struck a power pole in the Victorian town of Warragul.

Police believe the 19-year-old Warragul man was driving west along Queen Street just before 7pm on Saturday when he lost control on a bend and collided with the pole.

He died before he could be airlifted to a city hospital.

Police are investigating reports the driver was involved in an earlier collision in Drouin and will prepare a report for the coroner.

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$33.6b of Qld assets earmarked for sale

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls has handed down his third budget in Brisbane. Source: AAP

ASSETS worth $33.6 billion will be sold or leased if the Newman government wins next year's election, with a quarter of the proceeds going towards state building projects.

Six months after initiating scoping studies to gauge investor appetite, Treasurer Tim Nicholls has finally revealed that all assets originally earmarked for sale or lease will go.

The asset sales document, handed down separate to Tuesday's budget, is a draft report and a final decision will be made in September.

Electricity generators CS Energy and Stanwell would be offloaded, and Ergon's retail business would also be offered to sweeten the deal.

The industrial pipelines of Sunwater would be sold, and long-term leases would be offered for the Gladstone and Townsville ports, including the Mount Isa rail line.

About $29 billion could be raised by private investment in electricity distributors Ergon, Energex and Powerlink.

Investors will be offered a share of revenue if they undertake $9.8 billion of infrastructure upgrades.

There was no final figure on how much revenue Queenslanders will miss out on if assets are sold, but Mr Nicholls says its impact on the fiscal balance is expected to be minimal.

"But it will really free up a lot more opportunities to invest in the future," he said.

Three-quarters of the money raised would reduce state debt by $25 billion, taking it to $55 billion.

The rest, totalling $8.6 billion, would fund infrastructure projects over six years.

A billion dollars would be put aside for the Brisbane underground, a five-kilometre bus and train tunnel that goes under the Brisbane River.

Another $3 billion would be spent on roads and one billion dollars on new schools, with up to 48 needed by 2021.

Half-a-billion dollars would be set aside for future natural disasters

The asset sales document detailed public responses to the "Strong Choices" survey, which found 46 per cent of the 55,000 respondents favoured asset sales and 46 per cent preferred tax hikes and reduced services.

To further win over the public, another advertising blitz will be launched, at the cost of $5.2 million.

Mr Nicholls said there would be a strong appetite to buy the state's assets.

"Not everyone will agree with all of the choices this government has made about how to pay for things into the future," he said.

"But at least Queenslanders now know we will have funding certainty into the future, so we can invest in things we need for a growing and ageing population."

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Parents seek answers to son's Yemen death

THE parents of an Australian man killed in a US drone strike in Yemen want to know how their son died and what evidence the federal government has of his possible links to terrorism.

Christopher Harvard, 27, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen on November 19 last year.

The Townsville man's parents, Neill and Bronwyn Dowrick, say they feel abandoned by the Australian government after being given conflicting information about his death.

"Every time we ask questions, they just won't answer," Mrs Dowrick told the ABC on Tuesday.

Mr Dowrick said it took at least a month after their son was killed before they were told.

First they heard he was killed in a Yemen government strike on a mosque, then in a car, then the federal government "changed the story every week".

Mr Harvard had told his parents he was going to Yemen to teach English after someone paid for his trip.

But the federal government apparently suspects he was linked to terrorism in Yemen and to the kidnapping of three Westerners in 2012.

Mr and Mrs Dowrick say they received a call in 2012 to advise their son's passport had been cancelled.

"So then he had to stay in Yemen," Mr Dowrick said.

The ABC showed freedom of information documents from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's office that say Mr Harvard was being investigated for possible involvement in activities in Yemen linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, including the kidnapping of three Europeans.

Mr Dowrick says all that is hearsay and no one has ever given them any proof either way.

They want the truth.

"No lies, the straight-out truth," he said.

Mrs Dowrick said it has been a terrible ordeal.

"How do we move on? We have got no closure.

"We've got no proof of Chris's body, a death certificate or how he was actually killed," she said.

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8 cars earn top mark for collision warning

Eight cars have earned the highest safety rating in new tests of high-tech crash prevention systems. Source: AAP

THE 2014 Chevrolet Impala was the only non-luxury car to earn the highest safety rating in new tests of high-tech crash prevention systems.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested cars equipped with collision warning and automatic braking systems. It gave a "superior" rating to cars that both warned the driver of a potential collision and applied the automatic brakes to significantly slow the cars.

The BMW 5 Series, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Buick Regal, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac XTS and 2015 Hyundai Genesis also earned "superior" ratings in the test results released Thursday.

Collision warning and automatic braking systems use cameras, radars and lasers to determine if a vehicle is getting too close to the car in front of it. Most of the systems warn the driver - audibly, with vibrations in the seat, or both - and prepare the brakes to maximise their effect when the driver presses them.

In some cases, the vehicles brake themselves. That action may not prevent a crash, the institute said, but reducing the speed before the car hits something can help make crashes - and injuries - less severe.

The Impala's rating wasn't affected by a government investigation of one driver's report that the automatic braking system went off several times without warning, eventually causing an accident.

Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said the group is aware of the investigation but had no issues with the Impala in testing.

The Arlington, Virginia-based institute, which is funded by insurers, began testing and rating the systems last autumn in hopes of pressuring automakers to adopt them as standard equipment.

The institute said 40 per cent of 2014 models now offer forward collision warning as an option, while 20 per cent offer automatic braking. Acura, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo offer the systems as standard equipment on some cars.

Tests are conducted at 20 kilometres per hour and 40 kilometres per hour. In the highest-rated cars, the brakes slowed the cars to 3 or 4 kph or less.

Thirteen 2014 models earned "advanced" ratings, meaning they warned drivers but their brakes reduced the speed only moderately. Those vehicles were: the BMW 3 Series, Buick LaCrosse, Lexus IS, Audi A3, Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Dodge Durango, Lexus GS, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Infiniti QX50 and Infiniti QX70. The BMW 5 Series and BMW X5, which won superior ratings when equipped with a radar and camera, earned "advanced" ratings when equipped with City Brake, a camera-only system.

Three models earned "basic" ratings, meaning they warned drivers of a potential collision but reduced the car's speed by less than 8 kph. They were: the BMW 3 Series (without City Brake), the Infiniti Q70 and the Toyota Avalon.

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Westfield in court before restructure vote

WESTFIELD Retail Trust (WRT) shareholders are eagerly waiting for the outcome of a Supreme Court application over merger plans by the shopping centre giant.

Westfield is seeking approval to conclude an investor vote on a controversial proposed merger with the Australasian business of Westfield Group.

The planned merger hit a brick wall last week when the shareholder vote was postponed at the last minute amid heated debate about its merits.

WRT is in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, seeking approval to send documents to securityholders ahead of a rescheduled vote.

Details of the date and venue for the conclusion of the meeting are included in the documents, which are likely to be made public soon after court approval is granted.

But a spokeswoman on Tuesday night said no date had been yet set for a fresh vote.

"I can confirm that we have not confirmed a date," the spokeswoman said. "When a date has been confirmed, we will send out a (media) release."

The spokeswoman's comments come despite a media report that June 20 had been set for fresh meeting and vote.

Under the restructure plan, Westfield's Australian and New Zealand businesses would merge with WRT to create a new entity, to be called Scentre.

Westfield Group's international business, which includes malls in Great Britain and at Westfield World Trade Center being built in New York, would become Westfield Corporation.

A significant number of WRT securityholders believe the proposed restructure favours Westfield Group to the detriment of WRT, and a number of proxy votes lodged last week by WRT securityholders in favour of the proposed merger fell just short of what was needed to push the restructure over the line.

Shortly before WRT investors were due to vote, Mr Lowy said Westfield Group would still seek to split its Australasian arm from its international business even if WRT securityholders did not approve the planned merger.

Proxies lodged before the original meeting will remain valid, but securityholders will be allowed to lodge new proxy votes if they have changed their view on the proposal, the company has said.

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ABS controls fail to trigger insider alert

THE Australian Bureau of Statistics has admitted it is difficult to counter the threat of a trusted insider leaking market-sensitive information.

Former ABS public servant Christopher Russell Hill, 24, of Belconnen in the ACT is facing criminal charges over his role in an alleged $7 million insider trading operation.

Police allege Hill gave market-sensitive information to his university friend, National Australia Bank associate director Lukas Kamay.

Kamay, 26, allegedly used the labour force, retail and trade figures, which had yet to be publicly released, to predict fluctuations in the Australian dollar.

The activity generated about $7 million in profits between August 2013 and May this year.

At a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday night, ABS acting statistician Jonathan Palmer defended security protocols in place, describing the breach as unprecedented in the bureau's 100-year history.

"Fortunately in this case police were clear that this person acted alone," he said.

"That gives me some level of confidence."

The bureau has recruited Belinda Gibson, former deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, to conduct a review.

Staff must sign undertakings and declarations when they begin employment to show they are aware they risk jail if they leak sensitive information.

Mr Palmer said there were strict access controls on sensitive information and the bureau reviews access logs.

The hearing was told the bureau's procedures did not trigger any alerts to the alleged criminal behaviour.

Mr Palmer said Hill had been a trusted insider.

"It's a very difficult threat to counter," he said.

"If someone has a trusted need to access the number and they only have to leak an aggregate number or communicate in some obscure way that the number is contrary to market expectations, there's no requirement for them to take [numbers] out of the building."

He said staff were not allowed access to their mobile phones in lock-ups but that control measure did not extend to the office.

Labor senator Mark Bishop asked whether it was possible to have a staff lock-up between the data being finalised and then released to the market in order to restrict access to phones and computers.

He pointed to the Canberra press gallery's six hour budget lock-up as an example.

But Mr Palmer said that was not practical because sometimes data reports were completed days in advance.

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