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A father probably killed his son with a steak knife, uttered Allah's name and dropped the three-year-old down a disused mine shaft, the South Australian Supreme Court has been told Prosecutors in the case involving Aliya Zilic said that he had taken the boy, Imran, 3½, from his mother's Perth home a few days earlier. Mr Zilic is on trial accused of murdering his only son during an access visit in April 2008. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental incompetence. Horrific details of the youngster's final moments emerged in the court, with prosecutor Jim Pearce saying it...

TWO people have been charged over an assault on a group of US sailors in which one was allegedly stabbed and slashed in the face with a pair of scissors. West Australian police allege a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman approached the group, who were on shore leave, outside the Perth train station at about 1am on July 5. A fight erupted and a female sailor was left with facial injuries, while a male sailor required surgery for the wounds he received when he was attacked with the scissors. Police said a 17-year-old boy from the Perth suburb of...

FOUR US sailors have been assaulted while on shore leave in Perth - with one slashed across the face with scissors. WA police said a group of sailors were walking through Perth train station about 1am (WST) this morning when they were confronted by six people. ` "Three males and three females have yelled abuse at the sailors and as they tried to walk past them, one sailor was punched in the face,'' said police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall ``An altercation occurred and four sailors were assaulted, with one male struck in the face with a pair of scissors.''

A prominent Muslim leader of Scotland is facing jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing teenage girls. Farooq Hussain, who owned a string of restaurants and held high-profile charity events, was convicted after a weeklong trial at Perth Sheriff Court. The jury found that Hussain, 56, had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old girl. Sentence was deferred for background reports. Hussain's name was added to the sex offenders' register, the BBC reported. The married restaurant owner, who held high-profile charity events with politicians, attacked a 15-year-old girl in 2002 and twice assaulted a 14-year-old girl last year. Outside...

Medieval belt buckle discovered The medieval belt buckle Archaeologists unearthed a medieval belt buckle in Perth following work to repair a collapsed sewer. The group were allowed to examine the area in the Kirkgate as Scottish Water repaired the network. The copper alloy buckle is believed to date back to the 12th Century and was found along with animal bones, shells and pottery. A panel of experts will decide where the buckle should be housed, but it is hoped it will end up in Perth Museum. Catherine Smith from SUAT archaeological consultants told the BBC Scotland news website how they...

Kevin Costner has been revealed as the celebrity accused of performing a sex act while having a massage at a prestigious hotel in Scotland, after a tribunal ruled there was not a strong enough reason to keep his name suppressed. The Hollywood star was accused of taking off his towel during the massage at The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Fife, in October 2004, exposing himself and then performing a sex act. An earlier legal ruling had prevented his identity being revealed, but the tribunal chairman Nicol Hosie ruled that following widespread newspaper and magazine reports outside Britain, as...

15:24 AEDT Sun Apr 3 2005 A Perth unit block has been ripped apart by a gas explosion so strong it shattered windows and blew doors off other buildings within a 50-metre radius. Two people have been taken to hospital, and their conditions were unknown, said a spokesman for Western Australia's Fire and Emergency Services Authority. The blast had all but destroyed the block of eight units in Raymond Street at suburban Yokine about 6.25am (WST) on Sunday, he said. "It's like a war zone. It's really quite incredible," the spokesman said. "The central units where the explosion originated from...

Favourable weather conditions have reduced the threat to residents in Perth's hills from a large bushfire that has been raging for days. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority says the blaze is spreading at the rate of one kilometre every hour and has burnt out 15,500 hectares since it started on the weekend. Most residents in the hills are opting to stay and protect their homes but Steve Harding from Mundaring says others plan to leave. "I've seen people with trailers full of gear leaving ... and people with cars packed up and ready to go as well," he said....

Abortion, Embryo Research and Divorce Need to Be Fought by All Christians Says Archbishop  Society is Immoral Because Christian Churches are Not Unified on Life and Family Issues Australian Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey has called on his Christian counterparts in Australia to come on side on issues of morality so that society may hear a united Christian voice on the myriad of moral dilemmas facing society. "A big part of society's problem has been the failure of Christian churches to speak with one voice on the crucial moral issues about human life," said the Archbishop in his New Year's message....