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Friday afternoon's news in under 5 minutes.

 

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

1. Belle Gibson doesn’t appear in court, but provides vital documents.

Former “wellness” blogger Belle Gibson did not appear in court yesterday, after the information the trial sought to extract was provided at the last minute.

Consumer Affairs Victoria took the 23-year-old The Whole Pantry founder to court with the hope of obtaining copies of charity receipts and further information about her false cancer claims.

belle gibson court
Belle appearing on 60 Minutes last month. (Image: 60 Minutes.)

 

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However, the Herald Sun reports the CAV eventually received this information prior to the trial.

“Consumer Affairs Victoria’s application to the Magistrate’s Court to enforce compliance with a statutory notice relating to the production of documents and information, was withdrawn after documents were received,” Libby Rule, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice told the court.

The CAV launched its investigation into Ms Gibson in March, after learning she did not hand over promised funds she raised for charity.

Read more: The 14 most revealing moments from the Belle Gibson 60 Minutes interview.

2. Indonesia rejects idea that relations would be damaged by legalisation of same sex marriage.

Australia’s Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce recently said Asia would see us as “decadent” if we were to legalise gay marriage — but Indonesia’s foreign ministry has confirmed that just isn’t true.

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Indonesia doesn’t care if Australia legalises gay marriage. Image: iStock.
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ABC News reports a spokesman for the ministry said that, while Indonesia’s marriage laws would stay the same, Australian law was a matter for Australia.

“Because, as I understand it, is a national legislation, national rules and legislation … and it has nothing to do with … our national law,” he said.

“In the context of [the Australia-Indonesia] relationship, it is always built on a mutually beneficial relationship.”

3. Body of missing Australian teen found in Canada.

The body of a 19-year-old boy from Victoria has been found in Canada.

Jake Kermond was on a holiday in Canada when he was reported missing in April.

Jake Kermond, 19. Image: Facebook.

The Herald Sun reports the remains were found in an industrial area of Whistler in June.

The death is being treated as suspicious, but is not yet confirmed as a murder.

4.  Report: Cictims of sexual abuse are being imprisoned, not helped.

A new report from the United States has found female victims of sexual abuse are being incarcerated instead of helped.

The Human Rights Project for Girls, the Center on Poverty and Inequality and the Ms. Foundation for Women found in their joint study that 80 per cent of girls in America’s juvenile prisons are victims of sexual or physical assault.

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belle gibson court
Image: iStock.

The phenomenon is being labelled the “sexual abuse to prison pipeline,” Cosmopolitan reports.

“Victims end up behind bars because they are being criminalized for behaviors that are a direct result of child sex abuse, not because girls are becoming more violent,” theMs. Foundation CEO Teresa Younger said.

“The result is that girls who are in need of healing and therapy and assistance are repeatedly prosecuted and forced to relive those traumas while their abusers often remain free.”

5. Scientists connect monkeys’ brains to create a “super brain” that controls objects.

The brains of three monkeys have been linked together to create one “super brain”, according to scientists at Duke University.

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The Guardian reports an experiments conducted on monkeys and rats prove that brains can work as one when connected via a “brain net”.

belle gibson court
A “brain net”. Image: Mark Viking/Wikipedia.

The research hints that one day we may be able to connect the brains of humans, and used to allow amputees to control prosthetic limbs.

Do you have a news tip? Email us at news@mamamia.com.au.

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