The Government of Austra is looking at options that would allow it to expropriate the house where Adolf Hitler spent his early childhood as it seeks to end a dispute with the owner over its use.

Police searching a farm for a gunman who killed four people in central Austria say they have found the charred body of what they believe was the suspect.

A gunman has shot dead two police officers and the driver of an emergency rescue vehicle in Austria before barricading himself inside a farm building with a hostage.