Gaddafi son's lawyer blasts Libya

A LAWYER for a son of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi has accused Libyan authorities of showing a "blatant disregard" for the International Criminal Court by announcing they will put Seif al-Islam Gaddafi on trial in August.

In an urgent filing to the Hague-based court on Tuesday, British lawyer John Jones is asking appeals judges to reject Libya's request to suspend an order that Tripoli surrender Seif al-Islam to the court.

Libyan authorities are appealing the international court's right to try Gaddafi's one-time heir apparent, saying that he should face justice at home.

Jones says that Seif al-Islam could be executed in Libya before the appeal is completed if he is not handed over to the court.

Libyan prosecutors on Monday said Seif al-Islam and others will go on trial in August.

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US housing starts rise in May

CONSTRUCTION of new US homes rebounded modestly in May from a plunge the prior month, official data released on Tuesday showed, fresh evidence that the housing market continues to recover.

Housing starts rose 6.8 per cent to an annual rate of 914,000, after plunging 14.8 per cent in April, the Commerce Department reported.

Compared with a year ago, housing starts were up 28.6 per cent.

But new building permits, a sign of potential future construction activity, fell 3.1 per cent to a rate of 974,000. Permits were up 20.8 per cent from May 2012.

Last month's numbers came in well below analysts' forecasts of 950,000 housing starts and 983,000 building permits.

New construction on single-family homes, which account for the bulk of the housing market, slipped 0.3 per cent to a rate of 599,000. Starts on multiple-unit residential buildings jumped 24.9 per cent.

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European stocks end mixed

EUROPEAN stock markets have ended mixed on Tuesday, with London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares climbing 0.69 per cent to end at 6,374.21 points.

In Frankfurt the DAX 30 index added 0.17 per cent to close at 8,229.51 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 dipped 0.08 per cent to finish at 3,860.55 points.

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Turkey PM claims victory over protests

TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory over anti-government protesters after a heavy crackdown, as police raided homes and arrested dozens of demonstrators in a bid to stamp out nearly three weeks of unrest.

After a weekend of clashes sparked by the eviction of protesters from Istanbul's Gezi Park, the focal point of the protests, demonstrators have struggled to regroup and police have since fought only sporadic battles with smaller groups of demonstrators across the country.

On Monday night, riot police in the capital Ankara briefly fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who hurled back stones and hid behind makeshift barricades, but there were no other reports of confrontations.

In Istanbul, dozens of demonstrators switched to silent protests, standing still in quiet defiance in the main Taksim Square located next to Gezi Park.

As the protests appeared to lose their intensity, Erdogan said he had overcome the crisis, seen as the biggest challenge yet to his Islamic-rooted government's decade-long rule.

"Our democracy has been tested again and came out victoriously," the premier told members of his ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) to roaring applause.

"The people and the AKP government have foiled the plot ... hatched by traitors and their foreign accomplices."

Confident he has weathered the storm, he warned against any resurgence of the protests.

"From now on, there will be no question of showing any tolerance to people or organisations who engage in violent acts."

His comments came as police carried out raids at homes across the country, detaining over 100 demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Hurriyet Daily News reported that the justice ministry was working on legislation to regulate social media.

Erdogan lashed out at Twitter at the start of the unrest, branding it a "troublemaker" and accusing the online messaging service of spreading "lies".

Turkey's crisis began when a sit-in to save Gezi's 600 trees from being razed prompted a brutal police response on May 31.

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Vic police misleading on abuse: church

THE Catholic Church has hit back at claims that not a single case of child sex abuse was reported to Victorian police.

Peter O'Callaghan, QC, the independent commissioner in charge of the Catholic Church's Melbourne-based complaints system, has submitted to the state's child sex abuse inquiry that Victorian police had told "blatant untruths", News Limited reports.

He said a great deal of police evidence was "misconceived, misleading and damagingly wrong".

Deputy Police Commissioner Graham Ashton had previously submitted to the inquiry that police had not "had a single referral of a child sex abuse allegation by the Catholic Church", claims that have formed the defining evidence of the investigation.

Mr O'Callaghan submitted that of 304 complaints made to him to June 30 last year, 97 were reported to police, 115 related to offenders who were already dead, nine were for offenders who were overseas and 76 complainants were encouraged by him to go to police, News Limited reported on Wednesday.

He also detailed cases from 1997 and 1999 when he arranged for victims of abuse to be interviewed by police, and charges were laid.

Mr O'Callaghan claims there was constant contact between him, police and the church.

He also refuted police claims that victims of abuse were required to sign confidentiality agreements on their complaints, saying they were free to discuss with anyone the facts and circumstances of the abuse and any compensation paid.

A committee spokeswoman told News Limited that all evidence to the inquiry would be considered.

She said serious penalties awaited anyone who gave false or misleading evidence.

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Korean Air orders 11 Boeing long-haul jets

BOEING has announced that Korean Air has agreed to buy five 747-8 jumbo jets and six 777 planes in a deal worth $US3.6 billion ($A3.79 billion) at list prices, adding to an already strong order book at the Paris Air Show.

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At least 50 plots foiled by spy programs

Insurance spike for households

HUNDREDS of thousands of Victorian households and businesses face higher insurance premiums next financial year despite a state tax being removed from policies.

Milne's career on the brink

RAPE charges against St Kilda star Stephen Milne are based on stronger evidence than was available when police recommended he face court in 2004.

Teens terrorize commuter

SHOCKING footage has emerged of a man being physically and verbally assaulted by two feral teenage girls on a packed rush-hour train this week.

Let Milne play footy

COMMENT: Stephen Milne wants to play this weekend, and should be allowed to, says Mark Robinson.

'I kept pushing him away'

STEPHEN Milne's alleged victim, then a 19-year-old student, made a statement to police on March 16, 2004, less than 48 hours after the alleged incident.

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Top ETA operatives arreted in France

THE arrests of six ETA suspects in France has broken up the Basque armed separatist group's "logistical core" and made its total dissolution inevitable, Spain's interior minister says.

"The logistical core of ETA has been detained today," with the arrest of those suspected of providing safe houses, stolen vehicles and false documents for members, Jorge Fernandez Diaz told a news conference.

He called it "a very important step towards the dismantling of ETA", which is classed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.

The group is blamed for 829 deaths in a four-decade campaign of bombings and shootings for independence for the Basque Country of northern Spain and southwestern France.

It declared in October 2011 a "definitive end" to its armed activity but has not formally disarmed or disbanded as the Spanish government demands.

French authorities said the six were arrested in Blois, a city in central France, and Brive-la-Gaillarde and Montpellier, in the southwest of the country.

"Investigations determined that those detained operated in three groups that formed the core of ETA's logistical system," the minister said.

"The operation dismantled three services basic and vital to the survival of ETA and its members: the running of safe houses, the providing of stolen vehicles and the production of counterfeit material."

He said the two most important members detained on Tuesday were those who ran the safe houses: Antonio Goicoechea Gabirondo, 42 -- an explosives expert -- and Raul Aduna Vallinas, 32. They were detained in Brive-la-Gaillarde.

Ekhine Eizaguirre Zubiarre and Kepa Arkauz Zubillaga, both aged 29 and arrested in Blois, took care of forging documents, he said.

The other two, Igor Uriarte Lopez de Acua, 39, and Julen Mendizabal Elezcano, 33, were in charge of stealing vehicles.

ETA has been weakened over recent years by a string of arrests of its members, many of them in France. One of its top commanders got a life sentence in April for the 2007 murder of two Spanish police officers in France.

Spain refuses to hold talks with ETA's leaders.

"The operation, added to the extreme operational weakness of the terrorist group, places ETA face to face with the inevitability of its break-up," Fernandez said.

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Low earners struggling to feed families

PEOPLE on low incomes in NSW and the ACT are struggling to regularly provide food for their families, a new study shows.

Anglicare and the Samaritans Foundation on Wednesday released the research, based on surveys of those who use emergency relief services provided by the groups.

They found 98 per cent of respondents were "not sure where their next meal was coming from" and 82 per cent were "unable to provide food for their family on a regular basis".

Children's meal sizes were cut by 30 per cent of those surveyed to make food go further and 31 per cent of parents can't afford to regularly feed their kids, the research said.

The survey also revealed seven per cent of children often went without food for a whole day.

Almost 90 per cent of respondents said they were worried about running out of food and 68 per cent said they regularly skipped meals.

Anglicare Sydney chief Grant Millard said this was happening mainly to "low income earners, people with a disability, single parents, people experiencing rental stress and people from an indigenous background."

"People were often making the difficult choice of going without food in order to pay for other more pressing expenses," he said in a statement.

"Some 95 per cent of the people surveyed in NSW and ACT indicated that they had run out of food in the last three months due to unexpected expenses like medical bills, car repairs, large power bills and sudden increases in rent."

Parents were going hungry to feed their children, Mr Millard added, but he said it was "deeply concerning" children were missing out on meals.

Anglicare's winter appeal is being launched with the research on Wednesday.

Organisers are hoping to raise $1.9 million to fund emergency relief programs, which provide food to those in need.

Donations can be made at www.anglicare.org.au.

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Woman indecently assaulted on NSW train

POLICE are looking for a man who indecently assaulted a woman on a train on the NSW Central Coast.

About 6pm (AEST) on Tuesday a 20-year-old woman was indecently assaulted on a train near Gosford, police say.

She was then followed by the man after leaving the train at Point Clare station, but he soon disappeared.

Police searched the area and were unable to find the man, described as being in his late 20s with a Caucasian appearance, about 173 centimetres tall with brown hair, unshaven and of thin build.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000.

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