US soccer referee punched by player dies

AN amateur league soccer referee who was in a coma after being punched by a teenage player during a game in the US has died.

Ricardo Portillo, 46, died in hospital following the assault during a soccer game in the US state of Utah last weekend, police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.

Police have accused a 17-year-old player of punching Portillo after the referee called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.

"The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.

The teen has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.

Hoyal said authorities will consider additional charges since Portillo has died.

The victim's family, who spoke publicly of Portillo's plight last week, has asked for privacy as they deal with his loss, Hoyal said.

Last week, Johana Portillo, 26, spoke about her father's condition. She said she wasn't at the April 27 game, but said she's been told by witnesses and detectives the player hit her father in the side of the head after he issued the yellow card.

"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.

His friends who were there told Johana her father seemed fine at first, but then asked to be held because he felt dizzy.

They sat him down and he started vomiting blood, prompting his friend to call an ambulance.

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Sydney's first NBN connection drops out

Broadband minister Stephen Conroy will flick the switch to connect Blacktown in Sydney to the NBN. Source: AAP

THE first day the national broadband network was turned on in Sydney, the connection dropped out.

At Blacktown's Max Webber Library on Sunday, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy turned the NBN on for Sydney's first 1,300 premises in the area.

But while Melbourne-based children's author Andy Griffiths was reading from one of his books via videolink, the connection failed.

"There was obviously a technical glitch there," Senator Conroy said.

"Technical glitches happen. You'll have to ask Optus, but they were able to restore it."

An NBN Co spokesman said the fault was due to a glitch in the audio-visual software rather than the NBN itself, and the connection was restored in seconds.

Optus, which provides the library's internet, said the loss of connection was not an Optus issue.

Despite the inauspicious start, Senator Conroy said the government's NBN was superior to the coalition's proposal.

"Tony Abbott wants to take Labor's NBN and turn it into the equivalent of building the Sydney Harbour Bridge with just one lane," he said.

Though he admitted rollout targets had been missed, he said construction would begin or be completed for 1.3 million additional premises by June 2016, taking the total to 4.8 million across the country.

But opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said the NBN would be lucky to meet 15 per cent of its June 30 target.

"It's proceeding at a snail's pace," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"So far this year it's been passing 5,000 premises a month. On that basis it would take centuries to complete the job."

If elected, the coalition says it would offer all households and businesses minimum download speeds of 25 megabits a second (Mbps) by the end of its first term in 2016.

But Labor's current NBN offers download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and aims to give Australians access to speeds of up to one gigabit per second.

Mr Turnbull said speed wasn't the point.

"(25Mbps) is a quarter of the top speed the government is offering but ... it's not the actual speed that matters, it's what you can do with it," he said.

"The government is fixated on very high speeds, but they can't deliver."

NBN Co forecast that high-speed fibre-optic cable would pass 341,000 premises by June 30, but in March it downgraded that figure to between 190,000 and 220,000.

Mr Turnbull said it was critical to get all Australians' connectivity speeds up to a high level to enable them to do everything they wanted online today, and then upgrade the network over time according to demand.

The coalition's NBN plan is projected to cost $29.5 billion and be completed by 2019, while Labor's plan is expected to cost $44.1 billion and be finished two years later.

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Cancer drug review 'won't affect patients'

Minister Tanya Plibersek will announce a review into chemotherapy pricing and funding for drugs. Source: AAP

CANCER patients will be unaffected by pricing changes to chemotherapy drugs, federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says.

The government has announced a review of the way chemotherapy medications are funded and a $30 million one-off boost for cancer drugs in the May budget.

The review follows discussions with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia about appropriate subsidies for dispensing chemotherapy, after the key drug Docetaxel came off patent last year, allowing generic substitutes to enter the market.

Some chemotherapy providers had been using the inflated price the government had been paying, to cover the cost of delivering the treatment to patients.

But after a government decision to drop the price late last year, some providers said they wouldn't be able to afford to keep treating cancer patients without additional funding.

Ms Plibersek told reporters on Sunday at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney the cost to patients would remain unchanged.

She said concession patients would only ever pay $5.60 for a dose of chemotherapy medication, while general patients would continue to pay $36.10.

"The cost to patients has never varied and won't vary. This is about how much the government pays pharmacies for the medications they're delivering," she said.

Kathy Smith, of patient advocacy group Cancer Voices, said the previous pricing system was opaque and confusing.

"Consumers didn't know what was being paid, didn't know where the funding was going to come from for new medications, and at times didn't understand why these new medications couldn't be subsidised to help them when they had cancer and knew the drugs were available," she said.

"Hopefully at the end of this we'll have a publicly transparent and accountable system that can reassure cancer consumers that everything that can be done is being done."

into correct pricing is underway, the government has committed to an interim measure from July to December to increase the amount paid to pharmacists from $76.37 to just over $136 to prepare chemotherapy medications.

Some treatments might run to the tens of thousands of dollars, Ms Plibersek said.

"When you're subsidising new medications to that extent, it's important that we pay the right amount for old generic medications."

But opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton said the December end date for the funding boost left patients in limbo.

"Vulnerable patients requiring these services do not need the stress of being caught in the middle of a stoush over funding that continues to drag on," he said in a statement.

CanSpeak chair Ian Roos welcomed the review and praised those pharmacists who protected patients from having their treatment disrupted by absorbing the funding shortfall of up to $1 million a week.

The Cancer Council's CEO Ian Olver said rural chemotherapy providers had been concerned they would have to close if government subsidies for the drugs continued to drop.

"We've got to make sure no patient is disadvantaged. This extra $60 will actually solve that problem while a proper pricing review is carried out," he said.

"It will be business as usual for cancer patients and we think that's a fantastic outcome."

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Boy killed, man critical after SA fire

POLICE have dragged a man from his burning home in South Australia after he apparently searched in vain for his three-year-old son, who died in the fire.

The boy's body was found inside the home, while his father was taken to hospital with critical injuries.

The man's wife and two other children escaped the blaze.

Emergency crews arrived to find the house at Burdett, southeast of Adelaide, fully alight just after 1.30am Saturday (ACST).

Superintendent Les Buckley said police found the man inside the burning home and went inside to save him.

"It appears as though the father has gone back into the house to look for the three-year-old child who was not with the other people from the home," he told reporters.

The man, 41, was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.

His wife suffered minor burns and she and the two children, who escaped injury, were taken to hospital.

Supt Buckley said the officers acted bravely.

"It's an extremely heroic action by the officers involved," he said.

"They've put their own lives at risk to be able to save this gentleman.

"This is something that police do if we need it to be done and I'm very proud of them."

The fire's cause is being investigated, but is not deemed suspicious at this stage.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

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No one wants to bury Boston bomb suspect

The death certificate of Tamerlan Tsarnaev revealed he died from gunshot wounds and trauma injuries. Source: AAP

A FUNERAL home director is scrambling to find a cemetery that would bury a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, ignoring protesters gathered outside his business and saying everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of his or her death.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died from "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities" and blunt trauma to his head and torso, said a Worcester funeral home owner, Peter Stefan.

He has Tsarnaev's body and on Friday read details from his death certificate.

The certificate lists the time of Tsarnaev's death as 1.35am on April 19, four days after the deadly bombing, Stefan said.

Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with authorities who had launched a massive manhunt for him and his brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago.

Police have said he ran out of ammunition before his younger brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body was released by the state medical examiner on Thursday. It initially was taken to a North Attleborough funeral home, where it was greeted by about 20 protesters, before being taken to Stefan's Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors, which is familiar with Muslim services.

"My problem here is trying to find a gravesite. A lot of people don't want to do it. They don't want to be involved with this," said Stefan, who said dozens of protesters gathered outside his funeral home, upset with his decision to handle the service.

"I keep bringing up the point of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh or Ted Bundy. Somebody had to do those too."

Meanwhile, two US officials said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators that he and his brother initially considered setting off their bombs on July 4.

Boston police said they planned to review security procedures for the Independence Day Boston Pops concert and fireworks display, which draws a crowd of more than 500,000 annually and is broadcast to a national TV audience.

Authorities plan to look at security procedures for large events held in other cities, notably the massive New Year's Eve celebration held each year in New York City's Times Square, Massachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Governor Deval Patrick said everything possible will be done to assure a safe event.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a backyard in Watertown, a Boston suburb, faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill.

Three of his college classmates were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly helping the alleged bomber by removing a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The April 15 bombing, which used pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards, killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

The brothers decided to carry out the attack before Independence Day when they finished assembling the bombs, the surviving suspect told interrogators after he was arrested.

Investigators believe some of the explosives used in the attack were assembled in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's home, though there may have been some assembly elsewhere.

It does not appear that the brothers ever had big, definitive plans, an official said.

The brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

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Only fraud can stop Malaysian oppn: Anwar

ANWAR Ibrahim says only fraud can stop his Malaysian opposition from scoring a historic election win as the rival sides launched a last-ditch campaign blitz on the eve of a tense vote.

Sunday's elections are the first in the country's 56 years of independence in which the only government Malaysia has known faces possible defeat.

The uncertainty has given rise to a bitter campaign, with Prime Minister Najib Razak warning of chaos and ethnic strife under the opposition, which has countered with numerous allegations of government vote fraud.

Anwar set the stage for a possibly destabilising challenge to the results, accusing the Barisan Nasional (National Front) regime of cheating to thwart what he called a "democratic revolution".

"We have advised our supporters to remain calm, not to be provoked, not to take the law into their own hands, support the process," Anwar told AFP in an interview in his home seat in the state of Penang.

He added: "unless there's a major massive fraud tomorrow, that is our nightmare... we will win."

Both Anwar and Najib barnstormed through their home regions where they will cast their own ballots early Sunday.

Najib's ethnic Malay-dominated Barisan has tightly held power in the multi-racial nation for decades, steering it from a backwater to an economic success with some of Asia's highest living standards.

But its grip is slipping amid rising anger over corruption, controversial policies favouring Malays, and authoritarian tactics.

A survey released on Friday indicated a race too close to predict, with Barisan and Anwar's three-party Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) equal in voter support but with many undecided.

Barisan has launched an all-out blitz, with Najib showering voters with cash handouts from government coffers, as Barisan-controlled traditional media relentlessly attack Pakatan.

In a televised interview late on Friday, Najib appealed to voters for a "strong mandate" so he can implement his promise to reform.

"Definitely, with a strong mandate, we can do much better in the next five years," he said.

Anwar was Barisan's heir-apparent until a 1998 power struggle saw him jailed for six years on sex and graft charges widely criticised as trumped-up.

He later brought his star power to the previously weak opposition, dramatically reversing its fortunes.

Upping the ante, Anwar released a 100-day roadmap for Pakatan governance on Saturday, pledging to look into major corruption allegations, free up the media and lower petrol prices.

His transparency promises are anathema to Barisan, which has long been accused of sweeping widespread corruption under the rug.

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$A higher after ECB rate cut

THE Australian dollar is higher after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate.

At 1700 AEST on Friday, the local unit was trading at 102.54 US cents, up from 102.36 cents on Thursday.

The Australian dollar strengthened early on Friday in the wake of the ECB's decision to cut its refinancing rate to a record low of 0.5 per cent and stronger US unemployment and trade data, which helped boost equity markets.

However, CMC Markets senior trader Tim Waterer said the currency's rally has slowed as traders await the release of the key US employment measure for April, which is called non-farm payrolls.

"The US non-farm payrolls data being one of the most anticipated events on the economic calendar, the result will likely influence risk appetite heading into next week," he said.

"It was no surprise to see most currencies just treading water today ahead of the release, particularly after some sharp moves following the ECB press conference.

Mr Waterer said anticipation of the Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting on Tuesday would have also capped the rally in commodity currencies.

The RBA is widely expected to keep the cash rate at a near record low of three per cent, but most economists surveyed by AAP believe there will be a cut some time this year.

On Friday afternoon, the Australian currency fell to an almost three and a half year low against the New Zealand dollar.

It dropped to 120.31 New Zealand cents, its lowest level against the trans-Tasman neighbour since December 2009.

The NZ dollar has had a recent surge as the nation's government bonds prove popular with investors because of their above three per cent yield, which is relatively high compared to other nations.

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Belgian town ponders fate of missing money

ON a Saturday evening two weeks ago in Zedelgem, townsfolk were disturbed by the wail of a siren and the shriek of tyres, the din of a high-speed car chase that broke the tranquillity of their sleepy city.

Suddenly, cash was flying through the air like confetti at carnival.

Dozens of people rushed out of homes or cars to grab a share of the accidental bounty: about a million euros ($A1.28 million) in all. The small fortune had flown from a safe that cracked open when the fleeing robbers panicked and threw it out the window.

"It was," recalled Mayor Patrick Arnou, "a rainstorm of money." Everyone from kids to the elderly ran out to take part in the free-for-all.

Now, the cops want the money back, and the townspeople face a thorny dilemma: play things badly, and you could face two years in jail. Keep a poker face, and the money could be yours to keep.

A veil of suspicion has fallen over the town: Neighbours watch neighbours as police go door to door, questioning townsfolk about what they did - and what they saw others do.

"People talk about nothing else any more in this town," said Arnou. "In the street itself, there is an atmosphere of bitterness."

Some Zedelgem inhabitants who missed the windfall said they understood the actions of their fellow townsfolk, but insisted the size of the cash pile should have made them think twice. "If it were a 20-euro note," said 77-year-old pensioner Hector Clarysse, "I'd pick it up, too, and join in."

But he added: "If you pick up so much money, you know it's not normal."

It all started when the robbers broke into a home in a neighbouring town, and made off with the safe. The getaway car was soon identified; by chance a motorcycle police officer spotted it and gave chase.

When the cop and robbers hit Zedelgem's Ruddervoordsestraat, a street lined by simple red-brick row houses, the thieves tried to shake off the officer by throwing the safe in his way. As it careened down the asphalt, the box shot open: A cloud of bills - some worth as much as 500 euros - swirled through the air and drifted down.

Dozens of wide-eyed people flooded the street, grabbing handfuls of cash. Drivers got out of their cars, snatched money and sped away. One lady even came out of her house with a broom, Arnou said, and swept the money inside.

Police quickly returned and literally plucked cash from the hands of people who were too slow in stashing it away.

Arnou says authorities have secured nearly half of the million euros that were originally in the safe. But the rest of the cash has disappeared into the hands of those who happened to be on that street in Zedelgem. As for the robbers, they have still not been caught - as police attention was diverted by trying to retrieve the money.

A disheartened Arnou says his citizens should have known better. After all, he points out, the money belongs to innocent people who are now out of 1 million euros.

"What we have seen is beyond decency," said the mayor.

Once the adrenalin rush subsided, some people reached the same conclusion and handed back what they found. Late on Wednesday, a couple drove from Antwerp, some 100 kilometres away, to hand over 16,200 euros they had picked up driving through town.

Arnou designated the mailbox outside city hall as a spot for people to hand over money - no questions asked. One contrite individual wrapped a big wad of money in an envelope and deposited it there.

Not a good idea.

Once word got out, thieves tried to unhinge the heavy stone letterbox over the weekend and make off with its contents. It didn't work and, the postbox stood there half-cracked for days - a sad testament to human greed. On Thursday, Arnou watched as workmen repaired the postbox and encased it deeper in concrete.

The case has triggered a passionate debate in Zedelgem.

"There is a major discussion between people who think it should be given back and those who say 'keep what you got'," Arnou said.

But for local prosecutor Jean-Marie Berkvens, things could not be clearer: "Fraudulent concealment," he said, "carries a maximum jail penalty of two years."

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Aust shares flat amid profit taking

THE Australian sharemarket closed flat as investors reap profits from booming bank stocks and some worries about global growth.

The market was up 0.6 per cent for the week despite it posting losses from Wednesday onwards.

Despite some profit taking in the banks on Friday, Shaw Stockbroking senior dealer Jamie Spiteri said there was more substance in the market currently than there had been in recent years with the right stocks being rewarded.

"Liquidity has actually come back into the top-tiered sector of the market and become increasingly concentrated on those delivering reliable earnings and sustainable distributions to shareholders," he told AAP.

"The banks and financials are in the news because of their record performances in recent times and results that have come out this week, validating some of those uplifts in price."

Westpac posted an 11 per cent lift in first half net profit to $3.304 billion and announced a special dividend of 10 cents per share for shareholders, in addition to an 86 cents per share interim distribution.

Its shares fell 35 cents, or 1.03 per cent, to $33.55.

However the stock is up $7.51, or 29 per cent, for the year.

Of the other retail banks, ANZ rose 10 cents to $31.60, but NAB fell 10 cents to $33.74 and Commonwealth Bank was $1.44, or two per cent, lower at $71.06 after having traded above $73 earlier in the year.

Investment bank Macquarie Group reported a full year net profit of $851 million, up 17 per cent from the prior year and a little above market expectations.

In percentage terms, Macquarie Group rose the most of all stocks on the S&P/ASX200 on Friday, jumping 10.9 per cent, or $4.23, to $43.11.

JB Hi-Fi shares leapt up after the retailer said it expected full-year profit to increase by up to 11 per cent to between $112 million and $116 million.

Its shares closed $1.25, or 8.06 per cent higher, at $16.75.

The big miners made gains amid some commodity price rises overnight.

BHP Billiton recovered some of its losses this week closing 18 cents higher at $31.97 and Rio Tinto gained 58 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $54.49.

KEY FACTS

* At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down half a point at 5,129.5 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was 1.3 points higher at 5,105.4 points.

* The June share price index futures contract was six points higher at 5,127 points, with 23,146 contracts traded.

* The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,475.90 per fine ounce, up $US20.60 on Wednesday's closing price of $US1,455.30.

* National turnover was 1.27 billion securities worth $4.33 billion.

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Defence paper will be realistic: Carr

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr says the new Defence white paper will be a realistic assessment of Australia's place in the world and its security for decades to come.

Senator Carr said the document, to be released in Canberra on Friday, would be long ranging.

"It will be a realistic assessment of where Australia stands in the world ...(and) ... the greatest question that faces the Australian people, our security," he told Sky News on Thursday.

A range of security threats confronting Australia were canvassed in the recent national security strategy document, with cyber attack high on the list.

Senator Carr also hinted the new white paper would adopt a more conciliatory approach to China than the 2009 document.

"I believe the rise of China is good for the world, good for Australia. I believe that China's aspirations, economic growth, security and China's modernisation of its armed forces are not a threat to Australia," he said.

Lowy Institute defence analyst James Brown said this was likely to be the "Diet Coke of defence white papers," paring back on the ambitions for a muscular defence force outlined in the 2009 Defence white paper.

He said there would be some spending decisions as the government needed to show that it was doing something about defence, although a fourth air warfare destroyer was looking less likely.

Decisions were looming on issues such as defence's 25,000 properties around the nation in places that were useful in World War II, but not now.

The government was also likely to proceed with plans to buy another 24 Super Hornet aircraft.

He said he did not expect Defence would get back any of the $5.5 billion funding removed at the budget last year.

"The defence force that we were promised in 2009 will still be under-funded. The government really should tomorrow be outlining what reduced options the military will have," he told Sky News.

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