Thursday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up all the latest news from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching.

 1. Apple store ejects African students saying “we’re worried you might steal something.”

An Apple staff member has been caught on camera ejecting six African teenagers from the Apple store in the Highpoint shopping centre in Melbourne over fears they “might steal something”.

The technology giant has been accused of racism after the footage was posted on social media and viewed more than 330,000 times.

“These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store,” an Apple staff member is heard telling the teenagers. “They’re just a bit worried you might steal something.

The boys respond saying “Why would we steal something?” to which the staff member replies: “Guys, end of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our store.”

The Year Six students said they were shocked by their treatment.

Mabior Ater told Fairfax Media: “I’ve been coming to Highpoint for a long time and I never thought something like this would happen. Of course, I’m offended.”

The Age reports the manager of the Apple store has since met with the boys and apologised.

Mabior said: “She said we were welcome here anytime. It feels like we have justice now.”

A spokeswoman from Apple told the newspaper it was looking into what happened.

She quoted Apple chief executive Tim Cook, “We want every person who joins our team, every customer visiting our stores or calling for support to feel welcome.

“We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions.”

2. 14-year old girl raped multiple times at two different locations.

Warning: This item deals with rape.

The 14-year old girl who was allegedly raped by multiple men at two different locations is traumatised and terrified of her accused a court has heard.

Yesterday Rowan Wild, the fourth man from the same family charged with abducting and raping the girl in the Geelong suburb of St Albans Park in the early hours of November 1 appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court to apply for bail.

27-year old Wild, along with his relatives Allan Mark Wild, 29; Kevin Andrew Wild, 28; and Brodie Wild, 20, are all charged with one count of rape and one of abduction.

A fifth man from Western Australia was questioned but released.

The court heard that the men had been at a family reunion and then at a licensed venue in Geelong when they saw the girl with her 16-year old friend in a park.

Kevin Wild grabbed the girl and she was taken to the front yard of a home, where she was raped by Kevin and Brodie Wild, as Allan and Rowan Wild watched.

The Age reports that the 16-year old boy tried to stop the men telling them the girl was just 14-years old but they said “She’s 18. It’s all good.”

The men kicked the boy and punched him in the face before he ran for help.

The court heard that the girl was then taken to the garage of another home, where she was raped by “multiple men.”

Detective Senior Constable Goonan said that investigators were unsure which men allegedly raped the girl in the garage of the second house and that it was unclear if Rowan Wild was in the garage.

The Age reports that the girl was “intoxicated” and the boy “had also been drinking alcohol.”

The accused rapists too were drunk.

In opposing his bail police and prosecutors said that they feared Rowan Wild would interfere with potential witnesses and could offend if released. They also said he had dyed his hair in an attempt to change his appearance

Deputy chief magistrate Jelena Popovic adjourned his bail application to today and he was remanded in custody.

His co-accused remains in custody.

Kevin and Allan Wild are due to return to court on Friday.

Brodie Wild, who was extradited from his home in Queensland at the weekend, is due to return to court in February.

For help: Lifeline 13 11 14. Kid’s Helpline: 1800 55 1800. DV and Sexual Abuse hotline 27/4: 1800 737 732

3. Birth certificate of Khandalyce Kiara Pearce allegedly at the home of Daniel Holdom’s sister.

The birth certificate of Khandalyce Kiara Pearce, the daughter of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson has allegedly been found at the home of Daniel Holdom’s sister.

41-year old Daniel James Holdom was last month charged with murdering Ms Pearce-Stevenson after her body was found in the Belanglo State Forest in NSW in December, 2008.

Her daughter Khandalyce’s body was found inside a suitcase dumped by the side of the road in South Australia.

News Limited reports that during a search last month Khandalyce’s birth certificate was reportedly found at the home of Holdom’s sister. Police also seized two suitcases from the property believed to hold possessions belonging to the mother.

4. Triple-0 call reveals Tara Brown begged for her life.

The Courier Mail reports that Gold Coast mum Tara Brown begged her estranged former partner not to attack her just moments before she was bashed to death.

Yesterday 24-year old Lionel John Patea was ordered to stand trial for her murder after facing Southport Magistrates Court

The Courier Mail reports that a recording and transcript of Tara’s triple-0 call she made as she fled from her ex-partner is a part of the police brief.

According to the report on the morning of September 8 Tara allegedly called triple-0 just after she dropped her daughter at childcare.

Police will allege Tara is heard begging Patea to leave her alone, a crash is heard which police say is the sound of the collision when Patea’s vehicle allegedly rammed Tara’s car.

From the report “The phone stays connected through what follows as Tara, trapped in the wreckage, is bashed so severely she died from her injuries in hospital a day later.”

The audio was not played during yesterday’s court hearing.

5. Christmas Island detainees moved.

Seven detainees from the Christmas Island detention centre have been flown off the island days after rioting following the death of a refugee who died escaping the facility.

The ABC reports the men, from New Zealand were being transported to a prison in Perth.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton confirmed the transfer of the men, who were being taken to a correctional facility in Western Australia.

Video has emerged of the aftermath of the riot, showing the extent of damage caused.

Mr Dutton yesterday continued to emphasise the “criminal element of detainees” involved in the standoff with staff.

“Nobody is jailed for 12 months for shoplifting and it defies common sense, so I think people should frankly stick to the facts and I think we’d have a better debate,” he said.

“If somebody is here on a visa, whether they’re from New Zealand or elsewhere, if they’ve committed a crime they have their visa cancelled.

“And they face the criminal penalty and administratively their visa is cancelled.”

Co-leader of the Maori Party, Marama Fox, told Lateline last night that the numbers did not add up.

“Australia currently has 585, my understanding is, since May, people tagged for deportation and held,” she said.

“Some of those have committed a variety of crimes, and yes, while we accept there may be some serious crimes, our numbers show that only 86 of those are murderers, paedophiles or rapists and the rest are a combination of crimes.”

6. Tropfest cancelled due to lack of funding.

Tropfest, Australia’s long running short film festival has been cancelled less than a month before it was due to be held.

A dispute with the company that manages the event has reportedly forced founder John Polson to call off what is described as the world’s largest short film festival, which attracts hundreds of entries and is watched by hundreds of thousands of viewers every year.

Polson has told Fairfax Media it had emerged in the past week that there was a financial discrepancy “well into six figures” that would not allow the festival to proceed.

“It is devastating for me to announce today that Tropfest will not be taking place as scheduled in Centennial Park this year,” Mr Polson has said in a statement.

“In the past week or so, I have been made aware that the company contracted to raise the funding and administer the Tropfest event is unable to move forward for financial reasons.

“Despite a challenging sponsorship climate, Tropfest has done reasonably well in attracting support this year; however, to my great surprise, the management company has informed us that it is unable to proceed.”

Polson said he was unsure what the festival’s future was now.

“Can it come back? I honestly don’t know,” he said.

“It’s like being in a bad dream,” he said. “This is 23 years of work. It’s a stunning, shocking blow, with really no hint of what was to come.”

More than 450 filmmakers entered shorts this year and the finalists had been called ahead of an announcement next week.

For more read this post here. 

7. Step-brother found guilty of murdering Becky Watts.

In a case that has gripped the UK a man has been found guilty of murdering and dismembering his 16-year old step-sister.

28-year old Nathan Matthews has been found guilty of murdering his stepsister Becky Watts in Bristol Crown Court. His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, was been acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

The 28-year-old suffocated his 16-year-old stepsister while trying to kidnap her from her semi-detached home in Crown Hill, Bristol, on February 19.

He dragged her body into the boot of his car and drove it to the home he shared with girlfriend Hoare, 21.

Over the next three days, Matthews bought a circular saw, goggles, masks, bags, cling film and tape to cut up and package Becky’s body in the couple’s bath.

Senior Investigating Officer Det Superintendent Mike Courtiour said it was “virtually impossible to comprehend this level of depravity.”

“Becky Watts was a typical teenager who was well loved and, like most teenagers, had many plans and hopes for the future. Tragically, Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare have made sure these hopes and dreams will never be realised.

“Matthews and Hoare concocted a heinous plan to kidnap his stepsister Becky for reasons they have failed to fully disclose other than she occasionally left items on the floor which could have tripped up Matthews’ mother.

“The body of evidence however, has suggested a more sinister motive relating to their deep seated hatred for Becky and their twisted sexual desires.”

8. Eight year old boy under arrest for killing one-year old.

An eight-year-old boy is being charged with beating a one-year-old girl to death while they were left home alone as their mothers went to a nightclub.

The boy, from Alabama in the US beat and killed one-year-old Kelci Devine Lewis when she wouldn’t stop crying, Birmingham police spokesman Sean Edwards said.

The mother of the toddler, 26-year-old Katerra Lewis, also is charged with manslaughter” he told NBC News. 

“This is by far one of the saddest cases that I have witnessed and been a part of since I became a police officer,” Edwards said. “This type of irresponsibility on behalf of a parent is totally unacceptable.”

Police said a murder warrant has been obtained for the boy, who is now in the care of Alabama’s child welfare agency.

The boy was the oldest of six children left alone as his mother, who has not been charged or identified, and Katerra Lewis went to a nightclub.

9. Bus driver praised after buying coat for homeless man.

The Irish woman posted a tribute to the driver on Facebook saying, “no act of kindness is ever wasted.”

Anna Marie McDaniel from Belfast, Northern Ireland wrote on the bus company’s Facebook page “I get the same bus every Tuesday and there is always a homeless man that we pass.

“Today he was standing in the pouring rain, drenched to the skin in just a short sleeved t-shirt. My heart went out to him.

“The bus man driving the 10H that I was on stopped the bus beside the man and called him over. He then hands him a big plastic bag and told him that he was hoping to see him today – he’d bought him a winter coat.

“The man refused to take the bag, but the driver was adamant that the man take it as he had gone out and bought it for him. I have never seen a smile like the one on the homeless man’s face.”

“I couldn’t believe how kind the bus driver was, such a thoughtful act. A little bit of kindness really can go a long way.”

The bus driver Paul Doyle has been widely praised with many calling him a hero.

A representative from his company, Metro said Mr Doyle was a “very laid back, reserved and quiet person” and said he had been stunned by the huge outpouring.

“He’s a bit embarrassed about all this fame that has come this way.” The company spokesman told The Daily Mail.” He’s done it because of his sympathy towards this young lad who he had seen every day and the frail state he was in.

“He also got him food and put a fiver in the bag, as well as a coat, and jokingly said: “Make sure next time I see you, you have a coat on!”

“He’s done it because he knew the person was genuine and he just wanted to help.”

Do you have a story to share with Mamamia? Email us news@mamamia.com.au
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