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

1. Rally to be held to protest Baden-Clay decision.

A rally this Friday will protest the Baden-Clay appeal decision. It will be supported by a promotional video to be released today on social media and television featuring high-profile Australian such as Libby Trickett.

The rally will urge the state’s Attorney-General to take the matter to the High Court to appeal the decision by the Court of Appeal reports The Courier Mail.

On a website also launched today the organisers write:

“On Friday we are calling on the Attorney General to appeal the decision and for our leaders to change the laws to make sure this does not happen again. We’re #doingit4allison, we’re #doingit4all.”

“We need women, men and children to show that domestic violence must stop. We need to let our political leaders know the social and legal structures designed to support and protect against domestic violence are not working.”

Family members including Allison’s cousin Jodie Dann and friends will attend the rally to be held in Brisbane’s CBD on Friday at 12.15pm.

2. Doctors say anti-vaxxer’s chickenpox parties are putting the community at risk.

Leading doctor have slammed anti-vaccination parents who are holding “chickenpox parties” to deliberately infect children.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Zappala told Fairfax Media the idea was “ill-informed and misguided”.

“It is a worrying new trend. There is risk attached to these infections and it is completely unavoidable,” Dr Zappala said yesterday following reports that anti-vaxxers were holding the gatherings.

Dr Zappala said anti-vaccination parents were putting the community’s health at risk as chickenpox could have serious consequences.

Chances of allergic or other reactions from vaccines were negligible compared with the benefits of immunisation, he said.

“This is really the absolute opposite of what we want to see – we can do better,” he said.

3. More Australian women delay having babies until their 40s.

A report has shown that the average age of Aussie mothers is rising, hitting 30.1 in 2013. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Australia’s Mothers and Babies 2013 found that 22 per cent of women giving birth were aged 35 and over, compared with 19 per cent a decade earlier.

The oldest women to give birth was 56, while the youngest was 14.

33 per cent of women had a caesarean with older mothers three times more likely to need or request surgical intervention than teen mums.

It found that 72% of women gave birth in public hospitals.

4. Climate change deal branded “incredible.”

Environmentalist Tim Flannery says the United Nations agreement secured in Paris is a watershed moment in the global effort to tackle climate change reports SkyNews.

‘We have witnessed something incredible today. Finally, we can feel hopeful that we are on a path to tackling climate change,’ Professor Flannery, who is a member of the Climate Council, said in a statement.

The Paris pact aims to curb global warming to less than 2C (3.6F) by the end of the century.

Nearly 200 countries took part in tense negotiations in the French capital over two weeks, striking the first deal to commit all nations to cut emissions.

The agreement – which is partly legally binding and partly voluntary – will come into being in 2020 has an aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees.

The US President, Barack Obama said the deal could be a “turning point” towards a low-carbon future.

President Obama said: “Together, we’ve shown what’s possible when the world stands as one.”

“In short, this agreement will mean less of the carbon pollution that threatens our planet and more of the jobs and economic growth driven by low-carbon investments.”

Some aspects of the agreement are legally binding, such as the obligation on individual countries to set an emissions reduction target and the regular review of that goal.

However, the targets themselves will not be legally binding under the Paris deal.

5. Girl suffers burns at Sydney restaurant.

A four-year old girl has been rushed to hospital after suffering what have been described as “horrific” burns at a Sydney teppanyaki restaurant.

Around 7pm last night paramedics were called to the King Street Wharf restaurant with reports she had suffered burns to her face and chest when her hair caught alight.

Fairfax Media reports that the restaurant, Wharf Teppanyaki,  has photographs and videos on its website showing flames shooting into the air as diners sit around a central kitchen.

The restaurant says on its website that it offers a “contemporary, interactive and fun dining experience”.

“Using the latest induction technology and all-ceiling hoods, the tables have been designed so that you can see and participate in the creation of your meal, all in absolute comfort,”

“Part of the allure is to watch the chef’s knife and cooking skills while your meal is being prepared.

The girl was treated at the scene, before being taken to Sydney Children’s hospital in a serious condition.

6. Nineteen Saudi women win office as women vote for the first time.

At least nineteen women have won seats in Saudi Arabia’s municipal polls, the country’s first-ever elections open to female voters and candidates.

“Even if it was only one woman, we’re really proud of that. Honestly, we weren’t expecting anyone to win,” Sahar Hassan Nasief, a women’s rights activist in the Red Sea city of Jeddah told The Telegraph.

With 2,106 seats up for election, the women would comprise less than one per cent of Saudi Arabia’s elected council membership.

The Washington Post reports that General Election Commission spokesman Hamad Al-Omar  said out of 130,000 female registered voters, 106,000 cast ballots, or roughly 82 percent.

More than 1.35 million men had registered to vote, with 44 percent, or almost 600,000, casting ballots.

Al-Omar said 19 women won seats in 10 different regions, with results still to be announced in several more regions.

Saturday’s municipal poll, which was hailed by many as historic, saw a turnout of about 25 percent, Al Jazeera reported.

The fact that this was only the third time that Saudi citizens voted in an election meant that there was still little experience with the electoral process.

The first local election was in 2005, and the second in 2011. Women were excluded in both.

7. Russia fires ‘warning shots’ at Turkish vessel in Aegean.

A Russian warship was been forced to fire warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision, the Russian defence ministry has said.

The Interfax news agency reported that the Turkish vessel, which the ministry did not name, had failed to respond to earlier warnings, but had sharply changed course after shots were fired before passing within 500 metres of the Russian warship.

Tensions are high between the two countries after Turkey downed a Russian jet near the Syrian border last month, which led to one of its pilots being killed.

8. Women with breast cancer told they don’t need mastectomy.

A leading breast cancer surgeon in the UK has spoken out against mastectomies after a major new study showed that women who have the operation are less likely to survive the disease than those who opt for more conservative treatments.

Fiona MacNeill, of London’s renowned Royal Marsden Hospital has asked for doctors and patients to consider alternatives to the removal of a breast.

“I am facing a tsunami of requests from women with breast cancer who want bilateral [double] mastectomies, driven by fear and a failure to understand the risks.

“They think that if it is good enough for Angelina Jolie, it is good enough for me.”

“The Jolie story has been very powerful. Women who come to me with breast cancer all say they want a bilateral mastectomy [like she had].

“But it is important to remember that Angelina did not have breast cancer. For women who actually do, a mastectomy is like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

“In the majority of cases, the operation will not give any better chance of survival. It is all the other bits of treatment they now receive that will give them the best fighting chance” reports The Daily Mail. 

Do you have a story to share with Mamamia? Email us [email protected]
[post_snippet id=324408]