Zara Phillips partying prewedding to Mike Tindall

Zara Phillips, this afternoon – grand-daughter of the Queen, cousin of the Duke of Cambridge and niece of the Prince of Wales – will wed her rugby-playing boyfriend, Mike Tindall. They travelled from their home in Cheltenham to Edinburgh yesterday, to be married by the Rev Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk and domestic chaplain to the Queen in Scotland. Afterwards, they will celebrate with a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Not that you’d know it.

While the world and its dog knew every detail of the royal wedding – you know, that one, at Westminster Abbey, with the cartwheeling verger and the sister with the bottom – it seems as if this one could pass off without so much as a street party. There will be no need to erect a giant box to accommodate the world’s media, as happened outside Buckingham Palace last April. There will be no bank holiday, and barely any squealing monarchists who have camped out all week to catch a fleeting glimpse of the newly married couple – they can’t, because the streets surrounding the church are too narrow. Granted, a ring of steel will be thrown around the city, but one would expect that at an event attended by the Queen (and the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, stepping out in public for the first time since their triumphant tour of North America).

Mr Tindall, who plays rugby for England and is the captain of Gloucester, is thought to be wearing a kilt. But even the news that Zara is to wear a gown designed by Stewart Parvin, one of the Queen’s favourite couturiers, barely registered on the radar of journalists who salivated over every rumour concerning what Kate Middleton might wear, before combusting in excitement when we finally saw it was Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

Zara has been able to go for jogs and facials relatively unmolested by paparazzi. 

This week she was photographed near her home wearing a tracksuit, a garment that would have caused the world to topple off its axis had it been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge in the run-up to her wedding.

England captain Lewis Moody revealed Zara’s training ban at a charity event in aid of HopeHiv on Thursday. At the fundraiser, called An Evening with Lewis, Simon, Jamie and Ben, Lewis said: “Mike didn’t play today – he’s afraid he’s going to get a black eye for the wedding. The missus is in charge.”

He added: “There’ll be loads of us going to the wedding. ”

Players from England and Gloucester Rugby Club will be mingling with royal guests, including Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Then it’s all back to the Queen’s Holyroodhouse for a party. But for the bride-to-be, the celebrations started three days ago. Zara, who will wear a stunning Stewart Parvin ivory dress, was spotted clubbing at Edinburgh’s swanky Tigerlily hotel and later in its Lulu bar, on Thursday.

She followed it up with a boozy three-hour breakfast with 10 female friends in the five-star Balmoral Hotel, where 300 of the 400 wedding guests are staying.

Zara’s group – including Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports presenter Di Dougherty and brother Peter’s wife Autumn Kelly – sank six bottles of £95-a-pop pink champagne. She told them: “I’m nervous, excited but very happy.” She also admitted she’d been texting Mike that very morning as he celebrated with his rugby pals including Lewis, Iain and Ben Foden.

In the early evening they met up for their dressed-down wedding rehearsal – Zara in jeans and a striped top, Mike, 32, in a white shirt and torn denims.

They kissed after spending an hour in the Kirk being put through their paces by Rev Neil Gardner, watched by Princess Anne and her husband Tim Lawrence, and Zara’s father Mark Phillips.

Then last night, Zara and Mike held a drinks party on the Royal Yacht Britannia, moored at nearby Leith. Close friends and family – including Prince William and Kate, who wore the emerald number first seen on her trip to LA earlier this month – saw the sun set to the strains of a jazz band.

Norway attacks boost political parties' membership

Last week's Oslo terrorist attacks are raising delicate questions of immigration and integration here after the admitted attacker cited anti-Muslim views as motivating the assaults.

A country of less than 5 million people, Norway has seen its once homogeneous population change in recent years with new arrivals from Africa and the Middle East. This transformation, in part, drove Anders Behring Breivik, charged with Friday's car bombing and shooting spree that killed at least 76 people in the span of a few hours.

Now, even as this country still grieves for its victims, many say how Norway responds to the attacks could define immigration policy in the future.

Progress Party has fairly mainstream anti-immigrant views. It proposed this year that immigrants should receive lower welfare payments than Norwegian citizens.

However, a leaflet used in the 2005 election featured a gun and the caption "...the perpetrator was of foreign origin."

"We have never expressed such a thing that Muslims are taking over the country, or anything else like that, so I don't think that we have anything to be ashamed of or change when it comes to politics," Keshvare said.

"Problems surrounding this issue haven't changed because of this tragic event," he added.

Labour's Hansen said he hoped rhetoric would be toned down.

"One of the things I hope that we will draw as a lesson from this is that we have to talk about immigration, integration, Muslims and so on in another language .... We have to change language to one more in line with reality," he said.

Norway has lower levels of immigration than most other Western countries.

For Tunisian-born Norwegian Izzeddine al-Saweih, 57, change will not come soon enough.

"There has to be a debate on the right principles, an open debate, and Muslims must take part," he shouted at an outdoor gathering of Labor Party politicians in Oslo Thursday.

Labor turns its back on 'victim' Christine Nixon

Legal expert has suggested the former top cop could be held in contempt of the bushfires royal commission for criticising the inquiry in her new book.

Leading barrister Peter Faris, QC, who has appeared for clients at other royal commissions, said Ms Nixon's comments about a "kangaroo court" could be contempt.

"This is probably a contempt of the royal commission but I can hardly imagine that for practical purposes there would be any prosecution," he said.

He was puzzled that Ms Nixon was upset at the robust way she was cross-examined by Ms Doyle.

"She's a police officer. Police get cross-examined all day," Mr Faris said.

"They are very experienced at being cross-examined.

Former Liberal federal MP Fran Bailey, whose electorate of McEwen was devastated by the fires, said Ms Nixon's "kangaroo court" comment was disgraceful and a betrayal of the Black Saturday survivors.

Ms Nixon writes in her book that royal commissions can become "the worst kind of kangaroo court" and "a public flogging".

Ms Bailey told The Australian: "I would see that as an act of betrayal of all of those good people who survived Black Saturday."

She said Ms Nixon's comments that she had suffered particular criticism from "reactionary male voices" and that there was a "fattist" agenda at work against her, was "an absolute nonsense".

But Ms Nixon defended her comments last night. "I'm not paranoid," she told the ABC's 7.30 program. "I am just suggesting there were people who took delight in what happened to me."

Melbourne University Publishing chief Louise Adler, whose company is publishing the book, said Ms Nixon was treated more harshly because she was a woman and overweight.

"If you want to analyse success in a leadership role, one looks at all sorts of criteria," she said.

"I wouldn't have thought body image was of any relevance whatsoever. The coverage by the tabloid media has been constructed in such a way as to give the impression this woman is not equipped to do this job."

Former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, who holds Ms Nixon partly responsibly for an Office of Police Integrity investigation that destroyed his career, said Ms Nixon could not shift the blame for the flaws in her testimony to the royal commission.

Carbon cop handed tough new powers

As part of the government's carbon tax package released yesterday, the new Clean Energy Regulator will be given extensive powers to conduct investigations on company premises, compel people to testify even if it requires providing self-incriminating evidence and to make copies of sensitive documents, according to a report by The Australian.

The new regulator will enforce the new six cents per litre fuel tax that will be charged to some 60,000 businesses, among other measures introduced as part of the carbon tax, the report said.

The new powers given to the regulator come with the threat of up to 10 years in prison or up to $1.1 million in fines for corporations that do not cooperate or who break the carbon tax laws.

Australian Tax Office data shows that this tax increase will directly affect up to 60,000 businesses from 1 July, 2012, and nearly 100,000 companies when an additional 40,000 road transport businesses are captured by the tax on 1 July, 2014," an MCA spokesman said.

He added that it would raise $3.3 billion in the first three years and $16bn to 2020, including the change to aviation excise.

The government has consistently claimed the tax would directly apply to only 500 firms. Last night it argued the fuel treatment in the scheme did not change those figures as the companies concerned faced no extra administrative arrangements and were not liable to directly pay for pollution permits. This was limited to about 500 companies that emitted more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year and would be liable to pay for pollution permits.

The MCA spokesman said that, based on Australian Taxation Office data, from July 1 next year, 22,500 construction firms, 5300 manufacturing businesses and 1500 mining operators would pay more for fuel.

A spokesman for Mr Combet said the government announced on July 10 that there would be a carbon price for off-road business fuel use through reduced fuel tax credits -- but this would not apply to the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries. He said households paid 38c a litre in fuel excise and would pay no more.

"By contrast, off-road business fuel use is normally free of excise, due to fuel tax credits," he said. "The government will reduce the fuel tax credits by around 6c a litre. This will not impose any additional administrative burdens because businesses already fill out the forms for fuel tax credits, but it will create incentives to improve fuel efficiency and lower pollution from the transport sector."

Tony Abbott, speaking yesterday in the northern NSW electorate held by Tony Windsor, taunted Julia Gillard to resume her carbon tax promotion tour. "The Prime Minister is hiding . . . refusing to talk to the Australian people," the Opposition Leader said. "Not only did she not wear out the shoe leather, she didn't even wear the shoes in. At the first sign of a blister she's back in her office hiding . . . because she knows the more she talks about this tax the less people like it.

Truck driver arrested and charged over hacking of NBN provider

The national broadband network (NBN) was not affected by the alleged hacking of a service provider, a spokesman for NBN Co Limited says,

"NBN Co has evaluated its systems and controls and can confirm the national broadband network was not affected by this incident," the spokesman for the company responsible for rolling out the network said in a statement.

"The company said to have been involved is not yet offering services over the NBN.

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"NBN Co works closely with appropriate law enforcement and government agencies to ensure the security and protection of the national broadband network. We welcome the AFP's ongoing efforts in fighting cybercrime."

A 25-year-old Cowra man has been charged with one count of unauthorised modification of data to cause impairment and 48 counts of unauthorised access to, or modification of, restricted data.

In June, Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigators found a compromise to Platform Networks, a wholesale internet provider in Sydney that is one of the contracted providers of the NBN release. NBN Co says it is not yet providing it services to the NBN.

While Platform Networks had strong cyber security measures in place, even the best security systems are only as strong as the weakest link - it only takes one user with a weak password to put an entire network at risk," AFP national manager for High Tech Crime Operations Neil Gaughan said in the statement.

The AFP has been investigating the Cowra man for six months.

"The AFP will allege this man was motivated by ego in his illegal hacking, proving his skills after complaining he could not get work in the IT sector. He is known to use the online nickname Evil."

He has been charged with one count of unauthorised modification of data to cause impairment, and 48 counts of unauthorised access to, or modification of restricted data.

He is due to appear in Orange Local Court on Wednesday.

The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail while the second count carries a maximum sentence of two years.

Australian Federal Government signs refugee deal with Malaysia

Government now says that those more than 500 claims for asylum will be processed in Australia.

Under the controversial plan, Malaysia will have veto powers to reject asylum seekers if it doesn’t approve of them.

Australia will pay for transfers, as well as health and education costs for those asylum seekers once they are in Malaysia.

The cost of the plan has previously been put at $292 million.

The Government has called the agreement “groundbreaking” and a “true burden-sharing arrangement” that is a step towards a regional plan to stop people smugglers.

In a statement, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the agreement would see up to 800 asylum seekers who arrive illegally by boat sent to Malaysia.

In return, Australia will accept another 4000 extra processed refugees from Malaysia over four years.

“Under the arrangement signed today, those who arrived in Australia before 25 July will not be transferred to Malaysia,” the statement says.

“Consequently, the people who arrived prior to today’s announcement, currently being detained on Christmas Island, will now be processed in Australia.”

Mr Bowen and Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Dato' Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein signed the agreement at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

Ms Gillard and Mr Bowen said the arrangement “reaffirms Malaysia’s commitment that transferees will be treated with dignity and respect in accordance with human rights standards”.

Asylum claims will be considered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The Government says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been closely consulted on the transfer arrangement.

Asylum seekers who arrived in Australia before today will not be transferred to Malaysia.

They will continue to be processed on Christmas Island.

Ms Gillard said the deal was a "true burden-sharing" arrangement and that the deal would "smash the people smugglers' business model."

The Prime Minister issued a stern warning to people smugglers who "prey on the desperation of people" to give up now.

She also had a message for asylum seekers considering making the boat trip to Australia.

"Do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia."

In Kuala Lumpur, Mr Bowen said the deal "sends a very clear signal that Malaysia and Australia are serious about stopping people smuggling".

"As Immigration Minister I hope I never get another call telling me that people have drowned trying to make it to Australia and that children as young as two-months old have drowned trying to come to Australia," he said following the signing.

"This arrangement we've signed today is very clear indication of our commitment."

"Today is not the end of the road. In many senses today is just the beginning. The people who doubted our resolve to get this arrangement this far will test our resolve further. People smugglers will test our resolve further.

AFL player Andrew Lovett acquitted in rape case

Former Essendon and St Kilda player Andrew Lovett has been found not guilty of two counts of rape.

The Victorian County Court jury handed down its verdict this afternoon after beginning deliberations on Thursday afternoon.

Lovett wept as the jury of seven women and five men acquitted him of all charges, and then hugged his mother, his lawyer and several supporters.

Lovett did not comment outside court, but his manager, Alex McDonald, said Lovett was appreciative of the support he received from his family and friends.

Mr McDonald would not rule out Lovett making an AFL comeback, and said the footballer would consider several options over the coming days.

Lovett and his then-St Kilda teammate, Jason Gram, met the complainant, a model, and her friend at the Royal Saxon Hotel in Richmond on December 23, 2009, and went back to Gram's Port Melbourne apartment.

He was accused of raping a girl as she slept at a teammate's Melbourne house in December 2009.

Lovett testified that the sex was consensual.

The trial, before Judge Meryl Sexton, heard evidence that the girl believed during the sexual encounter that Lovett was another St Kilda player, Jason Gram.

Lovett told the court the girl was a willing participant and he was “dumbfounded” by the rape allegation.

Lovett and Gram had earlier met the model and her friend at the Royal Saxon Hotel in Richmond during the Saints' end-of-year celebration.

They left the hotel just after midnight and went back to Gram's apartment, where the model was put to bed to sober up.

She claims she fell asleep and woke up to Lovett having sex with her, but Lovett said the sex was consensual.

Lovett pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape.

After being found not guilty, he hugged his mother, other members of his family, friends and his lawyer, as tears streamed down his face.

Double murder investigation after young golfer and sister

Double murder investigation was underway after a talented golfer and his eight-year-old sister were killed in a house fire.

Thomas Sharkey, 21, and his younger sibling Bridget were killed in the blaze which police believe was started deliberately.

Their parents Angela, 46, and Tommy, 55, managed to escape the fire in Helensburgh, near Glasgow, after an off-duty policeman raised the alarm.

They were both being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

The tragic eight-year-old girl is believed to have died after coming home from a planned sleepover because she missed her parents.

The heat of the blaze caused a downstairs window to explode and left an area of severe scorching around the front door of the property in Scott Court.

Detective Chief Inspector Anne McKerchar, the officer in charge of the investigation, added: “This is a tragic event made worse by the fact that it was a deliberate act.”

She appealed for anyone with information to come forward as a “matter of urgency”. Police refused to name the victims until all next of kin were informed but confirmed a 21-year-old man had died.

They said a 55-year-old man, his wife, 46, and their eight-year-old daughter were taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, where the young girl died a short time later.

The man was later transferred to Glasgow Royal Infirmary but both parents were being treated for serious burns.

The tragedy happened while Thomas Sharkey was home from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, USA, where he was working on improving his golf.

A member of staff in a local supermarket, who did not want to be named, said: "It's absolutely tragic. The little girl was in here just last night. She was very talented and even drew us a card at Easter."

She said the family had recently returned from a trip to the US to see Thomas junior. He was a member of Helensburgh Golf Club, where he was a former junior and senior champion.

According to posts on Georgia Southern University's website, he described himself as "ambitious and competitive" and his main hobbies were golf and football.

Fraser Hall, a professional at Helensburgh Golf Club was too upset to discuss the tragedy yesterday. "Things are just too raw just now," he said.