Iraq attacks kill 41 as unrest surges

The UN released figures showing more than 2,500 people have died in the past three months in Iraq. Source: AAP

MORE than 2,500 people have been killed in Iraq in the past three months.

The UN released the figure on Monday as new attacks left 41 dead, highlighting concerns the country is slipping back into all-out war.

The latest violence comes as the country grapples with months of protests among the Sunni Arab minority, tensions along a swathe of territory in northern Iraq, and a protracted political deadlock that has blocked key legislation.

Analysts say the stalemate and tensions could continue until a general election due next year.

On Monday, a series of attacks in restive areas north of Baghdad left 41 people dead as new figures released by the UN mission in Iraq showed a dramatic surge in violence in recent months.

Most of the victims died when a suicide bomber set off his explosives-rigged vest in the middle of a packed funeral for an Iraqi soldier being held in a husseiniyah, or Sh'iite religious hall.

The UN released new figures on Monday which showed that 761 people were killed - most of them civilians - across the country in June, bringing the overall death toll for the past three months to 2,518.

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Feeney dons Labor cape in Batman

Labor powerbroker Senator David Feeney has won preselection for the lower house seat of Batman. Source: AAP

LABOR powerbroker Senator David Feeney has won preselection for the lower house seat of Batman.

Senator Feeney won an ALP local vote by 383 to 247, defeating Mary-Anne Thomas.

Ms Thomas decided not to contest the second stage of the preselection process.

The Victorian seat - Labor's safest in the country - is being vacated by retiring former minister Martin Ferguson.

Senator Feeney wrote on Twitter: "Proud to be the locals' choice - thank you Batman ALP members. I will fight hard to represent and advocate for you in the federal election."

Senator Feeney is Labor's parliamentary secretary for defence.

Senior cabinet minister Jenny Macklin had called on the Victorian Labor Party to preselect a woman for the seat.

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Boy apologises to widow of joyride victim

A TEENAGE boy who took part in a joyride that killed a man has apologised to the victim's widow in a Sydney court.

"I'm utterly sorry from the bottom of my heart," the boy, who was aged just 13 at the time of the incident, told Lorraine Reid in Glebe Coroners Court on Monday.

"It's totally up to you but I'd like to help you in any way I can.

"I'd do anything for you."

Daryl Reid, 48, a "hardworking family man", was killed at Narellan in western Sydney on October 2, 2010 after some teenage boys stole a car and crashed into him at high speed after running a stop sign.

The boys then fled the scene.

The inquest, before Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund, is seeking to find out which of the boys was driving the car.

Police believe two to three teenagers were involved in stealing the ute, which they discovered with the keys still inside after attending a nearby house party.

The boy, who the inquest heard was extremely drunk, said he was a passenger in the car with one other boy who was driving.

He said they were "looking for things to steal" when they found the ute and decided they would take it for a spin before torching it.

After the crash, he said "everything went black" before the other boy woke him and told him they had to get out of there.

"I didn't want to go," he said, adding he had injuries to his head and leg.

However, the boys then ran back to the house party, where the boy said he showered and changed his clothes, which were drenched in fuel.

He said he lied to his mother the next morning about his injuries because the truth "would break her".

When he found out Mr Reid had died, he said he felt "sick" but didn't go to the police because he was too worried about getting caught.

The boy was later arrested after police found his phone in the stolen car.

"I just wish the person who was driving the car would take responsibility for it," he said.

The inquest continues.

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Qld inquiry reports on child safety system

QUEENSLAND'S child protection inquiry has recommended pulling back on the mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse.

Commissioner Tim Carmody on Monday handed down a final report aimed at improving protections for the state's most vulnerable children.

He found there were systemic failures in the state's child protection system, and insufficient resources were being spent on early intervention.

But he also found there'd been an unsustainable increase in the number of children in care, with the number doubling since 2004.

The Carmody report makes 121 recommendations to help reduce the number of children in state care and improve frontline child protection services.

It includes recommendations to tackle the over reporting of matters involving children to Child Safety Services.

The commissioner said there should be a review of existing reporting obligations by police, teachers and other professions under the Child Protection Act 1999.

He found reports and notifications of child abuse in Queensland tripled over the past decade, from 33,697 in 2001-02 to 114,503 in 2011-12.

Mr Carmody said there should be a better system to support families and avoid children being put into state care.

He has spent the past year reviewing the system to provide a roadmap for the Newman government to overhaul the system.

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Showdown looms for Egypt's Morsi

EGYPT braced for mass protests on Sunday with President Mohamed Morsi's opponents determined to oust him.

His Islamist supporters vowed to defend his legitimacy to the end, on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in office.

The grassroots movement Tamarod - Arabic for rebellion - is behind the campaign that claims to have collected millions of signatures pushing for Morsi's departure and new elections.

Posters calling on people to join the protests against his rule have sprung up around Cairo, plastered on walls and stuck on car windows along with "June 30" graffiti daubed along streets.

The week leading up to the showdown has already seen eight people killed, including an American, and scores more injured as protesters from both sides took to the streets.

Morsi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, is Egypt's first president elected in a free vote, catapulted to power by the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ended three decades of dictatorial rule.

His opponents, who have been massing outside the presidential palace and in Cairo's Tahrir Square, accuse Morsi of betraying the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands.

In the run-up to the anti-Morsi rallies, thousands of his supporters gathered in Cairo's Nasr City neighbourhood to listen to fiery speeches urging them to defend the president's legitimacy.

Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for a "general mobilisation" in support of the president who has said he wants to stay the course until the end of his term in June 2016.

But leading opposition figure, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, has urged the president "to listen to the people" and step aside.

The army, which led a tumultuous transition after the revolt that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, has warned it will intervene if there is major unrest.

Since taking office, Morsi has battled with the judiciary, the media and the police. The economy has taken a tumble, investment has dried up, inflation soared and the vital tourism industry has been battered.

Egyptians have been stocking up on food and withdrawing cash in anticipation of Sunday's rallies and, adding to the tension, fuel shortages have caused very long queues outside petrol stations, bringing some parts of the capital to a standstill.

On Saturday at least eight deputies resigned from the Islamist-dominated Shura Council in support of the people, in a boost for Tamarod which says it now has 22 million signatures on a petition demanding a snap election and Morsi's departure. The figure cannot be verified.

Morsi's camp is determined to defend his legitimacy.

"We will not allow a coup against the president," senior Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagui told a rally in Cairo.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, Morsi warned the polarisation threatened to "paralyse" Egypt as he tried to placate protesters with promises of constitutional reforms and appeals for dialogue.

Speaking in South Africa, US President Barack Obama voiced concern at developments in Egypt and urged Morsi and his opponents to be more "constructive."

"Everybody has to denounce violence. We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about "how" to more their country forward."

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Snowden charge 'intimidation': Assange

Julian Assange's planned address from the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy has been postponed. Source: AAP

THE United States has charged leaker Edward Snowden with espionage in an attempt to bully other countries into abandoning him, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says.

US authorities have filed espionage charges against rogue intelligence technician Snowden and asked Hong Kong to detain him.

Assange criticised the move on Saturday in a speech the Australian had planned to deliver from the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he's been holed up for over a year.

But WikiLeaks said via Twitter the appearance was postponed "due to a security situation" and instead released a copy of the speech.

Police weren't commenting and a response was being sought from the Ecuadorean embassy.

In the speech Assange says he's been able to work in relative safety from a US espionage investigation only because he sought asylum in the diplomatic mission.

"The charging of Edward Snowden is intended to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights," Assange said in the written speech.

"That tactic must not be allowed to work.

"The effort to find asylum for Edward Snowden must be intensified. What brave country will stand up for him and recognise his service to humanity?"

Assange this week revealed he'd been in contact with representatives of Snowden to discuss his possible bid for asylum in Iceland following his disclosure of US surveillance programs.

The 41-year-old on Saturday said the US government was spying "on each and every one of us" but it was Snowden who'd been charged with espionage.

"It is getting to the point where the mark of international distinction and service to humanity is no longer the Nobel Peace Prize but an espionage indictment from the US Department of Justice," Assange said.

"Edward Snowden is the eighth leaker to be charged with espionage under this president."

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino earlier this week revealed Assange had told him he was strong enough to remain in the embassy "for five years ... rather than face legal proceedings in the US".

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