Malaysia discusses aid for relatives

A SENIOR Malaysian official has met with relatives of people aboard a missing jetliner to discuss financial aid, as the search entered the 44th day without positive results.

Hamzah Zainuddin, deputy minister for foreign affairs, said the relatives present during the meeting on Sunday in the capital of Kuala Lumpur agreed to submit individual proposals for a financial assistance package.

"We touched on the topic of financial assistance in the meeting this morning, and (the relatives) have decided that they will propose a plan for financial assistance, which will be emailed to us as soon as possible," he said in a statement.

Hamzah, who also the chairman of a committee in charge of dealing with the next of kin, said his team has met with embassies of countries whose citizens were among those aboard the missing plane.

Hamzah said he assigned an emissary to meet with Chinese government officials, whose citizens comprised two-thirds of the 239 people aboard the missing plane, to discuss ways and means to assist the next of kin of passengers from China.

He added he would be going to Beijing soon to meet Chinese officials, to ensure that relations between Malaysia and China "will continue to be strong and unaffected by the MH370 issue".

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines jetliner went missing without a trace about an hour after it took off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8. Malaysia Airlines is a state-run company.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the disappearance of the plane appeared to be a deliberate act and the aircraft was believed to have been lost in the Indian Ocean.

The Australian-led Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), which coordinates the search operations, said on Sunday the submersible drone Bluefin-21 has completed its seventh underwater mission with "no contacts of interest have been found".

"Bluefin-21 has searched approximately 50 per cent of the focused underwater search area to date," the JACC said in a statement.

Aside from Bluefin-21, up to 11 military aircraft and 12 ships assisted in the search for the missing aircraft.

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NAB lags on business customer ratings

NATIONAL Australia Bank continues to lag behind its major rivals when it comes to business customer satisfaction, despite a slight improvement.

NAB, Australia's biggest business lender, had an average customer satisfaction rating of 7.0 out of 10 in March, which lagged behind ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, which all scored 7.4.

But according to the monthly DBM Consultants Business Financial Services Monitor (BFSM), NAB has improved its standing among small and medium sized business.

DBM Consultants director Maria Claridad said the NAB ranked alongside the Commonwealth and Westpac in both categories, with ANZ lagging behind.

However, the bank's performance had been weighed down by its relatively weak standing among micro businesses.

"The key is to delight the micro businesses, as they make up close to 90 per cent of all Australian businesses," she said.

"NAB's score amongst these businesses is 6.9, although it has shown signs of improving in recent months."

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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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