Thursday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up all the biggest stories from Australia and around the world.

1. Taiwan plane crash

At least 25 people have been killed when a passenger plane in Taiwan clipped a bridge overpass soon after take-off and plunged into a river.

16 survivors were rescued, including a two-year old boy from the TransAsia Airways plane’s wreckage that was strewn across the Keelung River.

As the rescue operation continued into the night, a crane lifted the rear and central sections of the plane from the water, with one body retrieved from inside. The front part, where 17 people are believed to be trapped, was still in the water.

Many of the passengers were mainland Chinese tourists. Officials have said they were now “not optimistic” about finding survivors reports CNN.

A recording thought to be the final message from the cockpit reveals the desperate crew shouting “Mayday! Mayday! Engine flameout!”

Dramatic amateur video footage showed the TransAsia ATR 72-600 hit an elevated road.

 2. Peter Greste return

Australian journalist Peter Greste has returned to Brisbane in the early hours of this morning after being jailed in Egypt for 400 days.

As his feet hit Australian soil and he was reunited with his family he said

“This is a moment I’ve rehearsed in my mind four hundred times over the last four hundred days”

“Egypt has an opportunity to show that justice does not depend on your nationality,” he said. “If it’s right for me to be free, it’s right for them to be free.”

For more and to see the delightful pictures of his reunion read this post here.

 3. Father of Jordanian pilot

The father of 26-year old Muath al-Kaseasbeh who was burnt alive by Islamic terrorists has called on the government to “eradicate this criminal organization.”

His plea came after Jordan executed al-Qaeda-linked Iraqi prisoners Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli as punishment for the murder of al-Kaseasbeh .

“I ask that this should not end with Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad Karbouli,” Safi al-Kaseasbeh, the pilot’s father, said in an interview with Al Arabiya News Channel. “I expect the government to seek revenge, severe revenge for the blood of (Muath) against this horrid organization, this criminal organization, this organization that is far from Islam and the spirit of Islam,”

“The pain is deep,” he told the broadcaster. “My son isn’t just the son of Safi al-Kaseasbeh; he is the son of every Jordanian. Grief is now in the hearts of every Jordanian mother and every Jordanian father.”

 4. Three children missing

Three Perth children missing since Australia Day are causing concern for authorities with a plea from police for the public to help locate them.

Desmond Narrier, 12, Clive Hart, 12, and Ryheem Davey, 11, were last seen at their Parkerville home on January 26.

One of the boys requires medication.

 Anyone who knows their location is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

5. Leadership crisis

Former Assistant Treasurer and the man who served as John Howard’s Chief of Staff Arthur Sinodinos has told Sky News that his support for the prime minister, Tony Abbott, is “not unconditional” further stirring talk of a potential leadership spill next week.

When asked if Mr Abbott still be leader next week, Sinodinos told Sky News “Comrade, come and ask me next week”

 6. South Africa murders

The surviving son of the Van Breda family who were massacred in South Africa in an apparent axe attack has told police that a burglar killed his father, mother and brother.

Henri van Breda, 20, told detectives he was also attacked but and was knocked unconscious.

Henri’s father Martin, mother Teresa and brother Rudi were all brutally murdered, His younger sister, Marli was injured but survived.

A triple-O call has emerged in the media is South Africa which shows Henri sniggering and giggling as he calls for help for his family.

You can listen to the emergency call here http://www.enca.com/south-africa/stellenbosch-victim-describes-how-family-was-attacked

6. Ban word ‘gay’

There has been a call in the UK to ban the use of the playground insult “gay”.

The Telegraph reports that the shadow education secretary as said children should be kicked out of school if they call each other “gay” in the playground as it is “damaging the life chances” of Britain’s youth.

The shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has said that his party would enforce “zero tolerance” of homophobic bullying in “every classroom, dinner hall and playground.”

Hannah Kibirige, a Senior Education Officer at Stonewall said that she welcomed the initiative.

“Homophobic bullying and language are endemic in Britain’s schools, with a devastating impact on young people’s health, wellbeing and attainment. Through our work with more than 12,000 schools across the country, we know that teacher training is vital to tackling the problem.”

 7. This simple trick could be the key to seeing if your partner is the unfaithful type.

Scientists have discovered evidence that backs the theory people fall into two categories – those are more likely to stay faithful and those who are promiscuous.

The sign seems to be in their fingers – the study showed that those whose ring fingers and index fingers are the same length are more likely to be faithful lovers.

“We observed what appears to be a cluster of males and a cluster of females who are more inclined to ‘stay,’ with a separate cluster of males and females being more inclined to ‘stray’ when it comes to sexual relationships,” says study co-author Rafael Wlodarski, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford.

 8. Trio of children ‘absolutely destroy’ rental property in Geraldton

By ABC

Three boys under the age of 10 have trashed a house, causing tens of thousands of dollars damage in Geraldton in Western Australia.

Marianne Miller arrived at her investment property in Rangeway Tuesday afternoon to find windows smashed, carpet ripped up, paint strewn around the house and an air conditioning unit torn off the wall.

Interior and exterior walls had huge holes kicked in them and some were ripped down completely.

Two boys, aged eight, and another aged nine have admitted to police their involvement in the vandalism.

Due to their ages, the trio is exempt from prosecution but have been referred to child protection authorities.

Ms Miller said she rents the house out and was in between tenants when the vandalism occurred.

She was speechless after seeing the damage and could not fathom the children’s motivation.

“I was just completely in shock,” she said.

“I didn’t know what to do, I was just shocked, speechless. The amount of damage that they did – for children, they must have spent quite a bit of time in the house over the weekend.

“I wouldn’t have a clue why kids would go and do something like this to my house. The only thing I can think of is they’re bored.

“They’re babies, they need to be guided in the right direction.

“Where are the parents? What are the parents doing at the time when [they] are completely ruining a house?

“I am actually amazed kids could do that much damage. I couldn’t imagine my kids who are the same age being capable of doing that much damage.”

 A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

 9. 15 million unwanted pregnancies

A World Health Organisation study has found that 40% of women who avoid contraception do so because they worry about the side effects and health implications.

The study published in the journal Human Reproduction has also found the 20% don’t use contraception because they underestimate the chance of getting pregnant.

This has resulted in 15 million unwanted pregnancies a year.

They found that 13.5 million women did not use modern methods and 1.5 million did not use modern methods correctly.

Researchers said that risk of unwanted pregnancy was 2.7 times higher among those who used traditional methods and 14.5 times higher among those who used no birth control compared to women who used modern methods.

“This study has many implications. For instance, ‘health concerns’ was the most common reason given for not using modern contraception, yet these concerns are not backed up by evidence,” Dr. Howard Sobel, one of the study authors and regional coordinator in the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent division of the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Office.

10. Abbott “very confident” he will be Prime Minister next week.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has given a press conference saying he’s “very confident” he will be PM this time next week.

He made the statement towards the end of a press conference this morning, in which he talked about impending metadata laws and took aim at Labor.

“We were elected as a government to clean up Labor’s mess; we weren’t elected to focus on ourselves”.

11. The South Australian government is proposing changes to the state’s time zone.

The State Government has proposed changing South Australia’s time zone to align with either the eastern states or Western Australia.

SA Premier Jay Weatherill said the half-hour time difference between the eastern states, and the 90-minute difference with Western Australia, could cause “confusion across the spectrum of our daily lives”.

“The business community has raised this issue with me on a number of occasions and I believe the time is right to put the broader question to the community about the day-to-day inconvenience of a half-hour time zone.”

Investment and Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith is to lead a state wide public consultation process over the next two months.

He said the people of the west coast would have “significant concerns” about a move towards Eastern Standard Time in SA.

“We must be fully aware of the impact this would have on this important region,” Mr Hamilton Smith said.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

Catch more news in this 90-second update from the ABC: