We’ve rounded up all the latest stories from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching.
1. Damning report calls for children in detention to be released.
A shocking report tabled in parliament last night has called for all children to be released from mainland detention and from the detention centre on Nauru.
“The Forgotten Children” report, prepared by the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry, interviewed 1129 children over 15 months from January 2013 to March 2014.
The report by Gillian Triggs had devastating findings.
It has revealed that more than 300 children committed or threatened self-harm in a 15-month period in Australian immigration detention, 30 reported sexual assault, 30 went on hunger strike and more than 200 were involved in assaults.
The report found that “prolonged detention is having profoundly negative impacts on the mental and emotional health and development of children”.
Australia has 257 children in immigration detention of these 119 are on Nauru. Over the past two weeks 100 children were released into the Australian community.
The report points out that the number of children in detention has fallen from nearly 2000 in July 2013 to less than 200.
But even 200 is too many.
“At the time of writing this report, children and adults had been detained for over a year on average.”
It says children being detained indefinitely on Nauru are “suffering from extreme levels of physical, emotional, psychological and developmental distress”.
The reports says that the royal commission would examine “the use of force by the Commonwealth against children in detention and allegations of sexual assault against these children”.
The Greens have said that the report is damning.
Greens Spokesperson Sarah Hanson Young said last night that the report was “the turning point that ends the cruel practice of locking children in detention camps … This vile, institutionalised child abuse has to end.
For more read this post here.
2. Sydney terrorism plot: arrested men were not on police radar.
Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25, the two men arrested by police yesterday after allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired attack that night were not on any police radar.
Police arrested them yesterday after a tip-off and seized a hunting knife, a machete, a homemade Islamic State flag and a video filmed by Mohammed Kiad, allegedly showing Omar Al-Kutobi vowing in Arabic to attack “today”.
reports that in the video he was holding both weapons and kneeling in front of a “roughly-cut piece of black material that the men had painted on themselves” .
The two men will appear in Central Local Court after being charged with undertaking acts in preparation or planning for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum of life in prison.
3. Bali Nine: Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran file appeal against president’s refusal to grant clemency.
By George Roberts, ABC.
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have officially filed for an appeal against the Indonesian president’s refusal to grant them clemency.
President Joko Widodo refused to pardon Chan and Sukumaran from execution as part of his policy of denying clemency for all drug offenders.
The two men were sentenced to death for their part in the now infamous Bali Nine drug smuggling group.
A lawyer representing them filed the application for an appeal at the State Administrative Court in East Jakarta on Tuesday.
But Indonesia’s attorney-general Muhammad Prasetyo said this week he expected the challenge to fail, as clemency rejection is the president’s right.
“Clemency is a prerogative right that cannot be obstructed by anybody, can not be challenged by anybody. It’s a prerogative right,” Mr Prasetyo said.
But the men’s lawyer, Ponti Azani, said they were disputing the process not the result.
It is a last-ditch effort to get a stay on the executions and force the president to reconsider the cases individually.
This post originally appeared on and has been published with full permission.
4. Julie Bishop accuses Indonesia of double standards.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has accused Indonesia of double standards in relation to the Bali 9 saying that Indonesian President Joko Widodo has instructed that “optimum protection” be offered to 229 Indonesian citizens sentenced to death overseas.
Fairfax Media reports that Ms Bishop said “I call on the Indonesian government to offer the same mercy to Australian citizens it is pursuing for its own nationals, including those convicted of drug offences.”
She will introduce a parliamentary motion on the issue today.
5. Woman shot by police had Asperger’s.
The 22-year-old woman shot by police Western Sydney yesterday after she was seen waving a knife outside a Hungry jack’s restaurant had Asperger’s Syndrome.
Her father has spoken to the media saying “We are really struggling to cope … we are just devastated. ”
It has been reported that the officer who shot her is being counseled.
A critical incident team is investigating all circumstances surrounding her death.
6. 12-year-old girl ‘married’ in ceremony was pregnant.
A court has heard that 12-year-old girl who was “married” in an Islamic ceremony was pregnant, but had miscarried.
It was revealed in a sentencing hearing for the 27-year-old Lebanese student who she had been sexually abused by.
He pleaded guilty to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child in October last year.
The ABC reports that the young girl had an ectopic pregnancy and miscarried. The girl, from the Hunter Valley had been given to the man by her father and married in January 2014 in a ceremony by Sheikh Muhammad Tasawar.
7. Children exposed to tuberculosis at child care centre.
More than 100 staff and children at a Sydney childcare centre are being screened for tuberculosis after a person thought to be a staff member became infected.
NSW Health has called for those exposed to have a skin test, a chest X-ray and a medical review.
The centre, Only About Children in Surry Hills told Nine News “We completely trust that the plan devised by NSW Health is the best outcome for our children and their families.”
8. Concordia captain sentenced to 16 years jail.
The captain of the Costa Concordia luxury liner which capsized in January 2012, killing 32 people, has been convicted of multiple charges of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in jail.
9. US shooting: atheist executed three Muslim members of a family over parking.
A tragic shooting in the US with three members of the same family, shot dead in North Carolina – victims of a “neighbour dispute over parking” according to local police.
46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks has been arrested and charged with three counts of murder following the deaths of 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.
10. Mother’s Facebook plea to anti-vaxxers.
A mother has written a passionate post on Facebook that has gone viral after her 15-day-old son was exposed to measles in a doctor’s surgery.
She has said that she is “angry as hell” and has a powerful message to those who choose not to vaccinate.
For more read this post here.
11. Pregnant woman forced to undergo internal on plane.
A pregnant woman in the UK has been forced to undergo an internal examination in front of passengers even though she had a doctor’s letter saying that she was 35 weeks pregnant.
Kerry Deane, from Glasgow flew on an airline that had a 36-week cut off.
She told that she was informed she would have to stay in Tunsia. The examination took place by two female doctors in the food preparation area of the plane. They checked to make sure she had no signs of labor.
Kerry gave birth to a baby boy on October 24 nearly a month after the incident, which took place on September 28.
12. Alcohol has no benefits whatsoever it seems.
Just days after hearing the encouraging news that drinking wine can help you lose fat – discouragement again.
A study out of the UK has concluded what we didn’t want to know – drinking alcohol has no health benefits at all and long established claims that a glass of wine is good for the heart have been exaggerated.
Damn.
The study from University College London found that previous studies which suggest that moderate drinkers are healthier actually are flawed as the people who they are compared to – those who have given up drinking have done so a lot of the time because they are actually sick.
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Top Comments
Children exposed to Tuberculosis at child care center...Why, is my question?
Some people with TB don't show symptoms or only have minor ones. Lots of people seem to think that it doesn't exist in the world but there are still areas with high prevalence. Hopefully the screening will catch anyone who is exposed early so they can get fast treatment.
Yes and also some parents send their kids to childcare even though they show signs of being sick
TB was eradicated in this country, but has resurged due to unvaccinated immigrants and refugees.
As for the woman saying she had an 'internal' exam in the galley, seriously? So there just happened to be a trained midwife or doctor on board who was happy tomgive her a vaginal examination on the floor of an aeroplane? Or was the purser doubling as a midwife that day.
I know here in Oz they practically eradicated it by being so strident in the early treatment but there is a few cases coming in now that we have bought in so many different peoples fleeing countries in turmoil
#9 why on earth is the murderer referred to as an atheist?? Atheist means you don't believe in any religion - why the eff is that relevant to the fact they killed someone?
#5 I hope whoever made the comment yesterday saying "If you threaten police with a knife you deserve to be shot" reads this....and doesn't have any autistic family members who might get killed by police.
I agree that it's a bizarre inclusion. They may as well say "a man who doesn't believe in any organised religions executed three Muslim members of a family over parking."
Is it to rule out a one-religion-vs-another-religion killing, or a quick dig at atheists? Otherwise it's about as relevant as saying: "man who doesn't eat sprouts executed three Muslims..." Or "man who doesn't own a budgie executed three Muslim members..."
I think they wanted to clarify that it probably wasnt a race motivated attack
Because this was clearly a hate crime. The murderer was known to hate religion, he describes himself on facebook as anti-theist and was known to insult all major religions. These poor young innocent lives were taken because they were muslim. If the killer was muslim and killed three atheist students the world would be outraged, im disappointed but not surprised at the lack of media coverage this has received. These students were executed. My heart goes out to their families. They had so much to offer the world. Here is an interview on cnn with one of the victim's sisters.
https://m.youtube.com/watch...
Cnn-Suzanne Barakat
I wonder why, when other methods used to try and defuse the situation with the knife-wielding young woman (the use of a taser and capsicum spray) failed, the officer who shot her didn't aim at her legs. Why was it necessary to shoot her in the chest? This policeman will have to live with the horror of this for the rest of his life. I can't help worrying that there isn't sufficient training in what body parts to aim for if they feel they have no option but to use their guns. We could say that in the heat of the moment it just happened, but that should also be part of training - how to keep a cool head in turbulent circumstances. A tragedy all round.