Thursday's news in under 5 minutes.

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

1. Former Neighbours star in court for sexual abuse charges.

Warning: This item deals with child sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers. 

A court has heard that former Neighbours star Jeremy Kewley thought he would escape punishment because his victims didn’t realise what he was doing was wrong.

Kewly awaits sentence for sexually assaulting 16 boys over 22 years after luring them into his home to audition for advertisements and movies.

His victims were aged between nine and 14 at the time, and now comprise men in their 20s and 30s and boys in their teens.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said much of the abuse took place during screen tests for a short film that was actually being made in June and July of 2011. The film, Malevolence. depicts a father who attacks his sons.

Defence counsel Con Heliotis, QC, said they were crimes of opportunity.

“These are not bogus screen tests,” he said.

“The acts portrayed are largely part of the actual script itself.”

The Herald Sun reports that none of the victims now feature in the film.

The court heard Kewley dressed his victims in tight Lycra costumes, wrestled with them, touched their genitalia and kissed them, while their parents were made to wait downstairs.

Mr Heliotis said Kewley believed he could get away with a lot of this without hurting the victim.

“He believed the concealment of his behaviour within the script meant the victims wouldn’t realise they were being exploited.”

Kewley, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault, 14 charges of committing an indecent act on a child, two of producing child pornography and one of possessing child pornography.

For help: Lifeline 13 11 14. Kid’s Helpline: 1800 55 1800. DV and Sexual Abuse hotline 27/4: 1800 737 732. Men’s helpline: 1300 78 99 78 

2. Girls punched in sickening attack.

Three young girls have been the subject of a racially motivated attack in Geelong.

The girls aged 15, 12 and 11 were punched and had their headdresses forcibly removed in the attack.

Police say 10 youths, some thought to be as young as seven, were involved.

The girls were at a park in the Geelong suburb of Norlane about 5:30pm on March 23 when they were approached by the gang.

Two of the girls were wearing chadors – a large scarf worn by some Muslim women that wraps around the body to leave only the face exposed.

Aima Sadiq-Ali, 10, told Seven News that she and her mother had been left scared by the attack.

“They hit us and their mum was saying rude words to us; ‘go back to your country, go back to your country’,” she said.

She told Seven News that one of the attackers was a young girl aged about seven who filled her socks up with rocks and threw those at them.

“I couldn’t even control myself because I was really upset,” said another victim, Nadia, 15.

When one of the gang’s mothers turned up she too turned on the gang egging the youths on to torment Aima, Nadia and Walija,12.

Acting Senior Sergeant Jonathan Parish said it was a sickening attack.

“They’re young girls — they should be able to go to a local park and enjoy their time in the community without being subject to this kind of behaviour,” he said.

“The seriousness of what has occurred relates to the vilification and the racial motivation of the attack,” he said.

The girls were punched, had their mobile phones smashed and had rocks thrown at them.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

3. Study finds girls at co-ed high schools feel pressure to be thin.

Girls who attend a co-ed high school feel greater pressure to be thin and have lower self-esteem than those attending single sex schools.

A study has found that the environment of a single-sex school minimizes negative messages about body image.

Researchers from the University of Bristol found 46 per cent girls were trying to lose weight; of them 23 per cent dieting and 41 per cent exercising.

The presence of boys inflated their appearance concerns and lowered self-esteem.

Researcher Victoria Cribb said that a single-sex school “improved self-esteem, psychological and social wellbeing in adolescent girls”.

At co-ed schools there was “a pressure to appear a certain way in front of boys,” Ms Cribb said.

4. Ricky Slater has an “ice addiction.”

After yesterday’s revelations that Ricky Slater, the man killed during an alleged home-intrusion in Newcastle, was previously convicted for raping a teenage girl, it has now been reported that he was an ice addict.

Slater was sentenced to minimum four years in prison over the June 2007 rape in which he forced his way into the South Tamworth home of a 16-year-old female.

The Daily Mail reports that the 34-year-old “had a problem” with ice. Speaking to the mother of Slater, the website writes that there is a photograph of a man smoking from a lit pipe and it was Ricky Slater.

The 34-year-old died on Sunday from injuries sustained in a brawl with Benjamin Batterham, who was charged with murder following the death of the father of three.

5. Woman stabbed to death in Adelaide home, man arrested.

A 63-year-old woman has been stabbed to death in the exclusive Adelaide suburb of Kensington Park.

The woman was found in the driveway of her house. Paramedics tried to revive her but were unsuccessful.

A man, 43, was also found at the scene with a knife police believe was the weapon. He was taken into custody.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

6. Victoria to focus domestic violence efforts on children.

The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence has recommended 227 ways in which Victoria can start trying to eliminate domestic violence.

Marcia Neave, the head of the royal commission, says the 227 recommendations change the focus of the system towards protecting children and early intervention.

“We recommend a focus on children, the silent victims of family violence,” she told a press conference yesterday.

“Victims should not be required to manage their and their children’s safety.”

“We haven’t done enough to prevent family violence or stop it from escalating,” she said.

The report has recommended the state government overhauls the way it funds family violence services and establishes 17 safety hubs across the state.

Victims currently seek help from a range of people and services, who may not necessarily recognise that the problem is family violence, Justice Neave said.

“We also know that some victims are not supported in getting help, that the various services that they need are not effectively connected and that people are discouraged because they often have to tell their stories on multiple occasions to different service providers.”

For domestic violence support 24/7, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). 

7. Government considering a state income tax.

The Treasurer, Scott Morrison, has indicated that the government may allow states and territories to levy their own income taxes.

The plan could create several different income tax rates across the country.

“You have a situation where you have one level of government which is running programs and controlling, or not controlling, costs and you’ve got another level of government which is increasingly having to foot the bill,” Mr Morrison said.

“It is a very good business practice that those who fund something are also the same people who control the cost of how it’s being delivered.”

The government is preparing to put the plan to leaders at the COAG meeting this week after cabinet signed off on the Federation White Paper.

8. Theme park tells riders on its rollercoaster “not to scream.”

A theme park in the UK has asked riders on its new rollercoaster to keep their screams to themselves so as to not disturb the neighbours.

The Big Sheep theme park in Devon has erected signs urging patrons not to shout or scream while riding “The Big One”, because the site is located in a quiet area of the Devon countryside.

Owner Rick Turner told ITV News, “Most of the people nearby are retired and elderly and they don’t want to hear continuous loud screaming.

“We do love our neighbours and have put in a lot of noise reduction methods but we know that young girls especially love to scream so we erected the sign.”

The Big One is 400 metres long, 12 metres high and can reach the speed of up to 48 km/h.

The Big Sheep has even issued a challenge to patrons: “Are you brave enough to ride the Big One and not scream?”

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