Saturday's news in less than two minutes

Transcript reveals final communication made by flight MH370

The final moments of cockpit communication with missing flight MH370 have been disclosed by Malaysian authorities. Analysts have identified two anomalies in the 54-minute tape.

The first occurs at 1:07am, when a message from the cockpit is unnecessarily repeated. The second is that the plane began to change its course at the exact time of handover from air traffic controllers from Kuala Lumpur to those in Ho Chi Minh City, “There might be a bit of dead space between the air traffic controllers. It was the only time during the flight they would maybe not have been able to be seen from the ground,” former British Airways pilot Stephen Buzdygan told The London Telegraph.

WA Lib: Sex offenders should “have their penis removed”.

Western Australian backbencher Robyn McSweeney has stood by the comment she made in parliament that serial sex offenders should “have their penis removed with a blunt instrument”. The comments were made earlier this week in relation to the release of the WA serial sex offender known as TJD.

Speaking in parliament on yesterday, McSweeney said that although she understood that the measure is unlikely, it would be justified.

“Obviously, I am a legislator and that is not going to happen, but when we see the damage that this man inflicts on women and children, there is no place for people like this to walk among us in society,” she said.

“If I get into trouble for saying that, so be it, because I am not the first one to say things like that.”

Reza Barati was murdered, say Manus Island inmates

Manus Island inmates have claimed that Reza Barati was beaten to death. The allegations were made during a visit to the compound made by two Australian journalists. Although they were not permitted to interview any of the asylum seekers, the inmates reportedly yelled: “They hit him and he fell from here [the balcony] and they hit him till he died.”

23-year-old Barati died on February 17 following violent scenes at the detention centre.

Concerns for asylum seekers after cyclone alert for Christmas Island

There are concerns for the welfare of asylum seekers after Christmas Island was placed on red alert in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Gillian. Winds of 125km/h are expected to batter the island, which is home to over 1700 asylum seekers.

Putin legislates Crimea seizure

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed Crimea’s seizure into law after his upper house unanimously ratified the treaty making Crimea once again a part of the Russian state. In a televised ceremony, Putin signed the documents and received a standing ovation from his parliament.

Outrage over Turkish Twitter ban

Turkey has banned access to social media site Twitter just nine days before the country’s local elections. The move was undertaken by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop government leaks following accusations of corruption.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes called Erdogan’s ban “groundless, pointless and cowardly”. It is estimated that Turkey has 10 million Twitter users.

Polygamy without a wife’s consent legalised in Kenya

Kenya’s parliament has passed a bill allowing men to marry as many women as they want, without requiring consent from any previous wives. The legislation, which caused female members of parliament to storm out of the room, formalises Kenyan customary law and will come into force after it is ratified by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Elderly man crashes car into The Lodge

An elderly man has crashed his car into a wall at the Prime Minister’s Lodge in Canberra. The incident occurred just after 8am this morning. The man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Nun wows The Voice Italy

And in the viral video of the day, a nun has wowed Italian television audiences after performing a soulful rendition of Alicia Keys’ ‘No One’ in an episode of The Voice. 25-year-old Sister Christina Scuccia said she was inspired to enter the reality TV show by Pope Francis, who has told those in religious orders to go out and spread their faith.