news

Tuesday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up the biggest news stories from Australia and around the world.

1. Peter Greste speaks

Australian journalist Peter Greste has spoken of the mix of emotions he felt when he was released from jail in Egypt.

“This has been like a rebirth,” he said in an interview on Al Jazeera.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am at being free, I mean I really didn’t expect it.

Peter Greste has given his first interview from Cyrus.

“We were settling in for a period of months behind prison for the retrial, so to be out now, with just a few minutes notice, really is just extraordinary.”

He spoke of his anguish at leaving behind his colleagues Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian national Baher Mohamed in prison.

“When you spend 400 days in such close proximity with people, you get to know them really well. It was a really difficult moment walking out and leaving the prison, saying goodbye to those guys, not knowing how much longer they will have to put up with this.”

“I’ve got to know and accept Baher and Mohamed as family, they’re my brothers.”

When asked what he wanted to do most on his release he said, “watch a few sunsets”.

“I haven’t seen one of those at all for a very long time, watching the stars, feeling the sand under my toes – the little things.

“You realise it is those little beautiful moments of life that are really precious, and spending time with my family of course.

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“That’s what’s important, not the big issues.”

 2. Father investigated over fatal crash

There are reports that a father is being investigated after the car he was driving ploughed into a tree killing himself, his pregnant wife and one of their sons – while leaving the second son in a critical condition.

The tragic crash occurred on Sunday in NSW on Enterprise Drive in Berkeley Vale.

Darren Milne, 42, his pregnant wife Susana, 39,

Darren Milne, 42, his pregnant wife Susana, 39, and their eldest son Liam, 11, were all killed in the crash.

Their 7-year-old son is in hospital in a critical condition.

Police are now investigating whether Darren Milne may have deliberately caused the accident.

A report is being prepared for the coroner with Nine News saying the “strongest line of inquiry” was whether he failed to break.

It is believed that police seized computer evidence from their Ryde home showing he had researched the road.

The Daily Mail reports that the two children had special needs both struggling with Fragile X syndrome.

 If you need help please phone Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

3. Man charged murder after pregnant woman killed

A 34-year-old man will appear in court this morning charged with murder after a pregnant woman was bludgeoned with an axe at a home on the Gold Coast.

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Paramedics attempted to save her but she died tragically overnight.

A 34-year-old man was arrested shortly after and charged with murder.

Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said “There is an indication there is a history of domestic related matters,” he said.

4. Leadership issues still swirl

The Prime Minister is still facing talk of leadership issues with Cabinet meeting today in Canberra a day after Mr Abbott’s National Press Club speech.

Yesterday the PM commented on the leadership speculation saying “Sure party rooms or caucuses choose leaders..”

The Prime Minister at the Press Club.

“But once they have gone to an election things have changed. It’s the people that hire and, frankly, it’s the people who should fire.”

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told the ABC’s Q&A program that the Government needed to stick to its guns.

“I’ve spoken to Tony, I’ve spoken to Joe [Hockey], I’ve spoken to my colleagues … we have a strong belief that we have a purpose, we’ve got to try to turn the nation around and we’ve just got to deal with this and get through it,” he said.

“How you judge a person in these periods of time is how they deal with them.

“You get to a point where it appears the chips are against you and that is how you judge the character of those around you.

“They are either up to it and you stick as a group or it falls to pieces and goes into chaos.”

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 5. Adam Giles replaced as Northern Territory chief minister, Willem Westra van Holte elected leader

By ABC

Adam Giles has been dumped as the Northern Territory’s chief minister after a late night leadership challenge.

Willem Westra van Holthe is the new leader and John Elferink is the new deputy, replacing Peter Chandler.

The news came after reports on Monday that Mr Giles narrowly avoided a leadership challenge last week amid ongoing concerns about his leadership style.

The potential challengers last week counted the numbers and believed they had achieved the majority needed to replace Mr Giles but backed out at the last moment, the ABC was told.

The successful coup after a phone hook-up late on Monday came on the same day several of Mr Giles’s colleagues pledged their support for him as leader.

The ABC understands the voting was split eight votes to six.

Giles aware of rumblings on day of coup

Mr Giles told the ABC earlier on Monday he had not heard his leadership was under imminent threat but said he had heard “rumblings from time to time”.

“While you’re in the position of Chief Minister or anything else where you have the opportunity of advancing the interests of the Northern Territory and Territorians, it’s a pretty honourable position to be in,” he said.

“And while you’re there you do what you can, and when you’re not there you reflect on the opportunities that you seized and probably some that you let go.”

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 A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

6. Melbourne mum jailed after threatening to kill daughter.

Warning: this item contains details of a suicide threat and may be distressing for some readers.

A Melbourne mother has been jailed after she videoed death threats towards her 17-month old daughter and sent them to her husband who had just walked out on her.

The Herald Sun reports that the mother said in the video she was planning to kill herself and their child.

Mother jailed.

According to evidence tendered to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in one video the mother tells her daughter to say goodbye to her father.

The mother allegedly said in the video that her and her daughter would have a final meal before the murder/ suicide.

“These are very very disturbing messages and threats,” Leading Senior Constable Mark Cochrane said.

“I’ve been a police officer for 13 years and I’ve never seen the level of threats that concern me as much as these have.”

The woman told the magistrate “I only made little threats because I wanted him to come home,”

“My daughter is my life. I am hoping my husband and I can fix our marriage.”

She was refused bail with the magistrate ruling she should be psychiatrically assessed.

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 If you need help please phone Lifeline on 13 111 14. 

 7. Australians on Indonesian execution list

Bali 9 members Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are to be executed in the next group of Indonesian prisoners according to the Indonesian Attorney General HM Prasetyo.

He has confirmed that the two Australians were among the foreign drug offenders in line for execution.

Asked yesterday if the men were on the list he said, “Yes, included in the next round”.

For more read this post here.

 8. Gable Tostee behind bars

News Limited reports that Gable Tostee, the man accused of murdering News Zealander Warriena Wright is in jail after a Tweed Heads court sentenced him to 10 months jail for a speeding and police pursuit offence.

Gable Tostee

Tostee will serve six months before being released on parole.

The charges relate to an incident on July 27 last year, three weeks before he was charged with the murder of Warriena Wright.

Tostee had been at the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Byron Bay when he decided to drive friends to the Gold Coast to get into a nightclub before the 3am lockout.

Police tried to stop the Ford Falcon he was driving after they saw it had no number plates and was going at about 150km/h.

A pursuit commenced and reached 195km/h before road spikes were deployed near the Queensland-NSW border.

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He registered a blood alcohol reading of .2 per cent, four times the legal limit.

The court heard that Tostee suffered from attention deficits disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and and alcohol abuse issues.

The Magistrate sentenced Tostee to 10 months’ jail and disqualified him from driving for three years as it was his fourth drink driving conviction.

 9. Pauline Hanson may win a seat

Pauline Hanson might have made her entrance back into politics after early counting in preferences showing that she may win the seat of Lockyer from sitting LNP member Ian Rickuss.

With 77% of the votes counted, Ms Hanson had 6974 primary votes (27.3 per cent), ahead of Labor’s Steve Leese (6366 or 24.93 per cent).

The result in the QLD election is still unclear with either side reluctant to take victory.

 10. WA fires

There are growing concerns over bushfires in Western Australia with some residents in Northcliffe in the southern part of WA  told their homes are indefensible as bushfires rage in the area.

More than 100 firefighters from the DFES, Department of Parks and Wildlife and local volunteer bushfire brigades are on the scene.

For updates visit the DFES website.

11. Egypt condemns 183 people to death

Egyptian court has sentenced 183 people to death for their role in the lynchings of 11 policemen by Islamist rioters in August 2013.

The lynchings were said to be revenge for a massacre that took place several days before where 800 people were killed when police broke up a protest camp by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

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AAP reports that more than 200 death sentences have been passed on alleged Morsi loyalists – including Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie – over those incidents, but all remain subject to appeal.

12. Big Mac Special Sauce can be yours

Dinner tonight – sorted – with the news that now on sale in McDonald’s restaurants is everybody’s favourite, Big Mac Special Sauce.

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion on a …..

McDonald’s Australia is now offering 25ml tubs of the secret sauce for sale at restaurants, and one special fan can even buy an exclusive 500ml bottle of special sauce on eBay, with proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

The ingredients are no longer such a secret it seems with – in the interests of openness and transparancy – them listed on the Maccers web site.

13. Julie Bishop “refused to promise she will not make a challenge”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has refused to promise Prime Minister Tony Abbott she will not make a challenge for the leadership of the Liberal party.

Sky News reports Mr Abbott met with Ms Bishop yesterday afternoon and sought a commitment that she would not run against him — but the request from Abbott was refused.

Mr Abbott told Channel 7 the report was simply ‘Canberra insider gossip’, however.

What news are you talking about today?