1. Couple held hostage in Afghanistan explain why they continued to have children in captivity.
Joshua Boyle and Caitlin Coleman, from Canada and the US respectively, were captured while travelling through Afghanistan five years ago.
On Wednesday, after years being held hostage by Taliban-linked extremist group Haqqani, the couple - and their three children - were released.
All three children were born in captivity. Coleman was pregnant with a son at the time of their capture, and went onto have another son and two daughters - one died - while imprisoned in Afghanistan.
Now, the former hostages have spoken out about why they decided to have children while living behind bars, in a foreign country.
"[We decided] we should make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family," Boyle told The Associated Press in an email, Channel Nine reports.
"We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands. We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking."
Boyle said the couple had always planned on having a big family. The pair's eldest son is now four, their middle son two, and their daughter younger than six months.
"Honestly we've always planned to have a family of five, 10, 12 children ... We're Irish."
Upon landing at Toronto's airport on Wednesday, after being rescued by Pakistani forces, Boyle said the Haqqani network killed their infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held hostage.
The Taliban-linked group has since denied those claims.
Boyle and his children are now enjoying their freedom at Boyle's parents' house in Ontario, Canada.
You can see photographs, and read more about the couple's kids, here.
2. "Currently waiting on medical advice." Ed Sheeran injured in bicycle accident.
Ed Sheeran has shared a worrying image on social media showing his right arm in a cast, and his left arm in a sling, after what he calls a "bit of a bicycle accident".
"I'm currently waiting on some medical advice, which may affect some of my upcoming shows," he captioned the photograph posted to Instagram.
The 26-year-old singer was reportedly hit by a car while riding his bike through London, The Sun reports, though this is yet to be confirmed.
According to his website, Sheeran is meant to be performing this Sunday in Taipei, before continuing his tour around Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and South East Asia.
3. Police want help searching for three missing QLD kids.
Police are calling on the public to help find three young children who went missing from Brisbane last month.
The twin five-year-old girls and the boy, six, were last seen in Cleveland on September 24 with 39-year-old Marcin Kurek, who is known to them.
They are believed to be travelling in a silver 2009 Proton sedan with Queensland registration 806-XLP.
Mr Kurek is 175cm tall with thinning blonde hair and green eyes. The boy is 120cm tall with a thin build, black hair and brown eyes. The girls are 100cm tall with slim builds, black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about their whereabouts should contact police.
4. Tony Abbott's sister joining state parliament: "She has a hell of a lot to offer".
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has endorsed his sister's bid to enter NSW parliament with the premier also welcoming the news.
Christine Forster, a City of Sydney councillor, has set her sights on the upper house seat of former finance minister Greg Pearce who announced his retirement last week, News Corp Australia reports.
"I certainly think Christine has a hell of a lot to offer," Mr Abbott told 2GB radio on Monday.
"I think she could make a bigger and better contribution if she was in the state parliament."
Ms Forster, who has been engaged to her partner Virginia Edwards since 2013, has been vocal in her support of same-sex marriage and has been critical of her brother's opposition to change.
Mr Abbott noted the two have their differences but said his sister was an "extremely capable" candidate.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is pleased Ms Forster is throwing her hat into the ring.
"She's an outstanding individual and I welcome more people to come forward - competition is a healthy thing and I encourage everyone to have a go," the premier told reporters in Sydney, AAP reports.
5. Kate Middleton dances with Paddington Bear in one of her first public appearances since pregnancy announcement.
The Duchess of Cambridge has danced with Paddington Bear, delighting children on her return to royal duties after suffering acute morning sickness.
Kate, wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, last week made her first public appearance since it was announced in September she was expecting the couple's third child but suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, AAP reports.
On Monday, she joined her husband and his brother Prince Harry at London's Paddington station where they met children from charities they support who were heading off on a special trip in the sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for a ride through the English countryside.
The royals also met up with a characters from the new Paddington 2 movie, the second instalment about the marmalade-loving bear named after the London rail station, and Kate enjoyed a dance on the platform with an actor in a Paddington costume.
"She's feeling much better," William said, while an aide added while her health was much improved she was still suffering from the effects of the morning sickness.
6. Parents urged to "lock their homes" after girl, 6, almost snatched.
Authorities in Queensland are urging parents to lock their homes securely after a six-year-old girl narrowly avoided being snatched by a man from her bed.
The girl was allegedly grabbed by the unknown man who climbed the fence of her family's Logan home, south of Brisbane, in the early hours of Monday and unlocked the back door by reaching through a dog door.
Her parents were alerted by the girl's screams as she was being carried downstairs and punched by the attacker, AAP reports.
"It does appear opportunistic," Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Ralston told reporters at Logan police station.
He urged parents to be more vigilant about securing their homes.
"Please lock your homes. Be safe, be secure."
Police are appealing for information about the man, who is described as having a dark complexion, aged in his early 20s, wearing long pants and a charcoal hooded jumper.
Top Comments
#1. What completely selfish people to willingly have children in that environment. I’m sorry they were held as hostages but who in their right mind would think that it’s a good idea to start a family in one of the most dangerous and frightening places in the world. How did they know their children wouldn’t be taken off them or worse, killed (which they claim one of them were). They had no way of knowing if they would even be freed, so what, they would just continue reproducing and “making the best of a bad situation”? These children have suffered unimaginable horrors in their short little lives which didn’t need to happen and will continue to have dire consequences. It makes me so angry and I think these parents need to be very closely watched from now on to ensure they don’t again endanger their children and future children’s lives.
#1, I'm sorry, but that reasoning is just bizarre. Having more children while in captivity - apparently by choice - because you want to get a jump start on a big family is ridiculous. Especially if their captors had killed one of the babies as alleged. They had no idea how long they were going to be there, they were being held ny violent terrorists - why would you voluntarily bring children into that sort of situation? I know I can't imagine what it's like to be held captive like that, or what it does to your mind, but this family's story keeps getting weirder and weirder.