Egypt's protesters shift strategy

REELING from a fierce security crackdown, the Muslim Brotherhood brought out only scattered, small crowds in its latest protests of Egypt's military coup.

While the remnants of the Brotherhood's leadership are still able to exhibit strong coordination from underground, the arrests of thousands of its supporters and members - and the fear of more bloodshed - have weakened its ability to mobilise the streets.

The day's largest single demonstration was a little more than 10,000 people outside the presidential palace in Cairo, with dozens of gatherings of about 100 protesters or fewer in multiple sites around the capital and the provinces.

It was an intentional shift in tactics from a week ago, when the group failed to rally in a single location as a show of strength.

Security officials dubbed it the "butterfly plan" - a flurry of protests to distract them.

Rather than have protests converge in one square and encounter force from police and angry residents, the group appeared to purposely plan hundreds of small marches as another way of continuing demonstrations and avoiding bloodshed, according to security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media.

Protest organisers also tried a bit of subterfuge: They said a rally would take place in Sphinx Square in Cairo, but after security forces barricaded the site with barbed wire, tanks and roadblocks, only a few hundred people demonstrated nearby, and the biggest crowd converged across town at the presidential palace.

Tens of thousands heeded the Brotherhood's call nationwide for a day of "decisiveness," in which the group urged people to "break your fear, break the coup." They marched defiantly past tanks and armoured vehicles on the streets of Cairo and other major cities.

More than 1,300 people, most of them Brotherhood supporters, have been killed since President Mohammed Morsi, a longtime leader in the group, was ousted in a popularly backed coup July 3.

Violence peaked two weeks ago when security forces attacked two Brotherhood-led sit-ins, killing more than 600 people in the assaults. More than 100 policemen and soldiers have been killed since the Aug. 14 raids. Police stations, government buildings and churches also have been attacked.

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Mandela remains in hospital: president

Political icon Nelson Mandela has reportedly recovered enough to return to his home in Johannesburg. Source: AAP

NELSON Mandela remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition, the office of South Africa's president says.

The statement from President Jacob Zuma's office denied media reports that Mandela had been released from the hospital.

The update on the 95-year-old anti-apartheid hero's condition is unchanged from last week, when Zuma said Mandela showed "great resilience".

"Madiba is still in hospital in Pretoria, and remains in a critical but stable condition," the statement said, referring to Mandela by his clan name. "At times his condition becomes unstable, but he responds to medical interventions."

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with what officials said was a recurring lung infection.

Mandela remains very fragile, and the few details released about his condition are tightly controlled by his family and Zuma's office. Zuma last week urged South Africans to pray for Mandela and to keep him in their thoughts at all times.

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Bomb in Afghan city kills at least five

A SUICIDE car bomb at a police checkpoint in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar has killed at least five people, officials say.

Javed Faisal, who is spokesman for the provincial governor, says police stopped a suicide car bomber at the checkpoint near a branch of New Kabul Bank on Saturday morning. The bomber then detonated his explosives.

Dr Mohammad Wali of Kandahar Hospital said at least five were killed and 25 wounded and ambulances were still bringing more victims in.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on Taliban militants.

The Taliban are especially strong in southern Afghanistan, which is dominated by the ethnic Pashtun community whose members form the bulk of the insurgency in the country.

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SA bred devils a bid to save species

Two Tasmanian Devils bred at an Adelaide sanctuary are set to be released on an island off Tasmania. Source: AAP

A PAIR of Tasmanian devils bred in South Australia are set to be released on an island off Tasmania as part of efforts to save the species from a deadly facial tumour disease.

The disease has wiped out an estimated 90 per cent of the devil population in some parts of Tasmania.

Concern over its spread led to the establishment of a national breeding program eight years ago to ensure the survival of the species.

A breeding sanctuary was set up at Monarto Zoo, east of Adelaide, and it now has 19 of the marsupials, including three recently born joeys.

Two devils, one female and one male, will soon be released on Maria Island, off Tasmania's east coast, which is free of the tumour disease.

Another female may also be released, depending on the result of behavioural testing.

Fifteen devils were released last year although the Adelaide pair will be the first to be bred on the Australian mainland.

Zookeeper Adrian Mifsud said the devils have had very little human contact, which will help them make the transition to their natural habitat.

"Even though they have been bred in captivity, they still retain enough shyness from people to be released," he said.

"At the same time they're also inquisitive with different surroundings."

The devils will undergo final health checks before being released in October.

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How Aust lost Vin Diesel action sequel

Australia lost to Canada on being the site for the sequel to Vin Diesel's Riddick film franchise. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA lost out on being the site for a $US40 million ($A45.00 million) science-fiction, action movie sequel starring Vin Diesel because the tax incentives the federal and state governments offered could not compete with Canada, the film's Hollywood director said.

In 1999 Diesel and director-writer David Twohy made Pitch Black in Australia, a film about space travellers attempting to survive a crash on a desolate planet.

It was shot in Queensland and on sun-scorched areas outside Coober Pedy in South Australia.

The film sparked a 2004 sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, which was shot in Canada but was panned by critics.

When Diesel and Twohy were working on the third film in the series, Riddick, they wanted to capture the feel of Pitch Black so looked at returning to Australia.

They settled on Montreal, Canada.

"When you look at the dollars and cents, Australia does have some kind of film incentive program, but it is just not nearly as strong as Canada," Twohy told reporters in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

"When you are trying to make a movie for a price, you have to chase that.

"Unfortunately that's why so much US production is in Louisiana now because they have this strong 40 per cent rebate program going on.

"I hope it changes because we had a very good time in Australia."

Riddick, which opens in Australia on September 12, follows Diesel's character, an escaped convict, as he attempts to evade bounty hunters, alien dogs and scorpion-like creatures known as mud demons on a bleak, almost inhospitable planet.

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Coalition offers schools independence

A coalition government would set up a $70m fund to support public schools transition to independent. Source: AAP

PUBLIC schools will be encouraged to go their own way under a coalition government with $70 million on offer to help schools achieve independence.

The independent public schools fund is one of the few differences between the coalition's education policy, unveiled on Thursday, and Labor's Better Schools plan.

Education Minister Bill Shorten dismissed it as offering no new ideas and no funding certainty.

Launching the policy in western Sydney, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott recommitted to matching Labor's education funding plans over the next four years.

"Mr Rudd's scare that the coalition is going to cut money out of education is simply false," he said.

Independent Schools Queensland said the reaffirmed pledge gave schools funding certainty.

But the Australian Education Union (AEU) described it as "a disappointing sleight of hand" because Labor has signed six-year funding agreements, with the bulk of the money flowing in the last two years.

Under the Better Schools plan - based on the Gonski recommendations - only about $2 billion of a total $10 billion extra commonwealth funding will get to schools in the four years Mr Abbott has pledged to match.

"It is completely dishonest for Tony Abbott to claim the coalition has matched the Labor government Gonski funding commitment," AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

"They have only committed just one third of the total federal funding for Gonski."

Mr Abbott said the coalition wanted to give every school the opportunity to make more of the money it got.

That's the reasoning behind the push to make a quarter of the country's public schools independently run by 2017.

It's based on the West Australian independent public schools model, which has led to a third of that state's schools making the change and a subsequent increase in public enrolments.

"We want every school to have more opportunity to be closer to its best self," Mr Abbott said.

Schools would still be bound by overall departmental and government policy and get the same resources as centrally managed institutions, but instead be run by autonomous school councils and principals.

The $70 million fund would give grants to help schools transition.

Education spokesman Christopher Pyne repeated the coalition's pledge to review the national curriculum but not "throw it out holus-bolus".

The coalition would also focus on teacher quality through improved admission standards for courses and more practical teacher training.

Mr Shorten said the coalition appeared to have no real policy to lift school performance or build genuine school autonomy.

"After six years, Australian parents and teachers would have expected a little more than dot points and empty rhetoric on education from the alternative government," he said.

Australian Greens education spokeswoman Penny Wright said giving schools more autonomy can be appropriate in some areas but there was evidence that independent public schools can actually entrench inequality.

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PM wants to spend more on defence, DFAT

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he'd like defence spending to rise to 2% of gross domestic product. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd says he'd like to spend more on defence and on Australia's diplomatic missions.

Mr Rudd said he would aim to lift defence spending to two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) - matching a goal laid out by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

"In terms of the future of our defence expenditure commitments, then of course our objective remains to sustain defence expenditure at two per cent of GDP," he told the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Tuesday.

Mr Abbott said on Sunday a coalition government would raise defence spending to two per cent of GDP within a decade.

Current defence spending is $25.4 billion - or 1.59 per cent of GDP - and will rise to 1.65 per cent by 2016/17.

Mr Rudd also said if Labor was returned he would do everything possible to enhance the resources available to the Australian foreign service.

One of his final achievements as foreign minister was to secure funding for a new consulate-general in western China.

"People said we couldn't do that. We did," Mr Rudd said.

Mr Rudd also noted the coalition had opposed the government's campaign to secure membership of the UN Security Council.

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Palmer twerks like Miley Cyrus

Billionaire Clive Palmer has performed a Miley Cyrus-style twerk during a live radio interview. Source: AAP

HIS ample body gyrated back and forth.

His hips and bum trembled like a blancmange.

And the nation gasped.

Did billionaire mining baron Clive Palmer - the man who would be the next prime minister of Australia - just TWERK?

Not since David Brent performed his infamous Comic Relief flashdance in season two, episode five of the UK Office has a jiggle been so ... jaw dropping.

But that's exactly what happened as Palmer appeared on Sydney radio station 2DayFM on Tuesday.

"Had a great time with @kyleandjackieo this morning. You can't be PM if you can't twerk," the flamboyant leader of the Palmer United Party gleefully tweeted afterwards.

It was all going so normally until then, too.

Presenters Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O were quizzing Palmer about his policies.

"What about endearing yourself to younger Australians? I've got a really good idea if you want some tips," Sandilands told Palmer.

Cue the twerk, which echoed Miley Cyrus's raunchy dance at the MTV Awards on Monday.

Sandilands went first - demonstrating what the dance required.

Reader, let's pause here for a second - for those of you not familiar with the twerk.

One online dictionary describes it thus: "The rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or laughter in one's intended audience."

And then the big man got up. Palmer gripped the desk as if preparing for an enema.

Jackie O gasped.

Then Palmer just ... twerked. Like never before.

Beats pulsed. Australia paused.

Shocked voters took to Twitter.

"Has Clive Palmer just twerked his way into Canberra?" one person commented.

Another added: "Dear God, Clive Palmer twerking ... my eyes."

The dance comes just a day after another would-be politician sent themselves up.

Senate candidate and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange donned a blond mullet wig and mimed John Farnham's You're The Voice during a tongue-in-cheek pitch to voters on YouTube.

Last week, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott and Christine Milne appeared in a video for indie punk band Super Best Friends.

And Labor's Craig Emerson has made a series of funny appearances on the ABC's The Hamster Decides, giving repeat performances of his now-infamous 'Whyalla Wipeout' song.

They're often boring.

But this campaign, the politicians of our wide brown land don't lack for colour.

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Young people stuck in NSW aged care homes

Many young disabled people in NSW are stuck in aged care homes without alternative housing options. Source: AAP

GARY Holterman was 27 when a diabetic coma caused permanent brain injury.

Now aged 32, he's in his fourth aged care home because, according to his mother Margaret, staff aren't trained to deal with brain injuries.

"My son has been in an advanced dementia ward with people aged 80, 90 waiting to die - and he's 32," she told AAP.

Ms Holterman says her son can't tell her where he'd like to live but his situation is "desperate" now that he's developed epilepsy and dementia.

Advocates for people like Gary in aged residential care converged on NSW parliament house on Tuesday to hand over 14,500 signatures and a submission on improving conditions for young people in residential care.

The Brain Injury Association began gathering signatures in May, the same month the NSW Ombudsman released a concerning report on the deaths of disabled people in care.

Association president Paul Raciborski says 80 per cent of the 2500 people under 65 living in aged care in NSW have an acquired brain injury.

The federal government's DisabilityCare did not adequately address accommodation shortfalls, he said.

"The NDIS (Disability Care) will provide the funding but now it's about providing a solution," he told AAP.

"The danger is you'll end up as a person in residential aged care with a cheque and nowhere to go."

NSW Minister for Disability Services, John Ajaka, on Tuesday announced a statewide program to help people with a disability, their families and carers prepare for the move to DisabilityCare.

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Nauru drops charges against asylum seekers

NAURU prosecutors have dropped charges against 10 asylum seekers relating to damages to the camp shortly after it opened last September.

Lawyer Sam Norton said the men were tremendously relieved the charges had been withdrawn halfway through their trial.

"That had been hanging over their heads for a year," he told AAP.

"They were extraordinarily relieved."

The charges related to an incident at the end of September 2012, about two weeks after the camp on Nauru was reopened.

At the time, the immigration department described it as a minor disturbance when kitchens, tents and lights were damaged but no one was injured.

The men's trial began on Thursday and ran through Friday.

Mr Norton said the Nauruan prosecutor contacted him on Saturday to indicate they would file a "nolle prosequi" application, indicating the prosecution did not intend to proceed with the case.

That happened on Monday morning.

Five of the men remain in the camp on Nauru while the others have been moved elsewhere, Mr Norton told AAP.

"They've got to wait until their claims are processed," he said.

"They're not free, they are in detention in an incredibly undesirable place.

"It's hot, it's cramped. It's just appalling really."

Mr Norton and barrister Simon King have been acting pro bono for the 10 men.

Meanwhile, more than 100 other asylum seekers face charges for riots in July in which the detention centre was all but burned to the ground.

Only the kitchen and recreation facility remained following the blaze, with the damage estimated at $60 million.

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Nauru drops charges against asylum seekers

NAURU prosecutors have dropped charges against 10 asylum seekers relating to damages to the camp shortly after it opened last September.

Lawyer Sam Norton said the men were tremendously relieved the charges had been withdrawn halfway through their trial.

"That had been hanging over their heads for a year," he told AAP.

"They were extraordinarily relieved."

The charges related to an incident at the end of September 2012, about two weeks after the camp on Nauru was reopened.

At the time, the immigration department described it as a minor disturbance when kitchens, tents and lights were damaged but no one was injured.

The men's trial began on Thursday and ran through Friday.

Mr Norton said the Nauruan prosecutor contacted him on Saturday to indicate they would file a "nolle prosequi" application, indicating the prosecution did not intend to proceed with the case.

That happened on Monday morning.

Five of the men remain in the camp on Nauru while the others have been moved elsewhere, Mr Norton told AAP.

"They've got to wait until their claims are processed," he said.

"They're not free, they are in detention in an incredibly undesirable place.

"It's hot, it's cramped. It's just appalling really."

Mr Norton and barrister Simon King have been acting pro bono for the 10 men.

Meanwhile, more than 100 other asylum seekers face charges for riots in July in which the detention centre was all but burned to the ground.

Only the kitchen and recreation facility remained following the blaze, with the damage estimated at $60 million.

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NSW man caught in car with just 3 wheels

A NSW driver allegedly tried to escape police in a car that was missing a tyre and falling to bits.

The man's Mitsubishi Magna caught the attention of police on the Newell Highway near Forbes about 4.30am (AEST) on Monday because it had only three tyres.

Police said officers chased the Mitsubishi for a short distance before calling off their pursuit.

About an hour later, police were back on the driver's tail, but were hampered by bits of debris that were flying off the car.

The Mitsubishi was finally stopped south of Forbes and the 38-year-old male driver was arrested.

The Bathurst man has been charged with numerous road and traffic offences.

He was refused bail and is due to appear at Parkes Local Court on September 2.

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Floods leave 22 dead in the Philippines

THE Philippines is bracing for more rain as a tropical depression moved towards it one week after severe floods killed 22 people and affected nearly three million people.

The storm, packing maximum winds of 45km/h, was moving 13km/h north-northwest and would bring heavy rain over the north-eastern Philippines, the weather bureau said.

The national disaster risk management agency ordered local precautionary measures including pre-emptive evacuations of low-lying and mountainous areas.

Last week's typhoon dropped heavy rain that flooded Manila and forced the closure of schools, government offices and financial markets.

Floods in some northern provinces were still rising as rivers and dams overflowed, affecting 2.8 million people, including 94,215 staying in evacuation centres.

Damage to agriculture and infrastructure has been estimated at 14.72 million dollars, the national disaster risk management agency said.

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Rudd kitchen saga distracts from Syria

PM Kevin Rudd has rejected claims he delayed a national security briefing to film a cooking show. Source: AAP

KEVIN Rudd wanted to focus on the unfolding Syrian crisis but found himself being questioned about a filming engagement, the carbon tax and his record.

An irritated prime minister on Sunday was forced to reject reports he had pushed back a briefing on Syria to pre-record an episode of the ABC Television hit Kitchen Cabinet in Brisbane on Saturday.

Later on Saturday night Mr Rudd met with Foreign Minister Bob Carr, junior defence minister Mike Kelly and senior officials in his Parliament House office.

He dismissed suggestions he should have returned to Canberra sooner, saying his department head had advised him the earliest a briefing could be held was Saturday night or Sunday morning.

"I said the best thing to do was do it as soon as possible," Mr Rudd told ABC's Insiders program.

"The bottom line is if I hadn't taken the opportunity to alert the Australian people as to what was going on I would have been criticised for that."

News Corp Australia had reported Mr Rudd used a taxpayer-funded VIP jet to fly from Sydney to Brisbane on Saturday to appear on the program, rather than to Canberra for the briefing.

The prime minister said The Sunday Telegraph's claim he delayed the briefing was wrong.

"Had the newspaper bothered to contact my office, they would have known it was 100 per cent false," he said.

"I don't think it could be any clearer in terms of what has happened here."

Mr Rudd also on Sunday agreed Labor did not have a mandate to introduce a carbon tax after the 2010 election, effectively putting him in agreement with the coalition which plans to scrap the impost if it wins government on September 7.

"I don't think our actions on the carbon tax were right, that's why I changed it to move towards a floating price," he said.

"The core element here is that we believe climate change is real."

Mr Rudd was also asked if he was pleased his predecessor Julia Gillard had chosen to stay out of the political limelight, rather than take part in the election campaign.

"I said from the point at which I returned to the prime ministership, I would not be engaging in any negative commentary in relation to Julia's prime ministership," he said.

Was he grateful her supporters had not sabotaged his campaign, as his supporters did to her in 2010?

"I am not going to go to internal debates ... within the Labor party either at that time or on this occasion," he said.

"I respect Julia Gillard's contribution.

"She has made great contributions, they should be respected."

Mr Rudd flew to Sydney on Sunday, where he is expected to spend a few days campaigning.

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Softer side of Abbott on show

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott showed his softer side ahead of a hard hitting speech during which he asked Australians to "choose change" at the federal election.

Liberal and Nationals supporters gathered in Brisbane on Sunday to hear Mr Abbott launch the coalition's official election campaign.

Mr Abbott promised that if elected on September 7 the coalition would be a competent and trustworthy "no surprises, no excuses government".

"I won't let you down. This is my pledge to you," Mr Abbott said.

Before his address, Mr Abbott was introduced by two of his three daughters.

"My dad looks out for everyone, and I know he will look out for you," said Frances Abbott, standing beside her sister Bridget.

As the Abbott family, including wife Margie Abbott, embraced on the stage of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Mr Abbott declared: "I'm so proud of my girls."

His 32-minute speech included new plans to benefit trade apprentices, self-funded retirees and dementia sufferers.

"He was cool and calm and considered and that's everything the other party (Labor) is not," one Liberal party member, named Jan, told AAP.

Mr Abbott got a thumbs up from former Liberal prime minister John Howard.

"What came through to me was the simple sincerity of his presentation to the Australian people and his focus on the importance of delivering what you promise," Mr Howard told reporters.

About 1000 people attended the launch in the heart of Liberal and Nationals territory.

It was the third successive coalition election campaign launch held in Queensland.

"It's obviously a key battleground," Liberal frontbencher Peter Dutton said.

"It's Kevin Rudd's home state - there is a lot of anger on the ground here."

A small group of union protesters gathered outside, as Mr Abbott appealed to Labor and Australian Greens voters to "give my team a chance".

He promised that within ten years, Australia would have lower taxes, and there would be two million extra jobs in the manufacturing, agriculture, services, education and resource sectors.

Mr Abbott said by the end of a coalition government's first term, the budget would be on track to a "believable" surplus.

The promise extends the timeframe the Labor government has set for a $4 billion surplus in 2016/17.

Within a decade, the budget surplus would be one per cent of gross domestic product, Mr Abbott said.

"And each year, government will be a smaller percentage of our economy."

He again pledged to abolish the carbon and mining taxes, cut company tax and business red tape and shift the industrial relations pendulum "back to the sensible centre".

Mr Abbott highlighted his signature $5.5 billion a year plan to give working women six months parental leave at full pay.

Mr Abbott announced new initiatives totalling $385 million, including plans to index the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card so more self-funded retirees got access to cheaper medicines.

He committed funds for dementia research and to giving young trade apprentices access to HECS-style, interest free $20,000 loans to help pay for their training from next year.

Mr Abbott is expected to begin the final two weeks of the campaign in Brisbane on Monday.

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