Experts in France began examining a washed-up plane part Wednesday which likely belonged to the MH370 plane that vanished mysteriously last year, hoping to find clues to one of aviation's greatest enigmas.

The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on March 8 last year, inexplicably veering off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, sparking a colossal but ultimately fruitless multinational hunt for the aircraft.

Australia on Tuesday announced a Aus$89 billion (U.S.$65 billion) shipbuilding package to construct new frigates and patrol boats locally, with a decision on an international supplier for replacement submarines made "in coming months".

The "continuous shipbuilding" proposal, which involves the replacement of frigates, patrol boats and submarines over two decades, is expected by the government to keep up to 2,500 jobs in the sector in what Prime Minister Tony Abbott said was "a very historic announcement".

Australian parliamentary Speaker Bronwyn Bishop announced her resignation Sunday following public anger over her travel expenses, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott said a review would be launched into politicians' entitlements.

Bishop, a member of Abbott's Liberal Party, had been under fire for more than three weeks as media reports emerged of her use of taxpayers' money for trips including spending Aus$5,000 (U.S.$3,600) on a 80-kilometer (50-mile) helicopter ride for a November political fundraiser.

Eight men have been charged with hundreds of child sex offences against a 13-year-old girl in Australia, including her father who police alleged Wednesday facilitated the horrific abuse over two years.

Detectives in Western Australia arrested the men, aged between 35 and 47, last week after a tip-off from the public in April.

A Melbourne man has been charged with attempting to leave for Iraq to fight with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group, just weeks after another Australian was killed during a similar venture.

Jamie Williams, 28, is accused of preparing to enter a foreign country with the intention of engaging in hostile activities -- which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

An Australian nurse who allegedly joined Islamic State in Syria was Monday remanded in custody on terror charges relating to carrying out guard duty and reconnaissance for the militants.

Adam Brookman, a 39-year-old father-of-five, is accused of knowingly providing support to IS between April 2010 and August 2014 to help "prepare or foster" a terrorist act.

An Australian nurse was charged with terrorism offences for allegedly supporting the Islamic State group in Syria on Sunday after he voluntarily returned home from the troubled country.

The 39-year-old Melbourne father of five, named in local media as Islamic convert Adam Brookman, briefly faced a Melbourne court on Sunday after surrendering himself to officials in Turkey on Tuesday, Australian Federal Police said.

An Australian nurse who allegedly worked alongside Islamic State militants has been arrested after voluntarily returning from Syria, police said Saturday.

The Melbourne-based father-of-five, widely named as Islamic convert Adam Brookman, surrendered to Turkish officials earlier this week ahead of his arrival in Sydney late Friday.

Australia on Thursday announced a clearer terror alert system as the country faces what Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the worst extremist threat in its history, with the government outlining a long-term strategy to tackle the scourge.

The new system will be introduced later this year, subject to community consultation, with the new threat levels to be: certain, expected, probable, possible and not expected, which Abbott said would be much easier for the public to understand.

Further interest rates cuts remain "on the table", Australia's central bank chief said Wednesday, as new official data showed that Australian consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in the three months to June, keeping annual inflation subdued.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said weak economic growth had seen the cash rate decline to "very low levels".