Wednesday afternoon'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. Former Australian Idol winner caught allegedly driving on drugs.

Former Australian Idol winner Kate DeAruago has been charged with driving under the influence.

Ms DeAraugo, 29, was pulled over and breath tested in Sydney’s Surry Hills in March this year.

Daily Mail reports it was later confirmed that her test contained traces of illicit drugs in her system — possibly methamphetamines.

Ms DeAruago’s manager told News Corp’s Confidential that she has long battled with addiction.

“Unfortunately Kate has been suffering from addiction for quite a long time and unfortunately right now she has relapsed and it is really unfortunately after all the hard work she has done to get herself back on track,” Dave Wilkins said.

“We are going to be helping her as her family and her management all the way through to get to the conclusion of this and get her healthy.”

2. Man helps nab wanted criminal thanks to Facebook.

A fan of the NSW Police Force Facebook page has helped nab a wanted criminal, simply by checking his social media.

A man in the Riverina was reportedly perusing the local police “Eyewatch” page while on a train to Sydney on Saturday.

The page featured a photo and an appeal for public assistance to find a wanted teen.

When he looked up from his mobile phone, the man noticed the wanted person sitting across the same train carriage.

The man notified police who intercepted the train and arrested the wanted person.

3. Australian men are abandoning children and mothers in the Philippines.

A recent report in The Monthly revealed a staggering number of Australian men are taking advantage of young women in the Philippines.

Journalist Margaret Simons travelled to Angeles City where she found a number of children fathered by Australian men.

“Some of the fathers paid to support their children, then stopped. Some never paid at all. Some don’t even know they have children,” Simons reports.

One child was fathered by an Australian paedophile, who groomed a 14-year-old local girl, travelled to the country to have sex with her for two nights, and then cancelled the email address through which they stayed in touch.

Related content: The Australian paedophile charged with horrific child sex crimes.

Another little boy’s Melbourne-based father used to keep in contact with the family and pay a small amount of child support. The father later stopped the payments and blocked his Filipino family from contacting him on Facebook.

The children are often a result of sex tourism — and Australian men make up the majority of people who visit the Philippines for this purpose, News Corp reports.

4. Lawyers in China are disappearing.

Human rights lawyers in China are facing up to 15 years in prison for supposed crimes against the state — only, nobody knows where they are.

According to The Guardian, at least six human rights lawyers and activists are missing — presumed to have “disappeared into the custody of China’s security services.”

The publicised crackdown on human rights lawyers has seen the arrest of at least 238 people over the past two weeks.

Amnesty International has expressed concern for the welfare of 31 people still in custody.

Human rights groups fear that those who have not been heard from are facing forms of torture.

“The authorities appear intent on destroying the growing network of human rights lawyers and activists, and on spreading fear among those willing to stand up for human rights,” Amnesty International China researcher William Nee said.

5. Anti-poaching group comes up with new way to stop rhino slaughter.

British rhinoceros conservationists are going to unique lengths to prevent poaching.

Not-for-profit group Protect has developed a ‘Real-time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device’ (RAPID), which involves a camera being implanted in the animal’s horn.

According to PetaPixel photography website, the camera is linked to a device that measures the heart rate of the rhinoceros.

If the heart rate accelerates – Protect workers will turn on the camera and hopefully catch the poacher in the act.

Do you have a story to share with Mamamia? Email us news@mamamia.com.au
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