Thursday's news in under 2 minutes.

1. Two men have been found guilty of charges relating to the Skype sex scandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy back in 2011.

Daniel McDonald, 21, and Dylan Deblaquiere, 20, were found guilty of sending offensive material over the internet (McDonald had filmed himself having sex with a woman) without her consent. McDonald was further found guilty of an act of indecency against the woman.

2. During last night’s Leaders Debate between Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition leader Tony Abbott at Rooty Hill, Abbott pledged to not shut down any Medicare Locals as party of the Coalition’s proposed budgets cuts. Last Thursday, the Opposition Leader had given the more ambiguous answer of “I’m not going to say no Medicare Local will close, but I am giving an absolute commitment that the overall levels of health funding will be maintained.”

3. During the debate Kevin Rudd implied that Labor policy on the issue of foreign investment might shift, saying that, “I think when it comes to rural land, but land more generally we perhaps need to adopt a more cautious approach.” Rudd ended up narrowly winning the debate according to an exit poll of undecided voters, with 45 votes. Abbott came out with 38, while 19 remained undecided.

4. A teenager suffering from appendicitis has been left sleeping on the floor of an emergency room for nine hours while waiting for a bed. 17-year-old Demi Allul was at Campbelltown Hospital in Sydney’s south-west, when it became apparent that there wouldn’t be a bed for her. Nurses offered her a blanket as she slept on the floor. Campbelltown Hospital has the second-worst wait time in the state, with an average time of 22 hours and 29 minutes.

5. Officials in Bali have formally recommended that Schapelle Corby’s parole should be granted. She has been eligible for parole since last year, but the process has been delayed substantially by red tape and the high profile nature of the case. The 36-year-old Australian was first arrested in 2004, after police found 4.2kg of marijuana concealed in her boogie board case at Bali airport. When released, Corby has told officials that she would like to remain in Bali and design a line of swimwear.

6. A Syrian hacking organisation has hacked websites including The New York Times Online, The Huffington Post, as well as some Twitter accounts. The Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad group, caused an outage on the the websites by hacking their domain host, Australian-based IT company, Melbourne IT. The vulnerability that allowed the hackers to access the sites is yet to be determined.

7. It’s the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream speech.” To celebrate half a century since the March on Washington, President Obama spoke about the struggles of the era, saying: “There were couples in love who couldn’t marry. Soldiers who fought for freedom abroad but couldn’t find any at home.” Obama went on to say: “America changed for you and me.”

7. A British survey has shown that nine out of ten people will sacrifice a good night’s sleep to use social media late at night. The research team from the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, recommended that Internet users turn off their devices at least one hour before lights out, to ensure that they get a good night’s sleep.

8. For the third year in a row, Melbourne has been named the world’s most liveable city. Ranked by The Economist Intelligence Unit, three other

Australian cities also rated: Adelaide was 5th, Sydney was 7th, and Perth was 9th. The study takes into account infrastructure, environment , culture and healthcare.

9. An airline has started offering passengers the opportunity to pay for an upgrade on flights – into an area where children are banned. An airline called Scoot, the budget line of Singapore Airlines, says customers can fly in ‘peace and quiet’ for the extra cost of 10 pounds.

The airline specifically assures passengers that ‘under 12s will be someplace else’. Just in case you were wondering how you can get on board, the carrier flies from Sydney and the Gold Coast to the Singapore. Book your tickets now.

10. Swedish scientists claim to have confirmed the existence of a new chemical element, to be placed on the Periodic Table. The new chemical is thought to be a heavy but short-lived element, which is currently called ‘ununpentium’. Try saying that 10 times fast.