"My deepest fear is history repeating itself." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sue tabloid media company, & more in news in 5.

– With AAP.

1. “My deepest fear is history repeating itself.” Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sue tabloid media company.

Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle has filed a claim against the Mail on Sunday newspaper over the publication of a private letter. The Duke of Sussex condemned the publication for their “relentless” campaign against his wife and says they have not considered the consequences of their coverage.

“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been,” Prince Harry writes in a statement on their website.

“Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations – something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.

“It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making.”

The Duke of Sussex says the vilification of his wife by this "specific press pack" has been particularly apparent in the past nine months, commenting "they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave".

"She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.

"For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in."

Prince Harry continues by explaining the legal action they are pursuing stems from a private letter that was published "unlawfully" and then manipulated.

"In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you [the reader] by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year.

"We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this."

The royal ends his statement by comparing the circumstances of his wife to those of his mum, Princess Diana, before she lost her life in 1997.

"Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person.

"I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."

The Mail on Sunday could not immediately be reached for comment by AAP.

2. A father-of-three has been jailed for abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl.

31-year-old father Troy Johnson has been sentenced for abducting, gagging & raping a 12-year-old girl on her way to school on the New South Wales central coast.

#7NEWS https://t.co/8YoIApR0PI

— 7NEWS Perth (@7NewsPerth) October 1, 2019

A father of three jailed for 28 years for snatching a 12-year-old on her way to school, dragging her into bushes and raping her, had been secretly filming girls on the same path for four years.

"Society has no place for a person like you," NSW District Court judge David Wilson told Troy Johnson, 33, on Tuesday in Gosford.

"Your conduct suggests you are a person who is simply depraved."

Judge Wilson, who lifted the suppression order on naming Johnson, said the mechanic had lived a double life where he was a family man but in his spare time preyed on children to satisfy his "perverted and evil desires".

The judge said after raping the girl in May 2017 on the state's Central Coast while wearing a camouflage outfit, Johnson called a friend and told him, "Hey dude, you'll never guess what I did."

He then boasted about sexually assaulting a schoolgirl at knifepoint after tying her up with cable ties and duct tape.

The judge rejected Johnson's claims he deserved a lesser sentence because he'd previously been of good character when it was discovered he'd hidden a video camera in his family home since 2009 to film unsuspecting women in the bathroom.

Judge Wilson pointed out Johnson had stalked the schoolgirl for weeks before carrying out his abhorrent plan and had been filming girls walking on the bush path to school since 2013.

He said he believed Johnson had lied to his psychiatrist after his arrest in claiming the attack was out of character, saying he didn't know why he did it and blaming the devil.

Johnson pleaded guilty to seven charges involving the sexual assault of the 12-year-old on May 15, 2017 and three involving the grooming and sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl between August 2016 and April 2017.

He was jailed for 28 years with a minimum of 21 years.

Judge Wilson said Johnson had betrayed the community, his young, innocent victims and his own family.

Johnson's decision to take photos of the 12-year-old after he had tied her to the tree had been distasteful and demonstrated his pride in his offending.

"There is a risk of him re-offending which must be guarded against," Judge Wilson said.

Johnson had failed to accept responsibility for his actions and his prospects of rehabilitation were poor.

The 12-year-old girl had been on her way to school at 7.40am when she looked back and saw Johnson, who had told a friend he fantasised about raping somebody, suddenly emerge from the bushes.

Dressed in a camouflage outfit known as a leafy ghillie suit, he dragged her off and assaulted her for almost an hour.

''Shhh, don't scream. Don't scream or I'll have to hurt you," he warned her.

When he eventually cut the girl loose, she ran to school crying hysterically.

3. Meghan Markle visits South African university during the royal tour.

Windswept Meghan arrives at University of Johannesburg to meet students on penultimate day of African tour https://t.co/Etv9c0WLFB

— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) October 1, 2019

The Duchess of Sussex has told academics and students that when a woman is empowered it "changes absolutely everything" in the community.

Meghan was carrying out a solo engagement at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, while husband Harry is in Malawi on the penultimate day of their 10-day overseas tour.

She was greeted by scores of screaming well-wishers as she arrived for an Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) round-table discussion about the challenges faced by young women in accessing higher education.

The American former Suits star took on the role of the ACU's patron in January from the Queen, who held the position for 33 years.

During the event, Meghan announced three new Gender Grants for the University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University and the University of Western Cape.

"The goal here is to be able to have gender equality, to be able to support women as they are working in research and higher education roles," she said.

"And also to be able to have workshops, convene things that are really helping people understand the importance of gender equality.

"True to what you said, when a woman is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community and starting an educational atmosphere is really a key point of that."

She also spoke about her own experience of being able to attend university.

Meghan said: "If you don't have the support that is necessary that you feel that you can keep taking the next step then you're stunted in growth."

She added: "I went to university. It takes a village, doesn't it, to sort of piece it together for people to be able to finance that.

"Families chipping in, scholarship, financially all those things that were the reason that I was able to attend university.

"But at the same level you need to have that kind of support on the inside for educators to be able to give as much as they can back to those who are in the educational system."

The duchess, who wore her hair down and was in a khaki Banana Republic double-breasted trench dress, was greeted by Susana Glavan, director of the British Council in South Africa, and Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, vice-chancellor of the university.

Meghan is a passionate promoter of accessible education for all.

During the couple's tour of Fiji last year, she announced new grants for ACU member universities in the Pacific, to fund learning initiatives aimed at empowering female university staff and promoting gender equality.

The Duke of Sussex, meanwhile, visited a health centre in Malawi on Tuesday to learn about the challenges it faces serving the local community.

4. Man charged over the death of a NSW woman in 2011.

In March 2011 Valmai Jane Birch's body was found hidden inside a bin in a NSW unit, today detectives charged her ex-boyfriend over her death. https://t.co/ezekGWPriL

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) October 1, 2019

The former partner of a woman found in a wheelie bin in the NSW Illawarra is behind bars charged with manslaughter, eight years after her badly-decomposed body was found.

The body of Valmai Jane Birch was discovered hidden in the bathroom of an apartment in Woonona, near Wollongong, in March 2011 after neighbours complained of a stench.

The 34-year-old was last seen almost two weeks earlier.

David William Bagster, 52, was arrested at his parents' home in Kiama on Tuesday morning and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station.

Police allege there was a history of domestic violence between the pair, who had been in a relationship for a year but were estranged at the time of her death.

A post-mortem was unable to determine the cause of death.

"Decomposition was a factor," Homicide Squad Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Dickinson told reporters after the arrest.

Mr Dickinson said Ms Birch's family was pleased charges had been laid.

"This investigation has gone on for years, and police have stuck at it with this one and got a result today which is obviously pleasing to police and pleasing to the family," Mr Dickinson said.

Bagster appeared via audio visual link in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday where he was refused bail by Magistrate Geraldine Beattie.

He is due to next face court on November 27.

5. Prince Andrew has kept a low profile while visiting Perth.

The Duke of York has touched down in Perth, arriving on an Emirates flight from Dubai and then driven in a customary Range Rover to his Como Treasury suite https://t.co/BgtAA4jWEB

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) September 30, 2019

Prince Andrew has kept a low profile since landing in Perth amid continued scrutiny about his friendship with dead billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but he will attend a local university as part of his private work trip.

The Duke of York arrived in Perth on Monday evening onboard an Emirates flight and is staying in a suite at the luxurious Como The Treasury hotel.

He will host the boot camp and main event of Pitch@Palace Australia 3.0 for entrepreneurs, including an event at Murdoch University on Wednesday and Government House on Friday.

The program is aimed at providing international support and development opportunities for early-stage businesses.

During previous visits, Prince Andrew has been keen to promote the program in the media, but this time his links to Epstein's scandal has marred his visit amid reports the FBI is expanding its investigation into Epstein.

The disgraced American financier took his own life in August in a New York prison cell where he was detained on charges of sex trafficking teenage girls.

The Sunday Times newspaper says the FBI expects to interview alleged trafficking victims over the next two months and Scotland Yard is ready help.

The newspaper says the FBI is looking to several potential victims in the hope they can provide more details about the Duke's links to Epstein.

Scotland Yard previously held an investigation after one woman caught up in the scandal, Virginia Giuffre, made allegations against Prince Andrew, but that probe was dropped in 2015.

Prince Andrew has denied all allegations against him, saying they are "without foundation".

Pitch@Palace was launched in 2014 and the Australian arm was launched in 2017.

About 931 businesses have become part of the global program, creating 5977 jobs.

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