News

Newcastle man is facing charges of possessing, soliciting and sharing child abuse material, and bestiality

A Newcastle man has become the 15th person arrested after police uncovered a global paedophile ring alleged to have filmed and shared the sexual abuse of almost 50 children in Australia.

The 54-year-old was taken into custody on Friday and faces a string of charges, including possessing, soliciting and sharing child abuse material. He is also charged with bestiality.

Ana Diamond, who was held for more than six months, says the Australian academic was subject to a ‘sophisticated’ hostage-taking operation

Back on Australian soil, and safe in the enforced quiet of Covid quarantine, Kylie Moore-Gilbert faces a long road to recovery, according to another victim of Iran’s practice of seizing foreign nationals as hostages.

Ana Diamond was just 19 when she was seized by the country’s Revolutionary Guards in 2016, held for 200 days in solitary confinement and forced to endure a mock execution over baseless allegations she was a foreign spy.

Those with conditions such as blood, bone or lung cancer put in same category on interim guidance list as over-70s

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

People at very high risk of contracting coronavirus due to health problems, who were made to shield during the pandemic, have been given the same priority as the over-70s to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

Temperatures expected to reach into the mid-40s in some parts of Australia

Much of Australia is in the grip of an extreme heatwave with temperatures expected to reach into the mid-40s and total fire bans in force in parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

In South Australia, 47C was forecast for Maree, a small town in the north of the state, and 46C in Renmark and Port Augusta. The state capital of Adelaide was expected to hit 38C on Saturday.

Thousands block major Bangkok junction in continuing protests against government and monarchy

Thousands of democracy activists blocked a major junction in Bangkok for several hours on Friday to rehearse “coup prevention” strategies in the latest round of Thailand’s anti-government protests.

Kaavan the elephant has lived in poor conditions for decades, and he's been alone since his partner died in 2012. Activists, including the pop singer, have successfully campaigned for his release.

(Image credit: Anjum Naveed/AP)

Mother and her boyfriend charged with manslaughter after three-year-old found dead in car

A Townsville woman has been charged over the death of her daughter after the toddler was allegedly left in a car for most of the day amid soaring temperatures.

Police were called to the Townsville University Hospital on Friday afternoon after the child’s mother found the three-year-old dead in the car and rushed her to the hospital.

The singer’s online show had a charming Top of the Pops vibe despite its – often star-studded – shortcomings

Of all the high-profile live streams that have sprung up in lieu of actual gigs in recent months, Dua Lipa’s is, by some considerable distance, the most star-studded. Its list of special guests encompasses everyone from Elton John to FKA twigs to Kylie Minogue: proof, should you need it, of the dominant position the 25-year-old singer currently occupies in pop.

• 110,000 new coronavirus cases and 90,000 people hospitalized Thursday
• CDC predicts deaths could rise by 300,000 in next month

America’s coronavirus surge showed no sign of abating over the Thanksgiving holiday, as cases in the country surpassed 13 million on Friday.

Related: How Trump is destroying the presidential transition process

US surpasses 13m Covid cases as experts urge caution over Thanksgiving weekend; Trudeau previously warned country would not get first doses; Italy to ease measures in five regions