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Friday'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. Police search for body of Stephanie Scott.

Police today will continue to scour waterways searching for the body of bride-to-be Stephanie Scott.

Yesterday school cleaner 24-year old Vincent Stanford was refused bail over the murder. Police allege that between 11am and 7.20pm on Sunday, April 5, Mr Stanford killed her and dumped her body.

Stephanie Scott and her mother ( Facebook)

Police allege they found blood in Mr Stanford’s car and images on a mobile phone of a burnt body. It has been reported today by News Limited that detectives found keys which had been given to Ms Scott in the home of Mr Stanford.

The man accused of killing her had passed all police checks requited to work at the school. He had only been living in Australia for 13 months – having come here from Holland.

For more on the latest news on the investigation read this post here.

2. Mother of three children who died in lake felt “dizzy”.

The mother who drove the car which plunged into a lake in Melbourne on Wednesday with four of her children trapped inside has been questioned by police.

The family of Akon Guode.

Police have said that Akon Guode was released from police custody last night after several hours of questioning by homicide squad detectives.

35-year old Akon Guode was described by her partner as a good mother who loved her kids.

Joseph Manyang said, “She loved the kids. She took care of the kids. I don’t think she planned to do anything.

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“Exactly what has happened, we don’t know. I’m still believing she’s innocent.”

According to The Age relatives have reported that Ms Guode felt “very dizzy” before the crash.

She has recalled her daughter, Awel aged five who survived the crash called out “Mama, the children are falling under the water”.

News Limited reports that CCTV shows the car heading north on Manor Lakes Boulevard in Wyndham Vale before making a U-turn, going closer to the lake.

One of the rescuers who was first at the scene told reporters that when he arrived he saw the submerged car and Ms Guode, 35, standing chest deep in water by the car, screaming.

All he could see in the car was the crown of a little boy’s head.

“I saw the crown of the little boy’s head in the back seat,” he said.

“He was restrained in a booster seat.”

Another rescuer passed him his steel capped boot that he used to smash in a window and remove the little boy.

Sadly the boy, one-year old Bol, four-year-old son Madit and his twin sister, Anger died at the scene.

 If reading this makes you feel like you need help please phone Lifeline on 13 13 14.

3. Government spends $4 million on a ‘stop-the-boats’ telemovie.

The ABC reports that the storyline will include scenes of asylum seekers drowning at sea.

It will be broadcast in Syria, Afghanistan and Iran later this year.

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The Refugee Council of Australia President Phil Glendenning told Lateline it was unlikely to be a deterrent for desperate people fleeing persecution.

“I don’t think the government understands why people are on the move if they think a TV drama will be a deterrent,” Mr Glendenning said.

4. Fears of terror at Gallipoli.

News Limited reports that a team of Australian spies and unarmed special forces personnel have been sent into Turkey ahead of the upcoming Anzac Day celebrations at Gallipoli with fears of terrorism.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that a contingent of ASIO, ASIS and Australian Federal Police have in sent to Turkey.

Australian Defence Force special­ forces personnel are also on site in case an evacuation of Australian officials is needed.

5. Adding GST to movie downloads could raise billions: Treasurer Joe Hockey.

By ABC.

Billions of dollars in additional revenue could be collected by applying GST to downloads of music and movies from international streaming services such as Netflix, Treasurer Joe Hockey says.

The move would see popular overseas media streaming services, such as Netflix — which officially launched in the Australian market late last month — charged GST on their downloads.

State and territory treasurers agreed to work towards the change during the Council on Federal Financial Relations meeting in Canberra today.

Mr Hockey said any company providing a service into Australia should be charging the GST, regardless of where that company was based.

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“GST should be charged at the source, so a company providing intangible services into Australia, such as media services or so on, wherever they are located, they should charge GST on those services,” he said.

The Treasurer said while a number of companies were open to the idea of charging the tax on their services, they were wary of any disadvantages that would come with doing so.

“There are a number of those companies that are prepared to charge the GST on the services that they are putting into Australia, but they want to know that they are not at a competitive disadvantage,” Mr Hockey said.

But the Treasurer said there were ways to combat that.

“There are now fewer providers of goods into Australia than there might have been two or three years ago,” he said.

“Therefore, you can identify those major providers of goods and ask them to charge GST as well so that there is competitive neutrality.”

Mr Hockey wants legislation drafted as soon as possible, estimating the move would add billions of dollars to Australia’s overall tax revenue.

“There is no doubt that there would be an increase in overall revenue if the GST were to applied right across the board to the delivery of information and licensing and so on over the internet … it could represent billions,” Mr Hockey said.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC.

6. Greens red faced after anti-vax post.

The Greens have distanced themselves from the post.

The Greens have distanced themselves from the Townsville branch of the party after they posted on Facebook claiming that vaccinations were dangerous and were killing children.

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News Limited reports that a Facebook post by the Greens in Townsville which stated “Not one person died of Mumps, Measles, or Rubella in the USA last year, but over 100 kids are said to have died as a result of the vaccination” was removed shortly after it was posted.

The post then called for a new debate about the need for vaccines.

Greens Senator Di Natale distanced the party from the post.

“As the Australian Greens Health spokesman and as a doctor I have always been very outspoken on the importance of vaccination,” he said.

“I have spoken in the Senate about the millions of lives saved by vaccination, one the most effective public health interventions in human history.”

 7. Reports that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz  may have spiked his captain’s coffee with diuretic.

There are reports out of Germany from the media that the Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately spiked his captain’s coffee with a diuretic to make sure Capt Patrick Sondheimer needed to go the toilet.

The speculative reports – unconfirmed and reported mainly by tabloid media – say that investigators have found evidence that Lubitz searched online for information about diuretic drugs in the run-up to the crash.

 8. Kids at risk over proposed changes to TV advertising.

Kids at risk over changes to TV advertising.

A submission by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education claims that a bid to change advertising rules on TV will have dangerous implications for children.

There are proposals to extend alcohol advertising on TV, move the M classification zone forward an hour and get rid of the rule that requires a sports broadcast to be live for alcohol to be advertised.

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In a submission to the review of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice, FARE has said that making these changes would increase children and young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising.

“These protections for young people are important because international and Australian researcher studies have consistently demonstrated that the volume of alcohol advertising that children and young people are exposed to predicts future consumption patterns,” it said. 

 9. New device allows parents to spy on their teens smart phone.

An app already used by one million parents around the world is coming to Australia – but there is debate about whether it undermines trust.

Does it undermine trust?

The app, Teensafe was founded three years ago by three sets of parents from California.

It allows parents to view the child’s messages, browser history, Facebook and Instagram activity, call logs, deleted messages and the location of the phone in real time.

Teensafe chief executive Rawdon Messenger told The Australian that “We feel that you can’t really protect your child, and (the right to) privacy is trumped by protection. This is the right thing to do if you want to be a good parent.”

10. Three Royal obstetricians ready to deliver Duchess Kate’s baby.

As the due date for the second royal baby draws closer there are reports that three obstetricians are in place ready to deliver the little brother or sister for George.

Will he make it to the hospital on time?

AAP reports that the public, and media, will be informed when the Duchess is admitted to hospital via Twitter Instagram, and by press release, as well as a formal notice on an easel at Buckingham Palace.

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Local and international media are being allocated spots outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington but are not allowed to camp outside the hospital until the palace announces that the Duchess is in labour.

According to The Telegraph the Duke faces a two-hour journey from Norwich to London when the Duchess goes into labour

The Duke is in the final stages of his air ambulance pilot training, and will not have a helicopter on standby to take him to London.

AAP reports that the couple are unaware if the baby is a boy or a girl.

After the baby is born, the Queen and other family members will be notified, and given some time to take in the news before a public announcement is made.

It was also revealed that the Duke will take two weeks paternity leave, and that the family will not hire any more childcare staff. They already have a live in nanny.

 11. Mother of six boys finds out she is having a girl.

A mother of six boys can barely contain her excitement when she finds out she will finally be having a girl — and the video of her reaction is going viral.

Cher Lair has an unusual way of finding out her baby’s gender — via a cake with either a blue or pink layer inside.

From her reaction it looks like she certainly wasn’t expecting it to be pink.


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