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Top Stories
*PM Kevin Rudd set to unveil new ministry*
*Egyptians flood streets to protest president's rule*
*DisabilityCare officially begins today*
*Obama 'humbled' by Mandela prison visit*
*Artificial light leading to increase in sleep disorders*
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*PM Kevin Rudd set to unveil new ministry*
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will unveil his new-look ministry this morning, returning some of his key allies to the frontbench and shifting Gillard supporters from their current roles.
Key points
The ABC has confirmed former chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon will be named as agriculture minister, while Kim Carr will return to the industry and innovation portfolio.
Both men supported Mr Rudd in his efforts to return to the prime ministership.
Anthony Albanese, who has been promoted to Deputy Prime Minister, will take over the communications portfolio vacated by Senator Stephen Conroy last week.
Mr Albanese will keep his transport and infrastructure portfolios but will now be responsible for the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Meanwhile, the ABC has been told Environment Minister Tony Burke and Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor - both supporters of former prime minister Julia Gillard - will be moved from their portfolios.
Mr Burke was one of a number of ministers who verbally attacked Mr Rudd in February last year, accusing him of orchestrating a campaign that undermined Ms Gillard.
He intended not to serve in a reinstated Rudd government, however the new Prime Minister rejected his resignation offer after last week's leadership spill.
Mr Burke will be handed the immigration portfolio, while Mr O'Connor will take employment, skills and training.
Mark Butler will shift from mental health and ageing to climate change and environment.
The Prime Minister has a number of positions to fill after more than a third of the Cabinet resigned following his leadership coup, which was crafted in a bid to lift Labor's hopes of winning the next election.
According to the latest Newspoll out today, Mr Rudd has a commanding lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister and Labor's primary vote at a six-month high.
The ALPs' primary vote is up 6 per cent from 29 to 35 per cent after Mr Rudd was returned to power, with the Coalition's primary vote down from 48 to 43 per cent.
The figures suggest Labor would still lose the election if one was held today, but a catastrophic loss would be averted.
Women to get frontbench promotions
winners and losers
Labor announced yesterday that three women would be promoted to the frontbench: Victorian senator Jacinta Collins and MPs Julie Collins and Catherine King.
Senator Collins will become the minister for mental health, Ms King will be promoted to the regional Australia portfolio, and Ms Collins will enter Cabinet with the portfolio for housing, homeless and status of women.
Meanwhile, West Australian MP Melissa Parke will move to the outer ministry, taking on the international development and aid portfolio.
The promotions mean there will be more women serving in the Rudd Cabinet than any previous.
Mr Rudd will make the official announcement in Newcastle later this morning.
The new line up will be sworn in by the Governor-General at a ceremony at Government House in Canberra at 2pm (AEST).
Read more
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*Egyptians flood streets to protest president's rule*
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have flooded the streets determined to oust president Mohamed Morsi on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power.
There are reports at least four people are dead and at least 40 others injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi, as fears of widespread violence begin to grow.
The largest crowd filled Cairo's Tahrir Square and the area around the presidential palace. Protesters say Mr Morsi has failed to rule for all Egyptians.
Some held up red cards and others wore black headbands with "Leave, Morsi!" written on them.
"The people want the ouster of the regime," the protesters chanted, the signature slogan of the 2011 revolt that saw Hosni Mubarak deposed and brought Mr Morsi to power.
"This is the second revolution and Tahrir is the symbol of the revolution," said carpenter Ibrahim Hammouda, who travelled from the northern city of Damietta to join the protest.
Anti-Morsi protests were also being staged in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura, Menuf, Tanta and Mahalla, the canal cities of Suez and Port Said and in the president's hometown of Zagazig.
Protest leaders have urged Mr Morsi's opponents to stay in the streets until he leaves office.
But tens of thousands of his supporters, including the Muslim Brotherhood, also staged mass rallies, demanding he stay in office.
His supporters have warned they will lay down their lives to defend the presidential palace. Some Muslim Brotherhood activists donned makeshift body armour and construction helmets.
The Brotherhood says its Cairo headquarters was attacked by a crowd throwing Molotov cocktails and wielding shotguns.
Each side has portrayed this first anniversary of his democratic election as a make-or-break moment.
embed protest pic
Australian travellers warned amid security fears
One military source estimates millions of protesters have taken to the streets and describes the protest as the "biggest in Egypt's history".
Police and troops have deployed to protect key buildings around the country and hospitals have been placed on high alert.
A senior security official said the Suez Canal, the vital waterway that connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, has been placed under "maximum security".
The Federal Government is warning Australians travelling to Egypt to exercise a high degree of caution amid the protests.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the risk of civil unrest means Australians in Egypt should remain alert and register their travel plans with the Australian Embassy in Cairo.
He says there is no evidence that Australians are being specifically targeted, but an American citizen was stabbed to death last week while observing a protest in Alexandria.
Senator Carr is calling on all parties to renounce violence and for the Egyptian authorities to exercise appropriate restraint in maintaining public order.
Morsi supporters
Protest group claims millions want Morsi ousted
The grassroots movement Tamarod - Arabic for rebellion - is behind a campaign that claims to have collected millions of signatures to a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation 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.
The week leading up to the showdown has already seen eight people killed, and scores more injured as protesters from both sides took to the streets.
Mr Morsi, who was previously a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader and is Egypt's first freely elected president, was catapulted to power by the 2011 uprising that ended three decades of authoritarian rule from Mubarak.
His opponents accuse him of betraying the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands and of sending the economy into freefall.
But his supporters say many of the challenges he faces he inherited from a corrupt regime and that he should be allowed to serve out his term, which ends in 2016.
Any attempt to remove him from office, they say, is a coup against democracy.
Correspondent video
"We will not allow a coup against the president," senior Brotherhood leader Mohammed al-Beltagui told a Cairo rally.
Demonstrator Kamal Ahmed Kamel echoed his comments. "It's not just about Morsi, it's about legitimacy and the state. We can't go backwards," he said.
Mr Morsi's opponents reject the idea that removing him is a coup, saying calls for his resignation are aimed at bringing the revolution back to its cornerstones of democracy, freedom and social justice.
Leading opposition figure, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, urged the president "to listen to the people" and step aside.
The fervent displays of emotion from both camps highlight the deep divisions in the Arab world's most populous country.
The army, which led a tumultuous transition after the revolt that ousted Mubarak, has warned it will intervene if there is major unrest.
Speaking in South Africa, US president Barack Obama voiced concern at developments in Egypt and urged Mr 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 move their country forward."
Since taking office, Mr 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.
protest pic
ABC/AFP
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*DisabilityCare officially begins today*
The national disability insurance scheme officially begins today, promising to overhaul the way support is provided to disabled Australians and their carers.
The multi-billion-dollar scheme, known as DisabilityCare, is designed to offer people with permanent and significant disabilities the advantage of choosing what sort of care and support they need.
It will be rolled out at launch sites in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, to the benefit of around 26,000 people.
key points
Nearly half a million Australians will be covered by DisabilityCare when it is fully operational in 2019.
The scheme is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and state governments, as well as an increase in the Medicare levy.
DisabilityCare chairman Bruce Bonyhady says the launch sites will help inform how the full scheme should be rolled out by 2019.
"It's not just about increased funding, it's about a much more effective way of supporting people with disabilities," he said.
"While aspects of it have been tested, it's never been brought together in this way. And making sure that this is implemented well is really, really important."
Disability campaigners say the scheme will improve lives.
caytlin weir case study
"[The NDIS] changes their lifestyle from being a dependant lifestyle into one where they have all the sorts of opportunities that other Australians take for granted," said John Della Bosca, from the lobby group Every Australian Counts.
"It really is about basic human freedom."
About 10 per cent of Australians suffering mental illness will be covered by DisabilityCare Australia.
Frank Quinlan from the Mental Health Council of Australia says the system will provide people with mental illness with support when they need it most.
"They can receive intensive support," he said.
"At a time when they're not in need of much support that can be backed off, but it's sort of held ready to go again.
"So people will not have to continually reapply and exit the scheme. It can be can be ramped up and down according to particular needs."
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*Obama 'humbled' by Mandela prison visit*
US president Barack Obama has travelled to Robben Island, saying he was "deeply humbled" by the visit to where ailing former South African leader Nelson Mandela was jailed.
Mr Obama's visit was part of his three-nation tour of Africa, and he and his family were guided around the island by Mr Mandela's close friend and former inmate, Ahmed Kathrada.
The president stood in the cell where Mr Mandela spent much of his 27-year prison sentence and visited the quarry where inmates were forced to work during the apartheid regime.
Mr Obama wrote in the visitor's book that he was deeply humbled by the experience.
"On behalf of our family, we're deeply humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield," he wrote.
"The world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island, who remind us that no shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit."
Mr Mandela is in a critical but stable condition in hospital in Pretoria. The 94-year-old is receiving treatment for a lung infection.
Mr Obama later made the Nobel Peace laureate the keystone of an address urging students at the University of Cape Town and elsewhere across the vast continent to make a difference.
"I took my first step in politics because of South Africa," he said, recalling his attachment to the anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s as a student in California.
Echoing Robert Kennedy's call for non-violent change that was made in the same wood-panelled hall half a century ago, Mr Obama urged the students to help shape a continent that is moving forward apace.
He recounted Kennedy's electrifying words that day in 1966.
"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.
"And crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Obama challenges students to make a difference
Mr Obama said leaders like Mr Mandela and Kennedy were a challenge to him "but more importantly they stand as a challenge to your generation".
"They tell you that your voice matters, your ideas, your willingness to act on those ideas, your choices can make a difference.
"If there is any country in the world that shows the power of human beings to effect change, this is the one.
"You have shown us how a prisoner can become a president."
While Mr Obama acknowledged that Africa was moving forward, he said more work needed to be done.
"There is no question that Africa is on the move, but it is not moving fast enough for the child still languishing in poverty... It's not moving fast enough for the protester who is beaten in Harare, for the woman who is raped in eastern Congo."
Mr Obama's warm welcome however was not universal. Riot police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at around 300 hundred protesters on Saturday in the township of Soweto, once a flashpoint in the anti-apartheid struggle.
Tour aimed at changing perceptions
His tour of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania is aimed at changing perceptions that he has neglected Africa since his election in 2008, while also countering China's growing economic influence in the resource-rich continent.
Mr Mandela's illness placed Obama in a tricky political spot, forcing him to balance his desire to push for a new economic relationship with Africa, with the need to properly honour his hero, who has been in intensive care for more than three weeks.
On Saturday, the president and his wife Michelle called Mr Mandela's wife Graca Machel, and the president then privately visited several daughters and grandchildren of Mandela, to offer support and prayers.
But he decided against visiting Mr Mandela, worried that he would disturb his peace.
ABC/AFP
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*Artificial light leading to increase in sleep disorders*
The exploding popularity of hand-held digital devices could lead to a big jump in sleep disorders, with experts warning the light emitted from digital screens can have a disturbing effect on the body clock.
Leading Australian researcher Professor Shantha Rajaratnam says there is growing evidence that the night time use of portable digital devices is likely to compound the problems associated with artificial lighting.
"We think that the advent of electric lighting has significantly impacted upon sleep-wake patterns, but with the proliferation of electronic devices that emit light we are expecting that these problems will increase," said Professor Rajatnam, from Monash University's School of Psychology and Psychiatry.
A recent study in the United States showed that devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets emit approximately 30 to 50 lux, about half the illumination of an ordinary room light.
"We know from preliminary reports that this level of light emission, 30 to 50 lux, is sufficient over a week or so to delay the timing of the circadian clock as well as suppress the production of the hormone melatonin," says Professor Rajaratnam.
key points
Melatonin, which is produced when it is dark, helps regulate and promote sleep. People who do not have enough of the hormone take longer to fall asleep.
"The extent of the response of the circadian clock will depend on how bright the light is - that is how far away the device is from the eyes - as well as what colours of light are being emitted," Professor Rajaratnam said.
Most disruptive to the body clock is short wavelength blue light - exactly what backlit portable screens shine directly into the eyes.
In addition, the devices are held close to the face and they are easily used in bed.
Dimming the screen brightness may help reduce the effect and technology is being developed that will allow filtering of the worst wavelengths.
Professor Rajaratnam says the best solution is the simplest.
"We would recommend that these devices are shut down or closed off up to two hours before bed time, but at least one hour before bed time, to try to reduce the impact of these light sources on sleep."
Increase in screen-related disorders
Clinical psychologist Dr Amanda Gamble, from Sydney's Woolcock Insomnia Clinic, agrees.
Dr Gamble says she is seeing an increasing number of patients who are presenting with screen-related sleep problems
"We've gone from bigger devices - the computers that were fixed on our desk to the handheld portable devices ... so it's become a much more difficult issue to actually create a boundary between sleep and switching off these devices, because of course they come into the bedroom and a lot of people use their mobile phones as their alarm clock," she said.
Amanda Gamble IV
Dr Gamble says studies show many young people are using computer screens every night in the hour before bed and also in bed.
She believes it is a growing problem.
"Often what we're seeing is the device use is getting younger and younger so we now have children in grades 4, 5 and 6 that have mobile phones and computers," she said.
"There's a shift in schools too, to ask students to complete their work online, rather than writing with pen and paper.
"So they've got a number of messages coming at them that lead them to use devices more frequently and to use them in younger age groups as well."
Doctor outlines three main effects
Dr Gamble says there are three main effects resulting from electronic devices.
"Obviously the devices emit light and they're often held close to the face, in the case of an iPad for example. The light suppresses melatonin [and] that makes it harder to fall asleep and delays the sleep pattern," she said.
"Secondly, these devices are really mentally and physically arousing - they're interesting, they're fun and so it takes a while for the brain to wind down and prepare for sleep after using them.
"The third factor is that often young people are using these devices in the bed and this creates a learned association between the bed as being a place of study or work or socialising, rather than keeping the bed just for sleep."
The risk from the intense light is most significant for adolescents, who commonly have delayed sleep patterns anyway, due to biological changes.
"Superimpose on top of that using a lot of electronic devices, then you end up with almost the perfect storm for a sleep problem to develop," Dr Gamble said.
Lack of sleep can affect alertness, concentration and memory, leading to problems at school.
There can also be long-term effects for sleep-deprived adolescents.
"They're at much greater risk of later developing anxiety disorders, depressive illnesses, substance abuse issues and also, on the more physical side, they're at increased risk of poor glycaemic control, diabetes and so on."
The same health impacts can also be experienced by adults.
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