Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. Police searching for man who sexually assaulted young girl in Brisbane.

The police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a young girl on Sunday night in Brisbane.

The man, who is described as being in his early 20s with fair skin and dark hair, entered an unlocked home in Capalaba on Sunday night, before sexually assaulting one young girl and attempting to remove her sister’s clothing.

The man entered the house at about 7.45pm, after the mother had left the house for 15 minutes to return a car she had borrowed for that day. There were six sisters aged between five and eighteen at home during the time of the attack. Both of the victims were under 13.

The police have said that the man was not known to the family and urged anyone who may have information about the attack to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

2. Ian Thorpe to leave hospital ‘within days’.

Thorpe’s manager Will Erskine told the MailOnline, “He’s doing well, he’s recovered very well in fact… He’s due to get out of hospital very soon… as in days. He’s got on top of the infection. There’s obviously still a lot of structural damage which might require future surgery but he’s in a lot better shape than he was a few weeks ago.”

Erksine also said that Thorpe would be checking into a mental health facility to help treat his depression after leaving hospital.

3. Prosecutors hope to increase sentences for Ashlee Jean Polkinghorne and boyfriend.

Prosecutors want to increase the sentences given to the mother and her boyfriend who killed a four-year-old girl by forcing her to repeatedly ride a motorcycle.

Chloe Valentine died from severe injuries caused by falling off the bike in January, 2012. You can read more of the harrowing details of the case here. Chloe was left unconscious in her home for over eight hours before she died.

The girl’s mother, Ashlee Jean Polkinghorne, was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to manslaughter by criminal neglect. Her boyfriend, Benjamin Robert McPartland, received a seven-year sentence.

The South Australian Director of Public Prosecutions has applied to appeal the sentences, saying they are inadequate.

4. Former Olympic swimmer Geoff  Huegill makes public apology.

In more swimming news, former Olympic swimmer Geoff  Huegill has apologised to anyone he may have disappointed, after he and his wife were allegedly caught with a small amount of cocaine over the weekend. He made a brief statement on Tuesday afternoon in which he said:

“I just want to say I realise that this has caused some commotion and some people feel that they’ve been let down, and I deeply apologise for that. But I’d ask everyone to understand that as this matter is before the courts, unfortunately I won’t be making any other statements until the matter has been resolved. So thank you very much and we’ll speak to you again soon.”

Huegill and Hill were arrested at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse on Saturday and have been given a notice to appear in court on May 14. Huegill has previously admitted that during a break from swimming in the mid-2000s, he used party drugs and suffered from depression.

5. QLD wants you to boycott Ben and Jerry’s.

Environment Minister Andrew Powell says that Ben and Jerry’s has damaged the reputation of the Great Barrier Reef – and also the government – while risking tourism dollars. His comments are in response to the WWF ‘Fight for the Reef’ campaign, which is against dredging and dumping near the reef.

Mr Powell said: “Another company has signed up to the campaign of lies and deceit that’s been propagated by WWF. The only people taking a scoop out of the reef is Ben and Jerry’s and Unilever. If you understand the facts, you’d want to be boycotting Ben and Jerry’s.”

The Australia brand manager Kalli Swaik for Ben and Jerry’s said, “Ben & Jerry’s believes that dredging and dumping in world heritage waters surrounding the marine park area will be detrimental to the reef ecology… It threatens the health of one of Australia’s most iconic treasures.”

Ben and Jerry’s has supported other environmental causes in the past, such as opposing drilling in the Arctic.

6. Western Australia finally finds out Senate election results.

After seven months, Western Australians have finally found out the results of their Senate election. The Liberal Party secured three seats, while the Palmer United Party, the Greens and Labor each won one seat.

Michaelia Cash was re-elected (which is lucky, as she’s the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women) and is joined by Liberal senators Linda Reynolds and David Johnston. Greens Senator Scott Ludlum will also be returning to the Senate and the Palmer United Party candidate Zhenya Wang will be representing her state for the first time. Labor senator Louise Pratt has been replaced in the Senate by Labor candidate Joe Bullock.

7. Largest earthquake in 20 years near Flinders Ranges.

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake has struck near the Flinders Ranges – and Geoscience Australia says that damage could have been caused up to 10 kilometres away.

The earthquake hit at 7.24pm yesterday outside Yunta near the Flinders Ranges and it the biggest earthquake in the region in 20 years.

8. Plane forced to make emergency landing in Perth.

A plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Perth Airport yesterday when one of the plane’s engines caught fire after takeoff.

The flight was filled with FIFO workers who were heading to Barrow Island. Reports indicate that the passengers could see flames and sparks shooting from the engine. As soon as the fire was detected, the plane was landed.

9. Six people injured in shooting at FedEx.

Authorities cleared the area and a number of people were transported to hospital. Marietta police spokesman David Baldwin said that one individual’s injuries were “possibly critical”.

Police spokesman Officer Michael Bowman has revealed that the shooter is now dead  “from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound”.

10. Another young girl indecently assaulted over Easter.

A young girl was indecently assaulted on Easter Sunday near Phillip Island during an Easter egg hunt with her family.

A man, who was aged about 75, joined the young girl’s group and indecently assaulted her. It has been reported that a nearby witness confronted the man and then alerted the family to what had happened.

The man has been described as having thin grey hair with a comb over and is of northern European appearance. Anyone who might know something is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

11. Man rescued from shark by pod of dolphins.

He wrote on his Facebook page that he was immediately surrounded by a pod of about 10 dolphins that swam with him for more than an hour.

“I’d like to think they were protecting me and guiding me home,” he wrote. You can read more about this story here: He was swimming an ocean challenge when he saw a shark below him. What happened next will amaze you.

12. More sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.

The European Union has named another 15 people who will face sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, which will include asset freezes and travel bans.

The sanctions are being imposed against a number of high-ranking Russian officials, including Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s deputy prime minister; and Denis Pushilin, the leader of the pro-Russian separatist movement “Donetsk People’s Republic”.

The EU said that the 15 people are “responsible for actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.

13. An Aussie company thinks it may have found wreckage of MH370.

An Australian company thinks that it may have found the wreckage of MH370 in the Bay of Bengal.

GeoResonance has said it used images from satellites and aircraft to survey 2 million square kilometers of ocean and thinks it may have found wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 5,000 kilometres from the approved search area.

Channel 7 reported that the company claims to have found elements on the ocean floor, which are consistent with plane wreckage.

A company representative Pavel Kursa said, “We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777… these are aluminum, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials.”

David Pope, another representative of the company, said that GeoResonance applied technology that is used to find nuclear warheads. He continued, “Our team was very excited when we found what we believe to be the wreckage of a commercial airliner… We’re not trying to say that it definitely is MH370, however, it is a lead we feel should be followed up.”

What news are you talking about today?