Aussie 'executed' in front of resort diners

IN COLD BLOOD: Brisbane man Paul Davy (above) has been shot dead in front of diners at the Blue Rock Beach Resort. (inset) A poster from a beauty pageant held at the resort three weeks ago. Source: The Courier-Mail

SACKED resort employees are being questioned after the execution-style killing of Brisbane man Paul Dean Davy, who was gunned down in front of 20 diners in a Philippines restaurant.

Police have interviewed disgruntled workers of the Blue Rock Beach Resort after Mr Davy, 53, was shot in the back of the head with a .45-calibre pistol at the resort restaurant about 7pm on Friday.

It is believed Mr Davy may have known his attacker, however police would not confirm this and have not ruled out the involvement of a hitman.

The killing took place as Mr Davy, the general manager of the resort, looked out towards the Baloy Long Beach shoreline and spoke with fellow Australian Mick Hay in the town of Olongapo, northwest of Manila, police said.

"There were 15-20 customers, mostly foreigners," Olongapo senior police officer Tyrone Tecson told The Courier-Mail.

An Australian man has been shot dead at a beach resort in the Philippines.

"The attacker approached from behind and shot him and immediately left the scene.

"They were looking at the sea, the shoreline."

The man is understood to have fled on a white scooter which was abandoned about 3km from the crime scene. Police were yesterday tracing the owner.

Mr Hay, who is listed as the president of Blue Rock Beach Resort, could not be reached for comment yesterday but The Courier-Mail has been told he is a co-owner of the resort.

IN COLD BLOOD: Brisbane man Paul Davy has been shot dead in front of diners at the Blue Rock Beach Resort.

Mr Tecson said police had interviewed witnesses and staff to establish a motive.

"There is no angle involving drugs or a love triangle with a woman," Mr Tecson said. "We are looking at the employees who have been fired or forced to resign."

Mr Davy was taken to hospital but could not be saved.

The gunman has been described as a man of Filipino appearance, aged 30-35, wearing clear prescription glasses and a blue cap.

A beauty pageant was held at the 41-room beach resort three weeks ago.

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And they call our racegoers trashy...

Even the bins crashed out after a big trashy day. Source: AFP

LAST November, the British press went feral on scenes of female racegoers who were a little tired and emotional at the end of Melbourne Cup day. Today, we repay the favour.

The Brits held their annual Grand National jumps racing carnival on the weekend, a 174-year-old event which is cruel on horses, and even crueller on those who value the sadly antiquated concept of dignity.

Fortunately, no horses were killed in this year's outbreak of equine brutality. But self-respect died a horrible, gruesome death.

Let's face it, this was always going to end badly.

British women reportedly splashed out on nearly 2000 litres of fake tan for the weekend, and purchased 38,000 pairs of stiletto heels. Skirts, apparently, were optional.

Please Lord let this be a hallucination Source: AFP

Give them some credit. British racegoers clearly love their racing. And it goes down all the better with a nice cup of warm British beer sipped through a straw. Aaaaah.

Classy: A lovely English rose and beer with a straw Source:

Now back to the lovely ladies pictured higher up. There is some suggestion they were from a reality TV show or a band or something. Either way, the longer the day they went on, the less they wore.

Take a breath...

Ready?

Here goes then.

We absolutely refuse to crack any cheap jokes about this picture Source: AFP

 We've heard of losing your shirt at the races. But losing your skirt?

REOOOOW: WHAT THE BRITS SAID ABOUT THE MELBOURNE CUP

OH, THE BRUTALITY: Ant Sharwood on the disgrace that is jumps racing

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Perth swelters in record 37.3C April scorcher

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

AUTUMN HEAT: Perth's Indian summer continues with temperatures into the high 30Cs again today. Picture: Robbie Goodall Source: National Features

THE temperature in Perth reached 37.3C today - one of the hottest April days on record for the metropolitan area.

After an overnight low of 18.2C at 4.55am, the temperature soared into the 30s, well above the April average of 25.8C.

The mercury peaked at 37.3C at 1pm, with most suburbs baking in similar mid-30C temperatures.

Perth Airport recorded a top of 37.7C, just a fraction under the old 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not for the first time this year, Perth was hotter than Marble Bar in the Pilbara, renowned as one of hottest towns in Australia, which today recorded a relatively mild 35.9C today.

It is the hottest April day in the city since 2007, when 36C was recorded, and could be the hottest April day ever.

Pearce, 45km inland, reached a staggering 39.4C, while Jandakot recorded 37C and Swanbourne peaked at 35.8C at 11.23am before a sea-breeze arrived to cool things down. 

Even in the South West temperatures were high, with Bridgetown recording a high of 34.7C.

In the Great Southern, Wandering, 120km south-east of Perth, it reached 35.9C, while Lake Grace and Katanning shared tops of 34.7C.

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KAK: 'Madden's Logies win was stupid'

Kerri-Anne Kennerley says Joel Madden shouldn't have allowed himself to be nominated for a best new talent Logie. Picture: Jason Edwards Source: News Limited

Joel Madden poses in the awards room with the Silver Logie for Most Popular New Male Talent at the 2013 Logie Awards. Picture: Getty Source: news.com.au

KERRI-Anne Kennerley has voiced her disapproval over the best new talent Logie won by chair-swiveller Joel Madden.

US-born Madden, a mentor on The Voice, fried chicken salesman and punk-lite singer, took the honours over popular locals David Campbell and Robert Irwin.

The controversial win sparked an angry storm on social media.

Kennerley added her voice to chorus of grumbles yesterday.

"It's too silly for words,'' Kennerley said at Channel Seven's post-Logies brunch at Docklands. "Joel is not a new talent. He got on that show from being an international star.

"To even vaguely put him in the category of new talent is stupid.

"He shouldn't have let himself be there in the first place.''

Kennerley had no issue with an American winning a homegrown award.

She added: "It's appropriate. I mean, look at Don Lane all those years.''

At his post-win press conference, Madden understood the ruckus surrounding his win.

Madden added: "I'll always understand when people debate things because it's been happening to me my entire career.

"This is first experience with the Logies. I definitely feel like a new comer ... and it's intimidating to be here in this room and out there with people who've been in the industry here for so long.

"I care about what people think of me here in this industry and I understand why it would be a controversy.''

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Margaret Thatcher dead after stroke

Watch a typically feisty parliamentary performance from the late Margaret Thatcher.

FORMER British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died of a stroke aged 87 years.

The leader dubbed the Iron Lady had been in poor health for a number of months and her spokesman Lord Bell said she died peacefully.

''It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully after a long battle with poor health,'' Lord Bell shortly before 1pm local time.

Buckingham Palace was the first to call the Thatcher family with the Queen offering her sympathies for her former leader, Britain's first and only female prime minister who won three consecutive federal elections.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain had lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton.

Thatcher transformed the UK

Thatcher has been credited with single-handedly transforming the nation in the space of a decade, earning her as much admiration as bitter resentment from the British people.

Baroness Margaret Thatcher is dead after suffering a stroke.

But there has always been general consensus she lifted a strike-infested union-bound nation back among the world's industrial leaders.

Crucially she defeated Arthur Scargill's nationwide year-long strike that was threatening to ruin the whole British economy.

Thatcher was seen as tireless and unshakeable as she bought her own cabinet let alone half the workers in Britain to change the work ethnic and industrial landscape before resigning as prime minister in November 1990.

But she remained one of the most influential figures in British society and globally as an elder stateswoman courted by the western world.

Her crowning glory among her three stints as PM was her handling of the Falklands War.

Many in her government thought her mad when after Argentina invaded the Falklands Islands she dispatched a flotilla of war ships 8000 miles into the South Atlantic.

Margaret Thatcher with U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev (left) during an all-European top-level meeting.

Thatcher worked her way to the top

Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925 in the Lincolnshire town of Grantham, she gained the virtues of thrift, hard work, morality and patriotism as drilled into her by her beloved father Alderman Alfred Roberts, who ran two grocers' shops and a post-office, and became mayor of the town in 1943.

The devout Methodist father drilled into her ''You'll never get anywhere if you don't work girl'', a sentiment she would often quote herself.

She had few close friends growing up with many considering her to have an irritating sense of her own superiority.

It was that thinking that made her head of her school, lead at Oxford University, where she trained as a chemist, before she decided to enter politics.

It was her ability to answer any question thrown at her in Parliament that made her the obvious leader of the Conservatives.

Margaret Thatcher in a line up of former PMs with the Queen in the 2000s

Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg summed up the national mood saying love her or loath her, she changed Britain for the better.

''Margaret Thatcher was one of the defining figures in modern British politics,'' Mr Clegg said.

''Whatever side of the political debate you stand on, no-one can deny that as prime minister she left a unique and lasting imprint on the country she served.

''She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in acknowledging the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics.''

Gillard and Abbott pay respects

Prime Minister Julia Gillard paid tribute to Margaret Thatcher's strength of conviction and history making period as British PM.

Margaret Thatcher elected leader in 1975.

''I learned this evening in Beijing of the death of Baroness Thatcher,'' Ms Gillard said from China.

''Her service as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was a history making achievement.''

''Her strength of conviction was recognised by her closest supporters and her strongest opponents.

''I extend my sincere condolences and those of my fellow Australians to her family and friends.''

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Baroness Thatcher was one of Britain's greatest leaders because of her impact on the world.

''Margaret Thatcher was one of the greatest British prime ministers and one of the most significant world leaders of our times,'' Mr Abbott said.

Margaret and Denis on their wedding day in 1951

''She was the first female prime minister of Great Britain and ranks with the greatest of prime ministers because of the quality of her leadership and the impact she had on Britain and the wider world.''

''Margaret Thatcher arrested the decline of Britain and gave the British people renewed confidence. She ensured the British people no longer simply dwelt on the glories of the past but could enjoy a strong and prosperous future.

''The thoughts of the Coalition are with Baroness Thatcher's family and the British people at this time.''

Thatcher, made a baroness (life peer) after her 11 years in Downing Street, suffered several small strokes in 2002, and received medical advice against accepting any more public speaking engagements.

Her increasingly frail condition when she was seen - especially after the death of husband Denis in 2003 - led to frequent bouts of speculation about her health.

However, MPs and friends who saw her regularly said she remained alert and interested in politics, and she was not known to have deteriorated notably recently.

Among her greatest regrets was the IRA bombing attempt on her life in Brighton in 1984.

She could not understand why anyone hated her so much.

Number 10 late last night confirmed there would be a state funeral with full military honours at St Paul's Cathedral, the first such tribute since the death of wartime hero Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

''A wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited,'' a spokesman for the Prime Minister's office said.

''The service will be followed by a private cremation. All the arrangements being put in place are in line with the wishes of Lady Thatcher's family.''

Full details are expected later this week.

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Keddie, House Husbands take out Logies

Asher Keddie celebrates after winning the Gold Logie for the most popular personality on Australian television. Picture: Jason Edwards Source: Herald Sun

ASHER Keddie, considered the most in-form actor in Australian TV, has trumped comedy stars Andy Lee and Hamish Blake to claim the coveted Gold Logie.

Keddie opened the market as an outsider at $11, but became an unbackable favourite at $1.30 in the lead-up to the ceremony at Crown Entertainment Complex.

Keddie scored a Logie double, also taking home the silver award for most popular actress ahead of a hot list of nominees including Rebecca Gibney and Julia Morris.

Keddie, a gold nominee three years running, had not expected to win.

Nominated for her brilliant work in Channel 10 drama Offspring, she has at times struggled with the notion of fame and recognition.

Asked how she felt about Logie voters acknowledging her work, she said: "It's such a surprise''.

``It's not lost on me just how fortunate I am to have such generous, supportive people around me, including the wonderful Offspring family.''

Her gold win follows a big 2012, in which Keddie edged out Packed to the Rafters stars Gibney and Jessica Marais for the most popular actress award following her scene-stealing efforts in Offspring and Paper Giants, in which she played Ita Buttrose.

Deborah Mailman with her Logie for most outstanding actress.

She has shone in the role of neurotic but lovable Nina Proudman on Offspring. She has underscored her depth as a performer by imbuing Nina with just the right blend of humour, emotional complexity and unpredictability.

Keddie is shy by nature, but says: "I think for Offspring (the Gold Logie) is a fantastic nod of encouragement, particularly now we are in our fourth series. For me, working on that show is very fulfilling, so to receive such ongoing appreciation is just great.''

Keddie has found fulfilment off-screen too, with Archibald-winning artist Vincent Fantauzzo.

"As if life couldn't get any sweeter thanks to the two guys in my life, Vincent and Luca (Fantauzzo's son) . . . oh how lucky in love I am,'' Keddie said.

Off stage, Keddie added: "I think the reason I thanked Luca and Vincent is because I'm incredibly happy in life and I really didn't think it could get much sweeter, I was very happy with where I was at professionally and it just makes all the world of difference when you have a wonderful family around you, the people you are meant to be with.

"I don't know if its' better (to win public or peer-voted awards) but you know I've thought quite a bit about this recently because when I was in my 20s it seemed like the be all and the end all to win the most outstanding awards.

"I didn't quite understand or appreciate the importance of your audience until I did win most popular actress a few years ago (for the first time). And I think Offspring has given me that opportunity to really appreciate the audience and want to entertain them and make it the best drama I can.

"It's become less of a self-absorbed indulgence performance for me and more about a collaboration with not only the other creatives but with an audience as well.

Deborah Mailman proved an overwhelmingly popular choice for the most outstanding actress Logie award.

Mailman was joined on stage at the Logies by the woman she played, Benita Mabo, in acclaimed telemovie Mabo.

It was a double celebration, given it was also Benita's birthday.

"It was a gorgeous moment," Mailman said "To be honest, it was a blur. I just heard my name and I had Benita next to me, and then we grabbed each other and I didn't want to fall away from that embrace.

Nine News gives a peek at the red carpet of the 2013 Logie Awards.

"I just wanted to hold her, it was beautiful the fact she was there and could come up on stage with me."

Benita said: "I tell you what, they got the story going and Deb Jimi (Bani) played the part very  well. I'm so proud of Jimi and Deb and they did the family well."

Replay Holly Byrnes's live blog on the 55th annual Logie Awards

Anthony Hayes, one of Australia's most respected character actors, has won the most outstanding actor Logie for his work in ABC drama Devil's Dust.

Hayes, however, didn't rate himself a chance of getting the nod ahead of actors including Guy Pearce (Jack Irish), Lachy Hulme (Howzat! Kerry Packer's War), Jimi Bani (Mabo) and Aaron Jeffery, who delivered a career-defining performance in Underbelly: Badness.

"I thought the Kerry Packer juggernaut was probably going to unpin me tonight," Hayes said.

Hayes has been acting since he was nine, but Devil's Dust, in which he played "everyday hero'' Bernie Banton, was his first lead role.

Banton was the anti-asbestos campaigner who took on his former employer James Hardie and won, but lost his life to the disease.

"Yeah, I've been kicking around for a while, a lot of supporting roles, a lot of AFI nominations.

"It's taken a long time to convince someone that I could carry something that's longer than three or four scenes in a film, so I'm very  gracious that (producers) pegged me for this role very early on in the piece.

"Having said that," Hayes added with a laugh, "there are probably only about five or six rotund actors that were probably in with a chance, so that probably narrowed it down a bit. Don Hany didn't have a shot at my role."

Meanwhile, funnyman Hamish Blake edged out best mate Andy Lee to win the Logie award for most popular presenter.

"This is incredible, this is highly unexpected," Blake said.

"Yeah, got the silver, got the gold (2012), looking for the bronze. I'll try and make them breed and have a lovely happy modern mixed race family."

Indigenous drama Redfern Now won the prestigious Logie for most outstanding drama series and Shari Sebbens claimed the Graham Kennedy Award for most outstanding new talent, handed out by an emotional Molly Meldrum, who used the opportunity to thank those who helped him recover from his horrific fall in December 2011.

Unfortunately, the music guru also used the opportunity to drop the F bomb during the broadcast.

Attempting to mimic Graham Kennedy's infamous crow call, Meldrum instead just used the actual word, before correcting himself and calling out 'Faaaark' instead.

Redfern Now edged out brilliant competition in Offspring, Puberty Blues, Rake and Tangle to win the outstanding drama series award.

Redfern Now actress Shari Sebbens has won the Graham Kennedy Award for most outstanding new talent at the 2013 Logie Awards.

"This is the first thing I've ever received with my name on it," Sebbens, who doesn't have a driver's licence, said.

"And all my family are athletes so they've all got man of the match and things like that. I'll give this to mum probably. "

Darren Dale, producer of Redfern Now, said of the series: "I think it's a great and proud moment for indigenous filmmakers and indigenous film, it's black actors on screen, it was written by five writers, directed by four indigenous people so I think it's a watershed moment in prime-time drama.

"(It was) indigenous stuff and people watched it and we won a Logie so (I feel) bloody great."

Earlier, newsreading legend Brian Henderson was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Henderson, who follows the likes of Bert Newton and Reg Grundy as an inductee, said: "I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning getting into the Hall of Fame let alone that ovation (from the Logies audience).

"I was staggered by it, staggered. I thought there's a lot of young people out there, they're not going to know me. They maybe followed the others and thought 'I'll stand because the others are'. No, it was a great feeling. "

Henderson told of his affection for the late Nine supremo Kerry Packer.

"I was very fond of him, he was a very funny man," Henderson said of Packer.

In a controversial win, Joel Madden has scooped the Logie for best new talent. Picture: Jason Edwards

Channel 9's Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, took out the Logie for most outstanding mini-series or telemovie.

It's a major achievement to win the award, given the peer-voted categories are rarely won by commercial networks.

"It's lovely to win, it's much better than coming second," executive producer John Edwards said.

"We knew we'd made a show that was good and that people watched and enjoyed a lot. But you don't think about this sort of stuff, but it's great when you do (win)."

The Voice trumped opposition talent show The X Factor to claim the Logie for most popular light entertainment show.

Joel Madden, who also took the award for most popular new male talent, thanked the show's fans on behalf of judges Delta Goodrem, Seal, Keith Urban and newcomer Ricky Martin.

"Most important are the people who watch and support those who perform on the show," Madden said.

Packed to the Rafters, which has had a stranglehold on the most popular categories for the past four years, was rolled  by House Husbands for the most popular drama award.

Deborah Mailman, one of the stars of the Logie-winning drama series Redfern Now, hits the red carpet. Picture: Jason Edwards

House Husbands overcame strong competition from Rafters, Offspring, Puberty Blues and Home and Away.

Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden was a controversial winner of the most popular new talent Logie award for his role as a mentor on ratings juggernaut

The Voice

.

While the award is designed to be won for those new to television, regardless of age, many felt Madden fitted awkwardly into the list of nominees. He has 750,000 Twitter followers, no doubt an advantage in accruing Logies votes.

Steve Peacocke, with partner Bridgette Sneddon arrives at the ceremony. The Home and Away star has won the Logie for most popular actor. Picture: Jason Edwards

Madden edged out contenders including Alex Williams, a standout as Julian Assange in Underground: The Julian Assange Story.

Before the award presentation, Gold Logie nominee Hamish Blake had a tongue-in-cheek dig at Madden.

"Welcome to the entertainment industry you must be nervous," Hamish said to Madden.

Madden said he was shocked by his win.

"I almost swallowed my toothpick," he said.

Gold Logie nominee Carrie Bickmore arrives at the awards show. Picture: Jason Edwards

"This is the first time I've been called the best new anything. I didn't really prepare a speech.

"I just want to thank Australia for being so good to me. Australia, thanks for being so cool to me and my family.

"I'll always understand when people debate things (controversy about his nomination) because it's been happening to me my entire career."

Home and Away proved the power of its appeal when Steve Peacocke won the most popular actor Logie ahead of a strong field of contenders including Lachy Hulme and Packed to the Rafters star Hugh Sheridan.

Asked how he was feeling about having a Logie in his hand, Peacocke said: "I'm pretty nervous still."

Red-carpet favourite Brynne Edelsten struts her stuff. Picture: Edwards Jason

The labourer turned actor added: "I was a labourer after university when I was trying to make ends meet, but since I was 16 I've wanted to be an actor.

"I was on a football scholarship at school so I couldn't do any acting there. I got to university and started and that's all I did all day and night was read texts from David Mamet and Stanislavsky.

I was a jackaroo for a year and I used to sit behind the mobs of sheep doing the sons of Scotland speech (from the film Braveheart).

"I probably did about 20 or 30 plays in Sydney - crappy little co-op things in Newtown so that's how I learned.

"That's all I ever wanted to do and I was just lucky Channel 7 took a chance on me two-and-a-half years ago.<

Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster arrive on the red carpet. Picture: Jason Edwards

Better Homes and Gardens claimed the Logie award for most popular lifestyle series.

It came up trumps against opposition including Getaway, Grand Designs Australia, The Living Room and Selling Houses Australia.

"We do not take this for granted," host Jo Griggs said of the success.

The show kicked off with Bruno Mars's lively performance of his Police soundalike hit Locked Out of Heaven.

He was followed by first presenters Hamish and Andy, who turned around in Voice-style chairs, which they then drove around the stage.

The Biggest Loser's Michelle Bridges on the Logies red carpet. Picture: Jason Edwards

The comic duo were there to present  the first award, the popular reality series gong, which was won by Nine's The Block.

It's no small achievement for the show hosted by Scott Cam, which has just completed its first all-stars series.

The Block overcame strong competition in My Kitchen Rules, MasterChef, the resurgent Big Brother and Beauty and the Geek to win the award.

Cam said: "I attribute the win to a tremendous bunch of workers as in cameramen, sound, producers and of course our executive producers. That's why we end up as a great show.

"Everyone works seven days a week, they want to put our some great telly and they're committed to it, and these guys here (the contestants) who work extremely hard to produce those houses, that's why we've got a good show."

Gold Logie nominee Andy Lee will be competing against sidekick Hamish Blake for the coveted award. Picture: Jason Edwards

Cam also paid tribute to MKR ("a juggernaut with big numbers every night") and Masterchef and then said:

"I suppose we produce telly that the whole family can watch, mum and dad and the three kids can sit down at 7 o'clock and enjoy ."

Asked if he'd have a beer with MKR's Manu Feildel and Masterchef's  Matt Preston afterwards, he added: "Absolutely, they're all good fellas. Pete Evans I know well and I know all those guys and certainly we'll have a beer and I'll congratulate them on their show, they've got a terrific show and they deserved to win as much as we did but unfortunately on the night we took home the prize."

Earlier, celebrities hit the red carpet, with all eyes on the all-important dresses.

Old-style Hollywood glamour reigned supreme as Australia's television talent got into party mode.

Former Miss Universe Jesinta Campbell. Picture: Jason Edwards

Stars overwhelmingly donned sophisticated frocks with spangled embellishment, opulent beading and delicate lace in hues of midnight blue, red, gold and emerald green.

White is the most enduring shade of the night with Shelley Craft, Zoe Foster-Blake, Rebecca Madden and Leah Denise among those favoring the crisp classic.

Standouts include Lauren Phillips in a leather embellished dress by Arthur Galan, Carrie Bickmore in a watermelon hued gown by Steven Khalil, Claudia Karvan in a monochrome Toni Maticevski creation and red carpet favorite Asher Keddie in Dion Lee. 

Rival weather girls Giaan Rooney and Rebecca Judd took the competition to the carpet in two of the most talked about gowns of the night.

Channel Nine television host Lauren Phillips. Picture: Jason Edwards

Rooney revamped her image in a space odyssey inspired gown by Helen Manuell while Judd secured herself the only J'aton creation of the night.

Fashion faux pas were few an far between with the Old Hollywood glamour trend meaning less flashes of flesh.

Brynne Edelsten arrived on the Logies red carpet with bruises and a new look.

"My body is different and I thought why not try something a bit more refined," Edelsten said.

Her floor-length white tassel dress by Natasha Fagg was certainly a different look to her normal ruby rug frock shocks.

Brynne said she is loving Celebrity Splash, except for the bruises.

"They say I'm a natural,'' Edelsten exclaimed of the reality show.

"But the water really hurts.''

In a serious faux pas, Channel Nine's The Morning Show tweeted Myer pin-up Kris Smith was strutting the carpet with girlfriend Maddy King

"Kris and Maddy looking very gorgeous indeed #Logies13,'' Mornings posted.

The woman photographed was actually Lauren Phillips.

Earlier this year Phillips was forced to deny a romance with her Myer stablemate after rumours spread like wildfire they were getting close while he was still seeing former flame Dannii Minogue. 

Meanwhile, Gold Logie nominee Adam Hills brought his mother Judy as his date to the Logies.

His wife, opera soprano Ali McGregor, was performing in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Hills arrived back home to Australia from the UK on Tuesday.

"When my wife couldn't come, mum stepped in, she loves this kind of stuff so she is the perfect date," Hills said.

The cast of Offspring didn't have a big night last night - they had a 6.30am call for filming today.

Kat Stewart, dressed in Hugo Boss, said there is one more week of filming on season four of the Melbourne made drama.

"The show has taken more twists and turns, it's fantastic, " Stewart said.

This year many of Australia's top designers were too busy preparing for Sydney's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, which starts tomorrow, to give the stars the kind of custom-made attention they're accustomed to.

Some starlets may even have bought off the rack, as if they were some kind of mere mortals.

Even those red carpet perennials, J'Aton (Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino) were unavailable to create gowns because they were overseas for a wedding.

Full list of winners

MOST POPULAR PERSONALITY (GOLD LOGIE)

Asher Keddie (Offspring, Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR ACTOR

Steve Peacocke (Home And Away, Channel Seven)

MOST POPULAR ACTRESS

Asher Keddie (Offspring, Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR PRESENTER

Hamish Blake (Hamish & Andy's Euro Gap Year/Hamish & Andy's Caravan Of Courage: Australia Vs New Zealand, Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR NEW MALE TALENT

Joel Madden (The Voice, Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR NEW FEMALE TALENT

Brenna Harding (Puberty Blues, Network Ten)

MOST POPULAR DRAMA SERIES

House Husbands, Nine Network

MOST POPULAR MINISERIES OR TELEMOVIE

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, Nine Network

MOST OUTSTANDING ACTOR

Anthony Hayes (Devil's Dust, ABC1)

MOST OUTSTANDING ACTRESS

Deborah Mailman (Mabo, ABC1)

GRAHAM KENNEDY AWARD FOR MOST OUTSTANDING NEW TALENT

Shari Sebbens (Redfern Now, ABC1)

MOST OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Redfern Now, ABC1

MOST OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR TELEMOVIE

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, Nine Network

MOST POPULAR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

The Voice, Nine Network

MOST POPULAR LIFESTYLE PROGRAM

Better Homes And Gardens, Channel Seven

MOST POPULAR SPORTS PROGRAM

The Footy Show (NRL), Nine Network

MOST POPULAR REALITY PROGRAM

The Block, Nine Network

MOST POPULAR FACTUAL PROGRAM

Bondi Rescue, Network Ten

MOST OUTSTANDING NEWS COVERAGE

"Breaking Ranks'', Lateline, ABC1

MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT

"Captain Emad: Smugglers' Paradise  Australia'', Four Corners, ABC1

MOST OUTSTANDING LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

The X Factor, Channel Seven

MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS COVERAGE

London 2012 Olympic Games, FOXTEL

MOST OUTSTANDING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

Dance Academy, ABC3

MOST OUTSTANDING FACTUAL PROGRAM

Go Back To Where You Came From, SBS ONE

 

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Waste of space tied up with red tape

143 Barrack St, a disused building above the Salvos store laying vacant because of red tape. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper Source: PerthNow

THEY are among Perth's most beautiful and historic buildings, yet they're sitting empty, thanks to Government red tape.

The Sunday Times can reveal the extent of urban decay in the city, with almost 30 iconic buildings gathering cobwebs.
 
That's despite a huge demand from creative industries and small businesses to make use of the boarded-up premises.
 
State and local government red tape has been blamed, with many owners unable to afford renovations needed to meet strict building codes, such as installing lifts, more landings and better fire exits.
 
Among the buildings sitting idle are the majority of second-storey sites on Hay St Mall as well as the mall's McNess Memorial Arcade, Hotel Metropol and Savoy Hotel.
 
The Perth Fire Station, Old William St Bank, East Perth power station and Fremantle's Woolstores also are abandoned, in some cases for decades.

 
The Greens have joined forces with Spacemarket, a group that matches creative businesses with vacant or under-used spaces, to compile the list. This Saturday they will launch a mobile phone app called "Why So Empty?"
 
Spacemarket co-founder Beth George said users would take photos of empty buildings and upload them on the app.
 
Greens senator Scott Ludlam predicted the app would show hundreds more buildings were going to waste. The State Government keeps no figures on abandoned buildings, but a City of Perth audit found 80,000sqm of vacant space in the city alone.
 
A separate report found the redevelopment of vacant upper-floor spaces was stalled by red tape, heritage rules and financial disincentives.
 
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has conceded a lot of upper-level space is "languishing" and "would be an attractive proposition" for small businesses unable to afford higher rents at street level.

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Defective GPS devices for WA rapists

The State Government has defended its choice of GPS devices that will be used to monitor sex offenders on community release. Source: The Courier-Mail

THE state's worst sex offenders will be released into the community wearing GPS ankle devices that have been abandoned in the US for being defective and posing an "imminent danger" to the public.

The ankle bracelets will soon be strapped to our worst paedophiles, rapists and other high-risk sex offenders despite the manufacturer being dumped by authorities in California for producing devices "inundated with defects".
 
Authorities discovered a litany of faults with the 3M tracking devices, including allegations they:
 
- Failed to collect and report locations on time.
- Could be easily fooled by offenders wrapping them in tinfoil.
- Had cracked cases and failed tampering alerts.
- Locations could be off by as much as 5km.
 
After carrying out secret tests, Californian authorities ordered close to 4000 ankle bracelets be removed from parolees and replaced with those from a different manufacturer.

 
The 3M company is now embroiled in a lawsuit after the US state used the test results to sever ties and reject its bid for another multi-million-dollar contract.
 
Yet the WA Department of Corrective Services signed a $750,000 contract with 3M in December to provide GPS devices for our high-risk sex offenders, paedophiles and rapists.
 
A plan to fit 16 offenders with the devices early this year was delayed because of software problems.
 
This week 3M conceded that US media reports about the devices had created "public concern".
 
"Media discussion around the efficiency of electronic monitoring devices has raised public concern internationally and within Australia," a spokeswoman said.
 
"3M are confident in the performance of 3M's electronic monitoring products, which are among the most effective and widely used offender tracking systems in the world."
 
Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis said GPS tracking would just be one tool "in the arsenal" of offender supervision.
 
"Used in conjunction with strong case management practices and conditions handed down by the court, it is another tool in the arsenal of community supervision of offenders and a strong focus on improving community safety," Mr Francis said.
 
"The contract provider was selected through a stringent process in accordance with the Government Procurement Policy guidelines."
 
The devices work by picking up signals from GPS satellites and feeding the information back to a computer.
 
Industry experts say the ankle monitors can have "black spots", similar to mobile phones, when offenders go inside multi-storey buildings or underground car parks.
 
Mr Francis said a DCS team would monitor the sex offenders around the clock as part of a new Public Protection Unit.
 
ashlee.mullany@news.com.au

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Korean tension delays US missile test

A South Korean soldier stands on a military guard post near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas in the border city of Paju. Source: AFP

THE United States has delayed testing one of its own intercontinental ballistic missiles as some analysts say they believe North Korea can launch nuclear warheads.

A senior defence official has said the Pentagon delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test in order not to inflame already flash-point tensions with the rogue state.

Scheduled to be launched this week from the  Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to put off the long-planned Minuteman 3 test until sometime next month.

The test was not connected to the ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises that have been going on in that region and have stoked North Korean anger and fueled an escalation in threatening actions and rhetoric.

North Korea's military warned earlier this week that it was authorized to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons.

However, North Korea is generally regarded as being years away from perfecting the technology to back up its bold threats of a pre-emptive strike on the United States.

But a recent string of successful tests has introduced a strong measure of doubt.

On Sunday afternoon it was reported that Japan will order its armed forces to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory.

Under the order, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles would be deployed in the Sea of Japan so they could intercept a North Korean missile if it appeared likely to land in Japanese territory, Kyodo said.

Meanwhile most foreign diplomats in North Korea appear to have taken the decision to stay put, ignoring a warning by Pyongyang that they should consider evacuating amid the soaring tensions.

Pyongyang had informed embassies it could not guarantee their safety if a conflict broke out as concerns grew that the isolated state was preparing a missile launch.

But most of their governments made it clear overnight that they had no immediate plans to withdraw personnel, and some suggested the advisory was a ruse to fuel growing global anxiety over the current crisis on the Korean peninsula.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman, commenting on the North's advisory, said: ``We believe they have taken this step as part of their country's rhetoric that the US poses a threat to them.''

Diplomatic family and staff are given final check by North Korean military police before boarding an aircraft to leave the country yesterday.

Western tourists returning from organised tours in Pyongyang - which have continued despite the tensions - said the situation on the ground appeared calm, with life going on as normal.

"We're glad to be back but we didn't feel frightened when we were there,'' said Tina Krabbe, from Denmark, arriving in Beijing after five days in North Korea.

GILLARD WARNS ON GROWING MILITARY THREAT.

WHAT WILL CHINA DO IF NORTH KOREA ATTACKS?

The embassy warning on Saturday coincided with reports North Korea had loaded two intermediate-range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in underground facilities near its east coast.

"The North is apparently intent on firing the missiles without prior warning,'' South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a senior South Korean government official as saying.

North Koreans go about their business in Pyongyang oblivious to their leader's threats of war. Picture: Brown James

They were reported to be untested Musudan missiles which are believed to have a range of around 3000 kilometres that could theoretically be pushed to 4000 kilometres with a light payload.

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases located on the Pacific island of Guam.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said yesterday Washington "would not be surprised'' by a missile test, which would fit the North's "current pattern of bellicose, unhelpful and unconstructive rhetoric and actions''.

US DEPLOYS UNMANNED SPY DRONE.

THE TWO FACES OF KIM JONG-UN.

No one can tell with any certainty how much technological progress North Korea has made, aside from perhaps a few people close to its secretive leadership. And it is highly unlikely that Pyongyang would launch such an attack, because the retaliation would be devastating.

In this Feb. 22, 2008 file image from television North Korean workers operate equipment at North Korea's main nuclear reactor in Nyongbyon, also known as Yongbyon.

The North's third nuclear test on February 12, which prompted the toughest UN Security Council sanctions yet against Pyongyang, is presumed to have advanced its ability to miniaturise a nuclear device. And experts say it's easier to design a nuclear warhead that works on a shorter-range missile than one for an intercontinental missile that could target the US.

The assessment of David Albright at the Institute for Science and International Security think tank is that North Korea has the capability to mount a warhead on its Rodong missile, which has a range of 1280 kilometers and could hit South Korea and most of Japan. But he cautioned in his analysis, published after the latest nuclear test, that it is an uncertain estimate, and the warhead's reliability remains unclear.

Albright contends that the experience of Pakistan could serve as precedent. Pakistan bought the Rodong from North Korea after its first flight test in 1993, then adapted and produced it for its own use. Pakistan, which conducted its first nuclear test in 1998, is said to have taken less than 10 years to miniaturize a warhead before that test, Albright said.

North Korea also obtained technology from the trafficking network of A.Q. Khan, a disgraced pioneer of Pakistan's nuclear program, acquiring centrifuges for enriching uranium. According to the Congressional Research Service, Khan may also have supplied a Chinese-origin nuclear weapon design he provided to Libya and Iran, which could have helped the North in developing a warhead for a ballistic missile.

But Siegfried Hecker at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, who has visited North Korea seven times and been granted unusual access to its nuclear facilities, is skeptical the North has advanced that far in miniaturisation of a nuclear device.

"Nobody outside of a small elite in North Korea knows - and even they don't know for sure," he said in an e-mailed response to questions from The Associated Press. "I agree that we cannot rule it out for one of their shorter-range missiles, but we simply don't know."

South Korean anti-aircraft armoured vehicles move over a temporary bridge during a river-crossing military drill in Hwacheon near the border with North Korea.

KIM JONG-UN ORDERS ARTILLERY PRODUCTION.

MISSILE THREAT TO AUSTRALIA `REAL'.

"Thanks to A.Q. Khan, they almost certainly have designs for such a device that could fit on some of their short or medium-range missiles," said Hecker, who last visited the North in November 2010. "But it is a long way from having a design and having confidence that you can put a warhead on a missile and have it survive the thermal and mechanical stresses during launch and along its entire trajectory."

The differing opinions underscore a fundamental problem in assessing a country as isolated as North Korea, particularly its weapons programs: Solid proof is hard to come by.

For example, the international community remains largely in the dark about the latest underground nuclear test. Although it caused a magnitude 5.1 tremor, no gases escaped, and experts say there was no way to evaluate whether a plutonium or uranium device was detonated. That information would help reveal whether North Korea has managed to produce highly enriched uranium, giving it a new source of fissile material, and help determine the type and sophistication of the North's warhead design.

The guessing game about the North's nuclear weapons program dates back decades. Albright says that in the early 1990s, the CIA estimated that North Korea had a "first-generation" design for a plutonium device that was likely to be deployed on the Nodong missile - although it's not clear what information that estimate was based on.

This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 31, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attending the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang.

"Given that 20 years has passed since the deployment of the Rodong, an assessment that North Korea successfully developed a warhead able to be delivered by that missile is reasonable," Albright wrote.

According to Nick Hansen, a retired intelligence expert who closely monitors developments in the North's weapons programs, the Rodong missile was first flight-tested in 1993. Pakistan claims to have re-engineered the missile and successfully tested it, although doubts apparently persist about its reliability.

Whether North Korea has also figured out how to wed the missile with a nuclear warhead has major ramifications not just for South Korea and Japan, but for the US itself, which counts those nations as its principal allies in Asia and retains 80,000 troops in the two countries.

US intelligence appears to have vacillated in its assessments of North Korea's capabilities.

In April 2005, Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that North Korea had the capability to arm a missile with a nuclear device. Pentagon officials, however, later backtracked.

According to the Congressional Research Service, a report from the same intelligence agency to Congress in August 2007 said that "North Korea has short and medium-range missiles that could be fitted with nuclear weapons, but we do not know whether it has in fact done so."

In this March 11, 2013 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at military officers after inspecting the Wolnae Islet Defense Detachment, North Korea, near the western sea border with South Korea.

In an interview in Germany, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. does not know whether North Korea has "weaponised" its nuclear capability.

Still, Washington is taking North Korea's nuclear threats seriously.

In December, North Korea launched a long-range rocket that could potentially hit the continental US According to South Korean officials, North Korea has moved at least one missile with "considerable range" to its east coast - possibly the untested Musudan missile, believed to have a range of 3000 - 4000 kilometers.

This week, the US said two of the Navy's missile-defence ships were positioned closer to the Korean peninsula, and a land-based system is being deployed for the Pacific territory of Guam. The Pentagon last month announced longer-term plans to beef up its US-based missile defences.

South Korea is separated from North Korea and its huge standing army by a heavily militarized frontier, and the countries remain in an official state of war, as the Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty. Even without nuclear arms, the North positions enough artillery within range of Seoul to devastate large parts of the capital before the much-better-equipped US and South Korea could fully respond.

And Japan has been starkly aware of the threat since North Korea's 1998 test of the medium-range Taepodong missile that overflew its territory.

Yet in the latest standoff, much of the international attention has been on the North's potential threat to the US, a more distant prospect than its capabilities to strike its own neighbours. Experts say the North could hit South Korea with chemical weapons, and might also be able to use a Scud missile to carry a nuclear warhead.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, acknowledges the North might be able to put a warhead on a Rodong missile, but he sees it as unlikely. He says the North's nuclear threats are less worthy of attention than the prospects of a miscalculation leading to a conventional war.

"North Korea understands that a serious attack on South Korea or other US interests is going to be met with overwhelming force," he said. "It would be near suicidal for the regime."

- With AP, AFP

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Murder charges over Pt Hedland death

Police are investigating the death of a 43-year-old Port Hedland woman. Source: PerthNow

A MAN has been charged with murder after the death of a 43-year-old woman in Port Hedland last night.

Police were called to a disturbance in Bayman Street at about 6.30pm where it will be alleged they found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound.

The woman was taken to Hedland Health Campus by ambulance, however she was later pronounced dead.

Late today, South Hedland Detectives charged a 62-year-old man with murder.

The man is expected to appear in a local Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Major Crime Squad detectives arrived in South Hedland today to assist with the investigation.

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