Mother, 6 kids die in Philippine tent fire

A fire has killed a woman and her six children in a tent refuge for Typhoon Haiyan survivors. Source: AAP

A WOMAN and her six children who were in a shelter for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan have all died after a fire swept through their tent.

The tragedy highlights the slow progress in the resettlement of tens of thousands of survivors of Haiyan, which struck more than six months ago.

The fire was caused by a kerosene lamp and quickly consumed the canvas tent on Tuesday, Tacloban city disaster management officer Derrick Anido said.

The shelter was one of 40 in a "tent city" in San Jose district, which was wiped out by tsunami-like storm surges and fierce winds from Typhoon Haiyan in November.

The children - who died from burns and suffocation - ranged in age from four months to 12 years old, Anido said.

The woman and her seven-year-old son survived the fire initially but both died later in hospital.

"It happened around 12:20am ... but it was so fast that by 12:30 it was over," Anido said, adding that everyone was sleeping when the fire broke out.

Anido, quoting investigators, said the family apparently had trouble opening the tent's zipper door.

Tacloban is still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by the typhoon, which barrelled through the central Philippines, killing at least 6,300 people and displacing more than four million.

"The problem is that so many people are still living in tents and we have been saying all along that these tents are fire hazards," Anido said. "And we have been requesting (the national government) to relocate them to safer shelters."

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PNG police slam lack of co-operation

The release of a review into violence at Manus Island is hampering an investigation by PNG police. Source: AAP

PAPUA New Guinean police have warned the release of an Australian review into violence at the Manus Island detention centre is hampering their investigation.

Deputy commissioner Simon Kauba has dismissed the independent review's findings as inconclusive.

Nor could they be relied on to prosecute any criminal case, he said.

"Our investigations have been frustrated from day one with a complete lack of co-operation from all involved," Mr Kauba said, singling out Australian government agencies, service providers, security firm G4S and asylum seekers being held at the centre.

Key players had refused to give police statements and made it known that they preferred to talk only to Australian lawyers.

Police believe two PNG workers and two expats were responsible for the death of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati.

But they are yet to make any arrests or press charges.

The review, conducted by a former head of the federal attorney-general's department Robert Cornall, was told a PNG employee of the Salvation Army had led the brutal bashing of Mr Barati.

Mr Kauba said the police investigation had found that the major disturbance at the detention centre on February 17 had lasted 10-15 minutes.

He maintained PNG police had not entered the centre before or during the unrest and were not involved in the riot.

But this contradicts evidence given to Mr Cornall's review and submissions made to a Senate inquiry into the incident that the PNG police mobile squad had pushed through fences.

Mr Kauba said police warning shots had helped subdue the situation.

PNG police are upset they have been unable to interview injured asylum seekers.

"We only learnt from media reports that they were secretly flown into Port Moresby and put up at a hotel where doctors visited and treated them," he said.

Mr Kauba said police had been unable to verify reports officers had shot an asylum seeker in the buttocks.

The only way to confirm the claim was for the injured man to undergo appropriate tests to confirm the nature of his injuries.

"Otherwise this whole matter stinks of a major cover-up," he said.

PNG's Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato says the need for a coronial inquest will be considered after the police investigation is finalised.

He said many of the recommendations in Mr Cornall's review had been implemented.

Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is doubtful justice will be served on Mr Barati's killers.

"It's become an utter mess," she told reporters in Canberra. Australian Federal Police should get involved in the investigation.

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Egypt's Sisi wins overwhelming majority

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is set for an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential poll. Source: AAP

FORMER army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is assured of an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential election, securing 96.2 per cent of the vote with most of the ballots counted.

At least 21 million voters, or 96.2 per cent, chose the retired field marshal, who deposed the elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The ballots have been counted from 312 of 352 counting stations, state television reported.

His victory had never been in doubt with the main Islamist opposition crushed since Morsi's ouster.

Sisi's only electoral rival, leftist Hamdeen Sabbahi, received 3.8 per cent of the votes counted.

Sisi rode on a wave of support for a potential strongman who can restore stability after several years of tumult.

Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets waving Egyptian flags, setting off fireworks and honking their car horns.

"It's a victory for stability," said Tahra Khaled, who joined the crowd celebrating in the iconic Tahrir Square, the nerve centre of mass protests that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The army-installed government and Sisi were eyeing a large turnout as an endorsement of the overthrow of Islamist president in 2013, and the subsequent crackdown on his supporters.

Voting had been scheduled to end on Tuesday, but was extended for an extra day in a last-minute decision that sparked protests from Sabbahi, a leftist politician who came in third in the 2012 election Morsi won.

The move to extend polling for a day fuelled criticism of an election already marred by a deadly crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement.

An electoral official had said after Tuesday's voting, when the election had originally been scheduled to end, turnout was around 37 per cent, well below the 52 per cent of voters who cast their ballots in the 2012 election which Morsi won.

Sisi had appealed for a large turnout, seeking vindication for his overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's only freely elected president, after a single turbulent year in power.

After reports of meagre numbers at polling stations on the first day of voting on Monday, Sisi's backers in the state-run media appealed to people to get out and vote.

The extension of polling cast doubt on the vote's credibility, experts said.

It "raises more questions about the independence of the electoral commission, the impartiality of the government, and the integrity of Egypt's electoral process," said Democracy International, a US-based observer mission.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which had championed a boycott of the election, hailed the lower turnout.

"The great Egyptian people have given a new slap to the military coup's road map and ... written the death certificate of the military coup," said its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

The Brotherhood has been subjected to a massive crackdown that has killed hundreds of its supporters and seen it designated a terrorist organisation.

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Govt seeks advice on sacking SES boss

NSW Premier Mike Baird will consider sacking SES commissioner Murray Kear (C) after ICAC's findings. Source: AAP

THE NSW government is taking legal advice about sacking State Emergency Service (SES) boss Murray Kear.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) delivered a finding on Wednesday that the SES commissioner acted corruptly by sacking deputy commissioner Tara McCarthy.

It also found Mr Kear failed to investigate serious allegations that she raised about another SES deputy commissioner with whom he was friends.

Emergency Services Minister Stuart Ayres is seeking advice from the crown solicitor and his own department about sacking Mr Kear, which the ICAC recommended in its findings.

"When I'm in receipt of that advice, I'll be making decisions about the future position of the commissioner," Mr Ayres told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Ayres is also seeking advice about the possible reinstatement of Ms McCarthy.

She was sacked after she raised concerns that Mr Pearce engaged in a number of dubious contracts.

ICAC ruled that Mr Kear did not investigate the allegations against deputy commissioner Steve Pearce because he was a mate.

ICAC's report on Wednesday suggested Ms McCarthy was sacked as a reprisal for raising the allegations against Mr Pearce.

NSW Premier Mike Baird, who has staked his premiership on ridding the state of corruption, said he will consider the report.

"It's clear in light of the report today there needs to be cultural changes (within the SES)," he told reporters in Sydney.

"There needs to be changes and we'll be responding shortly."

Mr Kear has been on leave since the ICAC inquiry began.

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Obama, Gillard lead most admired poll

AUSTRALIANS have rated US President Barack Obama and Julia Gillard the top two most admired figures of 2013.

One in eight people responding to a Roy Morgan survey taken over the year ranked President Obama as most admired, just ahead of former prime minister Julia Gillard.

The late South African president Nelson Mandela was ranked third, with 10.9 per cent of the 10,209 respondents describing him as "most admired".

Current Prime Minister Tony Abbott came in at the number six spot, behind the Queen and John Howard, but one step above his predecessor Kevin Rudd.

Mr Abbott was twice as popular amongst men as women.

Former governor-general Quentin Bryce, Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull and businessman Dick Smith completed the top 10.

Michele Levine, chief executive of Roy Morgan Research, said it was curious that politicians dominated the list.

"Despite the fact that state MPs and federal MPs are among the least trusted professions in Australia, politicians are widely admired by Australians of all ages," she said.

Two out of three people named at least one politician.

One had to wonder whether politicians were so widely admired simply because they were so omnipresent and unavoidable in Australian public life, compared to other "quieter achievers", Ms Levin said.

The most admired sportsperson, cricketer Michael Clarke, came in 52nd.

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Work-for-the-dole scheme returns

Young people in areas of high unemployment will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole. Source: AAP

FROM July, unemployed young people in 18 areas will have to work 15 hours a week to get the dole.

But welfare groups say restarting work for the dole will be less effective than wage subsidies.

Job seekers aged 18 to 30 who live in selected areas and who have been receiving Youth Allowance or Newstart for 12 months or more will be required to undergo about 15 hours a week of compulsory work for the dole for six months.

The areas targeted in the first phase have high unemployment.

The government will not need to change legislation to restart the program initiated under the Howard government.

The National Welfare Rights Network said work for the dole had proven ineffective in the past as a way of getting people into long-term jobs.

It has called for changes including a greater focus on new skills, providing work activities that offer a better chance of getting into long-term jobs and increasing and indexing payments for participants.

Network spokesman Gerard Thomas said previous studies of work for the dole found that while some people benefited, many found themselves with less time to look for work.

He said wage subsidy programs had a better success rate.

A government study showed 47 per cent of extremely disadvantaged job seekers in wage subsidy programs were still in work after six months - more than double that under the previous work for the dole program.

The Abbott government is also restarting the Wage Connect scheme from July 1.

Australian Council of Social Service chief Cassandra Goldie said the focus should be on opening up job opportunities for young people through joint ventures with business leaders, investors, communities and social services.

"A first step would be to increase the availability of places in cost-effective wage subsidy programs, mentoring, career counselling and vocational programs," she said.

Ms Goldie said the government had accepted the value of work subsidies in announcing in the budget a $10,000 payment to employers who hired workers over the age of 50.

"With the rate of unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds more than double the overall rate (12.5 per cent), this initiative should be extended to young people."

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Ability to taste fat linked to weight gain

PEOPLE who are insensitive to the taste of fat are at increased risk of overeating and gaining weight, Australian researchers say.

This is because they feel less full than fat-sensitive people and so are likely to eat bigger meals, the Deakin University researchers say.

They monitored how much people ate at a lunch buffet after eating a high-fat breakfast.

The study, published in the journal Appetite, follows a previous Deakin study that shows fat is part of the tongue's taste range, along with sweet, salty, sour and other attributes.

"These results suggest the ability to taste fat is linked with the fullness experienced from fat," said Deakin Professor Russell Keast.

Fatty food was associated with people being overweight or obese, and it was becoming clear that the ability to taste fat was a factor, he said.

"Some people have a high sensitivity to the taste of fat and are likely to eat less fatty foods," he said.

"Others are less sensitive and cannot taste fat, and are more likely to overeat fatty foods."

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Letter bid to block Vic child abuse bill

THREE Victorian Nationals MPs must block new laws that might turn women who fail to report child sexual abuse into criminals, a coalition of anti-violence groups says.

The Crimes Amendment (Protection of Children) Bill has passed the Legislative Assembly and is listed for debate in the Legislative Council this week.

Opponents say they broadly support the aim of the bill but one clause risks criminalising women who fail to report child abuse in their family out of fear for their own safety.

Leaders from nine such organisations have jointly written to the three National MLCs - Danny O'Brien, David O'Brien and Minister for Sport, Recreation and Veterans' Affairs Damian Drum - asking them to vote down the bill.

Dr Chris Atmore of the Federation of Community Legal Centres said the bill ignores previous research and best practice in the field of domestic violence.

"We hope that at least one Nationals MP will vote based on the evidence and not political expediency," she told AAP.

The letters were sent to the Nationals MLCs on Friday. None has responded so far, Dr Atmore said.

"We have had very little in the way of a response to our concerns from government MPs but in contrast we have had a fair amount of discussion with the opposition and the Greens, who are concerned about reducing domestic violence but seem to understand our concerns with (the) clause," she said.

Labor and the Greens hold 19 seats in the 40-seat Legislative Council and are likely to vote against the bill.

The Liberals have 18 seats and their coalition partner the Nationals hold three seats.

The law make it an offence for people to fail to tell police about suspected child sex abuse but Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has said there will be exemptions for people who fear making a report could imperil a life - either the child's or their own.

AAP has sought a response from The Nationals.

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Youth learn train safety tips from amputee

JONATHAN Beninca was 19 years old when he was struck by a train and lost his right leg and arm.

"I missed the train home and was messing around on the tracks, throwing rocks at stationary trains," Mr Beninca said.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital missing my right leg, right arm and a few fingers off my left hand."

Mr Beninca, now 34, is an ambassador for the West Australian Public Transport Authority's (PTA) Right Track program, which aims to educate students about the importance of rail safety.

The double amputee, who has travelled to Perth from Sydney for the program, said he always told the students that railway lines were not to be messed with.

"When the students are faced with the harsh reality of what life is like without an arm and a leg, they sit up and take notice," he said.

"I encourage them to make their own positive choices and to understand that injuries like mine impact your life every day - socially, financially, physically and emotionally."

Mr Beninca also talks to students about the effect that injuries and deaths have on train drivers and staff involved in the aftermath of an accident.

PTA spokesman David Hynes said last year the Right Track program, which also aimed to improve the relationship between transit officers and young people, reached more than 7000 students.

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Truck driver loses appeal over crash

A TRUCK driver who crashed into two men as they were changing a tyre on the side of the road in Western Australia's south, killing them both, has failed in his bid to have his five-year jail sentence reduced.

Paul Stewart Kershaw was heading to Bunbury in a prime mover towing a laden refrigerated semitrailer, weighing some 40 tonnes, on the Old Coast Road at Myalup on February 3, 2011 when the accident occurred.

Almost 13 hours after starting work, Kershaw drifted from the left-hand lane of the carriageway onto the sealed stopping lane and ploughed - without braking - into David Eugene Tagliaferri, who had parked his Hyundai Getz to change a flat tyre.

Kershaw also hit Albert Frederik De Beer, who had stopped his Holden Commodore behind Mr Tagliaferri's vehicle while he helped with the tyre, with his car's hazard lights flashing.

Mr De Beer, 42, was killed instantly while Mr Tagliaferri, 44, died in hospital a short time later.

WA's Court of Appeal heard on Friday that Kershaw had been travelling at 96km/h, which was less than the speed limit of 110km/h. He was not affected by alcohol, but may have been affected by prescription medication for a depressive condition that made him drowsy.

Kershaw also knew the vehicle tended to pull to the left.

Before the crash, witnesses saw the appellant driving erratically, drifting across the central broken white line and onto the shoulder of the road on three or four occasions over a distance of about 40km.

The sentencing judge found the crash was caused by fatigue and possibly the effects of the medication.

He knew he was tending to doze. He should have stopped and rested, Court of Appeal Justice Carmel McLure said.

The appeal was dismissed.

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Six Aussies arrested over illegal gambling

Six Australians have reportedly been arrested in Thailand over an illegal gambling operation. Source: AAP

SIX Australians and a New Zealander have reportedly been arrested in Thailand over an illegal gambling operation.

Police used an undercover informant to place bets at the Ned Kelly Bar at Valentine's Guest House in Pattaya on May 10, the Pattaya Mail reported.

The bets were made on Australian horse races broadcast over the internet onto large-screen televisions.

Police raided the bar this month and arrested New Zealander Philip Smith, 59, who is allegedly the operator, and six Australians.

Smith told police he had been accepting bets and paying according to the website rate, while receiving a commission, for a long time.

The bar's Thai owner escaped.

The majority of gambling is illegal in Thailand.

The arrests come eight months after police and officials arrested 12 Australians and four Britons on charges of betting on Australian horse races.

The Thai military took control of the government in a coup on Thursday following the imposition of martial law across the country earlier in the week.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there had been no requests for consular assistance following the latest reported arrests.

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Australian snorkeller dies off Fiji resort

A 36-year-old Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast. Source: AAP

A 36-YEAR-OLD Australian man has died while snorkelling off Fiji's coral coast.

The man was staying with a friend at a five-star resort on the west coast of the main island Viti Levu when he went snorkelling alone on Saturday.

He was reported missing by the resort, Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji, about 7.45pm when he hadn't returned his snorkelling equipment and his belongings were found on the beach.

"The person in question was snorkelling late in the evening and did not return to his accommodation," general manager Peter Hopgood said.

Resort staff and local fishermen searched until after midnight and were back out again at first light on Sunday.

The man's body was found by locals from a neighbouring village at 9.50am on Sunday, washed onto the coral reef.

His body was taken to a morgue at nearby Sigatoka.

The resort said it was working closely with local authorities while the Australian High Commission was in the process of communicating with the dead man's family.

It extended "heartfelt condolences" to the man's family and friends.

In a letter to guests, it asked them to "refrain from entering the ocean after dark".

Australian authorities had little to add.

"The department is aware of the death of a 36-year-old Australian man in Fiji," said a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.

It's the second death of an Australian in Fiji this month.

Ten days ago, Sydney father-of-three Mark Hardaker, 40, was killed in a collision between two boats while holidaying with his family.

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