澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-03-08（在线收听）

Good morning.

A 23-year-old man will face court tomorrow, charged over the death of a three-year-old Indian boy Gurshan Singh. The toddler was found dead on the side of the road near Melbourne Airport on Thursday night. Gursewak Dhillon has been charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence. Dhillon is an Indian national and was living with the three year old and his parents. It's alleged he placed the boy unconscious in the boot of a car and then drove around for three hours before dumping his body.

The US President Barack Obama has congratulated Iraqis for voting in national elections despite threats of violence. At least 38 people have been killed in a series of election day attacks. But there were still long lines of polling booths.

The Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott has improved his rating as preferred prime minister in the latest Fairfax/Nielsen poll. Thirty-five percent of voters polled nominated Mr.Abbott as their preferred leader. That's a 14-point increase on support for the former Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull.

And Victoria is counting the cost of a weekend of wild weather, including fierce storms and large hailstones. Hundreds of residents of southern Queensland are still waiting to begin their clean-up with many properties still underwater.