7 Monday news bites (15 Aug)

Welcome to the start of the week. In case you haven’t had the chance to catch the news, Mamamia is here to get you up to speed. Today’s bites are brought to you by Nat.

1. After the death of internet celebrity and bodybuilder ‘Zyzz’ in Thailand, customs has revealed that steroids use is skyrocketing.

According to Customs figures, the amount of steroids being smuggled into the country at airports and through the postal system has more than doubled in the past five years. An explosion of websites selling the drugs with claims of “discrete (sic) shipping” and “no customs” is behind the rise as amateur body builders seek to exploit countries with lax drug regulations.

The release of the figures comes after the death of 22-year-old Australian bodybuilder and online celebrity Aziz “Zyzz” Sergeyevich Shavershian, who died of an undiagnosed heart defect in a Thai sauna last week.

2. The search for Daniel Morcombe’s body continues after a man was charged with his murder.

Police are ramping up their search of bushland in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland, after charging a 41-year-old former truck driver on Saturday. Daniel went missing as a 13-year-old in December 2003.

The accused man will face Brisbane Magistrates Court today charged with murder, deprivation of liberty, child stealing, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse. He is expected to plead not guilty to the charges, setting up a long court battle.

Daniel’s parents asked people to wear red today in memory of their boy.

3. A computer, said to be connected to the Maddie Pulver bomb hoax case, has been seized by police on the Central Coast.

The computer is said to be connected to the long, typed note which listed instructions for the 18-year-old who was confined to her home for 10 hours as part of an alleged extortion attempt. It made reference to the James Clavell novel Tai-Pan, and contained a threat to detonate a bomb, now known to be fake, if Maddie contacted police or tried to disarm it. It included no demands for money.

4.  The federal government faces calls to extend Medicare benefits to thousands of community-based asylum seekers.

A study has revealed that many asylum seekers who are waiting on the government to decide whether they can remain in Australia struggle to access health care services because they are not eligible for subsidised treatment under Medicare.

The researchers said while state government policies on providing hospital care to community-based asylum seekers had improved, the federal government should extend Medicare eligibility to widen the availability of health services.

5. Australia’s birth rate is predicted to fall as cash-strapped couples rethink the number of children they have.

The cost of raising a child to the age of 24 has jumped to almost $600,000, or about $25,000 a year, says McCrindle Research – and that doesn’t include full-time daycare, preschool or private schooling. Social demographer Mark McCrindle said families with two children will hold off having a third and those with three who were considering a fourth will think twice, impacting on the nation’s birth rate.

6. “Sexting” will be introduced into NSW high schools next year as part of the sexual health curriculum.

The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) is reviewing its sexual health framework and sexting is top of the list. Schoolchildren will now be warned to “think before you send” saucy snaps and raunchy texts.

7. Celebrity chef Julie Goodwin has turned down a Jenny Craig deal worth up to $250,000 a year.

When approached by the weight loss company to replace current ambassador Magda Szubanski, the TV cook declined, saying that she was proud of her curves and didn’t need the weight-loss pressure.

Asked why she turned down the deal, Goodwin said she was more intent on fighting poverty than losing weight, and that she had signed on with Third World charity Oxfam to help those who were not getting enough to eat.

The chef took to her own blog over the weekend to explain she had nothing against those who wanted to lose weight for themselves but that it was just not for her.

Update: Julie has since said that the deal did not reach negotiation stage and that she does not know where the figure was taken from.