Missing three-year-old found alive

Chloe Campbell's mother says she's overjoyed after the three-year-oldturned up out of the blue in Childers overnight

CHLOE Campbell's mother has expressed joy at hugging her daughter for the first time this morning after the three-year-old was found alive and well overnight.

The Courier-Mail reported the Childers toddler was found by police when she "appeared" at the showgrounds, opposite the family home, just after midnight, calling out "mummy" as she crouched in the dark.

Abduction? ... Chloe was sleeping near an open window when she went missing. Source: Supplied

Tammy O'Donnell has visited her girl, who is undergoing checks at the Bundaberg Base Hospital and afterward addressed the media, saying she was "overjoyed".

"(I'm) over the world; there is no other word to really describe how I'm feeling, just overjoyed," said Ms O'Donnell as she grinned from ear to ear.

"Thank you to everyone, and everyone that called in to help bring Chloe home safe and happy."

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Missing three-year-old found alive

Ms O'Donnell said she raced from Childers to Bundaberg hospital as soon as she heard the news and then ran into her daughter's room to cuddle and hold her for the first time since Wednesday night.

"I was just in tears... I ran in the room basically. I didn't care if she woke up or not and then I just laid on the bed with her and gave her cuddles for a while and then we just came home to let everyone know," said the mum of four.

Search is over ... SES and police gather at the local showgrounds, where Chloe was reportedly found. Source: News Corp Australia

She said Chloe was aware of Tammy's presence in the hospital but too tired to remain awake.

"She opened her eyes a little bit and (said) 'mummy want to go home now' and passed out," said Ms O'Donnell.

READ THE FULL STORY FROM THE COURIER-MAIL

Rick O'Donnell cuddles daughter Tammy, mother of Chloe Campbell, 3, who was found near the Childers show ground overnight. Picture: Paul Beutel

"She's physically fine but really tired at the moment."

Chloe's older sisters Brittney, 6, and Janae, 7, were also ecstatic at the news.

"My eldest one broke into tears, burst into tears and the littlest one has the biggest smile on her face in the world," Ms O'Donnell said.

"They're both laying in bed awake just really happy knowing their sister's okay."

Ms O'Donnell said her daughter's return was an Easter gift that was much better than chocolate.

Distraught ... Chloe's mother, Tammy O'Donnell, phoned police when the three-year-old went missing on Thursday. Source: Supplied

Chloe Campbell: found safe this morning.

At around 2am, The Courier-Mail reported that Chloe Campbell, who was abducted from her Childers home on Thursday had been found alive.

Police confirmed the three-year-old "wandered home" near the Childers Showground about 1am and was taken to Bundaberg Base Hospital for a check-up.

Inspector Kev Guteridge this morning confirmed Chloe simply "appeared" at the showgrounds opposite the family home - where police have established their base - shortly after midnight.

"It's really amazing news. Shortly after midnight Chloe was located at the Childers showgrounds by police that were in attendance," he said.

"Chloe was examined by ambulance before being taken to the Bundaberg Base Hospital where she's been reunited with her mother.

"I'm very very happy to report Chloe is safe and well and in very good health."

The mother of Chloe Campbell, Tammy O 'Donnell, rushed to her daughter's side at the Bundaberg Base Hospital.

Inspector Guteridge said the dog squad immediately undertook a search of the area - which is ongoing - as friends suspected she was dropped there by her abductor.

He could not confirm if she was wearing the same clothes or carrying her favourite blue plush puppy or blanket.

Police State Crime Command officers are with Chloe and her parents Tammy O'Donnell and Garth Campbell at the hospital and will be hoping to interview the girl today.

"Obviously how she came to be at the showgrounds will be part of the investigation," Insp Guteridge said.

"The last couple of days our focus has been locating her and locating her safe and well.

"Now we will transition to the investigation phase and focus more on that, as to the circumstance of her disappearance."

Garth Campbell, father of Chloe Campbell, speaks to media at the Bundaberg Base Hospital shortly after his daughter was found by police. Photo Paul Beutel

"We're sincerely hoping to speak to Chloe and anyone that might have any information that can help us.

"As you can appreciate at the moment our whole focus is Chloe's well being.

"While we are happy to get her back we also have to make sure she's okay before we progress too much with her."

Inspector Guteridge said police were interested in any information that may assist in the investigation following rumours that the person or persons of interest may be close to the family.

"We are searching for any information. People out there will know things and we are encouraging them to come forward.

"There's a lot of rumour at the moment and certainly anyone that may have (information) should bring that to us so we can examine that thoroughly."

Chloe Campbell's mum Tammy O' Donnell and grandmother Heather Robertson before Chloe was found.

'Taken by a friend' ... Chloe's father Garth Campbell first suspected she had been taken by someone who knows the family. Source: Supplied

While he had not spoken to the mother Tammy, he said she would be thrilled.

"We obviously saw her yesterday she had been traumatised by this experience so to have her reunited with her baby is really a remarkable thing," he said.

Earlier, Chloe's mother Tammy O'Donnell drove to Bundaberg to see her daughter.

A close family friend Melissa Small this morning said Tammy and the family were overjoyed at the news.

"We had the call from the detectives and they said 'We've got Chloe and we're taking her to the Bundaberg Hospital, meet us there," said Ms Small.

Chloe Campbell, and parents Garth Campbell and Tammy O'Donnell.

"Within two seconds she was down in the driveway and taking off."

"We're just so happy. Thank you to everyone, the police, the SES the volunteers, absolutely everyone.

"This is such great news."

Ms Small said privately friends and family had been starting to fear the worst but Tammy had refused to give up hope.

"We didn't say anything but we were talking amongst ourselves and considering the worst possibilities because time was getting by."

Chloe's parents Tammy O'Donnell and Garth Campbell returned to the house they are staying at at 4.20am without their daughter, who will remain in hospital for a few more hours.

Chloe was discovered missing in her Childers home about 7am Thursday.

Earlier, The Courier-Mail reported that security footage has emerged of two men and a young child walking about 200m from where Chloe Campbell disappeared in Childers.

A residential security camera captured the vision very early on Thursday, the morning the three-year-old is believed to have been abducted from her house.

As fears for Chloe's safety intensified yesterday, her inconsolable mother Tammy O'Donnell described her anguish at not properly locking the lounge room sliding window the night before.

The glass window was found open and Chloe missing about 7am on Thursday after she and two siblings fell asleep on a lounge room mattress.

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Heartbroken mum makes tearful plea

Ms O'Donnell said she usually checked that all windows of the medium set house were clicked shut before retiring to bed.

"I shut the house up that night but I don't think, when I've closed it, I don't think it's clicked," Ms O'Donnell said.

"I think I just shut it and I usually check it before bed and I don't know why I didn't that night.

"I just think if I had have checked, she'd still be here."

The extensive search for any sign of the blonde toddler has expanded further around Childers as Ms O'Donnell said she did not believe her daughter was in the town but "further out".

Police will sift through the local tip where the family's and town's waste was dumped after collection on the morning of the little girl's disappearance.

Inspector Kev Guteridge said yesterday the team of police, SES and volunteers had not located anything by air or on land.

Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage from town and following leads from the public.

Childers resident Les Fennell handed his own personal security footage to police after they requested he scan it for anything unusual.

Mr Fennell said he uncovered two men and a young child walking south by the railway line behind Pioneer Park, a travellers' resting park on the Bruce Highway.

The location on the northern end of town intersects Ridgway Street where Chloe went missing.

Mr Fennell said the child was walking about 15m ahead of the men as they passed behind a toilet block as dawn approached.

About twenty minutes later the men returned north in the direction they had come but without the child.

"What I saw was the council worker doing his work, and left. Then came two men and a child. It could have been for any reason and anyone's child," he said.

"The sun had just started coming up yesterday morning and it was about the same time the child was missing."

Mr Fennell said the child seemed to know the men as he or she appeared to be leading they way.

"She or he was very small," he said. "The child looked like it knew where it was going and the two men followed."

Mr Fennell said he compared that morning's discovery with footage from the previous four days but did not see the trio on any other day.

The footage, which was wavering between night vision and regular, was not clear enough to determine if the child was a girl or boy, whether it was carrying a toy or the ages of the men.

The discovery comes as Ms O'Donnell is convinced someone knows where Chloe is, pleading for made an emotional plea for them to be "honest enough" to return her.

"I'm hoping she comes home safe, it's all I've got at the moment is hope and hoping someone will be honest enough to bring her home," she sobbed.

"Have the guts to bring her home. They were gutsy enough to take her, now have the decency and the guts to being her home."

Overcome by grief and tears, Ms O'Donnell said she hadn't been able to eat or sleep as she lived out this nightmare.

She said the family usually lived a quiet life, revolving around school and home and did not have enemies.

Ms O'Donnell affirmed her husband's belief that whoever took the child was known to Chloe, and she was unlikely to have wandered.

"They carried her out while she's been asleep, she's obviously known them to not scream or yell out," she said.

"I'd just like to say if anyone out there had any info please come forward and can you please just please bring her home ... or just drop her somewhere and ring up ... she needs to be home with her family."

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NT by-election win for Country Libs

Confusion over Labor's rail plan

LABOR'S election promise to remove 50 of Melbourne's worst level crossings for $6 billion is in disarray a factional ally admitted it will cost more than $8 billion.

Taste test: Best eggs this Easter

SO much chocolate, so little time. With Easter just a hop around the corner, we've got our best choc tasters to test the treats worth shelling out for.

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Rider critical, man charged after SA crash

A MOTORCYCLIST has been critically injured in a collision with an alleged drink-driver in Adelaide.

Police say the driver performed a burnout in his Holden sedan in a service station at Seaview Downs on Saturday afternoon before colliding with the motorcycle on the road.

The rider was taken to the Flinders Medical Centre in a critical but stable condition.

The driver, a Dover Gardens man, 62, was breath-tested at the scene.

Police allege he returned a reading of .178, more than three-and-a-half times the legal limit.

He has been charged with aggravated driving without due care, drink driving and causing injury by dangerous driving.

It's expected he will be bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court at a later date.

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Rebels kill 12 in anti-election campaign

Police say Maoist rebels have killed 12 people in two separate attacks in India. Source: AAP

POLICE say Indian Maoist rebels killed 12 people in two separate attacks in the central state of Chhattisgarh as they continue a campaign of violence aimed at disrupting a five-week national election.

Police Director General A.N. Upadhyay says a land mine set by the rebels exploded Saturday and killed five election officials and two bus drivers travelling from Kutru to Bijapur before planned balloting there next week. The blast also injured four people.

In another attack, the rebels killed five paramilitary soldiers travelling in the remote Darbha Forest.

The rebels have also asked voters to boycott the polls. They have been fighting since the 1960s for a greater share of natural wealth and more jobs for the poor. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called them India's greatest internal security threat.

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Roll confusion for Labor's Blain candidate

ON the Northern Territory electoral roll, Labor's candidate for the Blain by-election is listed as living at a property in the electorate, but his purchase of the property was only finalised this week.

Police officer Geoff Bahnert lives at a Bellamack address in Palmerston, within the Blain electorate, according to the NT electoral roll, but real estate agents told AAP the sale was only finalised on Wednesday.

Enrolments for Saturday's election closed on March 26, and under the Commonwealth Electoral Act, a person can only be enrolled to vote in a division if they have "a real place of living in the division".

In order to enrol to vote, voters must have lived at their address for at least one month.

For Mr Bahnert to be eligible to vote in Blain, he would have had to have lived at the Bellamack address since February 27 at the latest.

But the property was listed for sale in the Saturday editions of the NT News on March 1, 8, and 15, and listed as being under contract on March 22, before the sale was settled on April 9.

"I think you'll find (the by-election) caught everyone by surprise so I moved into the electorate from the time that the polls were called, so we're ready to go, we've moved in," Mr Bahnert told the Nine Network on Friday.

The April 12 election date was announced on March 8, which was still too late for Mr Bahnert to enrol as a Blain resident, according to the Act's one-month residence stipulation.

A Labor Party spokesman would not respond when asked by AAP where in Blain Mr Bahnert had been living, or for how long.

AAP was not permitted to speak directly with Mr Bahnert; however, the spokesman said any allegation that Mr Bahnert had acted improperly was wrong, and said the ALP had consulted a barrister.

"He lives in the electorate and he is entitled to vote there," he said.

The maximum penalty for making a false claim for enrolment is 12 months imprisonment.

Neither of Mr Bahnert's two key rivals in Saturday's by-election - the Country Liberals' Nathan Barrett and independent Matthew Cranitch - are enrolled to vote in Blain.

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Dutch prisons hit by prisoner shortage

THE Dutch government is facing an unusual crisis: prison undercrowding.

There are now more guards and other prison staff than prisoners in the Netherlands for the first time, according to data released by the Justice Ministry on Friday.

Crime rates have fallen slightly in recent years, but aren't notably lower in the Netherlands than in neighbouring countries, and many Dutch people think sentences for violent offenders are too light.

In 2008, there were more than 15,000 inmates. As of March of this year, there were just 9710 remaining, compared with 9914 guards.

In the US, that figure is more like one staff member per five prisoners.

Justice Ministry spokesman Jochgem van Opstal says "we're studying what the reason for the decline is". The ministry is already carrying out prison closures.

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Abbott briefs President Xi on MH370 search

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has detected a new signal that is being analysed. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has briefed Chinese President Xi Jinping about the search for missing aircraft MH370, warning him there could be a long and painstaking road ahead.

Mr Abbott on Friday updated President Xi on the Australian-led search effort for the Malaysia Airlines plane in the Indian Ocean during a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The prime minister said Australian authorities had very much narrowed down the search area to some kilometres after receiving "strong detections" from what they're confident is the plane's black box.

But he didn't mince words, warning his Chinese counterpart there was still a long way to go.

"This will be a very long, slow and painstaking process," he said.

Mr Abbott's comments came after a day of somewhat mixed messages from authorities leading the search for MH370, which has been missing for five weeks, since March 8.

The prime minister told business leaders in Shanghai on Friday that the search in the Indian Ocean was narrowing.

"We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometres," Mr Abbott said.

However, those comments appeared to be contradicted a short time later by Australian search coordinator, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who indicated there was little change in the search area.

"On the information I have available to me, there has been no major breakthrough in the search for MH370," Mr Houston said.

He said signals apparently detected by an Australian search aircraft on Thursday were ruled not to have come from a black box flight recorder.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre issued a statement on Friday morning saying the search area still totalled 46,713 square kilometres - vastly different from Mr Abbott's statement.

Nonetheless, there remains strong hope that the flight's all-important black box recorder could be found.

Its batteries are expected to expire soon, so time remains critical.

The Australian vessel Ocean Shield has to date recorded four signals that are believed to have come from at least a black box recorder.

The Ocean Shield on Friday was in an area about 2200km northwest of Perth continuing sweeps of its pinger locator to detect further signals.

Orion aircraft were also continuing acoustic searches.

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Cyclone Ita crosses far north Qld's coast

CYCLONE Ita has hit far north Queensland's coast with wind speeds of more than 200 kilometres an hour.

The category four cyclone's eye crossed Cape Flattery, more than 300km north of Cairns, around 9pm and will gradually track southwards.

Hundreds of residents across the coast have hunkered down at cyclone shelters.

The cyclone is crossing the coast near Cape Flattery with destructive winds of 230 kilometres per hour near the core.

Gales extend 185 kilometres from the centre and powerful wind gusts of more than 125km/hr are expected to develop between Cape Melville and Cooktown and reach as far south as Port Douglas by Saturday morning.

There's a possibility that Ita could track south close to the coast, bringing wind gusts of 150km/hr to Cairns on Saturday.

Coastal residents between Cape Flattery and Cape Tribulation, including Cooktown, are being warned of the dangerous storm tide.

"The sea is likely to rise steadily up to a level which will be significantly above the normal tide, with damaging waves, strong currents and flooding of low-lying areas extending some way inland," the bureau says.

At least one roof has been torn from a house in Cooktown, which is being battered by strong gales and heavy rain.

Cooktown Mayor Peter Scott says winds up to 125km/h are "roaring" though the small town.

"Here's hoping we don't see any more damage," he said.

The power has been cut and about 320 people are gathered in the town's cyclone shelter, while some have taken refuge in local pubs.

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Vandals attack Vic wheat storage facility

VANDALS have caused up to $65,000 damage at a wheat storage facility in central Victoria.

Workers found vandals had slashed heavy-duty tarpaulins protecting a large stack of wheat at Dunolly, west of Bendigo, early on Thursday, police said.

Damage to the slashed tarpaulins is estimated at $40,000 while another $20,000 to $25,0000 worth of wheat was lost as rain leaked into the $1.5 million wheat stack.

Local police are investigating.

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Cambodia, Nauru in talks on refugees

ASYLUM seekers on Nauru could find themselves in Cambodia if Australia seals a deal with the two countries.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has given the biggest hint so far at what is under discussion with Cambodia.

He says the Asian nation wouldn't process asylum seekers who have aimed for Australia but could resettle those found to be refugees.

"It is about a regional discussion on broadening the number of resettlement places," the minister told ABC TV on Thursday.

"This is about resettlement not processing. The processing is done in Nauru."

There would be three signatory countries to any deal: Nauru, Cambodia and Australia, he said.

Australia's offshore processing deal with Nauru doesn't require it to permanently resettle any refugees there, unlike the arrangement in Papua New Guinea.

Mr Morrison and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop have separately visited Cambodia this year.

A Cambodian government spokesman told the Phnom Penh Post last Friday the country's foreign ministry may soon release details of their proposal.

It has been speculated the agreement could be worth $40 million and involve up to 100 refugees.

A team of human rights experts affiliated with the United Nations is trying to visit Nauru to inspect detention conditions, including for asylum seekers.

The UN working group had to cancel a visit planned for next week despite the Nauru government initially proposing those dates.

The government said it was no longer able to accommodate the visit "due to unforeseen circumstances", a spokesman for the group said on Thursday.

A Nauru government spokesman said on Wednesday the country had not invited the group to visit, had only learned of its intention via media reports and suspected it was "merely another publicity stunt by a group with a political agenda".

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Greece bounces back to bond markets

BAILED-OUT Greece has returned to bond markets with a bang, ending a four-year exclusion by raising 3.0 billion euros, sending a major signal that the eurozone debt crisis is fading.

"A sum in the order of 3.0 billion euros ($A4.46 billion) will probably be raised," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told To Vima radio, adding that the interest rate was "below 5.0 per cent".

The bonds have a life of five years and this return to the medium-term debt market is a milestone for Greece which is in recession and suffering deeply from the effects of crisis and reforms.

Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters that the sale had been "at least eight times oversubscribed" and termed the sale "a huge success."

Reports and analysts said the operation pointed to an interest rate paid by Greece of 4.95 per cent, which would mark another success in achieving a rate below 5.0 per cent.

The sale is a big step in Greece's financial resurrection after two EU-IMF bailouts.

It was timed a day before a scheduled visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and originally designed to raise 2.5 billion euros.

Hours before the sale, a powerful car bomb exploded outside the Bank of Greece in central Athens but nobody was hurt as police had time to clear the area.

One analyst said the appetite for the Greek sale had been "jaw-dropping."

Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX Capital said: "The move by Greece at first to return to the bond markets appears to be opportunistic and somewhat symbolic as the country clearly wants to be able to raise its own funds."

The last issue of five-year bonds four years ago carried an interest rate of 6.1 per cent.

Athens' move was welcomed by the International Monetary Fund, which along with the European Union and the European Central Bank, has provided huge financial support for the stricken economy.

The bond issue comes against a background of sharp falls in recent months in borrowing rates for other eurozone countries hit by debt problems and on Thursday Italy borrowed for 12 months at a record low rate of 0.589 per cent.

The government condemned the car bomb attack, with state spokesman Simos Kedikoglou telling Skai Radio: "The terrorists aim to change the agenda. We will not allow that."

The vehicle, a stolen Nissan packed with 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of explosives, blew up around 2.55am as it was parked on the pavement facing a central bank building near headquarters, police said.

Internet news website Zougla and the Efymerida ton Syndakton newspaper were informed of the planned attack by telephone one hour beforehand.

Athens found itself frozen out of debt markets in 2010 after it revealed its public accounts had been falsified, and was forced to seek a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid defaulting.

In return for the bailout funds, Greece has had to institute a host of deeply unpopular reforms including streamlining its bloated public sector. The measures have sparked regular strikes and protests in a country suffering a sixth straight year of recession and with a 28-per cent unemployment rate.

The announcement of the return to debt markets came on the same day as protesters launched the first anti-austerity strike of 2014, following five general strikes the previous year.

The strike shut ferry services to the country's world-famous islands, disrupted air travel and closed pharmacies and government offices.

The so-called "troika" of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF first bailed out Greece in 2010 with a program worth 110 billion euros.

When that failed to stabilise the economy, they agreed on a much tougher second rescue in 2012 worth 130 billion euros, plus a private-sector debt write-off of more than 100 billion euros.

Fiscal reform under EU-IMF tutelage has brought upgrades to Greece's debt standing by ratings agencies in recent months - but Greek bonds still carry junk status.

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New signal detected in plane search

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume with up to 14 planes and 13 ships. Source: AAP

AN Australian aircraft involved in the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has picked up a possible fifth signal in the search zone where previous signals consistent with the plane's black box were detected.

An RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft, which had been dropping buoys dangling microphones, detected a signal in the vicinity of the vessel Ocean Shield on Thursday afternoon.

"The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made source," retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said in a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre.

Royal Australian Navy Commodore Peter Leavy said each sound-locating buoy was dangling a hydrophone listening device about 300 metres below the surface.

The naval ship Ocean Shield detected two signals on Tuesday after another two were picked up on the weekend.

Thursday's search of 57,923 square kilometres by 14 planes and 13 ships was the smallest yet in the month-long hunt.

Ocean Shield meanwhile continues to tow a special US Navy "towed pinger locator" slowly through the water hoping to find the signals again and get a fix on the location.

The black box batteries are due expire as they have about a 30-day life and the flight disappeared on March 8.

Earlier this week, Mr Houston said once the battery was declared expired, the automated underwater vessel Bluefin-21 would be deployed to relaying side-scan sonar data and images from the silty sea floor some 4.5km from the surface.

The search continues for debris on the surface of the ocean, although none of the objects found so far have had any connection with MH370, which disappeared with 239 people on board.

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Alcoa posts 1Q loss on smelter shutdowns

Alcoa has posted a first quarter loss of $A192.65 million due to lower aluminium prices. Source: AAP

ALCOA Inc. lost $US178 million ($A192.65 million) in the first quarter as revenue fell on lower aluminium prices, but profit beat expectations after excluding charges to idle capacity at aluminum smelters and mills.

The company said the price it was paid for aluminum dropped 8 per cent from a year ago. The weak commodity prices are driving Alcoa to shift away from smelting. It is closing a smelter in New York state and another in Australia and cutting capacity at others in Brazil.

When those moves are complete, Alcoa will have shed 28 per cent of its smelting capacity since 2007.

Instead, Alcoa is shifting its focus to selling more finished products for use in building aircraft, cars and other goods.

Its engineered-products division posted a record first quarter. Some of those products, like a new lightweight wheel for heavy-duty trucks, are designed to appeal to companies and consumers who are looking for lighter, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Alcoa predicts that demand for aluminum in aircraft will grow by 8 per cent or 9 per cent this year, with smaller increases for metal used in construction and cars. Overall global aluminum demand will grow 7 per cent this year, about the same as last year, the company says.

New York-based Alcoa said on Tuesday that the first-quarter loss was 16 US cents per share and compared with net income of $US149 million, or 13 cents per share, in the same period last year.

The company said that excluding write-downs to reduce smelting and milling capacity, it would have earned 9 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected an adjusted profit of 5 cents per share.

Revenue fell 6.5 per cent to $US5.45 billion, below analysts' forecast of $US5.57 billion.

Alcoa shares ended regular trading at $US12.53, up 6 cents. In less than an hour of late trading after the first-quarter results were announced, the shares were up 29 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $US12.82.

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Bob Carr reveals plane, lobbyist hassles

Former foreign minister Bob Carr is set to release a new book later this month. Source: AAP

FORMER foreign minister Bob Carr likes his breakfast oats steel-cut and his Wagner opera with English subtitles.

So, his latest book - Diary of a Foreign Minister - could well be subtitled First World Problems.

But he says the book is intentionally full of self-parody and irony because it's the stuff of life - and that's "too short to be taken seriously".

However, it's not all diet regimes and complaints about business class travel.

Mr Carr also reveals a "very unhealthy level" of influence the Israeli lobby had in Canberra, saying he decided to breach cabinet confidences because the public deserved to know what went on.

NewSouth Publishing describes the book - due to hit the shelves at the end of April - as the "best picture ever published of a politician on the world stage and Australia's changing place in the world and in our region".

But it is also expected to reveal Mr Carr's multi-faceted personality - eccentric, obsessive, passionate and self-deprecating.

The faults and foibles of air travel feature heavily, according to reports.

In the book Mr Carr publishes a letter from Singapore Airlines responding to complaints he made about inflight entertainment.

"Please accept my sincere apology if any part of our First Class inflight offering fell below your expectations," the letter says.

"Specifically, I have taken note of the lack of English subtitles for the Wagner Opera Siegfried."

The former minister rails against business class travel: "No edible food. No airline pyjamas. I lie in my tailored suit."

On another flight, he blasts the airline for its "ceramic food" and seat design that "owe a lot to the trans-Atlantic slave trade".

On his diet and exercise regime, Mr Carr reveals his favoured breakfast is steel-cut organic oats and berries and two poached eggs.

Mr Carr said on Wednesday night he made no apologies for wanting to arrive on missions for Australia in the best condition possible.

"It was such an inherently unhealthy lifestyle, living on planes, subsisting on that cuisine, I thought it would have knocked about two years off my life," he told ABC TV.

But he wanted his book also to shine lights on the dark corners of politics, particularly the role of the conservative pro-Israel lobby from Melbourne.

He says its influence in then-prime minister Julia Gillard's office reached an unhealthy level.

"I found it very frustrating that we couldn't issue, for example, a routine expression of concern about the spread of Israeli settlements on the West Bank," he said on Wednesday.

The matter came to a head in arguments over Australia's position on Palestine seeking increased non-state status at the United Nations.

He thought hard about breaking cabinet confidences on this issue but said in the end the public's right to know how foreign policy was made outweighted other considerations.

The book will retail for about $50 with proceeds going to Interplast Australia and New Zealand, a not-for-profit organisation that funds and delivers reconstructive surgery on poor children in developing countries.

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GM to invest $449M in 2 Detroit factories

US carmaker General Motors will invest $A485.96 million in two Detroit-area factories. Source: AAP

GENERAL Motors says it's investing $US449 million ($A485.96 million) in two Detroit-area factories to build the next generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric car.

The company says the investment eventually will bring a second shift at the Detroit assembly plant that makes the Volt and other cars.

But it wouldn't say how many jobs would be added or when the people would be hired.

The plant now employs about 1600 on a single shift.

GM says it will invest $384 million at the assembly plant and another $65 million in a battery pack plant in nearby Brownstown Township.

The company didn't release any details on the next generation Volt.

The current version can go about 38 miles on battery power before a small gasoline generator kicks in.

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More relocatable units for Vic prisons

MORE shipping container-style "relocatable units" are being rolled out to boost the capacity of Victoria's prison system.

The Victorian government has announced another 27 units will be installed by August at two correctional facilities near Geelong, a gain of 81 medium-security beds.

"Relocatable units are already providing an important, immediate boost to capacity in Victoria's corrections system, and today's announcement will build on this," Corrections Minister Edward O'Donohue said on Wednesday.

"The security and design of the units will be consistent with the standard security accommodation already at Fulham and Marngoneet prisons."

The government has previously likened the units - which each house three inmates - to mining camp accommodation and has also pointed to their use in prisons in Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand.

Expansion plans for Victoria's Loddon Prison, announced in March, include 15 of the units.

The government says it has added 1000 prison beds since 2011 with another 2500 in the pipeline, including the 1000-bed prison under construction at Ravenhall in Melbourne's west.

However, Community and Public Sector organiser Andrew Capp said the use of relocatable units, known as "dongaS", was inadequate because the doors could be prised open.

"The government is increasing the escape risks at the prisons that use these dodgy Dongas putting officers the community and other prisoners at risk," he said.

Mr Capp said Corrections Victoria had re-classified medium-security prisoners in walled prisons to those in lower security levels so they could be shifted to the units without fences at Dhurringile, Beechworth and Langi Kal Kal, and issued with monitoring bracelets that were not reliable.

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Post-mortem in unexplained Geldof death

Bob Geldof says his family is "beyond pain" at the death of his daughter Peaches at the age of 25. Source: AAP

BRITISH police say they are investigating the unexplained death of media personality Peaches Geldof and will hand their findings to a coroner.

A post-mortem will be performed in the next few days on 25-year-old Geldof, who was pronounced dead by paramedics at her home in Wrotham, southeast of London, on Monday.

Kent Police said on Tuesday officers were investigating the "unexplained sudden death", but did not consider it suspicious.

Peaches Geldof was the daughter of Irish musician and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof and TV presenter Paula Yates, who died of a drug overdose in 2000. She grew up in the glare of Britain's press, which revelled in the late-night antics of her teenage years.

More recently, she married for a second time, to musician Tom Cohen, had two children and worked as a broadcaster and writer. She said her drug-taking years were behind her.

Bob Geldof said the family was "beyond pain".

"What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable? We loved her and will cherish her forever," he wrote in a statement.

Cohen said: "My beloved wife Peaches was adored by myself and her two sons Astala and Phaedra and I shall bring them up with their mother in their hearts every day. We shall love her for ever."

Peaches Geldof was just 11 years old when her mother Paula Yates, died from an accidental heroin overdose aged 41.

Yates divorced Bob Geldof in 1996 after forming a relationship with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.

Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room in Sydney, Australia, in 1997, and Yates went on to lose custody of the three daughters she had with Geldof - Peaches, Pixie and Fifi - the following year.

Bob Geldof later adopted Yates and Hutchence's daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

Geldof's death came as a shock to Britain's entertainment and fashion circles. She was a frequent attendee at fashion shows in London and New York, and was photographed just last week at a London show for the Tesco brand F&F.

Geldof was a prolific tweeter and the final message she sent on Sunday was a picture of her as a child with her mother, with the message "Me and my mum".

A host of celebrities including Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Ellie Goulding, Lorde, Simon Cowell and Lily Allen paid tribute.

Model Daisy Lowe posted a picture of a broken heart on Twitter.

Geldof's death was the lead story in many British newspapers on Tuesday, with several using the last photo she posted on Twitter - of her as a toddler with her mother.

Commentators noted the tragic parallels to the life and death of Yates. In The Guardian, columnist Hadley Freeman said "the shock of Geldof's death comes from the loss of a young woman - still only 25 - who many of us had followed since her birth, who seemed so close to finding the stability that had eluded her mother."

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Evacuation at Sydney food factory

Workers have been evacuated from a factory in Sydney after a grain silo threatened to explode. Source: AAP

WORKERS have been evacuated from a food processing plant on Sydney's lower north shore after a grain silo threatened to explode.

Emergency services rushed to the factory in Lane Cove on Tuesday night amid reports the temperature inside the silo had risen beyond safe levels.

Staff were evacuated and firefighters pumped carbon dioxide into the silo to try and lower the temperature.

"If the temperature increases over the next few hours we could have some problems," said Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Ian Krimmer.

"If the temperature remains static or decreases we'll be a lot happier."

Emergency services are expected to remain at the site for most of the evening.

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Invest in Australia, PM to tell China

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has outlined the benefits of what he says is a historic deal with Japan. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott hopes to spur free trade talks with China this week by assuring investors they're welcome to do business in Australia.

Mr Abbott will depart for China on Wednesday, where he's expected to address the Boao Forum in Hainan before taking his trade message to Shanghai and Beijing.

The prime minister formalised Australia's free trade agreement with South Korea on Tuesday, a day after concluding long-running talks with Japan on a similar deal.

He's hoping to carry that momentum into the final leg of his North Asia trip, and will challenge any perception that Australia can be a risky place to do business.

"What I'll be wanting to reassure the Chinese government is that we are genuinely open for business," he told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.

Under the FTAs signed with Korea and Japan, investors had to accept that any proposed farm buyouts over $15 million would be automatically scrutinised.

China reportedly doesn't like this clause, but Mr Abbott said many significant Chinese bids had been approved by the federal government.

He ambitiously promised at the election to secure free trade deals with the economic powerhouses of North Asia - Japan, South Korea and China - within a year.

With Japan and Korea out of the way, trade negotiators could now redouble their efforts on China.

But the prime minister said he wanted a good deal with China and wouldn't be drawn on when he expected talks to wrap up.

"Two out of three of these deals within seven months is pretty good progress," he said.

"We will do a deal with China if and when it is clearly in both our countries best interests to do so."

Mr Abbott will wrap up his visit to Seoul with a state dinner hosted by President Park Geun-hye.

The two leaders agreed in bilateral talks on Tuesday to deepen defence ties, and could consider developing links between Australian and Korean military technology companies.

North Korea, not surprisingly, was discussed at depth. Mr Abbott said Pyongyang was a threat to regional security and should be treated as a "rogue and outlaw state".

At the dinner, Mr Abbott will unveil a photo of President Park as a young girl with her father, a former Korean leader, and her mother planting a tree at Canberra's Korean embassy on her first overseas holiday.

The image is a moving tribute to her family legacy and the bilateral relationship, as both of President Park's parents were separately assassinated in political attacks.

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Collombet murder suspect before Qld court

AN itinerant man extradited to Queensland following his arrest in northern NSW will face a Brisbane court accused of the bashing murder and rape of French student Sophie Louise Collombet.

The 21-year-old Griffith University business student was on her way home after a night class when attacked in south Brisbane on March 27.

Her battered and naked body was found at Kurilpa Park, at the edge of the city's busy South Bank precinct, the following morning by a jogger.

Benjamin James Milward was arrested by NSW police near a Coffs Harbour shopping centre shortly before 3pm (AEST) on Monday afternoon.

Brisbane homicide detectives were dispatched that evening, and an application for Milward's extradition to Queensland was approved by Coffs Harbour Local Court Magistrate Robert Walker on Tuesday morning.

Queensland Police said on Tuesday evening the 25-year-old had been charged with murder, rape, deprivation of liberty and robbery and would appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Milward's mother, Diane, on Tuesday visited the rotunda where Ms Collombet's body was found to pay her respects and lay flowers.

"I am heartbroken," she told News Corp Australia.

"We are all so sorry and sad and it shouldn't happen to anybody - and a beautiful girl like Sophie; she's just gorgeous, it's just wrong."

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart had earlier called Ms Collombet's father Guy Collombet to inform him of Milward's arrest.

"I spent some time on the phone with him. He was very dignified and grateful for the information," he told reporters.

A vigil in honour of Ms Collombet will be held in Brisbane's city centre on Thursday night to mark the two-week anniversary of her death.

Griffith University's Women's Association is helping organise the event.

"It was something important to organise to stand together to mourn her life and stand up against violence against women," spokeswoman Stephanie Kameric told AAP.

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Abbott breaks new ground in Japan

Federal Labor says the PM shouldn't sign up to a token trade agreement with Japan. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott will walk away from his first trip to Japan with a free trade agreement and a closer strategic partner in the region.

He and counterpart Shinzo Abe have confirmed an historic free trade deal between Australia and its second-largest trading partner after seven years of negotiations.

The prime minister is calling the achievement a milestone in the 60-year bilateral relationship that will foster even stronger future ties.

"I hope that thanks to this agreement that has been finalised today that Australia can be pivotal to ensuring that in the years and decades to come the people of Japan have energy security, resource security and food security," Mr Abbott told a bilateral meeting with Mr Abe on Monday evening.

It's expected they will ratify the agreement when Mr Abe visits Australia and addresses a joint-sitting of parliament in July.

The deal is a major coup for Mr Abbott, who wanted to finalise it as a matter of priority during his two-day visit to Tokyo.

Australian negotiators led by Trade Minister Andrew Robb worked around the clock in order to secure the agreement just moments before Mr Abbott was due to attend an private dinner at Mr Abe's residence on Sunday.

Trade officials say the final result is unprecedented, with Australian exporters tipped to gain significant advantages over competitors and preferential access to Japan's agriculture markets.

Australia's beef farmers are being touted as the big winners, with a reduction in tariffs set to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for the sector.

The terms on beef aren't as generous as the South Korean FTA signed in December but given fierce resistance from Japanese farming groups to liberalised trade, the Abbott government is claiming victory.

Gains were made for dairy, horticulture and fruit and vegetable exporters, and Australian consumers should also notice a change.

Japanese whitegoods, electronics and cars will become cheaper in Australia, with about $1500 expected to be shaved off the price of an average vehicle.

Japanese investments will now only be referred to the Foreign Investment Review Board if proposals are worth more than $1 billion - up from $248 million.

It's the second trade deal clinched by the government since taking office and brings Mr Abbott a step closer to fulfilling his promise of signing deals with Japan, China and South Korea within a year.

But he's also broken new ground in defence, with both leaders agreeing they want to elevate the bilateral security relationship to a new "special" level.

They will restart the "2+2" meetings on defence co-operation, with their defence and foreign ministers to meet in Tokyo in June.

Mr Abbott also became the first foreign leader invited to address Japan's most senior security council.

It's not clear how these blatantly strategic outcomes will wash in Beijing or Seoul, given Mr Abbott arrived in Japan with a trade agenda.

But there was no question he was among friends in Tokyo, having been extended a rare private dinner invite with Mr Abe and an audience with the Japanese ruling monarch, Emperor Akihito.

He will leave Japan on Tuesday for a brief visit to South Korea before continuing to China.

Labor has welcomed the completion of negotiations but pledged to scrutinise the agreement closely to ensure it is in Australia's national interest.

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Whistleblower got it wrong: Salvo boss

An inquiry has heard how a resident of a Salvation Army boys home received financial compensation. Source: AAP

SALVATION Army commissioner James Condon says he already had a process in train to remove an officer with a sex abuse record before a whistleblower contacted authorities.

Mr Condon, the territorial commander of the Salvation Army in NSW, Queensland and ACT, told a hearing in Sydney on Monday that his absence due to a meeting in London in early 2013 had probably contributed to a delay in removing Colin Haggar as director of a crisis shelter for women and children.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard that Mr Haggar confessed to indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 1989, and was dismissed from the Salvos, but was re-admitted in 1993 and subsequently promoted.

Additional allegations were made against him in 2013.

Captain Michelle White said on Friday that concerns about Mr Haggar had been raised with Mr Condon in early 2013.

Ms White said that delays by Mr Condon in fulfilling mandatory reporting requirements prompted her to report to the NSW Ombudsman on September 4, 2013 that there was an active Salvation Army officer with a known history of child related sexual abuse.

But asked on Monday if it was only after Ms White's actions that he considered reporting Mr Haggar to the Ombudsman and the Office of the Children's Guardian, Mr Condon replied: "No, it wasn't."

He said a decision had been made to "have a fresh look at all historical cases", including those involving Haggar, in preparation for the royal commission.

"We were reporting to the ombudsman, reporting to the police ... we were in the process ... we were absolutely committed to doing the right thing."

Mr Condon said that following a meeting with Ms White, he also made phone calls, including to Mr Haggar, informing the senior Salvo that he should not have any responsibility for children at the shelter.

Mr Condon said he opposed the promotion of Mr Haggar to lieutenant colonel but it was army policy to promote a husband when a wife was taking an executive role. Mr Haggar's wife Kerry, also a lieutenant colonel, had been made secretary for business administration and a member of the Salvation Army executive.

Mr Condon told the hearing that he accompanied Mr Haggar to Parramatta police station in the early 90s to report the assault, recalling that an officer at the station told Mr Haggar that unless the victim or the family of the victim came forward, there was nothing police could do.

The commission was also told on Monday that the Salvation Army had no plans to use the defence of vicarious liability in historical cases of child abuse, unlike the Catholic Church which had argued in another matter that it could not be held vicariously responsible for historical abuse.

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Shot man charged for withholding info

A witness heard screams before finding a bloodied man after a double shooting in Sydney. Source: AAP

A MAN gunned down alongside his father in an inner-Sydney street has been charged with concealing information from police.

Josh Smart, 23, was shot in the back and his 59-year-old father Michael Smart was shot in the head on a Pyrmont street on Sunday night in what police believe was a targeted attack.

Michael Smart remains in hospital in a critical condition.

Both men were known to police.

On Monday afternoon, Josh Smart was released from hospital into the custody of police, who charged him with concealing a serious indictable offence.

Bail was refused and he was scheduled to appear before Sydney's Central Local Court on Tuesday.

Ashlie Lomas, who along with other witnesses rendered first aid to Michael Smart, said he was lying on the ground when she came out onto the street.

"We were just trying to get him to hold on," she said.

Police have said that it the incident was not thought to be gang related and investigators believe there was only one shooter.

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Viewers riveted to The Block

Nine's The Block: Fans v Faves has topped Sunday's television ratings with 1.829 million viewers. Source: AAP

THE Block: Fans v Faves had its highest rating episode this season on a night when audience numbers were heavily compromised because My Kitchen Rules (MKR) was shelved.

The fourth-last episode of The Block: Fans v Faves attracted 1.829 million viewers to be the runaway winner on Sunday from Nine News (1.550 million) and 60 Minutes (1.372 million).

Normally, MKR would screen in direct opposition to The Block: Fans v Faves, but the Seven Network held the elimination episode over until Monday because of its AFL coverage.

That meant Seven's programming was split around the country, producing heavily diluted figures and allowing Ten's Sunday News to sneak into the top 10 with just 504,000 viewers.

Nine also had diluted figures with the final episode of Fat Tony & Co coming in 19th with 381,000 viewers after airing in only Brisbane and Sydney.

The final episode screened in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth last week, but was held back in Sydney and Brisbane because of Nine's NRL commitments.

In MKR's absence, Seven ran a special about MKR judge and chef Manu Feildel and his native France.

My France With Manu, which did not air in Melbourne or Adelaide, still attracted 813,000 viewers to be sixth overall.

Seven's British series Downton Abbey also did not air in Melbourne and Adelaide, yet was eighth with an audience of 694,000 viewers.

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Afghan officer shot journalists in revenge

Authorities say the Afghan police officer who shot two journalists, killing one, did so in revenge. Source: AAP

THE Afghan police officer who shot two Associated Press journalists did so in revenge for air raids by NATO forces on his village, police said Saturday.

German photographer Anja Niedringhaus and Canadian reporter Kathy Gannon were shot on Friday by a police officer in the eastern province of Khost while in their car.

Niedringhaus died on the spot and Gannon was injured.

"Naqibullah, commander of a police checkpoint, said in his confession that he shot the journalists to take revenge for the NATO air raids on his village in Ghorband valley," said Khost police official Baryalay Rawan.

The two were covering the country's presidential elections in Tanai district, on the border of Pakistan's tribal areas, and which is under the heavy sway of the Taliban.

The shooter was arrested by his colleagues.

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Gold Coast drug ring busted

Police have broken up an extensive bikie drug ring operating out of Gold Coast nightclubs. Source: AAP

GOLD Coast nightclub owner Ivan Tesic has been identified by police as the alleged mastermind behind a massive interstate drug ring involving at least six bikie gangs.

They claim Tesic, who is listed as an extreme risk by national law enforcement agencies, distributed cocaine through his Surfers Paradise establishment Club Liv.

Tesic was arrested in Sydney on Friday and was expected to be extradited to Queensland to face charges under the state's anti-bikie legislation.

Bandidos sergeant-at-arms and Cleo Bachelor of the Year entrant Josh Downey, arrested at Airlie Beach, was also among those nabbed in three days of raids.

Arrests were also made in Darwin and Newcastle.

The drug ring allegedly involved dozens of bikies including associates of the Bandidos, Finks, Mongols, Rebels, Highway 61 and Lone Wolves as well as DJs and club managers.

Police say drugs were sourced from Sydney and were driven to the Glitter Strip in cars modified to hide the stashes.

A covert operation was launched 19 months ago and officers had been picking off offenders.

The investigation climaxed over the last three days when 100 police raided homes and Surfers Paradise nightclubs, arresting the alleged bosses.

"(The operation) targeted the higher level offenders that aren't normally touched by police," Detective Superintendent David Hutchinson said.

To date, 152 people have been arrested, including 37 alleged outlaw bikies and associates.

More than 15kgs of cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine were seized as well as six litres of methylamphetamine oil which could have been used to make $11 million in drugs.

The whole operation stopped $26 million worth of drugs hitting the streets.

Police will seek to retain four luxury homes and cars, including a Porsche, as well as $500,000 in cash and a watch, also worth $500,000.

"They're been living the high life at the expense of our youth and the rest of the community," Det Insp Hutchinson said.

"The may think that they are safe but we are always watching and they never know when we're going to pounce."

Anyone found guilty under Queensland's new anti-bikie legislation faces an extra 25 years mandatory jail on top of their sentence.

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Labor: Reject Botanic Gardens plan

NSW Labor is concerned about a draft redevelopment plan for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Source: AAP

THE Royal Botanic Gardens Trust has unveiled the draft of its 25-year redevelopment for the Gardens and the Domain, which includes a multimillion-dollar five-star hotel.

A walkway at Mrs Macquarie's Point will connect visitors with the water, while redevelopment of its historic buildings will provide them with new facilities and amenities.

The plan - a first in the 200-year history of the park - also includes a children's garden, with new walkways and educational centres also planned.

"When people consider the draft Master Plan, it's important that they understand that the Domain is outside the Garden gates," said Kim Ellis, Executive Director of the Sydney Parklands and Botanic Gardens.

"This draft Master Plan provides us with the framework to secure our future as a premium Sydney cultural landmark, world's best, Sydney's own," he said in a statement.

The $130 million plan will see the sites redeveloped over the next 25 years, broken down into five-year blocks, and will be developed through a mix of private, government and charity funding, Mr Ellis told the ABC.

Opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley questioned whether a hotel development "in any way complies with the objects of the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust Act".

"Its core purposes are to provide green space to the people of Sydney and to increase our knowledge and appreciation of Australia's plant life," Mr Foley said.

"The voices of botanists, plant scientists and horticulturalists will be drowned out by the construction planners and commercial event organisers."

Mr Ellis told the ABC science would remain at the forefront of the plan, with the Botanic Gardens containing 9000 different plants of 6000 different species.

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Fans honour Cobain 20 years after death

TWO decades after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain killed himself in Seattle, fans have flocked to the home where he died to pay homage to the influential rocker.

Fans came from nearby cities like Portland or faraway towns in Georgia - some sporting '90s-era grunge attire like plaid shirts - to leave handwritten notes, flowers and unopened beers to honour the musician.

Police believe Cobain, 27, killed himself on April 5, 1994, and his body was found three days later.

Cobain's Nirvana helped popularise the heavy "grunge" rock scene, along with bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney.

Nirvana, which sold millions of albums, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or follow @LifelineAust @OntheLineAus @kidshelp @beyondblue @headspace_aus @ReachOut_AUS on Twitter.

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