Pakistan army assists polio vaccinators

THE Pakistani army is to assist in providing security to polio vaccinators in the country, after a series of deadly attacks against those involved in campaigns against the crippling disease.

Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), military, as well as civilian and tribal officials met at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad to discuss security and access to affected areas during anti-polio campaigns.

Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman, said the army had been asked to assist the civil government in making this campaign a success.

Bajwa said Pakistan may face an international travel ban because of the prevalence of the polio virus.

Last month, rebels killed at least 12 policemen guarding polio workers in two separate attacks in the restive north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Islamist militants have targeted vaccination teams in the past.

Insurgents accuse health workers of acting as spies for Western nations, and claim the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.

Following widespread vaccination campaigns since the 1950s, polio is now endemic only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

The contagious, crippling disease mainly affects children aged younger than five.

It cannot be cured, but it can be prevented with vaccination.

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Two Aussie films premiere at Cannes

A THRILLER pitting Australian star Guy Pearce against Hollywood heart-throb Robert Pattinson will premiere at Cannes alongside the latest effort from Rolf de Heer.

The premiere of the thriller has secured Animal Kingdom creator David Michod his first invitation to the prestigious international film festival, where The Rover will screen out of competition.

"David Michod has created an extraordinary film," Roadshow Films Managing Directed Joel Pearlman said in a statement on Thursday.

"We congratulate him, the producers, cast and crew on this incredible achievement."

Michod will be joined on the red carpet in Cannes by Pearce and Pattinson, best known for the Twilight movies but also recently showing his dramatic skills in David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis.

In his fourth visit to Cannes, de Heer will be showing the David Gulpilil collaboration Charlie's Country in Un Certain Regard, where he won the Special Jury Prize for Ten Canoes in 2006.

"As a great celebration of cinema, the Cannes Film Festival has historically been a wonderful launching pad into the world market for films I've directed," de Heer said in a statement.

"I'm consequently very pleased that Charlie's Country has been selected, because it means the film will be seen."

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 14 to 25 and opens with Grace of Monaco, starring Nicole Kidman.

New Zealand director Jane Campion is heading the jury.

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PepsiCo's profit rises on snack sales

PEPSICO has reported a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit as the company slashed costs and sold more snacks around the world.

The company, which makes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Tropicana, said global snack volume rose two per cent in the period.

Global beverage volume was even from a year ago, including in its closely watched North American drinks unit.

Coca-Cola also reported flat volume in the North America market earlier this week.

Both companies have been offsetting ongoing declines in their flagship soda businesses by relying more heavily on other beverages, such as sports drinks, juices and bottled waters.

Even though beverage volume was flat in North America, PepsiCo managed to push up revenue, partly by introducing pricier new drinks such as Mountain Dew Kickstart, which is positioned as an energy drink for younger men.

Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston noted that a can of Kickstart costs $US1.99 ($A2.13), versus $US3.50 for a 12-pack of Mountain Dew.

He also noted that the company's stepped-up marketing has strengthened the company's brands, which in turn had allowed PepsiCo to charge higher prices.

The company planned to raise prices this year between two and three per cent in both snacks and drinks, he said.

For the quarter, the company earned $US1.22 billion, or 79 cents per share.

Not including one-time items, it earned 83 cents per share, above the 75 cents per share Wall Street expected.

A year ago, it earned $US1.08 billion, or 69 cents per share.

Revenue edged up to $US12.62 billion, higher than the $US12.39 billion analysts expected.

PepsiCo, based in New York, stood by its outlook for the year. It expects adjusted earnings per share to grow by seven per cent.

Shares rose two per cent to $US86.60 in premarket trading.

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Royals to visit Easter Show

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join thousands of Australians at the Royal Easter show, though it's not known if they'll have a chance to taste a Dagwood dog.

William and Kate are scheduled to meet students and teachers on Friday before viewing exhibits and a crafts exhibition at the show.

The pair will then view sheep shearing and wool handling, meet the 2013 Wool4Skool program winner - who designed a dress for the Duchess of Cambridge - and sign the visitor book.

They will then trade the show bags and rides for a visit to Manly's Bear Cottage palliative care hospice in the afternoon, where they will meet young patients, families, volunteers and staff.

Sydneysiders will be able to catch a glimpse of the royals when they visit Manly beach and view Surf Lifesaving activities on the sand.

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India election marred by rebel threats

INDIANS have cast their ballots on the biggest day of voting in the country's general election, streaming into polling stations even in areas where leftist rebels threatened violence.

Nationwide voting began on April 7 and runs through to May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament to be announced four days later.

Among the 13 key states voting on Thursday was Chhattisgarh, now the centre of a four-decade Maoist insurgency that has affected more than a dozen of India's 28 states.

With roadside bombings, jungle ambushes and hit-and-run raids, the rebels aim for nothing short of sparking a full-blown peasant revolt as they accuse the government and corporations of plundering resources and stomping on the rights of the poor.

But authorities say that amid the bloodshed, there are signs that the rebels have waning support - including lines of voters shuffling into polling booths in rebel strongholds.

"I want a good life for my baby, security and peace," said Neha Ransure, a 25-year-old woman who was voting in the Chhattisgarh town of Rajnandgaon.

"The rebels are bad. They kill our soldiers. I don't go outside of town. It is too dangerous."

Rebels always threaten to disrupt Indian elections, and this year is no different.

While Rajnandgaon was peaceful on Thursday, rebels set off a bomb near a group of polling officials and security forces in the neighbouring district of Kanker but no one was hurt, police said.

Another blast injured three paramilitary soldiers and a driver in the state of Jharkhand, where they also blew up railway lines.

More than 4800 people, including about 2850 civilians, have been killed nationwide since 2008 in what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called India's biggest internal security threat.

Despite the rebel calls for an election boycott, voter turnout was 59 per cent last week in the rebel's unruly heartland of Bastar.

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Aust journalist faces 7 years in Thai jail

AN Australian journalist accused of defaming the Royal Thai Navy remains defiant, saying the case against him risks Thailand's reputation as a democracy.

Alan Morison, 66, formerly of Melbourne, and local reporter Chutima Sidasathien, face prison terms of up to seven years as well as fines of 100,000 baht (A$3,300) if found guilty of criminal defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Both were released on bail on Thursday from holding cells at a Phuket court.

Morison is editor of the online English language news service Phuketwan which last July published a story which carried excerpts from a Reuters report alleging the Thai military was involved in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority to Malaysia.

Outbreaks of ethnic conflict in Myanmar in recent years have led to thousands of Rohingya, who are largely denied citizenship in Myanmar, to flee the country.

The Reuters report alleged Thai naval forces and police cooperate with people smugglers to hold Rohingya in camps while ransoms are demanded from their families.

Speaking to AAP soon after his release on bail, Morison said the Thai navy was acting as if its reputation "is much more important than Thailand's reputation as a democracy".

But he also lashed out at Reuters, saying that like the navy, the news agency was putting its reputation "above the principles of media freedom".

"We still have Reuters not really coming out and saying 'this is our paragraph and we'll fight to the death to make sure that everybody who publishes it has the right to (do) so."

Morison believes the charges, filed by the navy, are a "set up" and part of efforts to shut down his website.

Human rights organisations and the media have called for the charges to be dropped.

A spokesman from US-based Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, called the trial "unjustified".

The navy "should have debated these journalists publicly if they had concerns with the story rather than insisting on their prosecution under the draconian Computer Crimes Act and criminal libel statutes," Mr Adams said.

The Bangkok-based Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand said it shared the view of the UN Human Rights Commissioner "that such a prosecution serves only to stifle media freedom on an issue of profound importance to the rights of a persecuted people".

The next hearing date is set for May 26.

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Vic govt to consider IBAC changes

VICTORIA'S corruption watchdog could be beefed up after complaining it can't investigate some claims.

The Victorian government says it will consider changes to the integrity regime after the year-old watchdog called for stronger investigative powers.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) says there are cases where it has felt unable to investigate corruption claims because the allegations do not meet a high enough threshold under the legislation.

The IBAC also wants parliament to consider making it mandatory for heads of public sector bodies and local councils to notify it of corrupt conduct, as is already the case in other states.

The change should apply at the very least for more serious matters within the public sector, IBAC says.

Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark said the government would carefully consider the various recommendations and suggestions made by IBAC.

In its report on its first year of operation, IBAC says it has been hamstrung by restrictions in the legislation which set it up.

"There have been corrupt conduct allegations where IBAC has not felt able to commence investigations because of threshold restrictions in the IBAC Act," IBAC says in the report released Tuesday.

Not all the cases were suitable to be referred elsewhere and this may have undermined its objectives, it says.

IBAC also wants powers to investigate misconduct in public office, as is the case under other Australian integrity regimes.

In addition, it flagged the need for stronger protection for whistleblowers.

The watchdog says there are cases where people who have disclosed information appear not to qualify for whistleblower protection and this may deter whistleblowers coming forward with valuable information.

Mr Clark said the government has made clear it will monitor the IBAC legislation and take into account feedback from the IBAC commissioner about amendments.

"The government will now carefully consider the various recommendations and suggestions made by IBAC," he said.

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Chinese pork firm execs get $US597m reward

CHINESE pork producer WH Group has issued shares worth $US597 million ($A636.02 million) to two of its executives as a reward for their contribution in the acquisition of US giant Smithfield Foods, a company filing shows.

WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings, is the world's largest pork producer, and the company is seeking a Hong Kong listing to raise more than $US5 billion in what would be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) for a year.

In a listing document published Tuesday on the WH Group website, the firm said chief executive and chairman Wan Long was issued 573.1 million shares last October.

Yang Zhijun, an executive director in charge of investment, mergers and acquisitions, was also issued 245.6 million shares in the same month, the document showed.

The allotment will give Wan and Yang an approximately 3.92 per cent and 1.68 per cent stake respectively in WH Group upon completion of the firm's IPO.

The company said the share awards, with an estimated fair value of $US597 million at grant date, were "to recognise and reward their contributions to the acquisition of Smithfield".

The share allotment to Wan and Yang, part of WH Group's $US639 million share-based payouts last year, had cut into the company's profits, leading to a loss of $US67 million in 2013 compared to $US468 million of profit in 2012.

In May last year WH Group, under the Shuanghui name, agreed to buy Smithfield Foods in a deal valuing Smithfield at $US7.1 billion, making it the largest-ever Chinese acquisition of a US company.

The pork firm could not be reached for comment but its chief financial officer Guo Lijun had told state media the one-off non-cash share awards would have no impact on its operational results after it went public.

Based in central China's Henan province, WH Group is involved in the production, slaughter and distribution of pork, a key ingredient in Chinese cuisine. It is also a shareholder of Spanish meat firm Campofrio Food, according to its website.

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By George - a right royal welcome

Power prices to drop in NSW

AFTER years of big price rises NSW households can expect cheaper electricity from July, even before the carbon tax is axed.

Taking Sydney to new heights

THE talk is over. The decision has been made. Sydney is getting an airport at Badgerys Creek. This decision will create jobs.

Bondi hoarder's assault claims

A MEMBER of the infamous 'Bondi hoarders' family has been treated for a cut to her hand, after allegedly having a run in with a garbage removalist today.

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It's a royal croc block for George

Prince George and the NT's crocodile George will not meet in Sydney due to quarantine restrictions. Source: AAP

THE royals aren't the only ones who cause a kerfuffle when travelling - it has proven so difficult to fly George the royal crocodile from Darwin to Sydney to meet his namesake that the two remain tragically separated by the tyranny of distance.

Young Prince George won't be accompanying his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, when they visit the Northern Territory next week.

That means he won't be able to meet his crocodile namesake at Crocasaurus Cove, named George after he hatched on December 12, the day the royal pregnancy was announced.

"We did try to get the crocodile George to meet Prince George in Sydney, but unfortunately quarantine regulations did not allow the crocodile to get into Taronga Zoo," Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles told reporters in Darwin on Tuesday.

"We don't know if there's any friendly political rivalry there, because I understand (NSW Premier) Barry O'Farrell is very keen for the bilby to be showcased to the royals, and the Territory wanted to showcase our crocs, because we do have the best and biggest crocodiles ... it's very unfortunate the crocodile won't get to meet the royals."

Flying crocodile George to Uluru to meet William and Kate is too logistically difficult, Mr Giles said.

Instead, the chief minister will take a group of nine secondary school students from around the NT for a half-hour meeting with the royal couple.

"This is an unreal opportunity," said Emma Kellaway, a year 12 student at Taminmin College.

"I'm very excited," said Tarra Brain, from Casuarina Senior College.

Grace Tozer, from Palmerston Senior College, wants to ask the duchess what it's like being swept up in the royal life despite not being born into it.

When teachers approached the family of Chevez Kirkman, from the remote community of Mutitjulu near Uluru, they weren't sure how they would react.

"We thought, oh jeez, some people still think of it as the invasion and all that, but when his father heard he'd been selected he was absolutely beside himself with excitement," Terry Brown, deputy principal of Nyangatjatjara College, told AAP.

The duke and duchess touch down in Yulara on Tuesday, and will present graduation certificates to students of the National Indigenous Training Academy before walking around Uluru.

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Coca-Cola's profit dips

COCA-COLA'S first-quarter profit has fallen nearly eight per cent as the world's biggest beverage maker faced a stronger dollar and sold less soda.

But the company sold more of its non-carbonated drinks worldwide, and its earnings matched expectations.

The Atlanta-based company says global sales volume rose two per cent. In its flagship North American market, soda volume slipped 1 per cent as the company raised prices.

Coca-Cola, which also makes drinks including Sprite and Powerade, has been under pressure to deliver stronger results, particularly back at home where Americans have been cutting back on soda for years.

The company isn't alone in its struggles to boost soda sales. PepsiCo, which reports its earnings on Thursday, has seen even steeper declines in its soda business despite stepped-up marketing, including sponsorship of the Super Bowl half-time show.

Both companies sell a wide array of beverages, including sports drinks, bottled water and orange juice. But sodas remain a big part of their businesses, and they're scrambling to figure out ways to stop the declines.

To boost sales, the company plans slash costs and put the savings into marketing in the year ahead. It also introduced a version of its namesake soda sweetened with a mix of stevia and sugar in Argentina, with plans to eventually introduce the drink elsewhere.

For the quarter ended March 28, net income fell to $US1.62 billion ($A1.73 billion), or 36 US cents per share. That compares with net income of $US1.77 billion, or 39 US cents per share a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, net income totalled 44 US cents per share, matching analyst expectations.

Revenue fell four per cent to $US10.58 billion. Analysts expected $US10.5 billion. Companies like Coca-Cola that do a large portion of their business overseas take a hit to revenue when the dollar is strong, because foreign currencies convert back into fewer dollars.

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Call for more money for Vic mine clean-up

COMMUNITY groups want a $90 million fund for new brown coal technology in Victoria's Latrobe Valley to be instead used to pay for the Hazelwood coalmine fire clean-up.

The Voices of the Valley spokesman Simon Ellis said $2 million in support announced by the Victorian government had already been spent, but the clean-up was not close to being finished.

The federal and Victorian governments each pledged $45 million to the Advanced Lignite Demonstration Program back in 2012, to entice companies to develop ways to use brown coal from the valley more profitably with reduced emissions.

"It would be an insult to Latrobe Valley residents if the state and federal government's first significant response to the Hazelwood fire was to find new coal mines and technologies," Mr Ellis said.

He said the priority should be to clean up Morwell homes and prevent any further fires at the Hazelwood mine.

At Wednesday's Hazelwood mine inquiry community consultation session in Traralgon, The Voices of the Valley will deliver hundreds of affidavits, survey responses, photos and videos collected from residents to help the inquiry with its investigation into how the fire unfolded.

The fire ignited when bushfires spread to a disused section of the mine on February 9 and burned for 45 days, shrouding nearby communities in smoke and forcing some residents to leave Morwell.

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Youth jobs in national service: Lambie

COMBAT youth unemployment with national service.

That's what Palmer United Party senator-elect Jacqui Lambie suggests.

The former Australian Army soldier who joins the upper house in July wants to see a greater utilisation of military national service.

"You can put them in for 12 months, I'm not saying they sign on for war," she told ABC TV on Monday night.

Such a stint would arm young people with valuable experience for the workforce, Ms Lambie said.

"It's got to be better than being on the dole."

Ms Lambie said she hasn't discussed her plan with party leader Clive Palmer or other PUP colleagues, but wanted to throw the idea into the public arena.

She said volunteer and charity sectors are also crying out for manpower.

"We need to do a bit of tough love," Ms Lambie said.

"If you're not going to go out and volunteer yourself for charity services ... then you know what, it's time to cut your dole back."

The idea does not stretch to conscription, but Ms Lambie said young people should stand for their country.

"If war shows up on our shores then we're in trouble," she added, citing a shortage of military personnel.

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Citigroup's earnings edge higher

CITIGROUP says its first-quarter earnings rose, beating the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

The bank made $US4.1 billion ($A4.38 billion) in the first quarter, after stripping out the effects of an accounting change and a tax item. That was up 2.5 per cent from the same period a year earlier, when it made $US4 billion.

On a per-share basis, that amounted to $US1.30 compared with $US1.29 a year ago. That was better than estimates of analysts polled by FactSet, who had been expecting $US1.14.

Revenue was $US20.1 billion. That was down 2 per cent from the same period last year when the bank generated revenue of $US20.6 billion.

Analysts had forecast revenue of $US19.5 billion.

Citi's stock rose $US1.27, or 2.8 per cent, to $US46.97 in pre-market trading.

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US retail sales up a strong 1.1 per cent

US retail sales in March rose by the largest amount in 18 months, led by strong gains in sales of cars, furniture and a number of other products.

The Commerce Department said on Monday that retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in March, the best showing since September 2012. The government also revised February to a 0.7 per cent gain, more than double its previous estimate. Sales had fallen in January and December.

Sales of cars climbed 3.1 per cent while sales at general merchandise stores, a category that covers retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target and department stores, increased 1.9 per cent, the strongest one-month gain since March 2007, before the country went through the recession.

The strong March gain was evidence that the economy is emerging from a harsh winter with some momentum.

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Cane toads continue to spread poison in WA

TOXIC cane toads have reportedly wiped out entire species of animals in the world heritage-listed Purnululu National Park, home to Western Australia's famed Bungle Bungles.

Kimberley Toad Busters (KTB) founder Lee Scott-Virtue said cane toad numbers had reached staggering numbers as they invaded every habitat system.

The first toad arrived just east of the Bungle Bungles - the large cone-shaped quartz sandstone ranges formed from erosion over 20 million years - in May last year.

The poisonous creatures had already wiped out some entire species of animals in the areas they infected including quolls and some reptiles such as king brown snakes.

Ms Scott-Virtue said visitors and people working in the park were horrified by the number of toads that had appeared since the wet season.

She warned numbers would continue to increase if nothing was done about their breeding.

"It's going to happen in every national park," Ms Scott-Virtue told AAP on Monday.

One operator commented that despite busting toads every night, there seemed to be just as many the next night, Ms Scott-Virtue said.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) has put in live toad drop boxes in the park but Ms Scott-Virtue said those toads were usually only found in permanent camp sites at night, which made up about one per cent of the total area of the park.

Killing toads in the national park remains prohibited and DPaW have banned the use of Dettol in the park - the only effective method of killing the metamorph, Ms Scott-Virtue said.

KTB was granted permits to work in the park but found the restrictions too prohibitive because they had to take the toad catch out of the park to euthanase and were not allowed to use Dettol to deal with the immature metamorphs.

They were also restricted to specific areas that contained designated vehicular tracks, which meant there was no access to a large part of the park to undertake appropriate toad busting, she said.

KTB has been trialling the use of Dettol on metamorphs congregating around water edges since 2006.

The group says there has been little residual evidence of Dettol afterwards and no evidence of bi-catch.

Cane toads were introduced to Queensland in 1935 and began spreading to the Northern Territory before invading northern WA in 2009.

They are now advancing into the state at a rate of about 50 kilometres a year.

The KTB has not had any government funding since last June.

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Bee threats to be outlined

BEE business and a potential billion dollar threat to agriculture is on the agenda of a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

At a town hall in Murray Bridge, west of Adelaide, senators will start to hear evidence from those in the bee and honey industry, including their fears of an infestation of the disease-spreading Varroa mite.

Ten submissions have been received, with some indicating a mite infestation is most likely to reach Australia via established bee hives carried on international shipping.

Such a breakout could cost Australian agriculture billions of dollars through subsequent loss of pollination and propagation of crops, independent senator Nick Xenophon says.

Australia needs to strengthen its biosecurity regulations, demanding that overseas shipping companies remove bee hives from ships before arrival, Senator Xenophon said.

The beekeeping and pollination inquiry is also scheduled to sit in Brisbane in May.

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Chinese pork giant plans IPO

THE world's biggest pork producer says it plans to raise up to $US5.3 billion ($A5.66 billion) in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

China's WH Group said late on Monday it was selling 3.65 million shares priced at between 8 and 11.25 Hong Kong dollars ($A1.10 -$A1.55).

That would raise between $US4.1 billion and $US5.3 billion for WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings.

The company is a pork behemoth after buying the largest US pork company, Smithfield Foods Inc., less than a year ago for $US4.7 billion in cash.

Most of the proceeds from the IPO will be used to pay off the loan that the company took out to buy Smithfield Foods.

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