Chrysler reports $690m 1Q loss

CHRYSLER Group has posted big first quarter sales gains thanks to new Jeep Cherokee and Ram utility models.

However, its results have been overshadowed by charges related to its merger with Italian automaker Fiat SpA.

Chrysler lost $US690 million ($A746.55 million) in the January-March period, the company announced on Monday. Without one-time charges related to the merger, its net income more than doubled to $US486 million.

In January, Fiat paid $US3.65 billion to a union-run health care trust to acquire Chrysler's remaining shares. As part of the deal, Chrysler agreed to pay $US700 million to upgrade its factories.

Aurburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler took a $US672 million charge in the first quarter to meet those commitments. It also booked a $US540 million non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt related to the merger.

Revenue rose 23 per cent to $US19 billion.

Worldwide vehicle sales jumped 10 per cent to 621,000.

In the US, Chrysler's biggest market, the company's sales rose 11 per cent, far outpacing the one per cent average gain for the industry.

Chrysler saw strong sales of the new Jeep Cherokee SUV, which went on sale at the end of last year. Ram truck sales were also up 25 per cent in the US

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Alcohol abuse death toll revealed

MORE than three million deaths worldwide in 2012 were due to harmful use of alcohol - and Europe is the region with the highest consumption of alcohol per capita, according to a report.

Alcohol consumption can not only lead to dependence but also increases the risk of developing more than 200 diseases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

A report launched by WHO found harmful use of alcohol - drinking that causes detrimental health and social consequences for the drinker, the people around the drinker and society at large - led to 3.3 million deaths worldwide in 2012.

Globally, Europe is the region with the highest consumption of alcohol per capita, with some of its countries having particularly high consumption rates, according to WHO.

Trend analysis shows that the consumption level is stable over the last five years in the region, as well as in Africa and the Americas, though increases have been reported in the South-East Asia and the Western Pacific regions.

Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO assistant director-general for non-communicable diseases and mental health, said there is "no room for complacency".

"More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption."

On average every person in the world aged 15 or older drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol per year.

But 38.3 per cent of the population actually drinks alcohol, meaning those who do drink consume on average 17 litres of pure alcohol annually, WHO said.

The report also points out that a higher percentage of deaths among men than among women are from alcohol-related causes - 7.6 per cent of men's deaths and 4 per cent of women's deaths - though there is evidence that women may be more vulnerable to some alcohol-related health conditions.

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Indon Navy finds rejected asylum seekers

THE Indonesian navy says it has found a group of 20 stranded asylum seekers whose boat was apparently turned back by Australian authorities.

The discovery follows Prime Minister Tony Abbott postponing a meeting with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that was scheduled for Tuesday.

The federal government blames the imminent budget for the change of heart over the Bali meeting.

But it's understood the government feared the embarrassment that would have been caused by the meeting as Australian officials were engaging in a policy that angers Indonesia.

The Indonesian Navy on Monday night released a statement saying it had found a group of asylum seekers - 16 Indians, two Nepalese and two Albanians.

The group told Naval officers they had left from South Sulawesi on April 26 without the two Albanians.

They say they were met by two Australian vessels near Ashmore Reef on Thursday.

They were escorted to Indonesian territory where on Sunday, the Albanians and one Indonesian got on board, and the Australian boat parted ways with them.

Their boat ran out of fuel and stranded on Lay Island in East Nusa Tenggara where the Indonesian naval officers found them.

Most are men aged in their 20s, the officers say.

The Bali meeting could have made meaningful progress towards mending ties with Indonesia following last year's spy scandal.

Mr Abbott's office announced the postponement late on Friday, after The West Australian newspaper reported authorities were headed to waters between Java and Ashmore Reef to intercept an asylum vessel.

The government wouldn't confirm the "turnback" operation.

Its Operation Sovereign Borders policy has complicated the relationship with Indonesia further.

Indonesia's Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Monday again urged Australia not to act unilaterally while joint border patrols remained suspended.

"We want Australia to be wiser in dealing with the issue," he said, as quoted by Indonesia's Antara news agency.

"We feel that they must be done correctly and we appeal to the government of Tony Abbott to understand our stance."

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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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Fatty food fires up body's defences: study

HIGH-FAT food provokes the same defence reaction in the body as a bacterial invasion.

The airways become inflamed as protective cells are deployed, says Associate Professor Lisa Wood, a speaker at a meeting of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

She studied how people responded to a meal of two breakfast burgers and two hash browns, in what she calls an acute fat challenge.

"The fat activates the same defence mechanism that responds to bacteria," says Prof Wood, a nutrition expert at the University of Newcastle's Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases.

"The fat in the blood peaks after about four hours. If this inflammation happens after every meal it becomes a chronic problem."

Prof Wood's acute fat challenge shows people with asthma should avoid fatty food before using ventolin, a drug that increases air flow to the lungs.

They get the same initial benefit as other people, but the effectiveness wears off as the fat content of the blood increases.

"By four hours we've got this inflammation occurring and lung function returns to pre-treatment levels.

"That's pretty important. It suggests that if people are eating these types of meals their bronchodilator is not going to work effectively."

Another study by Prof Wood shows significant benefits for asthmatic people who eat lots of vegetables and fruit.

The three-month study shows people on a diet that includes five serves of vegetables and two of fruit a day have fewer asthma attacks than those who eat two serves of fruit and one of vegetables.

There is increasing evidence that diet is important for asthma management, she says.

"Low fruit and vegetable intake increases inflammation and increases your risk having an attack."

Prof Wood presented research at the meeting that shows poor quality diets could be contributing to increased asthma prevalence.

Her team studied 99 people with stable asthma and 61 healthy controls.

They found those with asthma were more likely to eat higher volumes of processed food, fat and refined sugar than the controls.

"The usual diet consumed by asthmatics in this study was pro-inflammatory relative to the diet consumed by the healthy controls."

This could contribute to an increased incidence of asthma.

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Afghan bombings kill 18, injure 9

AT least 15 civilians and three policemen have been killed and nine others wounded in two separate attacks in Afghanistan, officials say.

"A roadside bomb struck a bus at 6pm (0030 AEST) in Maiwand district, in which 13 people - all civilians - were killed and five others injured," Zia ul Rahman Durrani, a police spokesman for Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, said.

"Locals were travelling from one village to another when the bomb hit their vehicle," Durrani said.

Officials in Kandahar hospital said two of the wounded later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

In another attack in the western province of Herat, three police officers were killed and four others were injured after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.

"The police were patrolling in Shindand district today when a bomb placed on a roadside hit their vehicle," said Abdul Raouf Ahmadi, a local police spokesman.

Also in Kandahar, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden mini-van in front of a convoy of coalition forces.

"The bomber exploded his mini-van targeting a US convoy in Maiwand district," an Afghan police spokesman said.

The bomber died but nobody was hurt in the attack.

"We can confirm an ISAF convoy was targeted by a vehicle-loaded today in southern Afghanistan, but no casualties were reported," a NATO spokesperson said.

The attacks came two days after around 7 million Afghans cast their ballots to choose a new president.

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PM continues trade tour of north Asia

A FREE trade deal between Australia and South Korea will be formally signed when Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrives in Seoul for the next leg of his regional visit.

Mr Abbott and South Korean President Park Geun-hye will on Tuesday discuss trade and security in bilateral talks before witnessing the signing of the trade agreement struck in December.

The prime minister is also expected to address a business forum before sitting down for an official dinner with President Park later that evening.

The prime minister arrives in South Korea after two days in Tokyo, where he finalised a free trade agreement with Japan and elevated the defence and security relationship.

Mr Abbott is expected to spend around a day in South Korea, Australia's fourth-largest trading partner, before departing for China.

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Royals rest up for whirlwind NZ tour

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their baby Prince George will have a day of rest after their long flight from Britain before their whirlwind tour of New Zealand begins in earnest.

The royal family have no public engagements planned and will spend Tuesday recuperating after their 27-hour trip at Government House in Wellington, where they were officially welcomed to the country on Monday.

They'll ease into their busy tour schedule with an informal Plunket meeting on Wednesday afternoon, where Kate and William will chat to other first-time parents while George plays with kids his own age.

Government House will act as a home base where George will stay while the duke and duchess travel around on mainly day trips.

The Edwardian two-storey building is surrounded by 12 hectares of grounds, and has a tennis court, squash court and swimming pool if the royal visitors want any exercise away from the public gaze.

The royals flew to Sydney on a commercial flight and switched to a VIP Royal New Zealand Air Force flight for the final leg to the capital.

The jet landed only 20 minutes late despite fog threatening to force it to land at Ohakea military base, a two-hour drive out of Wellington.

The wet weather that greeted the duke and duchess upon their arrival is expected to linger for the next few days.

The tour takes in eight locations around the country. It is Kate's first time in New Zealand.

It's also eight-month-old George's first official overseas trip. He's following in the tradition of his father who also visited the country as a baby.

The duke, duchess and George are due to fly out on April 16 for Sydney to begin their 10-day Australian leg.

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Dentist tool broke off in patient's mouth

A NEW Zealand teen suffered pain when a dentist tool broke off during root canal treatment, but he only found out about the mistake from another dentist.

The instrument broke off in the patient's root canal, but the dentist never told the teen and didn't write it down in clinical records, an NZ Health and Disability Commission report found.

The boy, aged 16-17, began to feel pain and the dentist treated him three further times, attempting to remove the instrument.

But the dentist never told the boy the reason for the treatment, the options available, or the risks involved - even when the boy and his parents asked directly about the reason for the re-treatment.

The boy found out about the mistake only when he went to another dentist for a second opinion.

The report found the dentist breached the health code by failing to let the boy know about the mistake, failing to keep him informed and failing to keep proper records.

The dentist has now been referred to the Director of Proceedings who'll decide whether further action should be taken.

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