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Whitney Houston dead at 48

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Grammy award winning singer Whitney Houston has died aged 48. (from: www.skynews.com.au)

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Australian journalist 'detained in Egypt'

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An Australian journalist is under arrest in Egypt, accused of trying to bribe people to join a strike. (from: www.skynews.com.au)

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Greek PM warns austerity needed to avert 'catastrophe' (AFP)

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ATHENS (AFP) - Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Saturday urged parliament to pass painful austerity measures demanded by creditors, warning of "economic and social catastrophe" if it doesn't. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Suarez is Liverpool disgrace, says Ferguson

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MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Luis Suarez is a disgrace to Liverpool and should never be allowed to play for them again, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said after the Uruguayan refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand on Saturday. (from: www.sbs.com.au)

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Eight arrested in bribery probe at Murdoch's Sun (AFP)

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LONDON (AFP) - Britain's top-selling newspaper The Sun was in crisis Saturday after police arrested five of its journalists over bribery allegations, but owner Rupert Murdoch vowed to keep publishing the tabloid. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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France v Ireland off due to frozen pitch (Reuters)

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PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Saturday's Six Nations game between France and Ireland has been postponed because of a frozen pitch. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Mitt Romney wins Maine caucuses with narrow victory over Ron Paul

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Doubts about his ability to excite the conservative base remain amid concerns over his chances of beating Obama in November Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has got his campaign back on track by winning the Maine caucuses, holding off a strong challenge from the outsider, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Although Romney will be relieved to have chalked up a victory after losing three contests in mid-week, he saw a huge 31% majority from the 2008 Republican nominating race shrink to just 3%. The narrowness of the win keeps alive doubts about his ability to excite the conservative base, and concerns that a lack of enthusiasm could prove a problem against Barack Obama in November. Romney now has four wins (New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada and Maine) to Rick Santorum's three (Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado), plus Santorum's victory in a popularity contest in Missouri where nothing was at stake. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has just one, South Carolina. Maine was a big disappointment for Paul who invested a lot of time and had hoped finally to make a breakthrough and win a state. With 95% of the votes counted – some caucuses had to be delayed by snow – Romney took 39%, 2,190 votes, to Paul's 36% with 1,996 votes. Santorum took 18% and Gingrich 6%. Neither Santorum or Gingrich campaigned in Maine. Maine was important for Romney because it allows him to finish on a high ahead of an almost three-week break. The next round of contests is not until 28 February with Michigan and Arizona. Romney, in a statement issued after the Maine result, portrayed himself as a Washington outsider. "I am the only candidate in the race who has never served a day in our broken federal government. The voters of Maine have sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House, a conservative with a lifetime of experience in the private sector, who can uproot Washington's culture of taxing and spending and borrowing and endless bureaucracy." The win in Maine comes on top of a win for Romney in a straw poll at the conservative mega-conference in Washington, the Conservative Political Action Conference. He took 38% of the 3,804 votes, Santorum 31%, Gingrich 15% and Paul 12%. That is a good result for Romney, given that the attendees tend to be die-hard conservatives, a group that often view him as too moderate. Paul put his best face on the Maine result, declaring it a tie. He later conceded, in an interview with CNN, that Mitt Romney had re-established himself as frontrunner. He suggested he expected him to be the eventual winner, though noting he had failed to enthuse conservatives. "He is out in front … He picked up a little steam today," Paul said. Paul's long-term strategy is to build up a bloc of delegates to take to the party convention in Tampa, Florida, and expressed satisfaction with the high portion of delegates he expected to take from Maine. The vote on Saturday is non-binding and Paul predicted that when the delegates to the convention are eventually chosen he would have a majority. But even that would be a small victory in the greater scheme of things. Maine was Paul's best hope to win a state and he failed. That will not stop him continuing to gather delegates to take to the convention and seek concessions from the eventual winner. Romney is favourite to win Arizona, partly because of its big Mormon population and because of the support of its senator John McCain. He should be favourite to win Michigan, which is his home state, but Santorum appears intent on achieving an upset. Romney won Maine by a large margin in 2008, with 52% of the vote, with Paul coming third on 18% behind the eventual Republican nominee John McCain on 21%. There are 24 delegates at stake in Maine. One the last day of the CPAC meeting, Palin avoided endorsing any of the Republican candidates but he hinted at opposition to Romney. She said the nominee "must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional conservative principles." A national opinion poll released late on Saturday from Public Policy Polling, puts Santorum well in front on 38%, with Romney on 23%, Gingrich 17% and Paul 13%. Mitt Romney Maine Republicans United States US politics Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (from: www.guardian.co.uk)

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Syria 'relaunches' assault on Homs

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Activists claim seven killed in renewed shelling and tank barrage as gunmen shoot dead Syrian general in Damascus Syrian forces have unleashed new tank and rocket attacks on the besieged city of Homs killing at least seven people, activists said. The renewed bombardment comes amid reports that gunmen have assassinated an army general in Damascus, the first killing of a high-ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in March. Syria's state news agency Sana reported that three gunmen shot dead Brigadier General Issa al-Khouli as he left his home in the Damascus district of Rukn-Eddine on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, activists in Homs said that a 55-year-old woman was among those killed by shellfire on the Baba Amr district on Homs. Some reports suggest as many as 15 people have been killed in the past 24 hours. Footage posted on YouTube purports to show tanks on the edge of Baba Amr, with one firing its main gun across a highway. "The indiscriminate shelling is killing mostly civilians," said Fawaz Tello, an Egyptian-based member of the opposition Syrian National Council. "Assad cannot push his troops into street fighting ... so he is content with shelling Homs to bits until civilian losses pressure the Free Syrian Army to withdraw and regime troops can enter these neighbourhoods without taking any serious losses," Tello added. Western diplomats condemned the latest assault and warned that Syrian officials responsible for the ongoing bloodshed will eventually be punished. EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said: "I am appalled by the reports of the brutal attacks by the Syrian armed forces in Homs. I condemn in the strongest terms these acts perpetrated by the Syrian regime against its own civilian," One western diplomat added: "It is important that Syrian senior regime officials understand that even if they are out of reach today there may come a point down the line when they will be held accountable. "A lot of these mid-ranking officials, they don't have significant assets and within the EU jurisdiction they are probably not going to travel much. "But mainly it shows that a list of names that at the moment is a list of people who are not allowed to travel to the EU can very easily become another kind of list of names in another form further down the line." Officials admit they see little hope of breaking the current cycle of violence, with the regime now apparently firmly locked in to a "security solution". But despite the frustration, there was caution about calls from some in the Syrian opposition for the international community to establish safe havens or humanitarian corridors through which aid can pass. Officials warned of the dangers of sending in aid workers without adequate protection. More than 5,400 people have been killed since the uprising began in March last year. The British foreign secretary, William Hague, has said the UK has no plans to arm Syrian rebels trying to overthrow the president. Syrian troops have been trying to regain control of areas in Homs since last Saturday when they started a major offensive on rebel-held areas. Activists say more than 400 people have been killed in the city since. The world is deeply divided over how to end the Syria conflict. On Sunday, Russia and China vetoed a draft UN security council resolution sponsored by western and Arab states that backed an Arab League call for Assad to step down. Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East and North Africa Damien Pearse guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (from: www.guardian.co.uk)

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Libya asks Niger to hand over Gaddafi son (AAP)

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Libya has asked Niger to hand over one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons after he warned in a television interview that his homeland was facing a new uprising. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Injury woes hit Warriors in NRL trial (AAPNZN)

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Rapira brothers Sam and Steve will miss the start of the Warriors' 2012 NRL campaign after both were injured in Saturday's trial match in Sydney. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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A year since Mubarak ousted, strike call shows divisions (Reuters)

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt marked the first anniversary of the popular overthrow of Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, but a poor turnout for a strike called by activists to protest the slow pace of change from military rule laid bare the country's deep divisions. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets (AFP)

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AUCKLAND (AFP) - New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in their opening Twenty20 international at Eden Park on Saturday. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Proud Beyonce shows off baby Blue Ivy

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POP stars Beyoncé and Jay-Z today surprised fans by sharing the first pictures of their baby, Blue Ivy Carter. (from: www.news.com.au)

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Aung San Suu Kyi campaigns in Burma

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Thousands of supporters have swarmed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she campaigns for parliament. (from: www.skynews.com.au)

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WA 9-284 v Qld in one-day clash

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Captain Marcus North's 93 has helped Western Australia reach 9-284 in their one-day clash with Queensland at the Gabba. (from: news.smh.com.au)

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Tiger on the prowl at Pebble Beach (Reuters)

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Feb 11 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods evoked memories of his glory days with a blistering run of six birdies in eight holes as he charged into contention for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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USA dump out Federer's Swiss, Spain cruise in Davis Cup (AFP)

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PARIS (AFP) - Roger Federer's miserable return to Davis Cup first-round duty after an eight-year absence was completed on Saturday when the United States knocked out Switzerland to reach the quarter-finals. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Westwood in charge as McIlroy, Bjorn toil in Dubai (Reuters)

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DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's Lee Westwood took charge of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday, shooting 67 to move 15 under after the third round as former frontrunners Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn toiled under a searing sun. (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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Bold plans for Black Caviar

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New plans that will make the next Black Caviar chapter the most enthralling yet have been drawn up by those close to the super mare. (from: www.foxsports.com.au)

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It's bailout or chaos, PM Papademos tells Greece (Reuters)

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ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has told lawmakers to back a deeply unpopular international financial rescue in a vote Sunday or condemn the country to "uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion." (from: au.news.yahoo.com)

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