What’s got Oprah all fired up?

Stars ... Selma director Ava DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo and producer/actor Oprah Winfrey participate in the ceremony to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in Selma, Alabama. Picture: David A. Smith/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey and other cast members of the film "Selma" march in Alabama to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Julie Noce reports.

OPRAH Winfrey, fellow actors from the movie Selma and hundreds of others marched to recall one of the bloodiest chapters of the civil rights movement on the eve of the American public holiday honouring Martin Luther King Jr.

The remembrance on Sunday comes after several incidents around the US in which unarmed black men were killed by police, leading to protests.

In Ferguson, Missouri, the site of the most persistent protests, leading black members of Congress pressed for further reforms of the criminal justice system in the name of equality.

Eight members of the Congressional Black Caucus joined US Rep. William Lacy Clay in Ferguson as they took up King's legacy in light of the recent deaths.

"We need to be outraged when local law enforcement and the justice system repeatedly allow young, unarmed black men to encounter police and then wind up dead with no consequences," said Clay. "Not just in Ferguson, but over and over again across this country."

In Selma, Alabama, Oprah Winfrey helped lead the march with Selma director Ava DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo, who portrayed King in the movie, and the rapper Common.

They and others marched from Selma City Hall to Edmund Pettus Bridge, where civil rights protesters were beaten and tear-gassed by officers in 1965.

"Every single person who was on that bridge is a hero," Winfrey told the marchers.

Tribute ... hundreds march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in honour of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Selma, Alabama. Picture: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

The film chronicles the campaign leading up to the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and the subsequent passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Law enforcement officers used clubs and tear gas on March 7, 1965 — "Bloody Sunday" — on marchers intent on seeking the right for blacks to register to vote.

McLinda Gilchrist, 63, said the movie should help a younger generation understand what life was like in the 1960s during the struggle to end racial discrimination. "They treated us worse than animals," Gilchrist said.

A new march, led by King, began two weeks later and arrived in Montgomery days later with the crowd swelling to 25,000.

Protest ... marchers line the streets of Selma towards Edmund Pettus Bridge in honour of Martin Luther King Jr. Picture: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson Source: AP

Rally ... demonstrators hold up signs calling for justice at a march in Selma, Alabama. Picture: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

Rally ... hundreds marched across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to mark Martin Luther King Jr Day. Picture: Sean Gardner/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

For Monday's federal holiday, people around the country were remembering King's leadership, some in light of the fatal police shootings that had recently shaken the US, including the death of an unarmed black teen last year in Ferguson, Missouri.

The life and legacy of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr also was being celebrated at the church he pastored in Atlanta.

'Bloody Sunday' ... civil rights activist Marie Foster, 85, lying on the ground in Selma when Alabama state troopers beat protesters demanding voting rights in 1965. Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia

Protest ... John Lewis, centre, of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, is forced to the ground by a trooper during the 'Bloody Sunday' demonstration in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Picture: AP Source: AP

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High five: Kokkinakis, Kyrgios triumph

Australian teen Thanasi Kokkinakis has ousted 11th seed Ernests Gulbis in a five-set Australian Open epic.

Thanasi Kokkinakis celebrates after beating Ernests Gulbis. Source: AFP

AUSSIE young guns Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have pulled off stunning five-set victories on day one at the Australian Open.

The rising stars of Australian tennis lit up Melbourne Park's night session, showcasing their exciting futures.

Kokkinakis stunned Latvian No.11 seed Ernests Gulbis - staving off four match points - before prevailing 5-7, 6-0, 1-6, 7-6, 8-6.

Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic has been stunned at the Australian Open, losing to Lucie Hradecka.

Kyrgios was equally brave, overcoming a back complaint on his way to a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win over Argentine Federirco Delbonis.

It was a stunning performance from Kokkinakis as he served his way out of trouble on several occasions in the fourth and fifth sets.

Kyrgios never looked settled by a string of scorching winners overpowered Delbonis on Margaret Court Arena.

GET LIVE UPDATES BELOW AND SCROLL DOWN FOR THE REST OF THE DAY 1 NEWS

Earlier, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova have cruised into the second round of the Australian Open with straight set wins on Rod Laver Arena.

Federer eased past Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 before Sharapova took to the court where she brushed past qualifer Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1.

Eugenie Bouchard also got her Australian Open off to a solid start, battling past Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

Sam Groth is through to the second round of the Australian Open, beating Filip Krajinovic in straight sets.

On Hisense Arena Bernard Tomic won through to the second round of the Australian Open after a hard-fought four-set win over Germany's Tobias Kamke.

Tomic joins fellow Aussies Marinko Matosevic and James Duckworth in the next round after the pair had earlier won five-setters on Day 1.

Sam Groth was the fourth Australian man to progress to the second round when he overcame Filip Krajinovic in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

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Tomic was broken early but fought back to win the first set before losing the second; however, he settled after that to win 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Duckworth eventually prevailed over Slovenia's Blaz Kavcic after a slog on Court 6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 2-6, in three hours, 45 mins.

Matosevic also had to grind out a five-set win, coming back from two sets to one down to defeat Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5 6-3 on Court 3 in 3h 28mins.

Roger Federer has cruised through to the second round of the Australian Open, beating Yen-Hsun Lu in straight sets.

Meanwhile, Ana Ivanovic became the first high-profile casualty of this year's tournament, losing to qualifier Lucie Hradecka 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Fan favourite and seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard avoided a similar fate as she won 6-2, 6-4 over Anna-Lena Friedsam, in a match that was tougher than the scoreline would suggest.

Earlier, Jarmila Gajdosova broke her Melbourne Park hoodoo, finally winning an Australian Open match at the 10th attempt.

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The Aussie beat Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru 6-3 6-4 at Margaret Court Arena to become the first Australian to secure a spot in the second round.

Storm Sanders failed to progress, however, beaten 7-5 6-4 by Czech Klara Koukalova, while Jordan Thompson also fell at the first hurdle, losing in straight sets to Portugal's Joao Sousa.

John Millman was eliminated by Argentinian No.26 seed Leonardo Mater in straight sets, 3-6 3-6 2-6, while Luke Saville was also beaten in straight sets by American Tim Smyczek, 6-7 (2) 5-7 4-6.

Originally published as High five: Kokkinakis, Kyrgios triumph

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Why Indonesia won’t spare Bali Nine duo

Cindy Wockner speaks exclusively to the mother and family of death row inmate Myuran Sukumaran about the rejection of his clemency plea by the Indonesian President. Produced by Josh Wall

AUSTRALIA has never convinced a regional government to abandon plans to execute a drug runner and faces a bleak battle trying to persuade Joko Widodo to spare the lives of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

The new Indonesian President has reactivated executions as a way to stamp his authority and would struggle to find any reason to spare the two Australians, especially after it executed five foreigners at the weekend.

The Prime Minister has sent two letters to President Widodo appealing for clemency, which Mr Abbott's office yesterday declined to make public.

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Foreign Minister Julie Bishop — who met the families of both death-row prisoners at the weekend and has vowed to "exhaust all avenues" -- wrote to her counterpart in December appealing for mercy, which did not receive a positive response.

Professor Tim Lindsey, from Melbourne University's Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, says both will have their work cut out trying to persuade President Widodo to make exceptions of Chan and Sukumaran.

He said President Widodo was exercised by issues involving corruption, democracy and making life easier for small businesses, but human rights was not a strong point.

"We speak to people in Indonesia who say he's not particularly focused on human rights issues," Professor Lindsey said.

On death row ... Myuran Sukumaran in Kerobokan jail. Source: News Limited

Waiting news ... Andrew Chan inside Kerobokan Jail. Source: News Limited

"He's interested in transparency and openness. It reflects his background as a provincial, medium-sized business entrepreneur. Human rights is not at the forefront of his thinking.

"And we must understand that death sentence for drugs has wide support in Indonesia, because rightly or wrongly, they consider it akin to mass murder."

Further damaging the hopes of the two Australians who were sentenced to death in 2006 is that President Widodo, who arrived in power last year with wide public support, has few friends in Congress or Jakarta's political elite.

"This is not a strong first term president," says Professor Lindsey. "He's putting it together, trying to build his coalition and make it solid."

Making pleas ... Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she has vowed to do what she can. Source: News Corp Australia

Executing drug runners is seen as an uncontroversial mainstream decision in Indonesia, and President Widodo would not want to risk upsetting the partners he needs in Congress to pass legislation.

Ms Bishop said on Sky News yesterday that Chan and Sukumaran had been discussed in more than 50 one-on-one meetings between Australian and Indonesian leaders over the past decade, but to no avail.

Ms Bishop, who said executing the two would not solve the drug problem, said Indonesia argued it was "facing a crisis in terms of drug trafficking and it believes that the death penalty should apply".

Convicted ... Bail Nine drug traffickers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan who have been helping prisoners with computer courses at Kerobokan prison. Source: News Limited

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors after two of their citizens were executed on Sunday, but Ms Bishop said it was important Australian diplomats remained in the country to make representations.

Further impeding diplomat overtures, one feature of last year's presidential race between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto was their attempts to out-campaign each other on who would take the toughest stand on foreign interference.

Australia does not have the strong relationship it had with President Widodo's predecessor, Susilo Bambamg Yudhoyono — even if the relationship was strained at the end over revelations that Australia had tapped SBY's phone.

Sukumaran's bid for clemency has been rejected by President Widodo. The governor of Kerobokan prison in Bali, Sudjonggo, said yesterday that he was yet to receive any letter relating to Chan's clemency appeal.

A friend ... Australian artist Ben Quilty at Kerobokan Jail to visit Myuran Sukumaran. Picture: Lukman S Bintoro Source: News Corp Australia

Australian Consul-General in Bali ... Majell Hind before she visits Myuran Sukumaran. Picture: Lukman S. Bintoro Source: Supplied

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it was too early to lose hope.

"[The death penalty] demeans all of as human beings," he said. "We haven't given up and I'm sure the government hasn't given up the prospect of achieving clemency for these two Australians.

"Labor is at one with the government to try and save the lives of these Australians."

Matius Arif, an evangelist from Abalove Church, met both men in Kerobokan Prison yesterday. Mr Arif said they did not discuss their dire situation, but they had prayed for the six executed at the weekend.

"We had a joint prayer. We pray for them. May God bless them," said Mr Arif, who said both the condemned men had worked hard helping other prisoners with bible, art, cooking and drug rehabilitation classes.

Creative painter ... Myuran Sukumaran showing what he has been doing during his rehabilitation program, which he started inside the jail. Source: News Limited

"They (are) still doing a great job at the prison to help people rehabilitate themselves," he said, appealing to President Widodo that "this is a matter of life".

"They realise that they had (done) wrong. But those who have repented, they should also get something new. And let them live is much more beneficial rather than killing them."

While there were some signs of a nascent movement against the death penalty, it is still only an undercurrent.

Indonesia has campaigned to get brutalised maids off death row in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, but Professor Lindsey said Indonesians drew a sharp distinction between maids abused by their bosses and drug offenders.

Bali Nine mastermind ... Andrew Chan in a line-up among the other inmates. Source: News Corp Australia

"They've got a very difficult job," he said of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister's clemency campaign.

President Widodo said in a Facebook post on Sunday: "A healthy Indonesia is an Indonesia without drugs."

Mercycampaign.org is asking people to sign its online petition, saying the two "deserve to be in jail, but not to be killed. We also humbly ask for mercy for other prisoners on death row, especially those who have reformed their lives."

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Two ladies and a baby on the way

Two mums-to-be ... Hayley Bateup and April Zekulich are expecting their first child. Picture: Paul Broben/Diimex Source: Supplied

CHAMPION ironwoman Hayley Bateup is "super excited" her long-time partner April Zekulich is pregnant with their much-wanted baby.

"We have hoped for this for so long," says the three-time Coolangatta Gold winner.

"Now we don't have much longer to wait and we will have achieved our dream.

"It's definitely getting more real now as April's bump is starting to show."

Hitting the baby jackpot on their second attempt with IVF specialist Dr Michael Flynn at Pindara Hospital, Hayley, 35, says it has been amazing to share the whole experience with April, 39.

"Seeing our baby on the scan was mind-blowing. When I'd seen the scan photos of friends it never really affected me but when I saw our own baby, well, that was a different story. It was so exciting!"

The committed couple intends to divvy up the motherhood experience.

"I think Hayley will be the disciplinarian," says April. "I'm a bit of a softie but so is Hayley."

"We'll share the load," says Hayley, who played Nitro on TVs Gladiators. "Of course, for the first six months April will be breastfeeding so that will mean more work for her. Although April is hoping I'll be able to breastfeed as well."

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Happy couple ... Hayley Bateup and April Zekulich cannot wait to be mothers. Picture: Paul Broben/Diimex Source: Supplied

While Hayley has her doubts about her own breastfeeding capabilities she definitely reckons two mums are better than one.

"Both being girls, we already get it," she says. "It's not like we have to explain anything to a man. Although the baby will have plenty of male role models in my father and April's dad and other good male friends."

Their little nipper, due midyear, will be the first child for both mums-to-be who are already preparing a nursery at their newly renovated Gold Coast home.

Little nipper on the way ... April Zekulich and Hayley Bateup. Picture: Picture: Paul Broben/Diimex Source: Supplied

"This baby is going to get heaps of love from both of us," says Hayley, now in training to complete as a professional cyclist. "We'll give him or her a strict but fair childhood — exactly like I had growing up. A stable upbringing filled with heaps of sports and lots of time at the beach. I had a tinny and a motorbike when I was a kid."

April, the eldest of five girls, says she's "feeling great" and has toned down her exercise regime since falling pregnant.

In love ... Hayley Bateup and April Zekulich. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

"We train a lot of pregnant women so I know all about taking it easier and not overheating," she says.

Together for the past eight years, Hayley and April, met at the Northcliffe surf club and have been keen on shared motherhood from the start.

"We have always wanted a baby together," says April.

"This is the right time for both of us," says Hayley, who retired from the Nutrigrain Ironwoman series in 2013 after shoulder surgery.

Real champion ... former Ironwoman Hayley Bateup. Source: News Limited

"It was the right time to retire so we could start on the next chapter of our lives," says Hayley, who is now concentrating on building up her popular fitness program, Bateup's Body Blitz, and training nippers as head coach at Mermaid Surf Life Saving Club.

"Kids and I get along really well and I love being able to teach them and show them how to do things," she says. "And I think training the nippers has given me some preparation for motherhood as well — well, I hope!"

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Prince breaks ‘sex slave’ silence

Breaking his silence ... Prince Andrew is expected to offer his first public response this week to allegations that he slept with a teenage "sex slave". Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Sarah Ferguson has slammed the sex slave allegations against her ex-husband Prince Andrew as 'salacious lies'

PRINCE Andrew is expected to offer his first public response this week to allegations that he slept with a teenage "sex slave" provided to him by a rich paedophile pal.

The Duke of York is moving forward with his annual reception for 300 business titans and politicians at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, the Times of London reported.

The party will be his first public appearance since a Florida woman accused him of having sex with her three times in London, the Virgin Islands and New York in 2001, while she was underage according to US law.

Virginia Roberts, now 30, claims the prince's billionaire friend Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile, kept her as a "sex slave" and pimped her out to the royal for $US15,000 when she was 17.

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Accusations ... Prince Andrew allegedly had sex with Virginia Roberts when she was underage, according to US law. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

The World Economic Forum, an annual event for industry leaders, is usually closed to the press, but some cameras will be invited to record Prince Andrew's speech, according to British media.

His speech will focus on his Pitch@Palace business initiative for young entrepreneurs.

Any mention of the scandal will be in vague terms and offer firm denials without naming his accuser or specifying the allegations, the paper reported.

It would be the first time a British royal addressed his or her private life since the late Princess Diana gave a candid television interview detailing her failed marriage to Prince Charles.

Friends ... Prince Andrew now regrets his friendship with disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

"This will hopefully be a chance for Prince Andrew to draw a line under the Epstein business and move on," a friend of the duke was quoted by The Daily Mail on Sunday.

"He accepts that his judgment has been questioned in the coverage surrounding the lawsuits."

The forum will also reveal just how much damage has been done to the duke's reputation.

PR advisers to attendees have warned their clients to steer clear of the duke and avoid getting photographed with him, and several Parliament members have urged Prince Andrew to stay away the Times reported.

Prince Andrew has reportedly hired a lawyer. Picture: Matthew Lloyd — WPA Pool/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Virginia Roberts claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew William Clegg, a well-known litigator specialising in white collar crimes lawyer, to help handle the "ex slave" accusations, according to The Daily Mail.

Recently leaked entries from Roberts' diary chronicle in grim detail her alleged encounters with Prince Andrew.

In them, Roberts recalls with disgust how the royal, 24 years her senior, awkwardly danced himself to a sweat at a posh club, showered the teen with compliments about her "blossoming" figure and sucked on her toes before having sex with her.

Buckingham Palace has denied all allegations that connect the duke to Epstein's alleged underage sex ring and dismissed reports that the duke might address the subject at the forum as "speculation."

This story originally appeared in The New York Post.

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Moped takes man out live on TV

Caught on camera ... the moment a moped slams into a pedestrian live on TV. Picture: ITV Source: Supplied

DURING a live cross about a truck fire in London, this journalist captured some surprise vehicular chaos of her own.

ITV's Ria Chatterjee was reporting outside St Pancras Station — near where the blaze had left thousands of commuters stranded — when a moped ploughed into a pedestrian live on TV.

The unlucky man can be seen crossing the road, wheeling a suitcase behind him, in the moments before the crash.

As Chatterjee describes the transport meltdown, the scooter speeds into frame and takes the man out with an audible yelp of pain.

He then picks himself up and continues toward the station.

Chatterjee, who continued her report uninterrupted, later tweeted that the pedestrian and motorcyclist "are both fine."

Meanwhile, viewers took to social media to express their disbelief at what happened — and to praise the reporter for her composure.

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Islamic State’s execution frenzy

Militants execute one of two gay men by throwing them from a tower as a large crowd watches from below. Source: Twitter

ISIS militants have gone on an execution frenzy in Iraq, murdering at least 20 people in a 48-hour period, including two men "found guilty" of being gay.

Photographs of the killings, shocking even by the group's barbaric standards, have been circulating on social media since last Thursday.

They include images of two blindfolded men being hauled to the top of a seven or eight story tower before being thrown to their deaths, one at a time, as a large crowd watches from below.

One picture is captioned: "The Muslims come to watch the application of the law."

A second man accused of being gay, is pushed to his death from the tower. Source: Twitter

The body of the first man can be seen on the ground as the second falls to his death. Source: Twitter

A large crowd gathers at the foot of the tower to watch the men fall to their deaths. Source: Twitter

Some Muslims — certainly those practising Sharia law — believe that the Prophet Mohammad said homosexuality should be punished with death and it still carries the death penalty in some Islamic countries. However, Iraq is not one of them.

Same-sex intercourse is legal in 22 nations with a Muslim majority, including Albania, Bahrain, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad and Turkey.

A militant reads out the charges during a public execution in Iraq. Source: Twitter

The horrific event, believed to have taken place in the city of Mosul, has provoked global outrage but it was not the only one staged by the terror group last week. At least 17 young men were crucified before being shot in the head in a village square and an alleged adulteress was stoned to death.

Minutes after this photo was taken, the woman, accused of adultery, was stoned to death. Source: Twitter

Syrian news agency SANA said 11 of the 17 men had been charged with apostasy and fighting ISIS during a fierce battle in the province of Deir Ezzor, Syria's seventh largest city.

After they were shot dead, their bodies were mutilated — a practice popular with militants, who regularly post graphic photographs of people they have dismembered, on their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

It's not the first time militants have thrown people off the roof for being gay. The above picture was taken in December. Source: Supplied

SANA identified seven of the executed men as Ibrahim Jarad al-Hajr, Murad Subhi al-Hindawi,

Hamed Ali al-Mohammad, Hamed al-Tneika, As'ad Mohammad al-Assaf and Mohammad Yassin al-Hamad. Another man named as Ahmad Mostafa Ali al-Turki was beheaded, the agency reported.

The men were crucified in the village square before being executed with a shot to the head Source: Twitter

A militant reads out the charges (above) as two others prepare to shoot. Source: Twitter

Images showing the executions were attributed to the "Information Office of the mandate of Nineveh", a city in Iraq, and posted using Just Paste It. The site bears the logo and flag of the Islamic State the photos are dated January 15.

The executions were a show of brute force after several militants, from ISIS and its affiliates, were reportedly assassinated, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The word "Shaheed" in the above tweet refers to the state of martyrdom.

The group has been steadily gaining ground in Iraq and Syria, despite the Coalition stepping up its bombardment in recent weeks.

Then and now: ISIS continues to gain ground. Source: Supplied

This morning, Israeli government officials confirmed seven Israeli Arabs from the northern Galilee region had been arrested for setting up an ISIS cell — the first detected in the country. The men, aged from 22 to 40, were arrested in November and December but authorities only made the case public today.

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