Wednesday'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. Hunt for kidnapped teen and armed man.

Police are searching for an 18-year-old woman believed abducted by an armed man in Queensland yesterday.

Just after 6am Tuesday, Billy-Anne Huxham was apparently abducted from a home on Gilbert Street, Caboolture. At 11.30am she was spotted by police as a passenger in a car on the Bruce Highway at Kallangur.

“Officers attempted to intercept the vehicle but were unsuccessful,” Police said in a statement.

The man believed to be holding her is 32-year-old Carl Garry Chapman who is known to the woman. The Courier Mail report that he is her ex-partner.

Police are concerned for the teenager’s safety, as the man is believed to be armed.

Anyone with information should contact Triple 0 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au.

2. Four-year old boy and grandmother murdered.

A four-year old boy has been stabbed to death, along with his 60-year-old grandmother in Albanvale in Melbourne’s northwest early yesterday evening.

His 61-year old grandfather was found gagged and bound.

Police have a 45-year old woman in custody – it is believed she was known to the 61-year old man.

For more read this post here.

 3. Sydney woman pleads guilty to the manslaughter of her seven-year-old son.

By ABC

Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a Sydney woman, after she pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her seven-year-old son.

When paramedics attended the boy’s Oatley home in May 2013, they were told he had hurt himself while playing on a pogo stick.

But detectives said the injuries were not accidental.

In Central Local Court on Tuesday the child’s mother, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, reckless wounding, assault and a series of child abuse material offences.

According to the police statement of facts, “a plethora of injuries were found on the deceased at autopsy, supporting the evidence that he was abused”.

The injuries included a fracture to the rear of the child’s skull, a subdural haemorrhage and a fracture to the left temple.

There was also significant bruising around the left and right temporal areas and a bruise to the bridge of the boy’s nose.

“These injuries are inconsistent with a single fall from a pogo stick,” the police facts said.

The boy had been assessed as having a mild intellectual disability and had difficulties with basic numeracy and literacy.

His teacher described him as very quiet, timid, gentle and softly spoken.

The boy’s previously good school attendance, rapidly diminished, to the point where he did not attend school after February 14, 2013.

The case was adjourned to the New South Wales Supreme Court for a hearing on sentence in May.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

 4. Lufthansa knew of co-pilot’s depression.

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot believed to be behind the Germanwings plane crash which killed 150 people had informed bosses at his flight training school about a period of “severe depression” in 2009.

Andreas Lubitz took a break from his flight training for several months, reportedly while he battled depression, but was later given a medical ‘fit to fly’ certificate.

In a statement, airline group Lufthansa – which owns the Germanwings subsidiary – revealed they had handed over training and medical documents to the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor.

CNN reports that among the papers were records of e-mails exchanged between Lubitz and the Flight Training Pilot School in 2009, when he submitted medical notes relating to his resuming his training containing details of a “previous episode of severe depression”.

5. Two people dead after shooting in Rockhampton.

Two people are dead after a triple shooting in Rockhampton – with one of the victims, a 53-year old man, taken to Rockhampton Base Hospital in a stable condition.

Police called off the search for a gunman following the earlier shooting incident after the two bodies were located.

6. Prosecutor taken hostage at Istanbul court.

An armed leftist group have taken a prosecutor hostage at an Istanbul court.

Images emerged on social media of a gun being held to the head of Mehmet Selim Kiraz at a court house in Istanbul.

Later gunshots were heard and smoke was seen rising from the building, after reports special forces had entered.

 7. Man jailed after pouring petrol over pregnant partner.

A 22-year-old man has been jailed for 14 years after setting his pregnant partner alight.

Yavaz Kilic poured petrol over the woman and told her: “You wanna make my heart burn, now you can burn bitch.”

The two had been in a relationship since February 2014, which the woman described as dysfunctional and controlled by an addiction to ice.

The woman said Kilic was paranoid and “controlled me.”

The County Court heard that Kilic held a cigarette lighter to her chest before she was “engulfed in flames”.

Prosecutor Catherine Parkes told Judge Jim Montgomery that the victim’s hair, face and clothing caught fire and she screamed for help. Kilic rang triple-0 and then handed the mobile phone to a friend saying “Here, you talk to them.”

The woman sustained burns to 20 per cent of her body, spent five days in an induced coma and nine days in intensive care.

A forensic clinician reported she suffered wounds “essential to life”, which included her airways, and to sensitive areas such as the head, face, neck, breasts, hands and wrists.

She is scarred and requires on going care.

The Age reports that the woman’s pregnancy was terminated.

Kilic pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury and to possessing suspected proceeds of crime and possessing an offensive weapon.

Judge Montgomery said he found it “hard to recall a more serious example of this type of offence in 38 years in the criminal law”.

He said in some cases it “seems like there is a war on women”.

Judge Montgomery, who accepted that Kilic had shown remorse, said that courts “have to send a message to the community that violence against women will not be tolerated under any circumstances”.

8. ASADA to announce if it will appeal ruling.

ASADA is expected to announce at 11am today whether it will appeal the ruling of the Anti-Doping Tribunal which yesterday cleared Essendon players of using banned substances.

The AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has said that he hopes the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority won’t challenge the decision.

Essendon chairman Paul Little yesterday expressed his “sincere regret’’ for the 2012 program, which resulted in players being injected with unknown substances.

9. Jacqui Lambie finds recruits for her new party.

Jacqui Lambie has told The Australian that she has already signed up recruits for the Jacqui Lambie Network in business and legal circles.

She said that the party would give the average person “a go” at politics.

The new recruits must abide by her 12 “core beliefs”, these include opposing sharia law, greater support for veterans, lower petrol and energy prices, a crackdown on halal food and slashing foreign aid.

 10. Noelene and Yvana Bischoff: Coroner finds allergic reaction killed Queensland mother and daughter in Bali

By ABC

A Queensland coroner has found an allergic reaction caused the deaths of a Sunshine Coast mother and daughter in Bali last year.

Noelene Bischoff, 54, and her 14-year-old daughter Yvana died on January 4 less than 24 hours after arriving in eastern Bali for a holiday.

Non-inquest findings by Coroner Terry Ryan show their main cause of death was an allergic reaction to food, most likely to have been fish.

Asthma was also a contributing factor along with obesity, in the mother’s case.

The coroner said he does not believe more useful information would be obtained by holding an inquest, given the location of the deaths and potential witnesses, along with challenges presented in any further investigation.

At the time of their deaths there were conflicting reports that food poisoning from a local restaurant or a food allergy may have been the cause.

 A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

 11. Costa Concordia was used by the mafia to smuggle cocaine.

Reports today that the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which sunk off the Italian island of Giglio in 2012, was used by the mafia to smuggle cocaine according to British newspaper The Independent.

It is alleged that Mafia syndicate, the Ndrangheta, hid drugs on board the cruise ship without the knowledge of senior officers or senior company officials.

 12. James Packer sells Perisher Blue.

James Packer has sold his NSW ski resort Perisher Blue to America’s Vail Resorts for $176.6 million.

The deal is good one for skiers with season pass holders to be given free access to American resorts- Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, Park City in Utah and Heavenly and Northstar in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada.

13. One in ten children aged 12 and 13 ‘involved in sexually explicit videos’

British research has shown that at least 1 in 10 kids aged 12 to 13 have made or been part of a sexually explicit video.

The study of nearly 700 children found one in five said they had seen porn images that shocked or upset them.

Peter Liver, director of ChildLine, told The Telegraph that children reported watching porn made them feel depressed and put “pressure on them to engage in sex acts” they are not ready for.

14. Average child will eat 8000 extra calories over Easter.

A survey has revealed kids will eat an extra 8000 calories this Easter over the four days – in chocolate  eggs.

A poll published in The Daily Mail shows that most children receive eight eggs for Easter and eat them over the four days.

Alongside eggs they are also given money and gifts.

78 per cent of parents said they always purchased Easter eggs for their child. 60% said that their children were bought Easter gifts – including chocolate and toys by friends or relatives.

And we thought the Easter Bunny brought them.

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