Cabbie car-jacked in NSW Hunter region

A taxi driver has been beaten up, robbed and car-jacked in the NSW Hunter region. Source: AAP

A TAXI driver had his nose broken during a terrifying ordeal in which he was beaten up, robbed, kidnapped and car-jacked by a drunken passenger in NSW's Hunter region.

The cabbie picked up a man in Kurri Kurri on Saturday morning and was asked to drive to Newcastle.

Police say that on the way, the passenger asked to be driven to a caravan park in Maitland to collect money for the fare.

Once at the caravan park, the driver and passenger went inside a cabin where it's alleged the passenger pulled out a knife, kicked the taxi driver in the head and took his wallet.

The passenger then allegedly forced the taxi driver into the passenger seat, cut the wires to the taxi meter, radio and CCTV system; and started speeding north on the Pacific Highway.

Police used road spikes to stop the taxi after detecting it travelling at 185km/h on the Pacific Highway at Moorland.

A 28-year-old man was arrested and taken to Taree Police Station, where a breath-analysis test returned an reading of 0.106.

He is still being questioned and is expected to be charged later on Saturday.

The taxi driver was taken to Manning Base Hospital suffering swelling, abrasions and bleeding to his face, and a broken nose.

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Oprah helps Barbara Walters say goodbye

Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton have surprised Barbara Walters as she taped her final edition of The View.

OPRAH Winfrey and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have surprised Barbara Walters as the legendary American newswoman taped her final edition of The View to end a five-decade career on television.

Actor Michael Douglas, a longtime friend and frequent subject for Walters' interviews, also dropped by for the tribute.

Looking smart in a cream-coloured blazer and a black skirt, the 84-year-old Walters was presiding over a studio audience of friends, colleagues and fans on hand to witness a bit of history.

Although she will retain a behind-the-scenes role as executive producer of the talk show she created 17 years ago, she is ending her daily on-air involvement, while limiting her appearances to the occasional story or interview.

Oprah has helped journalist Barbara Walters tape her final edition of the View and retire from TV.

"I can't believe this day has come, and I can't believe it's for real," Clinton told Walters, who began her career in 1962.

Typically, Walters couldn't let Clinton get away without fielding the question on so many minds: Is she running for president in 2016?

"I am running," smiled Clinton. "Around the park."

A bit later, Douglas brought the subject up again with Walters.

"If Hillary runs," he said, "I bet you'd be a great vice president."

Some of the best moments happened during commercial breaks, never to be seen by viewers. Then audience members could snap photos and interact with Walters and her co-panellists (Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy).

The audience erupted at the sight of Winfrey, who told Walters, "You're the reason I wanted to be in television."

"You shattered the glass ceiling for so many women," said Winfrey, who then brought on a startling parade of them, some two dozen prominent on-air women including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts, Gayle King, Connie Chung and Joan Lunden.

"You are my legacy," Walters, visibly moved, said to them as they crowded around her onstage.

The hour had its comic twist: In a pre-taped segment, Walters (who, after all, has interviewed everybody else) lobbed some questions at herself, in the person of former Saturday Night Live cast member Cheri Oteri doing a spot-on Walters imitation.

Walters brought the hour to a close with a heartfelt statement looking back with amazement on her career.

But a more telling moment took place during a break, as the throng of women she had paved the way for posed with her for a group portrait.

"I have to remember this on the bad days," Walters said quietly, "because this is the best."

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Israel designs hi-tech fin to save turtle

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Truck driver's arrest sparks SA drug bust

THE arrest of a truck driver in NSW has led to a drug bust in South Australia.

Police on Wednesday stopped a truck on the Sturt Highway, near Gol Gol, and found six bags of cannabis weighing about 160 grams, leading them to charge the 42-year-old driver.

Information about the arrest was shared with South Australia Police (SAPOL).

Members of SAPOL's Heavy Vehicle Enforcement Section on Friday searched the truck driver's home in Albert Park, SA, and allegedly located about two kilograms of dried cannabis, an amount of cash and a number of firearms.

The man was rearrested and charged with trafficking cannabis and firearms offences.

NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Operations Commander, Superintendent Stuart Smith, said officers will continue to target the heavy vehicle industry to curb drivers and operators who break the law.

" ... whether that's through unsafe driving practices or criminal activities such as transporting drugs across borders," Supt Smith said in a statement.

The man was granted conditional bail to appear in Wentworth Local Court on July 8.

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Trial for academic over indecency claims

Criminologist Paul Wilson is ordered to stand trial for allegations he indecently treated two girls. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND criminologist Paul Wilson has been ordered to stand trial over allegations he indecently treated two girls in the 1970s.

The former head of criminology at the Gold Coast's Bond University was on Friday committed to stand trial on six charges of indecent treatment of girls under 17.

After three days of witness testimony Brisbane Magistrate John Costello ruled there was enough evidence to commit the 73-year-old to trial.

Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial is expected to take place in the District Court in Brisbane at a date to be set.

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Can I not say this? Rudd fights batts ban

KEVIN Rudd has come out swinging at the royal commission into his government's disastrous home insulation scheme.

The former prime minister was not aiming at the commission but at the Abbott government, which called the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program after it vanquished him at the September federal election.

Mr Rudd appeared at the commission for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, sitting impassively in the dock as his barrister - top-flight silk Bret Walker SC - said his client would not verify his statement because it had been heavily redacted by government lawyers and would not allow him to tell the truth.

Large sections of Mr Rudd's witness statement have been blacked out or "redacted" to keep them from public view on the grounds of cabinet confidentiality.

"It is an intolerable state of affairs," Mr Walker told the commission.

Mr Walker told commissioner Ian Hanger QC the terms of the commission had placed cabinet processes - usually highly confidential - at the heart of the inquiry.

"The present government can't have it both ways. It can't require you to report faithfully on the matter and prevent you from pursuing the evidence about it and, worse, commit the unfairness of not permitting the prime minister of the former government to give his answer to the allegations," Mr Walker said.

He suggested Mr Rudd's statement on the 2009 pink batts scheme would be substantially different from the view that it was rushed out as a make-work program in response to the global financial crisis, resulting in the deaths of four young and inexperienced installers.

"These are not muted allegations - they start off with the idea this was a long weekend idea," he said.

"We have an utterly opposite version."

Mr Rudd's challenge comes after federal Attorney-General George Brandis took the unprecedented and controversial step of making confidential cabinet documents available to the commission.

Legal argument over the redaction continues.

Mr Rudd took the stand late in the day after former environment minister Peter Garrett, who was responsible for the batts scheme but had earlier denied he carried sole responsibility.

"It was the department, the officials that advised me, but it was also the responsibility of safety regulators, the employers and the persons in question," Mr Garrett said.

While Mr Rudd did not give evidence, Mr Walker described his client as "the chair of cabinet", rather than a minister with administrative responsibilities and described the insulation program as a cabinet decision - signalling that Mr Rudd is not likely to shoulder sole responsibility, either.

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WA senator calls for GST debate

LIBERAL Senator Dean Smith has urged his party to take the plunge and reignite national debate on the prickly issue of GST reform.

Senator Smith says the subject is close to his heart as a West Australian, and he's been calling for change since arriving in the upper house nearly two years ago.

He used a Senate speech on Wednesday to renew that challenge, acknowledging the government had made promises on the issue.

"Yes, I'm mindful of the statements the coalition took to the last election that no changes would be made before the next election," he told the chamber.

"But I'm also conscious of the sensitivities of other states on this important issue. Arriving at a satisfactory outcome will take time, but that time must begin now."

His comments came as Liberal and Labor state leaders fumed over an $80 billion cut to school and hospital funding announced in Tuesday's federal budget.

They've warned they won't cave into accepting a GST hike, but WA Premier Colin Barnett says he's happy to discuss the idea if a greater share of the consumption tax goes to his state.

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Militants kidnap, kill 20 Iraqi soldiers

A series of bombings in Iraq has killed 19 people, authorities say. Source: AAP

MILITANTS who attacked a military base in north Iraq kidnapping 20 soldiers later shot them dead.

The soldiers were abducted by a large group of militants in several vehicles from a small base in the Ain al-Jahash south of Mosul, and their bodies were found in the area on Saturday night, sources said.

But accounts of when the attack took place varied, with a police major and morgue employee putting it on Saturday night, while an army major general said it had taken place earlier in the week.

The police major said the soldiers had been shot in various parts of their bodies and that their hands had not been bound.

The attack comes after militants killed 12 soldiers and wounded 15 in an April 17 assault on a military base west of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province.

The province is one of the most consistently violent areas in Iraq.

Militants opposed to the Iraqi government frequently target members of the security forces, but it is rare for such a large number of soldiers to be kidnapped at once, especially from a military position.

The killings come as Iraq suffers a protracted surge in bloodshed, the worst to hit the country since the brutal sectarian fighting that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

The government has repeatedly blamed the unrest on external factors such as the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

But analysts and diplomats say widespread anger in the minority Sunni Arab community over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities has also played a major role in the violence.

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Missing Queensland girl found safe

Police say 3 men and a woman who abducted Queensland toddler Bella Goulding are known to her family. Source: AAP

A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl abducted from her father's southeast Queensland home has been found safe and well in a Brisbane suburb.

Bella Rose Goulding was located at Archerfield, in the city's south, on Sunday night and police say they're questioning a man and a woman.

"Investigations are continuing," the Queensland police service said in a statement.

"A man and a woman are currently assisting police with inquiries."

Bella was taken from a house at Willowbank, near Ipswich, on Saturday night and police say her abductors are known to the family.

On Sunday evening, police released the names and images of Lisa Maree Carroll, 21, and Michael Kenneth Winning, 42, saying they say may be able to assist their investigation but refusing to disclose details of their relationship to Bella.

The 8pm abduction occurred on Sancroft Street, which is near a park and the Cunningham Highway.

The girl's father Steven declined to speak publicly on Sunday.

Witnesses saw the abductors in a white Holden Commodore and a silver Mitsubishi sedan.

Further information is being sought from Queensland police.

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