Putin targeted at Mardi Gras parade

Activists at the 2014 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin. Source: AAP

SYDNEY'S gay and lesbian Mardi Gras has taken aim at Russia for its anti-homosexual propaganda laws, with a parade aimed at showing the regime's discriminatory polices won't float with an Australian audience.

Amid the bright lights, dancing surf life savers, bikies and angels at the 37th annual parade stood a ten-foot, bobble-headed Vladimir Putin float.

"I am very much so proud to be part of this float," said Tim, who didn't give a last name, on whose shoulders rested the Russian president's massive head.

"I think it'd be a great opportunity to protest anti-gay laws, so I wanted to be part of it myself."

While the float - titled From Russia with Love - condemned Russia's views, it was also used to send love to the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Sydney's Hyde Park was teeming on Saturday night with hundreds of thousands of revellers dressed in a rainbow of colours - everything from gay pride cowboy dancers to bright blue cast members from the movie Avatar.

Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said before the parade that the event, which is known for its fun, was still capable of stirring up political debate.

"There's room for very serious political comment in Mardi Gras," she said.

"Everyone is quite alarmed about what's happening in Russia, what's happening in Nigeria and Pakistan.

"This is a global event, the biggest of its kind in the world and it's good to make those statements."

Actress and comedian Magda Szubanski says while Australia is more tolerant towards homosexuality, it is not smooth sailing.

"One recent study shows the incidents of attempted suicide among LGBTI youth is six times higher than in the straight community," she said.

"As much as it's important that we protest Sochi and what's going on in Russia, we have to be mindful that things aren't too great here.

"Speaking as a gay observer, things have a life of their own and at the moment there does seem to be a political focus."

This year's parade - the second largest event in Sydney after New Year's Eve - is bigger than in 2013, with a record 144 floats making the journey down Oxford and Flinders streets amid an estimated 10,000 marchers.

The footpaths of Oxford St were packed with an estimated 300,000 people pressing against barriers along a two kilometre stretch to see the parade.

The popular favourites Dykes on Bikes kicked off early celebrations with a roaring ride up and down Oxford at 7pm, warming the crowds up for the main event.

Among the parade's eccentric features was a nine-metre Strictly Mardi Gras trailer complete with a 98-member cast.

One of the forces behind the float, Strictly Ballroom director Baz Luhrmann, also attended the parade, along with performers Delta Goodrem and Tina Arena.

Federal MP Penny Wong also marched in the parade.

Extra police - those not on duty on the NSW police float - were deployed across the CBD to monitor the influx of visitors.

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Morsi's son arrested for drug possession

EGYPTIAN police have arrested a son of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on drug possession charges, the official Middle East News Agency reports.

Abdullah, the youngest son of Morsi, was detained with a friend in the town of Benha, north of Cairo. The report said five grams of hashish was found in their car, which was meant for for personal use.

The report did not say when the arrests were made.

Abdullah is the first member of Morsi's family to be detained since July when the military toppled the Islamist leader following massive street protests against his one-year rule.

A Cairo court on Saturday resumed the trial of Morsi for allegedly inciting the killing of anti-Islamist protesters while in office in 2012.

Morsi, a senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, is also facing three other trials on separate charges of conspiring with foreign groups, a 2011 escape from prison and defaming judges.

He has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

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Pharrell, U2 rock Oscar rehearsals

HAVING the number one song on the charts does not exempt an artist from Oscar rehearsals.

Pharrell Williams ran through his catchy hit Happy more than half a dozen times on Friday in preparation for the Oscar telecast. He even shared the spotlight with a spate of stars: Jamie Foxx, Brad Pitt and Kate Hudson showed up to rehearse while he was on stage.

"All I care about is the fun," Williams said to Hudson, who boogied in the audience as he practised his dance-heavy number. A choir of high-school students and 20 professional dancers accompany his colourful performance.

Also rehearsing on Friday were Broadway star Idina Menzel, who's set to sing Let It Go from animated film nominee Frozen; U2, which is nominated for its song from the Mandela movie, Ordinary Love; and rocker Karen O, who is nominated for The Moon Song from best picture nominee Her.

Menzel was awed by the technology that allowed the Oscar orchestra, playing off-site at the Capitol Records building, to coordinate with her live at the Dolby Theatre.

"Hi, Bill, can you hear me?" she said into the microphone to conductor William Ross, whom she could see on a monitor from inside the theatre.

"I'm trying to get that telepathic vibe with you because I'm alone up here and this is my first time (on the Oscars).

"You look very handsome," she added.

Karen O, front woman of the rock band Yeah Yeah Yeah's, took notes from director Spike Jonze as she practised her performance.

"Spike just asked me to hold the mic a little bit lower, so I need a little more level," she told a sound engineer. Jonze sat in a front-row seat in the audience.

Accompanied by Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig on acoustic guitar, O sang the song again and again, sitting on a corner of the stage in a long floral dress, leather motorcycle jacket and killer blue boots.

Williams arrived wearing a polka-dot jacket, patterned scarf and his trademark hat.

He ditched the chapeau for rehearsals, emerging onstage in just a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. He danced through the audience, pausing to shake hands with show producer Craig Zadan, saying, "Thanks for having me."

Foxx arrived in the middle of Williams' rehearsal. He quickly joined the dancers on stage, much to their amusement, pretending to stretch alongside them and offering unneeded dramatic direction.

"Walk, walk, curiosity! And retreat," he said to a chorus of laughter.

U2 also wasn't above rehearsals, running through their nominated song late into the night.

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WA man dies when vehicle rolls off road

A MAN has died after a vehicle drove off a Perth road, entered bushland and rolled over.

Police were notified of the single vehicle rollover off the Great Northern Highway about 30-kilometres south of Wyndham at 10.30am (WST) on Saturday.

It appears the vehicle left the road at or near a bend, entered bushland and rolled over.

A deceased male was located by police at the scene.

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$2.5m of cannabis found in northern NSW

Police have seized more than 1200 cannabis plants, worth about $2.5 million, during raids in NSW. Source: AAP

MORE than 1200 cannabis plants valued about $2.5 million have been seized by police during raids in northern NSW.

The plants were found in bushland around Lillian Rock, Barkers Vale, Rappville and Woodburn during the latest round of the cannabis eradication program (CEP), which ran from Monday to Wednesday, police said.

More than $4 million of cannabis was found and destroyed after similar searches in the first week of February.

"The CEP has been running since the mid-1980s and, to date, has prevented cannabis with an estimated potential street value of more than $250 million reaching NSW streets," police said in a statement.

"The CEP is generally operational during cannabis-growing season, which stretches from the late spring through summer and into early autumn."

The drug squad, dog unit, aviation support branch and local police were involved in the raids.

More busts will take place in the coming months.

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Motorists suffer 'accident anxiety'

MOST motorists are suffering from "accident anxiety", and drivers aged 35-44 are the most worried, according to a survey.

As many as 79 per cent of those taking to the road are anxious about driving, the poll by Allianz Insurance found.

This concern is so great that 17 per cent of drivers have decided not to make a particular journey due to their worries.

Based on responses from 1000 people who drive regularly, the survey showed 83 per cent of drivers aged 35-44 get anxious on the road.

Overall, the biggest worry to drivers is tailgating, followed by road rage and uninsured drivers.

Of those who have accidents, 81 per cent said it was not their fault with 22 per cent saying they felt more worried, more stressed and less confident after a collision, with women being notably more worried than men after a crash.

Yet just seven per cent reckoned more driver training would be the answer.

Allianz Insurance chief executive Jon Dye said: "It's worrying to see that so many motorists feel they will have an accident, and yet so few feel more driver training would help. Drivers can only drive at their best if they feel calm and alert and not unduly worried about what other motorists are getting up to.

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Qantas planes clip wings in LA

Two Qantas planes have clipped wings at LA airport, forcing the cancellation of two flights. Source: AAP

TWO Qantas planes have clipped wings while being towed out of a hangar in Los Angeles, causing the cancellation of two flights back to Australia.

No passengers were on board when the wing tips of an A380 and B747 came into contact at about 9pm LA time, Qantas said on Friday.

The damage was substantial enough to force the cancellation of flight QF94 to Melbourne and QF16 to Brisbane.

Customers have been put up in hotels and will be placed on the next available flights.

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Refugee activists march in Sydney

Refugee activists have clashed with police in a peak-hour march through inner Sydney. Source: AAP

REFUGEE activists have clashed with police in a peak-hour march through inner Sydney.

Riot police were called in as hundreds rallied along George Street on Friday evening chanting "Free, free the refugees".

At times the throngs spilled onto city roads, disrupting traffic and prompting physical confrontations with police.

The demonstration comes after the death of 23-year-old Reza Berati during violent clashes at Australia's Manus Island immigration detention centre.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul told the rally the Iranian's death would not be forgotten.

"They want to push it aside," he said. "They want it to be covered up in the lies and the cover-ups which are now under way on Manus Island.

"We are not going to allow that to happen."

The protesters have called for the Papua New Guinea facility to be shut down and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to step down.

"Scott Morrison, blood on your hands," they cried as the march approached the Immigration Department's Sydney headquarters.

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Bishop spiked rhino program, hearing told

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has spiked plans to help save the Sumatran rhinoceros. Source: AAP

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has spiked plans by the former Labor government to help save the Sumatran rhinoceros.

In June 2013, then foreign minister Bob Carr said Australia would provide $3 million over three years to help Indonesian authorities protect the species, of which there are estimated to be fewer than 200 remaining.

But the program did not and would not begin, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman Rod Brazier told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.

"The current foreign minister has decided not to proceed with the program," he said.

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Don't lose interest in Greste: colleague

A crowd has rallied in support of Aussie journalist Peter Greste who has been detained in Egypt. Source: AAP

A COLLEAGUE of imprisoned Australian journalist Peter Greste has urged the public and media not to lose interest in his case.

Speaking to a rally of about 20 people at Martin Place in Sydney, Al-Jazeera's Andrew Thomas said the case in Egypt was important for free press worldwide.

"Other countries will watch the... success Egypt has had locking up foreign journalists ... and they might try to do something similar," he said.

"That would mean the ... dark corners that governments don't want you to know about wouldn't be exposed."

The award-winning Mr Greste, bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed were arrested in December.

They're among 20 journalists accused of airing false news and misleading viewers about the political situation in Egypt.

Broadcaster Al-Jazeera held "a global day of action" for the trio in 30 cities worldwide and on social media on Thursday.

Mr Greste and his colleagues were denied bail at their first appearance in a Cairo court last week.

Amnesty International activism manager Chris Holley told AAP there was hope the men could be released on bail during their next court appearance on March 5.

"Our call is for them to be released unconditionally," he said.

"But if they're not released they should be given bail ... and I think there's a prospect that could happen."

He did admit it was hard to predict how the Egyptian government would act.

Greste's parents live in Brisbane and could not be at the protest.

In a letter, read by Mr Thomas, they thanked the small crowd and wished "peace and prosperity on the people of Egypt".

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Pet parrot helps Indian cops crack murder

A PET parrot has helped police nab its owner's killer in the northern Indian city of Agra.

Police were struggling to solve the murder mystery until a key clue was provided by the dead woman's pet parrot, Hercule, The Times of India reported on Thursday.

Neelam Sharma, 45, was found murdered in her home on February 20. Her husband Vijay, editor of a Hindi daily, noticed the parrot screeching every time his nephew Ashutosh visited their house after the murder.

"During discussions too, whenever Ashutosh's name was mentioned the parrot would start screeching. This raised my suspicion and I informed police," Sharma told the newspaper.

Agra police official Shalabh Mathur told the Times that Ashutosh confessed to the crime on interrogation.

He said he had entered the house with an accomplice to steal cash and valuables.

But afraid that his aunt might recognise him, he stabbed her and a pet dog when it started barking.

The Times of India report said the bird, a namesake of Hercule Poirot, the detective in Agatha Christie's novels, had lived up to its name.

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900 turtles found dead on Indian coast

MORE than 900 sea turtles have been found dead along the coast in southern India, conservationists say, blaming illegal fishing near their sanctuaries.

Supraja Dharini of the Tree Foundation, a marine conservation group, said trawlers fishing illegally along the coast of Andhra Pradesh state were not taking measures to stop turtles from getting entangled in the nets.

She said more than 800 dead Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore on Saturday, and 100 more were found on Sunday.

"Such a huge loss of the species in one night is more than three times the total number recorded in the past six years in the region," she said, adding: "To say it is a tragedy would be a gross understatement."

Dharini said more than 45 trawlers were fishing about four kilometres from the shore days before the turtle deaths, whereas fishing regulations make it mandatory for trawlers to operate at least eight kilometres from the shore.

Olive Ridleys are one of the five species of sea turtle found in Indian waters.

The turtles are classified as "vulnerable," by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and nest on Indian shores between January and April.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that there are 800,000 female Olive Ridleys worldwide.

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