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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Rubbish tip scoured for missing child
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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.

Father believes Chloe taken by someone who knows the family

Rubbish tip scoured for missing child

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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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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NT by-election win for Country Libs

THE Northern Territory's Country Liberals government has held on to the seat of Blain, ensuring it won't have to govern from a minority position.

"Better luck next time" was Chief Minister Adam Giles' message to Labor, who despite a 10.1 per cent swing were unable to secure the seat.

Blain has never been lost by the Country Liberals since its creation in 1997.

Final results for Saturday's election night had port worker Nathan Barrett victorious with 53.2 per cent on a two-party preferred basis over Labor's Geoff Bahnert, on 46.8 per cent.

A jubilant Mr Barrett told reporters he was euphoric, and acknowledged he had big shoes to fill in taking over from former chief minister Terry Mills who resigned from the seat in February almost a year after being dumped from the top job.

"I really want to thank the people of Blain who came out and supported us today," Mr Barrett said at a victory function at the Palmerston home of NT Senator Natasha Griggs.

"I'll work my hardest, work my best ... to make sure I'm representing them well and do all I can to help that electorate. All those issues we face, we face together."

The win is "justice for good policy, good programs and good vision to try and drive the NT forward", Mr Giles said.

"To those people in Labor and the unions who fought so hard through lies and innuendo to try to derail our campaign, I say 'better luck next time', with all humility, because the negative campaign displayed in Blain was quite treacherous to democracy and really undermined the values that Territorians hold ever so dearly."

The government now holds a thin majority with 13 seats in the 25-seat Legislative Assembly.

Labor hailed the 10.1 per cent swing as a good sign for 2016's general election.

"A one-seat majority in the deeply divided CLP is a continuation of the chaos and dysfunction we've seen in the last 18 months," Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie told reporters.

"It's a recipe for disaster for the CLP."

She said her leadership remained strong despite losing what Mr Giles termed "an unloseable election for Labor".

She said had there been a general election the CLP would have lost seven seats.

"This is a strong result for Labor," she said.

"Make no bones about it, the CLP government is on notice by Territorians."

Labor's candidate Geoff Bahnert has been unsuccessful for the second time contesting Blain.

"Change is on the way," he told reporters.

"We want a better government for the people of the NT, and if it takes until 2016 to make that happen, I'm willing to wait."

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PM to push for freer trade in China speech

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott will wrap up the formal side of his North Asia visit with a dinner at China's ceremonious Great Hall of the People with President Xi Jinping.

Mr Abbott's visit to Shanghai on Friday will coincide with Australia Week in China, an inaugural trade fair being spearheaded by the largest business delegation ever sent abroad from Australia.

The prime minister will address the expected 1500 guests at the Shanghai showcase lunch, promoting the benefits of freer trade and greater investment with Australia's largest trading partner.

Nearly all state premiers and chief ministers, plus a delegation of Australia's leading corporate CEOs, are expected to attend.

The prime minister has spent a week in North Asia shoring up free trade deals and after finalising agreements with Japan and South Korea hopes to make significant progress with China.

Mr Abbott will then head to Beijing for bilateral talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping, before capping off the formalities of his visit to the region with dinner at the Great Hall of the People.

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Man shot in leg in Vic home invasion

A VICTORIAN man has suffered a minor gunshot wound during a home invasion.

A man and a woman were in their East Geelong home when two men, one armed with a firearm, burst in and shot at the man, police said.

The men them left the house.

The motive for the attack is unclear.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said the man, aged in his 20s, suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of his upper thigh and was taken to Geelong Hospital in a stable condition.

Geelong police are investigating.

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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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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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Great Wall's SUVs to be made in Malaysia

MALAYSIA has awarded a manufacturing licence to a 2 billion ringgit ($A662.27 million) venture that will assemble fuel-efficient SUVs for China's Great Wall Motor Co Ltd.

The licence was the first issued under the country's new car policy unveiled in January, aimed at making Malaysia a regional centre for energy-efficient vehicles.

Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamad said on Wednesday Go Automobile Manufacturing will invest 2 billion ringgit over the next four years to expand its manufacturing plant in northern Kedah state. It will have a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles when ready in 2018, with 60 per cent of the output to be exported to Southeast Asian countries, he said. About 4000 jobs will be created.

"This is a very important milestone" for Malaysia's vehicle industry, he said.

Mustapa said more manufacturing licences are expected to be issued this year to bolster the auto industry.

The new car policy is the latest step in a gradual liberalisation of Malaysia's protected car market. The government previously only issued new manufacturing licences for vehicles with engine size of 1.8 litres and above to protect national car makers Proton and Perodua.

But intense competition from neighbours Thailand and Indonesia is forcing Malaysia to loosen up its policy to woo investors.

Go Automobile's plant will assemble the Haval M4 and the H6 sports utility vehicles, with petrol and diesel engines at 1.5 and 2.0 litres, said Go's chief executive, Ahmad Azam Sulaiman.

He said the vehicles will have local content of up to 85 per cent by 2018 and will be initially exported to Thailand and Cambodia.

Great Wall Motors, the 8th largest auto company in China and its biggest sport utility vehicle maker, may take a stake in the Malaysian plant in the future, Ahmad Azam said.

Roger Wang, a senior executive with Great Wall Motors, said the company's sales reached 760,000 cars last year and is targeted to rise to 890,000 this year. The company is listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets.

Wang said Southeast Asia, with more than 500 million people, is a significant region for Great Wall Motors, which last year exported 70,000 cars.

Great Wall currently sells two models in Malaysia through a local distributor. The company is likely to make Malaysia its Southeast Asian production base, executives said.

The government hopes its new auto policy will boost total industry production to 1.25 million vehicles and exports to 250,000 vehicles by 2020.

Last year, Malaysia's vehicle production was around 570,000 vehicles and exports were 20,000 vehicles. That was dwarfed by Thailand which makes more than two million vehicles a year and by Indonesia with annual production exceeding one million.

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Thorpe 'quite sick', says agent

Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe is reportedly being treated for a serious infection. Source: AAP

SWIMMING great Ian Thorpe is "quite sick" in a Sydney hospital after contracting two potentially deadly infections and will never swim again competitively, his agent says.

The 31-year-old five-time Olympic gold medallist contracted the bugs after undergoing a series of surgeries on his shoulder at a hospital near his home in the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona.

He has returned to Sydney and is receiving treatment at an intensive care ward.

Thorpe has received a number of visitors in hospital and is said to be in good spirits, despite the apparent seriousness of his illness.

"It's serious but it's not life-threatening," Thorpe's agent James Erskine told AAP.

"He's contracted two forms of bugs in hospital.

"He's undergone two or three operations over the last two months so ... I mean bad luck.

"He's quite sick but that's the situation."

Mr Erskine rubbished reports Thorpe could lose the use of his arm because of the infections but said Thorpe would never swim again competitively.

"From a competitive point of view - he will not be swimming competitively again I don't think," Mr Erskine added.

"The shoulder operation was a major operation, he's got as many plates as Barry Sheene (the now deceased world champion motorcycle rider)."

It's understood the infection contracted by Thorpe is similar in nature to the potentially deadly Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug that has swept some hospitals in Europe.

It is the latest upset in Thorpe's life.

His father revealed in February that Thorpe was battling depression.

The popular swimmer sought help in early 2014 after being found disoriented near his parents' home in southern Sydney, having taken a combination of antidepressants and medication for a shoulder injury.

Thorpe was sent for medical assessment to Bankstown Hospital and then entered a rehabilitation program.

The swimmer made an ill-fated attempt to compete at the 2012 London Olympics.

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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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Nicole Appleton, Liam Gallagher divorce

NICOLE Appleton's six-year marriage to Liam Gallagher has ended on the grounds of his admitted adultery.

The couple were not at the Principal Registry of the High Court's Family Division for the brief hearing.

The 39-year-old All Saints singer and the Oasis star were the second in a "quickie divorces" list of 12 who were granted a decree nisi by District Judge Anne Aitken.

The former couple, who have a 12-year-old son, married at Old Marylebone Town Hall on St Valentine's Day in 2008 and lived in Hampstead, north London.

Among the documents made public on Tuesday was a sworn statement signed by Appleton last December in which she said that Gallagher "admitted adultery to me prior to it becoming publicised in national newspapers", adding that the woman with whom Gallagher committed adultery "now has a child" by him.

She said that she first knew about the adultery on July 17, 2013 and had not lived with Gallagher since as she found it "intolerable".

In papers acknowledging the proceedings, Gallagher replied "yes" when asked if he admitted the alleged adultery and said he did not intend to defend the case.

The marriage foundered after reports that Gallagher, 41, had fathered a daughter with an American journalist.

In the decree nisi document, the judge held that Appleton had "sufficiently proved" the contents of her petition and "is entitled to a decree of divorce, the marriage having irretrievably broken down, the facts found proved being the respondent's adultery".

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Canadian convicted of webcam murder

A MAN accused of attacking a Chinese student in her Toronto apartment as her ex-boyfriend watched via webcam from China has been convicted of first-degree murder.

The jury deliberated for four hours before delivering its verdict against Brian Dickson, 32, on Monday.

Justice Anne Molloy imposed a life sentence with a chance of parole after 25 years.

Liu Qian, 23, was found dead in April 2011, a few hours after her former boyfriend in China watched via webcam as she tried to fend off an attacker who appeared at her door. The boyfriend told police he saw Liu struggling with a man before her computer was shut off.

Liu's parents travelled from China for the trial. The father wiped away tears as the verdict was read.

"We are still very sad," Liu Jianhui said through a translator after hearing the verdict. His wife clutched a picture of their daughter and cried silently.

Dickson had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution rejected the lesser charge.

Dickson lived in an apartment in the same building as Liu, who had moved to Canada from China to study English. Her boyfriend, Meng Xian, testified that Dickson forced his way inside the apartment while Liu was pushing at his chest and saying "no".

Meng said Dickson pushed Liu down off camera and after the sound of two muffled bangs, he heard no more sounds from Liu.

After a period of silence, Meng said he heard Dickson breathing heavily, and moments later he appeared naked in front of the webcam and turned off the computer.

The jury saw video and photographs of Liu's body, lying face down next to her bed, with her nightgown and sweater pulled up to her shoulders. Blood could be seen on the floor around her face. The prosecutor said semen found on Liu's abdomen and groin area matched DNA evidence collected from Dickson.

Police said Liu's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack. Police said the online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded.

Dickson's lawyer, Robert Nuttall, said his client has been "absolutely remorseful for a very long time".

"He didn't say anything. He just accepted the verdict," Nuttall said.

He said it's too early to say if Dickson will appeal.

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Fate of European bees better than feared

THE decline in European bee populations is not as bad as feared, the European Union's executive says, as it published a report into bee health in 17 EU member states.

"We can take some encouragement from the limited winter bee mortality in several major beekeeping countries," said EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg on Monday, adding however, that some states "show high winter bee mortality".

Bees play an important role in the pollination of crops, and a decrease in their numbers has in recent years raised economic and food supply concerns. Last year, the European Commission banned four pesticides for having harmful effects on bee populations.

The study, carried out in the winter of 2012-13, shows a clear divide between bee populations in northern and southern Europe.

Less than 10 per cent of bees - the mortality threshold considered acceptable - died during the winter in Greece, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Slovakia.

However, more than 20 per cent - the limit above which rates are deemed unacceptable - failed to survive the winter in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Britain. The highest mortality rates were recorded in Belgium, at 33.6 per cent.

Lithuania, in north-eastern Europe, bucked the trend with the lowest winter mortality rate, at just 3.5 per cent.

The study looked at almost 32,000 cultivated bee colonies between autumn 2012 and summer 2013, but did not include wild bees - such as solitary bees or bumblebees - whose situation was "more worrying," according to Borg.

"Wild bees are of course key pollinators in many environments and may be particularly vulnerable," the commissioner said.

A repeat of the study is underway in the 17 countries participating in the program - which also include Germany, France, Poland, Portugal and Latvia.

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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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Malta PM, activists blinded by poor light

MALTESE Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and 40 Labour Party activists have been hospitalised suffering acute pain in the eyes most likely cause by excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays, Times of Malta reports.

All patients, including Muscat, were present at a political event in a village tent at the weekend. Faulty light filters were the most likely cause of the eye irritation, the news portal said on Monday. Police have opened an investigation.

"I could not even open my eyes and tears were flowing like tap water," said Labour Party politician Cyrus Engerer.

Muscat, 40, left hospital on Monday. Doctors recommended that he rest for a few days.

Some of the hospitalised party activists suffered temporary blindness.

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Guinea Ebola treatment centre attacked

A medical aid team treating patients suffering from Ebola virus in Guinea were attacked. Source: AAP

A CROWD of people angry about an Ebola outbreak that has killed 86 people across Guinea have attacked a centre where people were being held in isolation.

The violence took place in the southern town of Macenta, where at least 14 people have died since the outbreak emerged last month.

The mob of people who descended upon the clinic accused Doctors Without Borders health workers of bringing Ebola to Guinea, where there had never previously been any cases.

Guinea's government swiftly condemned the attack, saying that Doctors Without Borders and other international aid groups were key to stopping the spread of Ebola.

"The international community has rapidly mobilised to help us in these difficult moments with considerable medical support and specialists on the ground at the disease's epicentre," the statement said.

"That's why the government is calling on people to stay calm and allow our partners to help us eradicate this epidemic."

There is no cure for Ebola, which causes fever and severe bleeding, and up to 90 per cent of patients die from the strain that has been detected in Guinea.

A total of 86 people have died so far from Ebola in Guinea and two other confirmed deaths have been reported in neighbouring Liberia.

Authorities in Mali are also investigating three suspected cases of Ebola, and have sent samples overseas for testing.

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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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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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Queen's soldier in palace rifle drama

A Queen's Guard left his post to intervene in an altercation between a police officer a civilian. Source: AAP

A QUEEN'S Guard, wearing the distinctive red tunic and tall bearskin hat that tourists come from all over the world to see, has proved he's more than a pretty face.

The soldier left his post to intervene when a member of the public refused to stop shouting at a police officer stationed outside Buckingham Palace gates on Friday.

A photograph published in The Sun on Sunday shows the guard pointing his bayonet-fixed rifle towards the man's face while he stood next to the police officer.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police were made aware of a disturbance at the North-Centre Gate of Buckingham Palace at approximately 5.50pm on Friday, April 4.

"Officers from Royalty Protection spoke to a man and he was given words of advice and there were no arrests."

The Queen's Guard is not believed to be facing any action over the incident.

An Army spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident outside Buckingham Palace on Friday and while no one came to any harm and there were no arrests, we are very clear that the Metropolitan Police lead on Royal Security arrangements including outside the Palace itself."

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

The North-Centre Gate is now the everyday entrance to the Palace.

The Queen's Guard are a contingents of soldiers charged with guarding the Palace but carry a largely ceremonial role.

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