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Monday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up all the latest stories from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching.

1. Earthquake in Nepal: 2,500 dead including one Australian.

There are reports today that one Australian has been killed at Mount Everest’s base camp in an earthquake-triggered avalanche. When the earthquake hit on Saturday there were at least 1,000 climbers at the three camps and those attempting to climb Mt Everest.

Fairfax Media reports that Temba Tsheri, Sherpa of the Dreamers’ Destination Treks and Expeditions said, “I have lost four team members in the avalanche – two Nepalis, one Chinese and Australian.”

Search and rescue teams in Nepal ( Getty Images)

There are still almost 350 Australians unaccounted for in the region. The Australian embassy in Nepal has confirmed 200 of the 549 registered Australian travellers in the area are alive.

Tent cities have sprung up for those displaced by the earthquake which is now reported to have killed some 2,500 people.

The tremor also unleashed avalanches on Mount Everest, which killed at least 17 people and injured 61 others.

Other developments:

  • There has been a second avalanche on Everest  triggered by an aftershock.
  • Unicef have said that at least 940,000 children in areas affected by the earthquake are in “urgent need” of humanitarian assistance.
  • 80% of the houses in rural areas have been destroyed.
  • The Australian Government said it was organising to send an Australian Crisis Response Team to Nepal as soon as possible. It has also given $5 million in assistance to Australian NGOs, UN agencies and the Australian Red Cross.
  • Pope Francis has led prayers in St. Peter’s Square for the dead and displaced in Nepal and surrounding areas.
  • Many Australians have taken to social media to search for their missing loved ones.

For more read this post here. 

Anyone needing consular assistance can contact DFAT on 1300 555 135 or from overseas on +61 6261 3305.

2. Bali 9 execution is imminent.

The families of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have travelled to Nusakambangan Island to spend a few final days with their loved ones.

The Bali Nine duo were given notice of their execution on Saturday, with a minimum of 72 hours issued.

It has not been officially stated when the men will be executed, but media reports say there are ominous signs pointing towards it being as the clock strikes midnight Tuesday.

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News Limited newspapers today feature photographs of crosses which have been painted for the coffins of the men by a Cilicap mortician — their names and the date of their death clearly marked 29.4.15 and RIP.

The crosses painted for the men.

 

The pair were asked their final wishes and requested more time with their families. Sukumaran’s mother Raji and siblings Brintha and Chunthu, along with Chan’s mother Helen, brother Michael and fiancée Feby yesterday made the heartbreaking trek to the island.

Chinthu Sukumaran said his brother’s last wish was to paint for as long as possible. For Michael Chan his final wish –  to go to church with his family.

In previously unreleased interviews filmed in 2011 Andrew Chan has shown the deep empathy he has for his mother at this time.

“Imagine your mother, or you know, your father picking up that telephone call,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s obviously harder on them than it is on yourself.

“You obviously look at yourself and you say to yourself, “I’ve really screwed up big time”.

“It’s not right you know. A mother’s not supposed to bury their kid. Obviously a kid is supposed to bury their mother.”

The lawyer for the pair, Julian McMahon has tweeted:


3. Diplomatic pressure to halt the executions.

Meanwhile diplomatic pressure to stop the executions is increasing with Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general calling on the Indonesian President to stop Tuesday nights’ execution.

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Ban Ki-Moon urged Joko to “consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition.”

“Under international law, if the death penalty is to be used at all, it should only be imposed for the most serious crimes, namely those involving intentional killing, and only with appropriate safeguards,” Ban’s spokesman said in a statement.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is due to meet French leader Francios Hollande today. A French man was due to be executed alongside the Australian men, but he was granted a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure on Jakarta.

4. Bill Spedding living with three children.

Bill Spedding is a person of interest in the case of missing 3 yo William Tyrell

The Australian reports that Bill Spedding, the “person of interest” to the William Tyrrell police inquiry was living with three boys at the time of his arrest on historical child abuse charges.

Spedding appeared in court last week charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting two young sisters aged three and six in Sydney during 1987.

The mother of the three boys who were living with Spedding has asked the Ombudsman to examine how they came to be sharing a house with him.

The Australian reports that the woman, who cannot be named, said “someone … needs to be held accountable.”

The woman said she raised the allegations surrounding the alleged 1987 abuse involving Mr Spedding during a meeting with state authorities 2½ years ago.

A spokesman for the NSW Ombudsman told The Australian “I can confirm the mother has made contact with our office. Our office had already started to make inquiries regarding the matter prior to
this contact.”

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5. Shoppers caught in two-hour parking gridlock inside car park.

Shoppers in Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane have expressed their fury after a two-hour wait to exit the centre yesterday afternoon.

The Courier Mail reports that some parents had babies in their cars and others ran out of petrol.

Centre manager of Indooroopilly Shopping Centre Leah Mienart said they were apologetic

“We are currently working on multiple parking initiatives to ensure we improve the customer experience by maximising the use of our available parking bays and making the customer journey as seamless as possible to enter and exit the carparks during peak trading periods.”

 6. Coroner recommends considering jail sentences for negligent pool owners.

Should pool owners face jail time if a child drowns in their pool and it is unsafe?

A NSW Coroner has recommended that pool owners who fail to comply with fencing requirements face jail time if a child drowns in their pool.

The recommendations have come after an inquest into the death of two-year old Sebastien Yeomans who wandered into in his neighbour’s unfenced pool in May 2012.

His mother pulled him son from the pool but Sebastien died two days later at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital.

Police alleged the pool’s owner, Philip Cameron, had failed to repair a broken fence and, as a result, the child was able to access the water.

Cameron was charged with manslaughter over a backyard drowning death but the case was dropped after the DPP found there would be no reasonable prospect of conviction.

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 7. Mother facing deportation over cost of son’s autism overwhelmed by public support after Q&A question.

By Steven Schubert

A woman who could be deported to the Philippines with her son has said she is overwhelmed by the level of support she has received since her case was highlighted on national television.

But so far the Australian Government has not told Maria Sevilla whether she and her 10-year-old son Tyrone, who has autism, will be allowed to stay in the country.

Ms Sevilla came to Australia eight years ago to study nursing and now works at Townsville Hospital where she looks after stroke victims.

Her application for a visa which is designed to bring skilled workers to regional areas was rejected because of Tyrone’s autism.

The decision by a Migration Review Tribunal cited the “significant cost to the Australian community” of health care for Tyrone.

Ms Sevilla has asked Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to consider her case, and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection is preparing a report for his consideration.

Ms Sevilla said she told Mr Dutton in that request after her initial application was rejected that she and Tyrone have private health insurance and Tyrone’s doctor has offered to treat the boy for free.

A spokesperson for Mr Dutton said neither Ms Sevilla nor Tyrone would be required to leave Australia while that happens.

Ms Sevilla said she was saddened to hear her son described as a burden.

“If any parent would hear that your child is being called a burden on society I think they would know how I feel,” she said.

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“And because Tyrone can’t communicate, he won’t be able to voice out what he wants to say to those people who try to tell him he’s going to be a burden to society.”

Ms Sevilla’s case attracted national headlines after a friend of Tyrone’s raised it on the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday.

Darwin boy Ethan Egart used to live in Townsville, where his mother studied nursing with Ms Sevilla, and the two boys went to the same after school care.

In his question, Ethan asked: “If he can get along with us and we can get along with him, why does he have to leave?”

Ethan described his friend as a “good kid”.

“He was a nice kid, his mum was really nice and I just don’t think he should get deported,” he said.

“I just thought it shouldn’t happen to a kid who has autism.”

Since Ethan’s intervention on Monday, an online petition asking Mr Dutton to allow the pair to stay has had an extra 40,000 signatures.

Ms Sevilla said she hoped Mr Dutton will allow her and Tyrone to stay in Australia.

“I am hoping that he will give us a compassionate decision, that’s our last option actually,” Ms Sevilla said.

Ethan said he hoped the community’s support would help sway Mr Dutton.

“I hope this changes his mind and he just doesn’t get deported,” he said.

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“Make your decision, I just hope that you make the right one.”

 A version of this story was originally published on ABC.

8. How many babies under one have made a phone call?

Hello. I wanna order some more milk.

A study has shown that more than 1/3 of babies aged under one have used a smartphone or tablet.

The study presented to the Paediatric Academic Societies showed that by age 2, most babies have used mobile devices.

The study showed that 52% of kids under the age of one year had watched TV, 36% had touched or scrolled a screen, 15% used apps 12% played video games and 24% of babies under the age of one had called someone.

 9. Overdue Duchess could be induced.

An anxious public is awaiting the arrival of the second baby for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

George was late as well.

The Duchess is now reported to be up to four days overdue.

The Telegraph reports that sources have said her due date was actually Thursday, April 23 and that doctors at the Lindo Wing, the private maternity ward at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, where the Duchess will give birth, are speaking to the couple about when to induce the late arrival.

The Telegraph report that they could wait up to two weeks after the due date to induce the Duchess.

Prince George was reported to have arrived three days late when he was born two years ago.

Watch today’s news in 90 seconds.

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