Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. Senator Nova Peris’ alleged affair revealed

An alleged affair carried out by Senator Nova Peris – and funded by taxpayers- has come to light through News Limited newspapers.

The alleged affair in 2010 between Senator Peris and Ato Boldon – a four-time Olympic gold medal winner – was exposed through a series of emails between the two.

Ms Peris was working as a communication officer with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies at the time and as ambassador for Athletics Australia. In her role she allegedly sought funds from Athletics Australia to pay for Mr Boldon’s trip to Australia from Los Angeles where he took take part in a program for young athletes.

2. A bully and a coward harassed his partner.

A judge has called a man ‘a bully and a coward’ as he sentenced him.

Dan Shearin was sentenced to six months jail – and will serve at least two months in jail for using a carriage service to ‘menace and harass’ Breeana Robinson, who fell to her death from their balcony in Southport’s H2O building.

Shearin lived with Breeana for just 38 days before he launched his vicious campaign of “gratuitous harassment” against her.

Magistrate John Costanzo said Shearin’s controlling ways amounted to domestic violence.

“It was a continuous and therefore deliberate campaign,” Mr Costanzo said.

“If you were having difficulties in your relationship, then your actions are those of a coward,” reports News Limited.

Breanna, who was legally blind committed suicide just ten minutes after receiving the message “You’re more interested in TV, food and everything else but your partner. That’s why everything’s ruined. Your priorities are (expletive) up.”

If you need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14

3. Fuel tax increase

The Government has bypassed the Senate and pushed through a fuel tax increase angering the Opposition and the Greens.

It means the price of petrol will rise by about half-a-cent per litre from November 10. The Government says “every cent” will be spent on new roads.

The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott said it will cost the average family 40c a week.

The ABC reports that the Australian Automobile Association condemned the move.

“I think frankly it’s weak, it’s sneaky and it’s tricky – and I’ve to say as well I think it’s also quite a gutless move,” executive director Andrew McKellar told the ABC.

“Is that something that I’m relaxed about? No, it’s not, because I appreciate that the families of Australia are doing it tough.”

4. Kim Jong Un mystery solved.

South Korea has solved the mystery of where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was for 40 days when he disappeared from public life.

It has been reported that the National Intelligence Service in South Korea have said that that a European doctor operated on Kim in September or October to remove a cyst from his right ankle.

It is believed that the cyst could recur because of Kim’s obesity, smoking and heavy public schedule.

5. Four-year-old boy starved

A court in Adelaide has heard that four-year-old boy was just days from death when police discovered him locked in a room in his parent’s squalid house.

The 28-year-old father and the 24-year-old mother have pleaded guilty to an aggravated charge of endangering the life of their son, who weighed just 8.3kg when found by police.

For more read this post here.

6. Rosie Batty

Rosie Batty has been named Victorian of the Year, recognised for her courage in speaking out against domestic violence.

She said when she received the award, “Luke would be proud of me, but as a 12-year-old boy would be embarrassed. He’d say ‘Mum, it’s not a good look’.”

“But I’m here because of Luke and I’m here because one on three women is affected by family violence. And one in four children,” reports The Age.

 7. Discrimination survey

A survey by Monash University has revealed that 1/4 of Australians describe their personal attitude towards Muslims as ‘negative or very negative’.

One in five said they had experienced discrimination and 10% said they were concerned about racists.

However the annual snapshot by the Scanlon Foundation found that Australia remains a highly cohesive society – the vast majority had a high level of identification with their country and almost unanimously expressed a sense of belonging and pride.

About 85% of people surveyed agreed with the statement “multiculturalism has been good for Australia”.

But 10% said they were concerned about racism. One in five said they had experienced discrimination.

 8. Julie Bishop’s attack on Tanya Plibersek

Julie Bishop has launched what has been branded an ‘attack’ against Tanya Plibersek telling colleagues at an address to the Coalition joint parties meeting that the deputy Labor leader had embarked on a “campaign to undermine Bill Shorten.”

Fairfax Media report that she had advanced her own leadership ambitions because “it is likely to do great damage to Mr Shorten’s reputation”.

9. Canadian soldier funeral

Thousands of Canadians have gathered to farewell Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who was killed by a rogue gunman in Ottawa last week.

Reuters reports that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told mourners Cirillo had inspired and united Canadians.

 10. Nurse sacked after caught stealing $20 on Skype

A nurse has lost her job after being caught stealing $20 from a new father’s wallet – seen by his father via Skype from Greece.

First-time dad Nick was visiting his premature son when his wife called him out of the room.

“My husband went back … and his dad said to him, ‘Check your wallet, because I saw a lady come into the room and she opened your wallet and took something red’,” Wife Chrysa told Seven News.

Chrysa said that her father-in-law then identified the nurse via Skype.

The nurse has since lost her job.

11. Gender gap

A major international study has ranked Australia an appalling 24th in the world – falling from 15th spot in 2006 in gender equality.

The Global Gender Gap report measured equality across four areas: economic participation, education, health and political empowerment.

Australia ranked number 24 behind countries such as Nicaragua, Burundi, Latvia and South Africa.

Australia scored highly in education and made a slight improvement on workplace issues like wages but fell short when it came to women in political roles.

Nordic countries dominated the top positions, with Iceland, Finland Norway and Sweden the top four.

Rwanda ranked seventh, because it had the most women in parliament.

 12. Bride’s run of bad luck

A bride-to-be who was due to marry last year but had to cancel when her wedding dress company went into liquidation has met with bad luck for the second time after losing her engagement rings in a toilet.

The Auckland woman was posing for photos at a park with her fiancé when she grazed her knee. She rushed to the bathroom to wash her leg and removed her rings.

About 10 minutes later Verena Phillip realised her hand was bare – and raced back but her rings – a twisted eternity band and a matching engagement ring with a solitaire diamond – were gone.

She told the New Zealand Herald that she is desperate to get them back.

13. Mother takes baby son to Syria

A young British mother is reported to have taken her 14-month-old son to Syria after becoming radicalized online.

25-year old Tareena Shakil told family she was going on holiday to Spain.

But as The Sun reports she then contacted him saying she was in Raqqa, a headquarters of Islamic State (IS).

Her father Mohammed Shakil said: “There was no reason to suspect. She left wearing jeans and a top She was not even wearing a headscarf.”

 14. Baby number three actually doesn’t bring any extra happiness

A study shown that while first and second children bring their parents happiness – having a third baby does not.

The study by the London School of Economics and Political Science and Western University, Canada reveals that parents’ happiness increases in the year before and after the birth of a first child, it then quickly decreases and returns to their ‘pre-child’ level of happiness.

Lead author of the study Mikko Myrskylä, told The Daily Mail that “The arrival of a third child is not associated with an increase in the parents’ happiness, but this is not to suggest they are any less loved than their older siblings.

“Instead, this may reflect that the experience of parenthood is less novel and exciting by the time the third child is born or that a larger family puts extra pressure on the parents’ resources.”

15. Julie Bishop says she’s not a feminist

Australia’s only female cabinet minister, Julie Bishop, says she’s not a feminist.

In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra to launch a “Women in Media” group, Ms Bishop said she was “first and foremost” a parliamentarian and minister, Fairfax Media reports.

“I don’t find the need to self-describe in that way,” she said, adding that the term “feminist” was “not a term that I find particularly useful these days”.

“It’s not because I have some sort of pathological dislike of the term. I just don’t use it …It’s not part of my lexicon,” she said.

“I’m a female politician, I’m a female foreign minister … get over it.”

Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens spokesperson for women called Bishop’s comment “disappointing”.

“It’s very disappointing that Julie Bishop has joined Michaelia Cash today in saying that she is not a feminist,” Sen Waters said.

“It’s no wonder Australia has dropped nine places to 24th on the global gender index when two of the only five Abbott Government female frontbenchers don’t identify as feminists,” she said.

“Feminism is about equality. Why is it so hard for the Abbott Government’s most senior female members to be part of that?

“We need strong female political leaders who embrace feminism in order to achieve gender equality and close the gender pay gap.”

16. New York City beheading

A New York man has committed suicide by jumping in front of a train after allegedly beheading a woman in Farmingdale, Long Island, NBC News is reporting.

The attack is being investigated as a brutal murder-suicide, according to officials.

The body of the woman, believed to be in her 60s, was found near Farmingdale train station on Tuesday night and the body of the man in his 30s was later found near close-by train tracks.

Officials believe the attack is related to domestic violence rather than terrorism and have speculated that the woman may have been the man’s mother.

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