Motorcyclist dies in Alice Springs crash

A 24-year-old man died after losing control of his motorcycle on a dirt road in Alice Springs. Source: AAP

A 24-YEAR-OLD man died after a single motorcycle crash in Alice Springs.

Police say the man lost control on a dirt road and hit a tree near the Todd River on Wednesday night.

The death takes the national holiday road toll to nine.

The national road toll period runs from 12.01am on December 23 until 11.59pm on January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Woman leaves toddler in car, goes shopping

A woman is expected to face charges after leaving a child locked in the car while she went shopping. Source: AAP

A WOMAN is expected to face charges after leaving a 17-month-boy locked in the car while she went shopping for the Boxing Day sales.

Police have been told a woman drove to attend the sales at a Doncaster shopping centre in Melbourne's north east about 9.30am (AEDT).

She parked in an undercover car park and went alone to the shops, leaving the boy locked in the car.

A passer by spotted the boy about half an hour later and told security, who removed the child after an unsuccessful bid to find the car owner.

The Doncaster woman, 27, was found about 11am (AEDT) and spoken to by police.

She is expected to be charged with leaving a child unattended and being a learner driver without being accompanied by a licensed driver.

The child was checked over by paramedics and found to be fine.

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Toddler saved after falling into pool

A QUICK-THINKING family member used CPR to save a toddler who fell into a pool on the NSW Central Coast.

The two-year-old girl was pulled unconscious from the backyard pool on Thursday afternoon, but she was breathing by the time paramedics arrived and she regained consciousness.

CareFlight director Ian Badham praised the quick action of the family member.

The girl was airlifted with her mother to The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

"Because she had been underwater for a while, she was taken to the hospital to be checked out and kept under observation," Mr Badham said.

She remains in a stable condition.

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Nine road deaths dampen festive season

NINE people have died on Australian roads this festive season, including two friends killed in a single-vehicle incident in NSW on Boxing Day.

A man, 31, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene of the crash on the NSW Central Coast. A second man, 22, was trapped in the wreckage and died before he could be released.

The crash, which occurred just before 5am (AEDT), left three other men aged 29, 22 and 27 in hospital.

Police said they hoped to speak to the injured men, all from Sydney suburb Auburn.

In Canberra, a motorcyclist died after losing control of his bike late on the evening of Christmas Day.

The 22-year-old hit a traffic island in the inner-north suburb of Lyneham about 11pm on Wednesday.

He died in Canberra Hospital.

In Perth, a 17-year-old boy died after falling off the back of a utility on Christmas evening.

Police say the boy suffered severe head injuries when he fell from the tray of the Nissan ute.

A 24-year-old man in the Northern Territory was killed after losing control of his motorcycle on a dirt road near the Todd River in Alice Springs on Christmas Day.

Two Victorian women killed in a head-on collision two days before Christmas were the first fatalities for the 2013 Christmas period.

A 69-year-old Queensland man died on Christmas Eve when his car hit a tree near Bundaberg.

On Monday night police found a man dead in a sedan spilt in two following a high-speed crash into a tree north of Moree in NSW.

The deaths take the national toll to nine, compared with 16 recorded by Boxing Day in 2012.

The national road toll period runs from midnight on December 23, 2013, until midnight on January 3, 2014, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Man badly burned preparing Christmas lunch

A NSW man was airlifted to a burns unit after being injured in an explosion while preparing lunch. Source: AAP

A NSW man is being airlifted to a specialist burns unit after being injured in an explosion while he prepared Christmas lunch.

The 62-year-old man in Shell Cove was found by police and rescue services with burns to his face, arms and legs.

Police were told the man was preparing the family's Christmas lunch when the explosion occurred.

They are investigating reports the gas bottle to the barbecue was connected incorrectly.

The man was airlifted to Concord Hospital for treatment.

Police hope to speak with the injured man once he is well enough to get a clearer idea of how the explosion happened.

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WA police concerned for missing woman

Police are concerned for a woman who disappeared from Albany, a day after arriving from Queensland. Source: AAP

POLICE are concerned for a 79-year-old woman who disappeared from Albany on Christmas Eve, a day after arriving from Queensland.

Joan Hanson went missing from Caledonia Crescent at Goode Beach at 5.30pm (WST) on Tuesday.

Police say they are concerned for the welfare of Ms Hanson, believed to be suffering dementia and unfamiliar with the area.

She is of small, slim build and has grey hair.

She was wearing glasses, light-coloured trousers, a yellow-brown shirt, a yellow zip-up sleeveless vest and white shoes when she went missing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Operations Centre on 131 444.

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Locals help out after Grinch steals gifts

GENEROUS people have been playing Santa and dropping off gifts for two Victorian families whose gifts were stolen from under their Christmas trees.

Police at Wodonga near the Victoria-NSW border are calling the thefts "an unthinkable act of heartlessness".

But they say they have been overwhelmed by the number of donated presents that have been arriving at the police station throughout Christmas Day.

The Salvation Army also gave presents to the children at one of the homes.

"The occupants of the houses were asleep and realised all their gifts were missing when they went to open them this morning," a police spokeswoman said.

The two homes are on different streets, Wilca Way and Hartwig Road, on the southern end of the town.

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AmEx to pay $US75.7m in settlement

American Express will pay at least $US75.7m over what authorities say was misleading marketing. Source: AAP

AMERICAN Express has agreed to pay at least $US75.7 million ($A84.92 million) to end an investigation into what regulators say was misleading marketing of some discontinued card products.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Tuesday American Express led consumers to believe that an account protection product would work for up to two years when the benefits usually lasted no more than three months, and it didn't properly explain the enrolment process for a product intended to protect against identity theft.

It said 85 per cent of consumers who signed up didn't complete the enrolment process, but they were billed anyway.

The agency also said that the company misrepresented the terms of a "lost wallet" product that was offered to Spanish-speaking customers in Puerto Rico, and it did not provide written materials in Spanish.

The New York-based company said it agreed to pay $US16.2 million in fines and repay at least $US59.5 million to customers.

American Express said it has set aside enough to cover most of the costs of the settlement with the FDIC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency. It has already made most of the payments to customers.

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Italian serial killer captured in France

A serial killer who was granted leave from prison in Italy has been recaptured in France. Source: AAP

ITALY'S justice minister says a serial killer who failed to return to prison after a two-day good-behaviour pass has been recaptured in France.

Annamaria Cancellieri announced the news on Friday just hours after she had briefed parliament on the embarrassing escape of Bartolomeo Gagliano, who has a lengthy rap sheet and was serving a nine-year sentence for theft when he went missing earlier this week.

A justice ministry official said Gagliano was captured in Menton, France, just across the border from Italy on the Mediterranean coast.

He had been due back at Genoa's Marassi prison on December 17 after going to visit his elderly mother in nearby Savona.

Savona is about 125 kilometres from Menton along the coast.

At some point between Savona and Genoa, Gagliano allegedly carried out a carjacking and then drove off in the car, launching an international manhunt as questions swirled about how prison officials could have let out a serial killer with known psychiatric problems.

On Friday, Cancellieri disputed prison officials' claims that they didn't know of Gagliano's criminal or psychiatric background, saying they had his full record.

The record, which started in 1981, includes convictions for multiple homicides, kidnapping, sexual violence and other crimes that he served time for in psychiatric hospitals.

Marassi's prison director, Salvatore Mazzeo, has said that as far as the prison was concerned, Gagliano was merely a thief serving time for a 2006 robbery conviction and was due to be released in 2015.

Cancellieri noted prison records said he had been well-behaved and his recent psychiatric evaluations found him to be lucid, calm and collaborative.

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Homicide cops investigate Rosebud body

A WOMAN'S body has been discovered in a home on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

The body was found at a property on William Crescent, Rosebud West, about 1.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Homicide Squad detectives were en route to the scene on Saturday evening and the circumstances surrounding the death were being investigated.

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