Agence France-Presse: The operators of a ship that spilled oil along the popular tourist beaches of northeast Australia misled authorities about the extent of the disaster, the state government said Sunday. Officials initially believed the Hong Kong-flagged “Pacific Adventurer” had lost 20-30,000 litres (5,300-7,900 gallons) of oil but it has since emerged that almost a quarter of a million litres spilled from the vessel. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, whose government has been accused of reacting …