Sunday's news in under 5 minutes.

This is Sunday’s news for you in under 5 minutes:

1. Vegemite banned in remote communities after being used to make alcohol.

“We’re all happy little Vegemites” is a catchcry that would resonate for most Australian children.

However, in some remote Aboriginal communities, Vegemite is planned to be taken down from supermarket shelves after allegations that it was being used to brew alcohol, reports Sky News.

Pressure to take down Vegemite comes from the Abbott government, claiming that dry communities are facing alcohol-related problems, including drunken violence and child neglect, from the use of Vegemite in alcohol production.

Indigenous Affairs Minister, Nigel Scullion, describes that the increased production of vegemite-based alcohol is the “precursor to misery”.

The Country Liberal Senator also claimed children are increasingly gaining access to this alcohol, causing them to binge drink and miss school.

Senator Scullion said that restricting the sale of alcohol-related products should not incur a debate on ‘people’s rights’. Instead, he wanted the public to consider the effects that alcohol has on women and children in remote communities.

Currently, there are 19 ‘dry’ communities across Queensland. The specific areas where Seantor Scullion is planning on introducing the bans has not yet been publicized.

2. Anti-same sex marriage group furious after Channel 7 and 9 refuse to run homophobic ads.

Marriage Alliance, a group established against gay marriage, are “outraged” after Channel 7 and 9 refused to run their anti-gay marriage ads.

A spokesperson for the group, Sophie York, claims that Channel 7 and 9 banned airing their campaigns for “traditional” marriage, denying the group their basic rights.

“It is quite shocking that two major TV networks are denying the basic right to freedom of speech and expression on an issue that supports the current law of the nation,” she said.

The recent campaign from Marriage Alliance promoted the slogan “there’s more to it than you think”, showing viewers the alleged impacts of legalising same-sex marriage

Channel 7 have said that the network could not run the ads due to “unworkable” running times.

The Marriage Alliance have contacted the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and Communication Minister, Malcolm Turnball, to alert them to what the group calls an “un-Australian” act.

Ms York also said, “Has political correctness or the power of a certain lobby group reached so far down that it now erodes the once proud Australian ‘fair-go’ character that it is preventing ordinary Australians from having a voice?”

Earlier this year, both channels 7 and 9 faced major criticism for airing an ad sponsored by the Australian Marriage Forum, during the annual Mardi Gras celebration. The advertisement claimed that children would “miss out on a mother and father” if same-sex marriage was legalised. Mamamia wrote about it here.

3. Female paedophiles are more prevalent than what we think.

A leading forensic psychologist, Joe Sullivan, has delivered research that concludes the number of women sexually abusing children is far higher than what we currently know.

Sullivan has been counselling child sex offenders for 26 years, and says that whilst many experts agree that men are the majority of paedophiles, women are still responsible for many offences.

“What I can say for certain,” Sullivan told the ABC, “is that it’s [female paedophilia] way more prevalent than people fully appreciate or understand. There’s some research to suggest it could be as high as 25 per cent.”

Sullivan says that the number of cases is simply not recognised in our conviction rates for female paedophiles.
“… when you look at the representation within the criminal justice system it could be as low at 3 to 4 percent of overall convictions.”

“In categories,” Dr Sullivan elaborated, “where you’ve got a young adult woman targeting 13, 14, or 15-year-old males, typically you find their sentences are lighter than the equivalent for a male.” This statistic relates to what he has investigated in the UK.

Sullivan says that the reason why conviction rates are so low is the reluctance of victims of female perpetrators to report abuse.

“[Victims] tend to feel as though they’re less likely to be believed.”

In addition, many people think that boys should be happy or feel good after experiencing sexual contact with females, rather identifying it for what it is: abuse.

4. China has banned single women freezing their eggs.

The illegal trade of ova has allegedly spurred the Chinese government to completely ban single women from freezing their eggs, in recent months. Even married women are facing strict regulations on the process.

The actions of the government has only come to light following reports from local celebrities in media that they have had to travel overseas to freeze their eggs. Many of the women who seek to freeze their eggs are concerned about their age and the implications that it could be having on their eggs.

However, local media claims that trying to stop the illegal trade of ova is simply a lie to cover what the Chinese government is trying to achieve through restricting egg preservation.

SBS reports that the government is enforcing more women to give birth, rather than delay motherhood and freezing eggs acts against this principle.

The government is particularly concerned that there won’t be enough young people to “drive GDP growth and take care of the country’s elderly,” according to SBS. These major concerns have been attributed to China’s one-child policy and the subsequent population troubles that the policy caused.

Reports released by China’s family planning bureau have even strongly enforcing women against freezing their eggs.

“Women should get pregnant in their prime child-bearing years, between 24 and 29. Pregnancy at over 35 can be dangerous to both [the] mother and fetus.”

The article concludes with a quote from a gynaecologist stating, “I would suggest that healthy women have children rather than store eggs as an ‘insurance policy’.”

5. Pears are apparently the answer to all your hangover woes. 

There are a hundred and one ways to “cure your hangover”.

For some people it’s drinking obscene amounts of water, sports drinks, soft drinks, coffee, or maybe even more alcohol. Others like a good dose of KFC to load up on the extra-greasy, extra-salty food. For most, it still ends up being just themselves, the couch and binge-watching TV for the day.

But, scientists from CSIRO have apparently worked out the food that cures all hangovers.

Pears.

According to CSIRO’s blog, research with Horticulture Innovation Australia found that you can actually prevent hangovers by just eating a few pears.

Manny Noakes, the research team’s leader, said that if pears were consumed before drinking, they were highly likely to “significantly reduce” the symptoms of a hangover. Dr Noakes explains that the enzymes in pears help the body to quickly metabolise alcohol, and even completely inhibit its absorption.

CSIRO says that these are just initial studies, so they don’t have conclusive proof of the almighty power of pears.
But it’s still worth a try.

Have you got a news tip for us? We’d love to hear it: news@mamamia.com.au.

If you want to read more news, then we’ve got plenty for you…

Why I ran a marathon on my period without a pad or a tampon.

There’s a “granny ripper” who ate her victims (but did not live in gingerbread house).

Man finds meth pills at the bottom of his milkshake.