Tuesday's news in under 5 minutes

Update:

Trigger warning: This post deals with possible suicide and may be distressing for some readers.

One of the world’s best-loved comedic actors, Robin Williams, has been found dead.

The Mrs Doubtfire and Dead Poets Society star was 63 years old.

The actor was found dead Monday at his home in Tiburon, California.

The cause of death is pending, although reports suggest he died of suicide. For more details on this tragic news, see this post.

If you or a loved one need to talk to someone, please consider calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

1. Grandfather of Jihadist’s boy speaks

The grandfather of the Australian boy whose image went worldwide yesterday when he posed with the severed head of a Syrian soldier has told The Australian he is gutted at the image of his grandson.

He said he wants the government to step in and bring his grandchildren home, The Australian reports.

It is understood the boy’s father, Khaled Sharrouf – a convicted terrorist, travelled to Syria with his wife and their five children secretly.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Department told The Australian that if the Sharrouf children were returned to Australia, “the government would work closely with child protection authorities to determine their future.”

For more on this story, see Mamamia’s post here.

2. Mother sent sexual images of her own daughters

A Sydney mother has pleaded guilty after it was alleged she took naked images of her own daughters to send to disgraced Sydney dance teacher, Grant Davies.

The mother told the court yesterday that for three years she sent Davies numerous lewd images of her daughters which she had them pose.

The court heard of a text message exchange in which Davies’ response to a sexually explicit photo was “”That has made me excited and horny.”

For more read this post here. 

3. Gable Tostee boasts of 150 conquests

Gable Tostee, the Gold Coast man who was questioned after a New Zealand woman, Warriena Tagpuno Wright, fell to her death off his balcony has been active on dating app Tinder since Ms Wright died on Friday.

News Limited report that Tostee has claimed to have dated more than 150 women, writing on a body building forum: “Fact is I’ve taken home probably about 150 girls from clubs over the last few years,” he wrote.

“When you go out as often to the same places and get drunk and talk to girls you’re bound to get noticed and hated on.”

4. PM’s support regained.

A Newspoll published in The Australian has shown that the Prime Minister has gained three points to be the preferred Prime Minister at 41%.

Bill Shorten fell one point to 37 %. The coalition’s primary vote is now at 40% – up 4 points in the last two weeks – while Labor’s primary vote is down two points to a 34%.

The Australian reports that in the two-party-preferred poll Labor is ahead, 52% to 48%.

5. Gammy’s parents have ‘no claim’ under Thai law

Gammy’s biological parents have no claim and cannot bring him back to Australia reports The Australian.

On their 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night, they said they wanted their son back even after agreeing that they abandoned him after they learned he had Down Syndrome.

But The Australian reports that, under Thai civil law, the birth mother, 21-year-old Pattharamon Janbua, is Gammy’s legal mother and that Gammy and his twin sister Pipah were both born Thai citizens.

Thai legal experts and social welfare officials told the newspaper it is “an open-and-shut case in the (birth) mother’s favour.”

Parents wishing to use Thai surrogacy are not able to get custody of the baby unless the birth mother relinquishes her parental rights to child by allowing the child to be adopted.

6. Domestic violence should be a criminal matter not civil

DV Connect chief executive officer Diane Magnan has called for the new domestic violence taskforce set up in QLD to investigate domestic violence orders becoming a criminal matter rather than civil.

She told The Courier Mail: “making it a crime right from the beginning sends a very strong message.”

“People need to know that violence is not open to ­interpretation,” she said.

7. Schapelle Corby under fire

Convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby is under fire for ‘having no job’, with the News Limited papers reporting that she spends her time reading and going to the beach.

Parole officer Ketut Sukiati told News Limited he admonished Corby for covering her face when she visited the government office. He said Corby had not explained why she was not working yet but “ensured her that she was not bored.”

8. Drug driving study

A study into motorists driving under the influence of drugs has shown 40 people die on our roads every year under the influence of drugs.

The study, released by Minister for Roads Duncan Gay, showed 11% of road fatalities involved a driver or motorcyclist who had illicit drugs in their system – 15% were killed by alcohol last year.

9. Pram “sucked” under train tracks

A terrifying moment where a child’s pram has been blown onto the tracks of a London Tube has been released by British Transport Police as they search for the parents.

The footage shows the child’s pram left unattended for a moment where a gust of wind pushes it onto the tracks.

The baby’s mother leaps onto the tracks and drags the pram to safety, just before another Tube arrives at the station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_32Vc2x1gmQ

10. Breast cancer study

A study has shown that women who do thirty minutes of gentle exercise a day are 10% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don’t – but they have to keep it up.

The study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention of nearly 60,000 women found the benefit only lasted in women who exercised consistently over four years.

11. Why teenagers self harm

Frightening research in the UK has shown a 70% increase in self-harming amongst teenagers.

In Australia it is reported that 10% of girls aged 15 to 16 self-harm.

The Telegraph blames the rise on online culture and pro self-harming websites and Tumblr blogs.

The newspaper writes: “Self-harm charities have suggested the increase is due to pressures of the modern world, where the online culture is “unchartered territory.” 

12. Pizza place nappy scandal

A mother has filed a complaint after she was kicked out of a restaurant for changing a nappy on a chair at her table.

The Texas mother told KHOU she was alone in the restaurant with her three kids and her baby’s nappy needed changing.

The toilets did not have a change table and she did not want to take all three kids to the car, so she changed her on a chair at the table.

Management took offense and packed up her pizza “to go”.

“As soon as you start opening the diaper, people start complaining about the smell of the diaper,” manager Donny Lala told KHOU.

“Last thing I want is a customer throwing up.”

The mother has filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The pizza place say they might consider installing changing tables in the bathrooms.

For more on this story, see this post.

13. Bank fees class action

If you’re fed up with credit card late fees, you might like this news.

Hundreds of thousands of bank customers stand to benefit from a new class action over the fees.

The class action, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was lodged today, Fairfax Media reports.

Plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn is claiming compensation on behalf of customers of Westpac, St George, Citibank, BankSA and ANZ — although the firm says it plans to extend the action to also cover customers of CBA, NAB, BankWest and American Express.

The class action expanded on an earlier class action, in which the Federal Court ruled that the late-payment fees were an unjustifiable penalty.

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