Tuesday's news in under 2 minutes

1. In a horrifying turn of events two boys have been charged with deliberately lighting fires in NSW.

The 11-year-old was charged over fires started near Newcastle which burnt more than 5000 hectares of bushland.

The 14-year-old was also charged with starting a fire on Sunday at Rutherford.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that it saddened him that these young people could not see the consequences of their behaviour.

Over the weekend two girls aged 12 and 13 were also charged with deliberately lighting a grass fire in Sydney’s west.

– 62 fires were burning across the state last night, with 17 uncontained and emergency warnings for residents of the Blue Mountains townships of Bilpin, Berambing and Springwood.

– Firefighters are hoping to get a little relief with some forecast rain this afternoon, however authorities say the worst is yet to come tomorrow.

2. The ACT Government plans to pass a bill legalising gay marriage in parliament today. Some pro-marriage equality groups and constitutional law experts have raised concerns the laws could be struck down if the bill was not re-worded to create a separate status of marriage for same-sex couples. The Federal Government has already flagged it will challenge the laws in the High Court. The ACT Government will put forward some amendments to clarify the scope of the laws when it is debated in the Legislative Assembly today.

Meanwhile Tony Abbott’s gay sister is getting married. Christine Forster and her long-term partner Virginia Edwards are planning their wedding even though same-sex marriage is not yet being legal in Australia. Virginia Edwards told New Idea magazine that “instead of bridesmaids, we’re going to have drag queens. ” She says it will be a small wedding but that “Tony and Margie will definitely be there.”

3. Adrian Bayley , the murder of Jill Meagher has had an appeal against his 35 year jail term rejected by the Court of Appeal in Victoria. However a secret report by former Parole Board chairman Justice Simon Whelan has detailed how a litany of failures by Corrections Victoria influenced the Adult Parole Board’s decision to release Adrian Bayley. When he killed Ms Meagher, Bayley had been on parole after a series of violent rapes. Corrections Victoria thought there was only a low risk the serial rapist would commit more crimes the report shows. It also reveals Corrections lifted Bayley’s curfew just one year into his three-year parole period.

4.The trial continues today for Simon Gittany accused of murdering his fiancée Lisa Harnum on July 30, 2011. Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said yesterday that Gittany was a controlling and abusive partner. The court was shown footage, captured on the very pin-hole camera set up to spy on her every move. With his hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a ‘bone-chilling’ scream for help, the court saw Gittany wrestle with his bride-to-be – minutes before she plunged 15 storeys to her death. Lisa Harnum was allegedly heard yelling, ‘please help me, God help me’ as she fought for her life moments later she was lying dead, her body 150-feet down on the footpath below. Simon Gittany has pleaded not guilty claiming he was trying to save her from suicide.

5. New recommendations for children’s car seats are being released today by Kidsafe and Neuroscience Australia. In the new guidelines the recommendation is to keep children up to and including 12 years of age in the back seat of the car and in a booster seat, until 12 years of age. Currently children can sit in an adult seat at the age of 7, and are allowed in the front. The new recommendations also suggest that parents should keep their children in a rearward facing position until they are too tall for their seat, stating that this may not be until they are two or three years of age. The foundation is a calling on the Federal Government to upgrade the laws surrounding car seats in line with these recommendations.

6. Smacking children even occasionally can make them more aggressive and trigger bad behaviour, a new study has shown. The research from Columbia University showed that children were more misbehaved and were more aggressive when they had been smacked by their mothers as five-year-olds, whether regularly or occasionally. Spanking by mothers at least twice a week was tied to a two-point increase on a 70-point scale of problem behaviour.

7. Apples big product launch is tonight and the rumours are swirling about just which will be the stars of the show. The fifth-generation iPad and second-generation iPad mini are expected to make their debut.

8. Dangers with sharing breast milk with a report finding that breast milk bought from popular Web sites was often contaminated with high levels of bacteria, including, in a few instances, salmonella. The amounts detected in some samples were sufficient to sicken a child. Doctors have said the study has cause for concern and that even with a relative; it’s probably not a good idea to share breast milk.

Australia has four publicly funded breast milk banks each within hospital neonatal intensive care units, as well as one non-for-profit milk bank in QLD. There are also very popular “non-official” breast milk Facebook trading sites.

 IN BRIEF: Greek court on Monday charged a Roma couple with abducting a mysterious blonde girl dubbed ‘Maria’.

Millions of Facebook users have been unable to log in or update their status.

A shooting in northern Nevada has killed a teacher and injured at least 2 others.

A two-year old girl is dead in the US state of North Carolina after accidentally killing herself with a loaded handgun she found in her home.

Oxford University research claims men’s health and well-being are greatly improved if they see their friends twice a week.

What news has got you talking today?